"I'm David Vitter and I paid for this call."

'04 Election-Law Violation To Cost Vitter $25,000
by Bill Walsh - Times-Picayune

WASHINGTON -- Sen. David Vitter, R-La., has agreed to pay a $25,000 fine for violating federal election laws during his campaign for the Senate in 2004.

The Federal Election Commission found that Vitter's campaign failed to adequately disclose that it was bankrolling hundreds of phone calls to voters in the weeks leading up to Election Day. He won in the primary over two Democrats with 51 percent of the vote.

Vitter struck a deal in July known as a "conciliation agreement" with the FEC acknowledging that his campaign violated a provision of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign law that said all political ads must carry a disclaimer explaining who paid for them. As part of the agreement, Vitter agreed to pay an administrative fine.

The agreement, which has not been publicly disclosed by the commission, came to light Monday after Vitter's recently filed campaign finance reports listed payment of the fine and $11,397 in legal expenses to the Washington, D.C., law firm Foley and Lardner. An FEC spokeswoman subsequently provided a copy of the conciliation agreement.

A Vitter spokesman said the senator signed the agreement to avoid expensive, protracted litigation against the FEC.

Snark: Since David "failed to adequately disclose that," back in '04, no one knew his campaign paid for the calls? C'mon, get real.