Copyright 2004, Pasadena Star-News

GOP files legal complaint against radio station that has urged voters to oust Republican Congressman. Complaint says station and Democrat are in cahoots.

(Pasadena Star-News 10/30/04) -- The National Republican Congressional Committee has filed a seven-page complaint letter with the Federal Elections Commission alleging the hosts of a popular talk radio show have illegally colluded with a Democratic candidate for Congress to oust Rep. David Dreier from office.

According to the complaint, John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, hosts of the afternoon John and Ken Show'' on KFI, have made unlawful campaign contributions by making repeated on-air appeals for listeners to reject Dreier and elect Cynthia Matthews on Nov. 2.

Further, KFI is accused of violating federal campaign law by paying for broadcasts that endorse the defeat of a federal candidate within 120 days of an election. The John and Ken Show has become nothing but a political diatribe,'' states the complaint, which was filed Oct. 14. This behavior is illegal and must be appropriately punished.''

Dreier did not join the NRCC in filing the complaint, nor is he a direct party to it. NRCC spokesman Bo Harmon refused to comment. Dreier spokesman Jo Maney also did not respond to requests for comment. An FEC spokesman acknowledged the complaint had been filed but would not comment on its contents.

Dreier has been under attack since early September, when listeners of the John and Ken Show selected Dreier as a political human sacrifice'' and vowed to fire'' him for being too soft on illegal immigration from Mexico.

Kobylt and Chiampou blasted Dreier on their Thursday and Friday shows after revealing the existence of the complaint.

Just when we thought we had said everything we could say, he (Dreier) gave us this huge gift,'' Kobylt said. For one thing, the hypocrisy of this is just stupendous.'' Matthews said the allegations are an attempt to censor her campaign and she called Dreier a hypocrite for trying to silence her when he has appeared numerous times on national cable news shows and has received endorsements on the editorial pages of a number of area newspapers.

"I just find it interesting that someone that has been in office 24 years would be intimidated about me getting a little press here,'' Matthews said. It is an attempt to stop the free-speech process.''

KFI and Matthews have 15 days to respond to the complaint and then the commissioners will review the case for possible action. The NRCC general counsel, Donald McGahn, said if any willful violations are found to have occurred, the matter should be handed over to the U.S. Department of Justice for possible criminal prosecution.

Conservative AM talk radio has been a reliable voice for the Republican Party, from the relentless Clinton bashing of Rush Limbaugh in the 1990s to the criticisms of California Gov. Gray Davis.

Dreier was a top adviser for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in his campaign to replace Davis and appeared on the John and Ken Show several times to promote the recall effort. Now that the tables have been turned and an influential Republican is under attack, the Republican Party wants to pull the plug, Kobylt said.

The FEC complaint is based on federal campaign laws. The recall election was governed by California statute.

The NRCC contends that Matthews and KFI are not protected under the First Amendment in this case. Conducting corporate radio shows and political rallies that expressly advocate for the election or defeat of a clearly identifiable candidate does not fall within the First Amendment Ôpress exception','' the complaint says. Peter Scheer, executive director of the California First Amendment Center, does not agree.

The notion that a news or a media organization is stripped of First Amendment protection because it engages in political advocacy has the First Amendment turned upside down,'' Scheer said. I don't know of any line the First Amendment tolerates that says if you get too excited about a political cause, issue or candidate that you get in trouble with the FEC.''

Scheer predicted the commissioners would look at the complaint and drop it in the garbage.''

KFI program manager Robin Bertolucci said the station is extremely confident'' the FEC will dismiss the complaint.

The NRCC objections echo those made by the Democratic Party earlier this month when Sinclair Broadcasting Group Inc. prepared to pre-empt regular programming before Election Day to show a documentary critical of Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry. Campaign finance experts, however, said election law allows the media to make editorial comments.

The KFI affiliate in Los Angeles is owned by Clear Channel, the same company that dropped the Howard Stern radio show last year after a number of Federal Communications Commission complaints were filed about that show's content.

Kobylt said Clear Channel is widely considered a Republican-friendly corporation and figures the NRCC thought the company would shut down the Fire Dreier'' campaign out of an abundance of caution.

We are going to just keep wailing away on this until Election Day,'' Kobylt said. As for the charge that we are doing it for ratings, you can tell him (Dreier) that we are and it has worked out beautifully.''

Republican political consultant Allan Hoffenblum said he has little doubt Dreier will easily win a 13th term in office on Tuesday despite the radio campaign against him. Why do they even bring attention to it?'' Hoffenblum wondered.

By Gary Scott