[MysticCat]

Both the Justice Dept and the FEC investigate and prosecute violations of the Federal Elections Campaign Act. I thought I had heard in the news that complaints had been filed with both but maybe I'm wrong.

And the issue is not whether the ad is blatantly false. The complaint to the Justice Dept contends that the organization that sponsored the ad, the American Issues Project, has violated its 501(c)(4) tax-exempt status by producing the ad. Violation of tax-exempt status is not something that the FEC would get involved in.

The other issue is related and has to do with whether the AIP is required to register as a "political committee," which would require it, among other things, to disclose where its money comes from. Both the Justice Dept and the FEC would have dogs in that fight.

The main guy behind this ad, Harold Simmons, also was behind the Swift Boat ads against John Kerry. Kerry was heavily criticized for not fighting those ads agressively enough. The Obama campaign seems to be trying to avoid that same criticism.