Imagine you own a local bakery. A woman dressed in a suit walks into your store and orders a platter of pastries. You chat while preparing the order. The woman mentions her office is celebrating the retirement of a colleague. She hands you a credit card – it looks like any personal credit card with her name on it. You swipe it, and the transaction is processed. You hand the woman her order and receipt, and think nothing of it. You have no idea the woman you just sold baked goods to is an employee of the federal government and will be reimbursed with federal funds for the expense. But that is of no matter, right? Surely there’s no way you just became a federal government contractor. According to the Federal Election Commission’s (FEC) professional staff and some Commissioners, you should think again.
The FEC recently considered whether a regional company with a chain of auto and tire repair shops violated the federal…
