Nancy DiNardo

State Party Chairwoman

Connecticut Democratic Party

330 Main Street

Hartford, CT 06106,

Complainant,

v.

Linda McMahon

P.O. Box 271386

West Hartford, CT 06127;

Linda McMahon for Senate 2010

P.O. Box 15114

Arlington, VA 22215; and

World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc.

1241 East Main Street

Stamford, CT 06902,

Respondents.

COMPLAINT

The Connecticut Democratic Party files this complaint under 2 U.S.C. § 437g(a)(1) against Linda McMahon; her campaign committee, Linda McMahon for Senate 2010; and World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. ("WWE") (collectively "Respondents") for violations of the Federal Election Campaign Act ("FECA"). WWE has made corporate in-kind contributions to Linda McMahon for Senate 2010 in violation of 2 U.S.C. § 441b.

  1. FACTUAL BACKGROUND

Linda McMahon is a candidate for the United States Senate from the state of Connecticut. Until September 16, 2009, the day on which she declared her candidacy, Ms. McMahon served as the Chief Executive Officer of WWE.[1] WWE is a publicly-traded sports entertainment company focusing on professional wrestling. Ms. McMahon started the company with her husband, Vincent K. McMahon, in 1982. When she stepped down as Chief Executive Officer to run for the United States Senate, her husband replaced her as Chief Executive Officer; he also serves as Chairman of the Board. The McMahons' two children also have leadership rolls at WWE. The McMahons' son, Shane McMahon serves as the company's Executive Vice President, Global Media, and their daughter, Stephanie McMahon-Levesque, is the Executive Vice President, Creative Development and Operations. The McMahons own a controlling majority of the stock in WWE.

On October 16, 2009, the political news website Talking Points Memo published a story regarding several distasteful videos from WWE television programming that appeared on YouTube.[2] The YouTube videos showed WWE wrestlers engaging in simulated rape, a public sex scene, and one "wrestler having sex with a corpse." As reported in the article and elsewhere, Ms. McMahon was criticized for presiding over a company that would produce such programming.[3]

In swift response to the negative attention Ms. McMahon was receiving from the videos, her family's company – that same day – ordered YouTube to remove the videos from its website.[4] Robert Zimmerman, WWE's Vice President of Public Relations and Corporate Communications, told reporters that WWE ordered the videos to be removed because they were "copyrighted material" and "our intellectual property."[5]

However, a search of YouTube using the phrase "WWE" continues to produce almost 500,000 results as of the date of this complaint. Thus, it appears that WWE only ordered YouTube to remove the videos that may be damaging to Ms. McMahon's campaign, and neglected to protect WWE's other copyrighted material and intellectual property. In sum, WWE has selectively enforced its rights only insofar as they benefit Ms. McMahon's candidacy.

  1. LEGAL ARGUMENT

Pursuant to FECA "[i]t is unlawful for … any corporation ... to make a contribution or expenditure in connection with any election at which ... a Senator [is] to be voted for" and for "any candidate, political committee, or other person knowingly to accept or receive any contribution" from a corporation. 2 U.S.C. § 441b; see also 11 C.F.R. § 114.2(b). "[T]he provision of any goods or services without charge or at a charge that is less than the usual and normal charge for such goods or services is a contribution." 11 C.F.R. § 100.52(d)(1). Any expenditure that is "coordinated" is an "in-kind contribution to … the candidate … with whom or with which it was coordinated."

The facts demonstrate that WWE made expenditures in connection with an election, in clear violation of FECA. WWE expended its corporate resources – including the time of Mr. Zimmerman and other corporate personnel, and its attorneys – all used in the service of Ms. McMahon's campaign to force YouTube to remove only the videos that reflected poorly on Ms. McMahon, while ignoring the multitude of other WWE-owned material still hosted on YouTube. The speed at which WWE acted to have the videos removed once Ms. McMahon and her campaign came under criticism, and the incredibly selective nature of WWE's copyright claims, prove that the corporation's actions were solely in service of preventing further damage to Ms. McMahon's candidacy.

Given Ms. McMahon's long relationship with WWE, her husband's role as Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board, the fact that Ms. McMahon's family controls the company, and the speed at which WWE acted, WWE's efforts on behalf of Ms. McMahon were surely coordinated with her or her campaign. Accordingly, WWE made, and Ms. McMahon and her campaign committee accepted, prohibited in-kind corporate contributions in violation of 2 U.S.C. § 441b.

  1. REQUESTED ACTION

Respondents have violated the Federal Election Campaign Act by making and accepting illegal in-kind corporate contributions. We request that the Commission investigate these violations, enjoin Respondents from further violations, and assign the maximum fines permitted by law.

Sincerely,

______

Nancy DiNardo

State Party Chairwoman

Connecticut Democratic Party

330 Main Street

Hartford, CT 06106,

SUBSCRIBED AND SWORN to before me this ____ day of ______, 2009.

______
Notary Public

My Commission Expires:
______

-1-

[1] See Press Release, WWE's Linda McMahon Resigns to Run for U.S. Senate, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc. (Sept. 16, 2009), available at and Executive Team Bios, Linda E. McMahon, Former CEO, World Wrestling Entertainment, Inc., available at , included herewith as Attachment A.

[2] Christina Bellantoni, CT Dems: WWE Clips Suggest McMahon Condones Necrophilia, Talking Points Memo DC (October 16, 2009), available at included herewith as Attachment B.

[3] Id.; see also, Glenn Thrush, Dems link McMahon to WWE's "simulated rape" UPDATED, Politico (October 16, 2009), available at included herewith as Attachment C.

[4] See Christina Bellantoni, WWE Removes Necrophilia Videos from YouTube After Dems Use Them Against McMahon, Talking Points Memo DC (October 16, 2009), available at Christopher Keating, Three Professional Wrestling Videos Taken Down After Criticism by State Democratic Party on Sex and Violence, CapitolWatch: Connecticut Politics, (October 16, 2009), available at included herewith as Attachment D.

[5] Id.