Giving is not as Good as Receiving: Statutory Interpretation and Campaign Finance

Suppose that I give a friend of mine, we'll call him Amigo, $100 and he gives the money to someone else, let's call her Ami, who "gave" the money to Ami, me or Amigo?  When is it sensible to say that I gave the money to Ami and when is it sensible to say that even though the money came from me, Amigo gave the money to Ami? These are the questions that are at issue in the campaign finance case of U.S. v. O'Donnell.

The United States prosecuted Mr. Pierce O'Donnell for violation of 2 U.S.C. section 441f.  This section provides:

No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person
or knowingly permit his name to be used to effect such a
contribution, and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution
made by one person in the name of another person.

Mr. Pierce supposedly directed 13 of his friends and family members to make contributions to the John Edwards campaign in their own names.  They contributed a total of $26,000.  Mr. Pierce allegedly advanced some of them the money and others he promised to reimburse.  Mr. Pierce moved to dismiss the indictment on the ground that he did not "make a contribution in the name of another person" as required by the statute.  The contribution was made by the other people in their own name, though the funds either came from him or would ultimately come from him. The District Court agreed with Mr. Pierce, but a panel from the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit unanimously overturned the district court's decision.

This is an interesting case for someone who just this past term taught both campaign finance and statutory interpretation.  I think this question is harder than the Court of Appeals thought that it was. Don't be surprised if the Supreme Court takes this up and reverses.