Ohio elections panel finds no violation by Fox News

The Ohio Elections Commission found no violations in an appearance by former Fox News host Republican’s John Kasich on The O’Reilly Factor where he solicited campaign contributions.

The complaint filed by the Democratic Governors Associated was dismissed in a 5-0 vote by the commission. The DGA did not have a representative at the hearing and Executive Director of the Elections Commission Philip Richter recommended the complaint be dismissed.

The DGA argued Kasich received an illegal in-kind contribution $169,389 from the media group, the price tag of 90 seconds of ad space on Bill O’Reilly’s show.

According to The Columbus Dispatch, Fox News lawyer Larry Noble said the company had First Amendment rights to interview and endorse Kasich.

“To call this a political contribution would run afoul of the media exemption, the whole concept of press coverage,” Noble told the commission.