The House Democratic campaign arm today filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that the conservative activist group Freedom's Watch illegally coordinated with the House Republicans' campaign arm.

The complaint filed by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) charges that the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC) colluded with Freedom's Watch, described by some as the conservative answer to the liberal group MoveOn.org, as evidenced by the fact that a Freedom's Watch Microsoft Word file sent to a Louisiana television station contained a data stamp with the name of a former NRCC staffer.

According to the complaint, the file properties of the television script attacking the tax voting record of Don Cazayoux, a Democratic House candidate, contained the name of Carl Forti, a former NRCC official who now holds a staff position at Freedom's Watch.

"[W]e call upon the Commission to conduct an immediate and complete investigation to determine just how the NRCC came to be involved in this ad, and to determine the nature of the relationship between the party committee and the shadowy outside group that does its bidding," wrote Brian Wolff, executive director of the DCCC, in his letter sent to FEC counsel. "The Commission should seek injunctive relief and the highest penalties allowed by law.

A spokesman for the NRCC said the case is full of conspiracy-theory overtones with no substance.

"The DCCC thinks they see black helicopters," said NRCC spokesman Ken Spain. "All of their politically motivated efforts will not distract from the fact that their hand-picked candidate has a long and public record of raising taxes."

A spokesman for Freedom's Watch said the data stamp issue with Forti's name is a non-issue because it was created by an outside vendor who used the same Microsoft Word template for multiple clients. The spokesman said there had been no coordination between the two groups.

"I think this is a sensational complaint that gets very boring very quickly when you hear the other side of the story," said Freedom's Watch spokesman Ed Patru. "It's a preposterous charge. It's a complaint designed for a single purpose -- fundraising solicitations."

You can read the full complaint here: Download file

— Carrie Sheffield, Web editor, The Washington Times