Groups allege illegal moves by Zinke

HELENA — Two Washington, D.C.-based advocacy groups filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday accusing a U.S. House candidate in Montana of illegally coordinating with the political action committee he created.

Television advertisements by Special Operations for America PAC that support Ryan Zinke’s House bid include photographs that appear to come from the Republican’s campaign, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 allege in their complaint.

“If so, this is a clear violation of federal law that prohibits super PACS from republishing candidate campaign materials,” said Campaign Legal Center senior counsel Paul Ryan. “This is just another example of the myth of the independence between outside groups like SOFA and the candidates they support.”