The ensuing controversy surrounding a mailing list of 592 conservative activists given free of charge--and in violation of election law--to President Bush's campaign will likely land in court next week.

The Bush-Cheney campaign violated federal election law by accepting a list of 592 personal contacts, marked confidential, from Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) and its leader Grover Norquist, a Federal Election Commission report found last month. But FEC lawyers asserted that because of the list's "limited size and scope" the agency should take no further action and close the file.

"It was a bad decision of the FEC refusing to take its responsibility seriously," says Larry Noble, executive director of the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics. "This case is ripe for someone to challenge it."

In February Sloan's group filed a complaint at the FEC against ATR's Norquist, Bush Campaign Chairman Ken Mehlman and Treasurer David Herndon, based on stories in The Washington Post and on Forbes.com (see: "Did Bush-Cheney '04 Break Campaign Law?") regarding allegedly impermissible corporate contributions involving the contribution of a mailing list. More