Court Orders FEC to Pay Old Hart Debt

The Xerox Corp. on Tuesday obtained a court order seizing federal funds earmarked for Gary Hart’s renewed campaign for the presidency to satisfy a debt left from the Colorado Democrat’s 1984 campaign.

The effect of the ruling by the District of Columbia Superior Court on the transfer of $100,000 in federal campaign funds to Hart, which was approved on Monday, was not clear. The court order to pay off the $10,480 debt to Xerox actually was served on the Federal Election Commission.

The FEC, which does not possess the money, certified Hart as eligible for matching campaign funds and told the U.S. Treasury to issue the check. Agency spokesmen had no comment on the order.

Warren Rosenfeld, a Washington attorney for Xerox, said the 1984 Hart campaign owed the company $10,480 plus interest for copier rental fees. Xerox had sued and obtained a judgment that the Hart campaign did not oppose. When the FEC certified Hart on Monday, Rosenfeld said, it was time to move.

“We thought we would take a shot and filed an attachment order rather hurriedly,” he said.