ROBERT P. VISSER PAPERS, 1972-78

In August 1975, the President Ford Committee (PFC) hired attorney Robert Visser as General Counsel. In October, Visser hired Tim Ryan, a Baltimore attorney who had been a volunteer advanceman for the White House and the Assistant Director of the 1972 Inaugural Parade, to work as his assistant. Unlike most PFC offices, there was no staff turnover during the campaign, so Visser and Ryan handled the PFC's legal work through Election Day and into early 1977.

The passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 created an additional role for Visser as General Counsel as compared to the role of lawyers in previous presidential campaigns. This legislation, signed into law by President Ford on October 15, 1974, established the first spending limits for candidates in presidential primary and general elections, provided for disclosure and reporting of campaign contributions and expenditures, introduced public financing for general election campaigns and matching funds to cover part of the costs of primary campaigns, and created a Federal Election Commission (FEC) to develop regulations, implement the law, and enforce its provisions.

Because of delays in the appointment and confirmation of FEC members, the Commission did not begin its work until just before initial efforts to organize the PFC began. This meant that the PFC, like several other 1976 campaign committees, had to begin the process of running a campaign while frequently asking the FEC for guidance on procedures or filing complaints about possible violations by other campaign committees. Visser and Ryan handled these interactions with the FEC, while also working on more traditional campaign committee attorney tasks such as lawsuits, delegate challenges, contracts with consulting firms and staff members, coordinating the work of the PFC state legal counsels, and ballot security. A more complete history of the PFC and the changes to election laws is available in the Ford Library’s finding aid for the Records of the President Ford Committee.

The Visser Papers
This collection consists of Robert Visser’s personal working papers and material that he collected from other offices for legal and historical reasons. These papers do not heavily document the strategic plan of the campaign, but rather document the details of being an attorney for a presidential election committee. For example, there is correspondence throughout this collection between Visser, Tim Ryan, and other PFC employees with the Federal Election Commission, Republican National Committee (RNC), White House staff, general counsels of other political organizations, and outside law and accounting firms regarding legal matters for the PFC. It also contains background material, state election law summaries, and published copies of federal laws. There are discussions of the implications of the Supreme Court decision in Buckley v. Valeo, which invalidated portions of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 and would lead to the passage of the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1976.

One major topic is the question of who should pay for presidential and advocate travel during an election campaign, and how should one separate “official” and “political” travel. For example, there is heavy documentation of a complaint filed by the Democratic National Committee (DNC) with the Federal Election Commission regarding a ruling that presidential travel before January 1, 1976 should be treated as “party building” rather than advancement of one’s own candidacy. Money spent by the RNC for such travel would not be charged against allowable candidate expenditure levels set by federal election laws. In the complaint, the DNC sought to prove that President Ford’s travel since the formation of the PFC was directly and substantially related to his candidacy. Material includes a copy of the complaint, the PFC responses to the action, and background materials used by the PFC to counter this complaint.

The Visser Papers contain the official documents related to the creation and incorporation of the Campaign ’76 Media Communications, Inc. in December 1975 (the PFC’s in-house advertising agency), including the Articles of Incorporation, Certification of Incorporation of Incorporation, bylaws, Board of Directors meeting minutes, Howard H. Calloway’s resignation as Director, annual report for Foreign and Domestic Non-Profit Corporations, and a Corporate Resolution (Bankers Trust, New York City). Visser’s working papers contain correspondence, memos, drafts, and bank documents and document the development of the corporation, but do not heavily document the subsequent work of the company. This collection also contains material related to the proposed incorporation of the PFC as a nonprofit political committee, including drafts of the articles of incorporation and bylaws, memoranda and correspondence regarding the advantages, disadvantages, and tax implications of incorporating.

Material related to the 1976 Republican National Convention concerns the revision and adoption of convention rules by the RNC Rules Committee and the Convention Rules Committee, logistical arrangements, the delegate selection process, preliminary schedule, the Platform Committee, the Credentials Committee, the Rule 29 Committee (a committee authorized by the 1972 Republican National Convention to review and study the rules adopted by that convention). The question of amending Rule 18 (“The Justice Amendment”) is particularly well documented in this collection. If adopted this rule would require delegates to vote in accordance with results of binding state primaries or direct elections. Included are copies of the proposed amendment, memoranda, statement for and against the amendment.

Folders related to Virginia and California fill a gap in the Records of the President Ford Committee, General Counsel’s State Legal File. This material documents exchanges between the General Counsel's Office and state PFC legal counsels, other state PFC officers, local Republicans, federal and state agencies, and private law firms. It relates to interpretation of and compliance with federal and state campaign laws, Republican Party rules related to local PFC offices, party precinct caucuses, state conventions, and a challenge related to Virginia delegates.

The importance of volunteerism in the 1976 campaign in light of new campaign funding limitations is evident in this collection. There are several contact lists throughout this collection, information related to the volunteer legal staff, and a copy of the Ford/Dole Volunteer Campaign Manual, which was created to provide a resource for local leaders on campaign procedures, activities, and legal guidelines. Also included is an analysis of the performance of People for Ford, the volunteer arm of the President Ford Committee formed during the general election to develop outreach efforts to special voter groups. This report was written by Deputy Coordinator Tom Ruffin and provides an analysis of the operation of the organization, problems encountered, successes, failures, and offers suggestions for future elections. It also includes comments submitted from each People For Ford desk: Blacks, Business and Professional Groups, Ethnics, Jewish, Farm Desk, Labor Desk, Older Americans, Special Events, Veterans, and National Volunteers.

This collection also documents what happens to presidential election committees after the election is over. There are official documents and working papers related to the development of the 1976 Presidential Campaign Liquidation Trust, an agreement between the Republican National Committee and the trustees of the President Ford Committee to fulfill requirements of the campaign laws, and handle possible compliance actions or other possible contingent liabilities. Included are the final agreement (executed on December 1, 1976), document drafts, notes, and background material. The collection also includes correspondence regarding the repayment of funds to the FEC following the election, and the donation of PFC materials to the National Archives.

Finally, the Visser Papers also include a Southern States Republican Conference briefing book (attended by several members of PFC, including Visser), the President Ford Committee Campaign Plan (8/29/1975), and material related to Democratic opponents, voter groups, delegate selection, insurance matters, building lease agreements, contracts, and various lawsuits.

Related Materials (August 2004)
Other materials that directly relate to legal matters and the 1976 Presidential election can be found in the General Counsel’s Office Files in the President Ford Committee Records, as well as other offices of the PFC. The Visser Papers complement many topics that exist in the PFC records such as ballot security, federal and state election campaign laws, relationship between the PFC and the Federal Election Commission, campaign finance, the Republican National Convention, and Campaign ’76 Media Communications, Inc.

The files of Philip Buchen, Counsel to the President, contain material on a number of campaign‑related legal questions, including the Federal Election Campaign Act Amendments of 1974 and 1976 and White House interactions with the Federal Election Commission concerning proposed rulings and regulations. Other collections with material include the staff files and papers of Michael Raoul-Duval, the papers of Robert Teeter, and the staff files of John Marsh, James A. Reichley , Edward Schmults, and Rogers Morton.

The following White House Central Files Subject File categories are the most prominent file locations for material relate to the campaign: FG 387 (Federal Election Commission), PL (Political Affairs), SP (Speeches), and TR (Trips).