(e) False records in the administration of a federal matter: 18 U.S.C. § 1519 Title 18 also affords an alternative for charging false statements that a defendant makes or causes in records of either a federal political entity (such as a federal candidate’s authorized campaign committee) or in reports to the FEC. Specifically, under 18 U.S.C. § 1519, “[w]hoever knowingly … conceals, covers up, falsifies, or makes a false entry in any record [or] document … with the intent to impede, obstruct, or influence the investigation or proper administration of any matter within the jurisdiction of any department or agency of the United States … or in relation to or contemplation of any such matter or case” commits a twenty-year felony. The Department has applied this statute, in conjunction with 18 U.S.C. § 2, in charging defendants with causing false internal records of campaign expenditures and false external records in the follow-on campaign filings with the FEC by unwitting campaign personnel. The FEC’s proper administration of the reporting and publication of expenditure reports serve as the predicate federal matter. 7. Policy and Procedural Considerations (a) Consultation requirements and recommendations For decades, the Public Integrity Section has coordinated the Department’s law enforcement efforts against campaign financing crimes with United States Attorneys’ Offices. The Section has two main goals in this area: to provide prompt and accurate guidance regarding the prosecutive potential of campaign financing allegations, and to assist the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the FBI in bringing effective criminal penalties to bear when warranted. Not all FECA violations are federal crimes, either because they lack the requisite criminal intent or because they do not meet the applicable monetary floor for FECA crimes. Early consultation with 167