On February 1, as already noted, U.S. District Court Judge Tanya Chutkan ruled against the Federal Election Commission in one of the debates cases, Level the Playing Field v FEC, 1:15cv-1397. Her February 1 order told the FEC to re-evaluate all the evidence submitted in 2015 and 2016 that the Commission on Presidential Debates is breaking federal campaign finance laws.

On February 6, the FEC asked for reconsideration and more time. On February 10, Judge Chutkan issued a 3-page order, giving the FEC until April 3 to re-evaluate the evidence. The FEC wanted an even later deadline, saying there are 700 pages of exhibits from the plaintiffs. But the order says, “The Court is perplexed by the FEC’s assertion that it needs additional time to review the Plaintiffs’ evidence given its earlier representation to the court that it had already carefully analyzed this evidence.” Thanks to the Center for Competitive Politics for this news.