The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has fined the group the Media Fund $580,000 after concluding that the group illegally ran advertising against President Bush and in favor of Senator John Kerry. The FEC said that during the 2004 election, the now inactive group violated the law because it accepted unlimited donations from unions and expressly advocated the defeat or victory of a political candidate. The group was registered as a 527, but should have registered as a political committee. The Media Fund was the first to have a "probable cause hearing" under the pilot program.