Paul Kiel March 21, 2008, 5:28 PM

Just a refresher that John McCain’s tangle with the FEC has yet to be resolved:

Sen. John McCain has officially broken the limits imposed by the presidential public financing system, reports filed last night show.

McCain has now spent $58.4 million on his primary effort. Those who have committed to public financing can spend no more than $54 million on their primary bid.

So has McCain broken the law? The answer is far from simple.

Remember that the FEC chairman has written McCain’s campaign to tell them that McCain has not withdrawn from the public funding system, because the FEC hasn’t approved his request to withdraw — and can’t approve it until there are four commissioners. To which McCain’s lawyers have replied, nuh uh.

For now, the McCain campaign will continue to spend away. Whether this will come back to haunt him somewhere down the line (assuming the FEC is functioning again someday)… well, who knows.

John McCain