Democracy 21 head Fred Wertheimer, a strong McCain ally, says that he is stuck in public financing until the FEC says otherwise:

The shut down of the Federal Election Commission has taken center stage because there is no functioning agency to deal with the issue of whether bank loans taken out by Senator John McCain (R-AZ), and the collateral provided for those bank loans, means that Senator McCain cannot withdraw from the presidential primary public financing system and is bound by its spending limits for the rest of his primary campaign.

Jane Hamsher writes:

That’s not a “punt,” that’s a clear determination. Democracy 21 says McCain has to abide by the spending limits set by the public financing system, which he is has probably already exceeded. Which means by law, it is their opinion that McCain should be dead in the water and unable to spend any more money until the general. (Ambinder missed this the first time around, but to his credit caught it and corrected it.)

All of McCain’s fancy footwork in his loan application that offered up public financing money as collateral without actually offering it up is highly dubious. Wertheimer is saying that unless the FEC can rule on it, McCain is stuck. (For more on this, see Mark Schmidt’s explanation.)

…

Anyway, to recap: John McCain’s staunchest ally on campaign finance reform, Fred Wertheimer, says that it is illegal for him to be doing what he is doing.

So here’s how we have to look at the McCain campaign from here on out: every time he steps on a stage, he is breaking the law. Every time he airs an ad on TV, he is cheating. Every time he travels to California or New York or Michigan or Texas or anywhere else for a fundraiser, he is breaking the law. John McCain is circumventing the campaign finance system. He is a cheater and a law breaker and his actions could mean that he face jail time (up to five years).

These are not the actions of an honorable man or an honest man or an ethical man. These are the actions of a craven, lawless cheater who is desperately hoping that his judgment day never comes.

Update:

Everything in this post about Wertheimer is no longer operable.