Category Archives: campaign finance

New York: “Minor parties fear state commission trying to secure more power for major parties”

October 30, 2019, 7:36 amballot access, campaign finance, third partiesRick Hasen

Newsday: The panel is charged with developing a voluntary system of using state funds to help pay for political campaigns, but Cuomo and other legislative leaders also tasked the commission with looking at the merits of fusion voting. The… Continue reading

Payday Lenders Group Confirms It Is Buying Ingratiation and And Access to Trump Administration (Don’t Worry, Justice Kennedy Told Us)

October 29, 2019, 10:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: Billing himself as one of President Trump’s top fundraisers, Michael Hodges told fellow payday lenders recently that industry contributions to the president’s reelection campaign could be leveraged to gain access to the Trump administration.“Every dollar amount, no matter… Continue reading

“CREW Exposes Dark Money Donors including Thiel, DeVos and Adelson”

October 25, 2019, 5:12 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CREW: Following a historic victory against dark money by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Americans for Job Security (AJS) has released its donors from 2010 through 2012, including major contributions from Peter Thiel, Richard and Helen DeVos,… Continue reading

“Biden appears to drop his opposition to a super PAC”

October 24, 2019, 10:16 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

WaPo: Joe Biden is apparently dropping his long-held opposition to the creation of an outside group that would supply an infusion of money to benefit his campaign, a recognition that financial struggles are becoming a major problem for his presidential… Continue reading

“Corporate Political Transparency: It’s Optional”

October 24, 2019, 7:21 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Dave Levinthal for CPI: Basking in the sunny side of the corporate political disclosure spectrum are household names such as AT&T, HP Inc., Capital One Financial Corp., General Electric Co. and Google parent Alphabet Inc.Comparatively slinking through the shadows? Netflix… Continue reading

Shah Zuberi, Los Angeles Financier Who Donated $900K to Trump Inaugural, Pleads Guilty to “making almost $1 million in illegal campaign contributions that included funneling money from foreign entities and individuals to influence U.S. elections.”

October 22, 2019, 1:55 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Daily Beast: A Los Angeles financier who donated $900,000 to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee has admitted to falsifying records to hide his work as a foreign agent while he lobbied prominent U.S. government officials, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.Shah Zuberi,… Continue reading

“Campaign Finance Law Should Do More To Prevent Donor Harassment”

October 21, 2019, 5:28 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Brad Smith oped in the Daily Caller. Although Brad correctly quotes me as saying that I support raising the donor thresholds, it is not because I believe there is a serious increase in unconstitutional harassment (I don’t). It is… Continue reading

“Congress has long sought to bar foreign campaign contributions”

October 21, 2019, 6:51 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Todd Ruger for Roll Call.

“The Pro-Trump Super PAC at the Center of the Ukraine Scandal Has Faced Multiple Campaign Finance Complaints”

October 19, 2019, 5:36 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

ProPublica: Last year, a Department of Defense contractor quietly donated half a million dollars to a group supporting President Donald Trump’s reelection.Once a watchdog organization noticed it, the contribution raised an alarm. Federal contractors are not allowed to donate to… Continue reading

“To Win Giuliani’s Help, Oligarch’s Allies Pursued Biden Dirt”

October 19, 2019, 5:26 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Associates of a Ukrainian oligarch fighting extradition to the U.S. were working to dig up dirt on former Vice President Joe Biden last summer in an effort to get Rudy Giuliani’s help in the oligarch’s legal case, according… Continue reading

“Wealth, philanthropy and politics — considering ‘wealth tax’ proposals”

October 16, 2019, 4:45 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill oped: The impact of private wealth on public policy through tax-exempt organizations has garnered much attention of late, with recent scandals involving the Sacklers, Jeffrey Epstein, and a number of prestigious universities. Recent critiques, however, fail to… Continue reading

Campaign Finance Attorney Jim Bopp Advising Trump Campaign on Campaign Finance Issues

October 16, 2019, 8:03 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Carrie Levine: 1/One interesting tidbit from the Trump campaign's most recent FEC disclosure: the architect of the Supreme Court's Citizens United case is now on the campaign's ever-growing roster of lawyers. The campaign reported paying Jim Bopp's law firm $25,000… Continue reading