Category Archives: campaign finance
“Dark Money: Can Billionaires Buy Elections in America?”
Podcast with Ciara Torres-Spelliscy and Brody Mullins, interviewed by Adam Smith.
D.C. Circuit Will Rehear En Banc the End Citizens United PAC Case Holding that Dismissals of FEC Complaints are Unreviewable Exercises of Prosecutorial Discretion
The controversial 2-1 decision is here.
The en banc order wiping this out and setting it for briefing and oral argument is here.
More background and documents from the FEC.
“Trump Leans On Creative Bookkeeping to Keep Up in Cash Race”
NYT:
Donald J. Trump’s political operation has been taking extraordinary measures in a bid to stay financially competitive with Vice President Kamala Harris, deploying aggressive and creative accounting strategies that test the legal limits of how far a candidate can… Continue reading
“Trump’s small-dollar donor fundraising is beset by confusion and fatigue”
AP:
Donald Trump’s contributions from small-dollar donors have plummeted since his last White House campaign, presenting the former president with a financial challenge as he tries to keep pace with the Democrats’ fundraising machine.
Fewer than a third of… Continue reading
“Elon Musk’s PAC offers $47 payouts to refer swing state voters to sign petition”
NBC News:
Elon Musk’s pro-Trump America PAC is offering people $47 if they successfully get one registered swing-state voter to sign a petition supporting the First and Second Amendments of the Constitution.
“Easy money,” Musk said in a post… Continue reading
“Is Democracy Doomed by Dark Money?”
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy on New Books Network podcast.
With No Noted Dissents, Supreme Court Refuses to Hear Case Challenging San Francisco Law Requiring Donor Disclosures on the Face of Campaign Advertising
Cert. denied in No on E v. Chiu. That’s a big deal after AFPF v. Bonta. From a Public Citizen press release:
The “Sunlight on Dark Money” law was approved as a ballot measure in 2019 by 77% of… Continue reading
“The Intriguing Role Public Financing of Campaigns Played in the Eric Adams Indictments”
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy for Washington Monthly.
Key Part of Indictment Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams is Foreign Conduit Campaign Contributions
NYT:
Mayor Eric Adams of New York City has been indicted on federal charges of bribery conspiracy, fraud and soliciting illegal foreign campaign donations.
The indictment, brought by the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, was unsealed… Continue reading
“A new mystery firm enters Trump’s orbit, rekindling criticism of his presidential campaign spending”
AP:
Launchpad Strategies was incorporated less than a year ago and has since received $15 million from Donald Trump’s election fundraising machine.
For what is mostly a mystery. Campaign finance records indicate the limited liability company was hired to provide… Continue reading
“The ‘crypto bros’ are spending big in the 2024 election”
New from Ciara Torres-Spelliscy.
“The Surprising Survival—So Far—of the Corporate Contribution Ban”
Richard Briffault has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, Chicago Business Law Review). Here is the abstract:
Citizens United notwithstanding, the 117-year-old federal ban on corporate campaign contributions and similar prohibitions in twenty-one states remain on the books and continue… Continue reading
“Ricketts’ Riches: Wealthy governor, billionaire family changed Nebraska elections”
Sara Gentzler and Alex Richards report for the Flatland Free Press, with the subhead: “A new Flatwater Free Press analysis shows the breadth of Nebraska campaign giving by Pete Ricketts and his parents, which spiked when he ran for governor… Continue reading