Category Archives: campaign finance

“Dems’ dark-money bid aimed to paint Josh Hawley as an anti-gun lefty”

June 2, 2021, 2:34 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Axios: A dark-money group aligned with Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer helped pay for deceptive ads aimed at depressing Republican general election turnout in 2018, newly released records show.Why it matters: These contests were decided more than two years ago,… Continue reading

FEC Fines AMI, Owner of National Enquirer, $187,500 For Violating Campaign Finance Laws by Making $150,000 Payment to Karen McDougal to Keep Her Affair with Trump Quiet to Help 2016 Trump Campaign

June 1, 2021, 11:57 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

AMI had already admitted the criminal conduct in the matter, and now settled the fine after a Common Cause complaint. The FEC split on going after others, but we will await the release of more paperwork. Details.

“FEC Complaint Filed Against Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene for Illegal ‘Soft Money’ Solicitation for Super PAC”

May 24, 2021, 9:17 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Release: Today, Common Cause filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) violated the ‘soft money’ ban in the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) by soliciting unlimited contributions for a super… Continue reading

“Trump, Pelosi, and other fundraising juggernauts just got put on notice by the feds that they could be breaking the law with their spammy ‘5x match’ fundraising gimmicks”

May 20, 2021, 10:07 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Dave Levinthal for Business Insider: But this wildly popular — and demonstrably bogus — fundraising gimmick could soon be dead. That’s because the Department of Justice on Monday indicated that fraudulent “match” solicitations were one of several misdeeds that factored… Continue reading

“F.E.C. Drops Case Reviewing Trump Hush-Money Payments to Women”

May 7, 2021, 6:43 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

NYT: The Federal Election Commission said on Thursday that it had formally dropped a case looking into whether former President Donald J. Trump violated election law with a payment of $130,000 shortly before the 2016 election to a pornographic-film actress… Continue reading

“F.E.C. Asks Congress to Ban Prechecked Recurring Donation Boxes”

May 6, 2021, 10:29 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

NYT: The Federal Election Commission voted unanimously on Thursday to recommend that Congress ban political campaigns from guiding donors by default into recurring contributions through prechecked boxes, a month after a New York Times investigation showed that former President Donald… Continue reading

“Does Public Campaign Funding Crowd Out Private Donation Activity? Evidence from Seattle’s Democracy Voucher Program”

May 4, 2021, 1:52 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

New analysis from Alan Griffith and Thomas Noonen. Abstract: During each election cycle, the city of Seattle distributes four $25 vouchers to every registered voter, which may be donated to and redeemed by campaigns for city office. Through a difference-in-differences… Continue reading

FEC Republican Commissioners Pave Way for More Foreign Corporate Influence in U.S. Campaigns

May 4, 2021, 7:04 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Free Speech for People: The Federal Election Commission divided 3-3 on Free Speech For People’s 2017 complaint against the oil company Citgo, its Venezuelan state-owned parent company, and President Trump’s 2017 inaugural committee. The FEC’s general counsel agreed with Free… Continue reading

California: “Facebook, Google, other corporate giants flooded Newsom with record $226 million in charity donations in 2020”

April 28, 2021, 7:21 amcampaign finance, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

LA Times: Facebook, Google and Blue Shield of California are among the companies that contributed $226 million to government causes on Gov. Gavin Newsom’s behalf last year, an unprecedented level of spending that is raising alarms about the influence large… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Wary of Donor Disclosure Requirement for Charities”

April 27, 2021, 7:06 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: The Supreme Court on Monday seemed skeptical of California’s demand that charities soliciting contributions in the state report the identities of their major donors.A majority of the justices appeared to agree that at least the… Continue reading

Thoughts on Today’s Oral Argument in the AFP v. Bonta Case in the U.S. Supreme Court: California Will Lose, But the Question is How It Will Lose and What the Case Will Mean for Campaign Finance Disclosure

April 26, 2021, 8:54 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I just listened to the oral argument in this case (listen here). You can read my tweet thread. Here is my general takeway: California is likely to lose. It collected donor information for law enforcement purposes but allowed… Continue reading

“Trump is backing a new conservative group for donors aiming to compete with Democrats.”

April 26, 2021, 7:35 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Maggie Haberman for the NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump is backing a group whose officials say will aim to combat the sprawling Democratic donor network Democracy Alliance, the latest attempt by Mr. Trump to put his imprint and involvement… Continue reading

“The Supreme Court’s Looming Dark Money Decision”

April 25, 2021, 2:58 pmcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy on AFP.

“Corporate America boosts Biden’s inaugural committee”

April 21, 2021, 6:49 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: Joe Biden campaigned on raising taxes on companies and the wealthy. It didn’t dissuade some of America’s biggest companies and richest donors from helping to fund his inauguration.Many of them opened up their checkbooks for Biden’s inaugural committee, helping… Continue reading