Category Archives: campaign finance
Trump Tells FOX News Interviewer That He Learned of Later of Hush Money Payments, That Paying Out of the Campaign Would Be “a Little Dicey”
EXCLUSIVE: President @realDonaldTrump on if he knew about the Cohen payments. See more from his interview with @ainsleyearhardt tomorrow 6-9amET. pic.twitter.com/HPJPslOG6X
— FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 22, 2018
(via Jonathan Chiat)
“Michael Cohen Plea Agreement: Possible Meanings of the Campaign Finance Counts”
Bob Bauer at Lawfare:
Of course, in a case involving massive alleged financial and tax fraud, there is still the question of why prosecutors troubled themselves with campaign finance violations. The amounts spent represent a sliver of the total spent… Continue reading
“Campaign Finance Transparency Affects Legislators’ Election Outcomes and Behavior”
Abby Wood and Christian Grose have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract:
Do audits by executive agencies impact the behavior of those audited? Does revealing negative information about candidates affect electoral results and behavior? Institutions that encourage… Continue reading
“Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates Donald Trump in a Felony”
I have written this piece for Slate. It begins:
For the first time since the Trump presidency began, President Donald Trump is in some real legal jeopardy, providing potential grounds for his eventual impeachment, if not indictment.
Most people watching… Continue reading
California: “Walters: ‘Biggest rollback of campaign finance law’ weighed”
Dan Walters:
They clearly aspire to re-establish the centralized legislative leadership that had been eroded by term limits, and to do so, they want bigger roles in amassing and dispensing campaign funds to their favored legislators and candidates, ala Unruh… Continue reading
Michael Cohen May Be Indicted for Bank Fraud and Campaign Finance Violations by the End of the Month
NYT:
Federal authorities investigating whether President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud have zeroed in on well over $20 million in loans obtained by taxi businesses that he and his family own,… Continue reading
“‘Oh that’s cool — do that!’: Super PACs use new trick to hide donors”
Politico:
t wasn’t the first super PAC to pull that trick: The scheme is part of a sharp escalation in super PACs avoiding reporting requirements and keeping voters in the dark about their funding until after key elections. Two other… Continue reading
“The Chance of Michael Cohen Facing Criminal Campaign Finance Charges Just Went Up”
I have written this piece for Slate. A snippet:
The new Wall Street Journal report describes some apparent documentary evidence. According to the Journal, Daniels’ former lawyer Keith Davidson had approached Cohen in September 2016 about securing a payment from… Continue reading
Despite Enthusiasm for Women Candidates, Gender Gap on Campaign Cash
WaPo:
Even as a record number of women run for office this year, female congressional candidates overall are lagging behind their male counterparts when it comes to pulling in campaign cash, according to a Washington Post analysis of federal campaign… Continue reading
Supreme Court Requests Response in Austin Campaign Finance Limits Case
From an emailed press release:
This week, the Supreme Court of the United States issued an order requiring the City of Austin to respond to the request filed in July by Don Zimmerman, former District 6 Councilmember, seeking High Court… Continue reading
Google: “Introducing a new transparency report for political ads”
Blog post:
We first launched our Transparency Report in 2010 with the goal of fostering important conversations about the relationship between governments, companies, and the free flow of information on the internet.
Over the years, we’ve evolved the report, adding… Continue reading
“Nate McMurray doesn’t like ‘giant super PACs.’ But will they be his unlikely salvation?”
CPI:
Then, on Wednesday, everything changed.
That was the day the feds arrested Collins and charged him with securities fraud, wire fraud and making false statements to the FBI. McMurray’s phone blew up — with new friends, congressmen, aides to… Continue reading
“For Voters Sick of Money in Politics, a New Pitch: No PAC Money Accepted”
NYT:
Campaign finance was once famously dismissed by Mitch McConnell, the Senate majority leader, as being of no greater concern to American voters than “static cling.” But since the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in 2010 opened the floodgates for… Continue reading