Category Archives: campaign finance

“Arizona lawmakers favor anonymity in political spending”

March 30, 2018, 7:23 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Arizona Republic: Nine of 10 Tempe voters called for lifting the curtain on secretive money in city elections, but lawmakers this week passed a bill that would stop that. The measure now goes to the governor, who was a … Continue reading

NY: “Appeal to end ‘LLC loophole’ is rejected”

March 30, 2018, 7:15 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Albany Times-Union: In a four-to-one decision on Thursday, an appellate court in Albany upheld a lower court ruling dismissing a lawsuit to close the controversial “LLC loophole” that allows huge political giving in New York elections. In the majority opinion,… Continue reading

“NRA Says It Receives Foreign Funds, But None Goes To Election Work”

March 27, 2018, 8:44 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NPR: The National Rifle Association acknowledged that it accepts foreign donations but says it does not use them for election work — even as federal investigators look into the role the NRA might have played in Russia’s attack on the… Continue reading

“DOJ & FEC Complaints Filed Against Cambridge Analytica for Violating Prohibition on Election-Related Activities by Foreign Nationals in Work for Trump, Others”

March 26, 2018, 8:10 amcampaign finance, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

Common Cause release.

“Former Cambridge Analytica workers say firm sent foreigners to advise U.S. campaigns”

March 26, 2018, 7:36 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Cambridge Analytica assigned dozens of non-U.S. citizens to provide campaign strategy and messaging advice to Republican candidates in 2014, according to three former workers for the data firm, even as an attorney warned executives to abide by U.S. laws… Continue reading

“Fund-Raiser Held Out Access to Trump as a Prize for Prospective Clients”

March 26, 2018, 7:25 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: For Elliott Broidy, Donald J. Trump’s presidential campaign represented an unparalleled political and business opportunity. An investor and defense contractor, Mr. Broidy became a top fund-raiser for Mr. Trump’s campaign when most elite Republican donors were keeping their distance,… Continue reading

“In Spite of Executive Order, Cuomo Takes Campaign Money From State Appointees”

March 26, 2018, 7:06 amcampaign finance, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

NYT: That type of arrangement — appointments go out, campaign cash comes back in — has vexed government reformers in Albany for generations. Things were supposed to change in 2007, when Eliot L. Spitzer, then the newly elected governor, issued… Continue reading

“Another Effort To Get Rid Of The ‘Johnson Amendment’ Fails”

March 23, 2018, 8:44 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NPR: A provision in the U.S tax code that bars churches and charities from engaging in political campaigns remains intact, more than a year after President Trump pledged to “get rid of and totally destroy” it. Under the Johnson Amendment,… Continue reading

“Small Donors in Congressional Elections”

March 23, 2018, 8:42 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Tyler Culberson, Michael McDonald, and Suzanne Robbins have written this article for American Politics Research. Here is the abstract: Candidates raise substantial sums of money to compete in federal elections. Scholars and election observers are concerned by potential corruption related… Continue reading

“Hush Money May Prove Trump’s Biggest Campaign-Finance Problem”

March 22, 2018, 9:27 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Eliza Newlin Carney for TAP.

“Controversy Swirls as Lawmakers Eye Campaign Finance Changes”

March 21, 2018, 8:33 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Kate Ackley for Roll Call: Lawmakers continue to debate major changes to political money regulations as part of a year-end spending package, despite opposition from numerous congressional Democrats and campaign finance watchdog groups. Even with congressional primaries already underway, the… Continue reading

“FEC Wrong to Drop Nondisclosure Case, Judge Rules”

March 21, 2018, 7:51 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission should have pursued enforcement action against the American Action Network, a conservative nonprofit, for failing to disclose funding sources for millions of dollars in television ads supporting Republican congressional candidates, a federal judge ruled… Continue reading

“Philadelphia-Area Political Consultant Charged in Superseding Indictment With Obstructing Investigation of Federal Election Commission”

March 20, 2018, 2:54 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

DOJ Release: A federal grand jury sitting in the Eastern District of Pennsylvania returned a superseding indictment today adding charges in a pending criminal case against a Philadelphia-area political consultant, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General John P. Cronan of the… Continue reading

“FEC Unlikely To Launch NRA-Russia Probe”

March 20, 2018, 7:13 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

TPM: News broke late last week that the Federal Election Commission had opened a preliminary inquiry into whether Russians illegally channeled money to the National Rifle Association to support Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign. But the FEC’s move, which came… Continue reading