Category Archives: campaign finance

“Missouri House drops effort to get documents from Greitens’ secretive nonprofit”

June 7, 2018, 8:04 amcampaign finance, chicanery, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

KC Star: The Missouri House has dropped its effort to enforce a subpoena demanding documents from former Gov. Eric Greitens’ secretive dark money nonprofit. Lawmakers had asked Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem to force Greitens’ nonprofit, called A… Continue reading

“Washington state sues Facebook, Google over political ads”

June 6, 2018, 7:21 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

CBS: Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Monday sued Facebook (FB) and Google (GOOG), saying the companies failed to maintain information about political advertising as required by state law. Washington law requires the companies to maintain… Continue reading

Montana Governor to Sign Executive Order Requiring More Campaign Donor Transparency

June 5, 2018, 6:27 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Via email comes this news: Montana Governor Steve Bullock “sign an executive order that requires disclosure of dark money spending by corporations with large government contracts. President Obama proposed a similar order at the federal level a few years ago,… Continue reading

“In Three California House Races, Wealthy Democrats Have Spent $16 Million of Their Own Money So Far”

June 2, 2018, 9:18 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

David Dayen for The Intercept.

“Missouri’s dark money scandal, explained”

June 2, 2018, 9:16 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy for Salon.

“Trump says he will pardon Dinesh D’Souza, an Obama critic who violated campaign limits”

May 31, 2018, 8:57 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

USA Today: President Trump said Thursday he would pardon conservative commentator Dinesh D’Souza, convicted in 2014 of making illegal campaign contributions. “Will be giving a Full Pardon to Dinesh D’Souza today. He was treated very unfairly by our government!” Trump … Continue reading

“Trump to appear at fundraiser for allied super PAC”

May 30, 2018, 8:52 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: President Donald Trump is plunging into the big-donor game, planning an appearance at a six-figure-a-head fundraiser benefiting his allied super PAC. Trump is expected to address America First Action’s leadership summit, according to the super PAC’s president, Brian Walsh.… Continue reading

“What Happened to Jill Stein’s Recount Millions?”

May 30, 2018, 7:35 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Daily Beast: But the opacity surrounding the expenditure of money—combined with the fact that a good chunk of the spending has come after all efforts to recount the vote were terminated—has fed criticism that Stein was more interested in boosting… Continue reading

Today’s Must Read: “Inside the Pro-Trump Effort to Keep Black Voters From the Polls”

May 29, 2018, 6:46 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Breitbart News landed an election scoop that went viral in August 2016: “Exclusive: ‘Black Men for Bernie’ Founder to End Democrat ‘Political Slavery’ of Minority Voters… by Campaigning for Trump.” If the splashy, counterintuitive story, which circulated on such… Continue reading

“Campaign-Finance Reform Can Save the GOP”

May 28, 2018, 9:27 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Reihan Salam for the Atlantic: How might we address this bias? Take the “Seattle idea,” which draws heavily on the scholarly work of the liberal legal academics Bruce Ackerman and Ian Ayres. In 2015, Seattle voters approved a… Continue reading

“Dark money tactics used in West Virginia’s primary could spread as midterm season heats up”

May 28, 2018, 9:24 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

CNN: A pair of mysterious pop-up super PACs, one with Republican roots and another tied to Democrats, spent more than $3 million in hopes of swaying West Virginia’s GOP Senate primary while keeping their donor lists hidden from voters until… Continue reading

“FEC Deadlocks on Probing Pro-Rubio Super PAC Money”

May 26, 2018, 11:55 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission deadlocked over whether to investigate a $500,000 contribution to a super political action committee that backed Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) presidential bid. Watchdog groups contend the 2016 donation was illegally funneled through a limited… Continue reading

“Companies face many dark perils when it comes to political money”

May 25, 2018, 2:28 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bruce Freed and Karl Sandstrom oped in The Hill.

“Federal Election Commission Can’t Decide If Russian Interference Violated Law”

May 25, 2018, 7:49 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

NPR: As tech companies and government agencies prepare to defend against possible Russian interference in the midterm elections, the Federal Election Commission has a different response: too soon. The four commissioners on Thursday deadlocked, again, on proposals to consider new… Continue reading