Category Archives: campaign finance

CLC/Axios Report “Can I Count on You?”

May 6, 2019, 8:37 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Axios: A political organization run by David Bossie, President Trump’s former deputy campaign manager, has raised millions of dollars by saying it’s supporting Trump-aligned conservative candidates — but has spent only a tiny fraction of that money supporting candidates.Instead,… Continue reading

“Desperate drive to make the debate stage shakes Dem campaigns”

May 6, 2019, 7:03 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Politico: Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand sank a ping-pong ball into a cup of water — a spin on the drinking game, beer pong — and turned the moment into a digital ad urging $1 donations to her presidential campaign. Washington… Continue reading

Lessig: “American democracy is broken. We must demand 2020 candidates commit to a fix”

May 6, 2019, 6:59 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

In The Guardian: [P]erhaps surprisingly, given that she is among the most successful political fundraisers in America today, Speaker Nancy Pelosi has set the only meaningful bar. HR1, the reform package that she passed in the House, was extraordinary… Continue reading

“California lawmakers again protect the loophole of unlimited political cash”

May 6, 2019, 6:20 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

LA Times, on a state senate committee’s rejection of a bill that would limit contributions to candidate-controlled ballot measure campaign committees.

“The Failures of the Mueller Report’s Campaign Finance Analysis”

May 5, 2019, 5:49 amcampaign financeDan Tokaji

Bob Bauer’s take on Just Security: “The Report treats the campaign finance issues almost cursorily—one could say, superficially— even to the point of failing to identify and address all the applicable law. The results are an unconvincing decision to decline… Continue reading

“Why wasn’t Donald Trump Jr. indicted? Look to Mueller’s ‘exercise of caution’”

May 2, 2019, 8:45 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bob Egelko for the SF Chronicle.

“FEC Dysfunction Now Threatens Democracy”

May 2, 2019, 7:56 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

TAP: Of all the Federal Election Commission’s many chronic breakdowns in recent years, its failure to take the slightest action to either stave off or respond to Russian meddling in the 2016 election is the most damaging to American… Continue reading

“A Lawsuit About Trump and the NRA Could Upend How the Government Polices Campaign Finance”

May 1, 2019, 9:09 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Mother Jones: A gun safety group, Giffords, and a campaign finance watchdog, the Campaign Legal Center, are suing the Federal Election Commission for failing to act on multiple complaints alleging that the National Rifle Association unlawfully coordinated with Donald Trump… Continue reading

Gillibrand Endorses Campaign Finance Vouchers

May 1, 2019, 7:34 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

My former law school classmate and presidential candidate Kirsten Gillibrand has endorsed the concept of campaign finance vouchers. I wonder if she ever read my 1996 California Law Review article laying out the argument for them.

“Mueller Report Opens Door for Civil Enforcement by FEC”

April 30, 2019, 9:46 amcampaign finance, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Release: Today, Common Cause, the Campaign Legal Center, and Democracy 21 filed a supplementto a complaint filed in July 2017 against President Donald Trump’s 2016 presidential campaign committee for soliciting contributions from foreign nationals in the form of… Continue reading

“New Findings: FEC Stonewalling Candidates, Parties, Seeking Guidance About Super PACs, Other Substantive Issues”

April 30, 2019, 7:17 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Release: New data and analysis from the Brennan Center show that the deadlocked Federal Election Commission has failed to provide guidance to candidates, parties, and others seeking to understand their legal obligations; update regulations to reflect changes in the… Continue reading

“Democrats in N.Y. Find Unexpected Foe in Campaign Finance Overhaul”

April 29, 2019, 9:03 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: As New York’s progressive lawmakers fought a deadline last month to persuade the State Legislature to reduce the influence of money in politics, they hit an unexpected roadblock.It was not opposition put up by billionaires or big corporations,… Continue reading

“The Trump Campaign Conspired With the Russians. Mueller Proved It.”

April 25, 2019, 4:34 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Jed Shugerman NYT oped: Even without knowing what is redacted, the report offers “substantial and credible information” of the Trump campaign conspiring or coordinating with the Russian government. Under federal criminal law, “conspiracy” does not require direct proof… Continue reading

“The Cybersecurity 202: Cybersecurity proposal pits cyber pros against campaign finance hawks”

April 25, 2019, 7:29 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

WaPo: The Federal Election Commission could decide today whether nonpartisan groups can offer political campaigns free cybersecurity services, an issue that has made bedfellows of Republicans and Democrats but divided cyber pros and campaign finance hawks.The proposal’s authors, Hillary… Continue reading