Category Archives: campaign finance

“Watchdog Allowed to Sue on Donor Disclosure After FEC Won’t Act”

October 1, 2019, 6:31 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Bloomberg: A federal judge eased the way for watchdog groups to bypass a gridlocked Federal Election Commission in a decision allowing a lawsuit seeking to unmask secret donors to a major Republican campaign spending organization.Federal District Judge Christopher Cooper said… Continue reading

FEC Commissioner Hunter Responds to FEC Chair Weintraub’s Attempt to Put Foreign Interference Draft in FEC Digest, Confirms FEC Foreign Contribution Ban (Without Opinion on Whether Opposition Research is a Thing of Value)

October 1, 2019, 5:50 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Statement: Late last week, my colleague, Ellen Weintraub, unilaterally and without advance notice, made public a draft interpretative rule regarding the Act’s foreign national ban and placed it on the agenda for the open meeting of October 17, 2019. Approval… Continue reading

FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub Releases Draft Letter Setting Forth Her View of FEC Law that Candidates Soliciting Opposition Research Not at Market Rates Violate the Federal Law

September 26, 2019, 7:54 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

This cannot be acted on by an FEC without a quorum, and surely this would divide the commission along party lines, but Ellen Weintraub’s analysis seems solid.

“Congress Has Used Campaign Finance for Impeachment Before: Here’s How To Do It Now”

September 26, 2019, 12:22 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy analysis.

“Justice Dept. rejected investigation of Trump phone call just weeks after it began examining the matter”

September 25, 2019, 5:22 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

I’m quoted in this WaPo piece: Justice Department officials took less than a month to abandon an inquiry into President Trump’s communications with his Ukrainian counterpart about investigating former vice president Joe Biden — reigniting concerns among Democrats and legal… Continue reading

“The FEC Is Paralyzed. It Couldn’t Come At A Worse Time.”

September 24, 2019, 7:32 amcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy for TPM Cafe.

“As Trump Confirms He Discussed Biden With Ukraine, Pressure to Impeach Builds”

September 23, 2019, 8:31 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump acknowledged on Sunday that he raised corruption accusations against former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr. during a phone call with Ukraine’s leader, a stunning admission as pressure mounted on Democrats to impeach Mr. Trump over allegations… Continue reading

“Trump’s Ukraine Gambit Could Be Another Campaign Finance Crime; Unfortunately, Robert Mueller may have given the president the green light to solicit foreign interference again”

September 22, 2019, 2:53 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: President Donald Trump may well have committed a new campaign finance crime if he, as reported, pressured Ukraine into providing dirt on a political rival, former Vice President Joe Biden, and… Continue reading

“Koch-Linked Nonprofit Must Disclose Donors, Settlement Mandates”

September 20, 2019, 3:16 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg: A nonprofit linked to the conservative Koch organization that spent more than $20 million to elect Republican congressional candidates must disclose its donors, according to a settlement with the Federal Election Commission.The now-defunct Americans for Job Security (AJS), said … Continue reading

“Tech takes over political fundraising”

September 20, 2019, 7:15 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Axios: Small-dollar political donations have exploded this campaign cycle, thanks in large part to technology that makes it possible for candidates to target potential donors with cheap ads and easy-to-use online donation platforms.Why it matters: A surge in fundraising… Continue reading

“Political Fundraiser Pleads Guilty To Fraud”

September 19, 2019, 7:19 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

ProPublica: In one of the first Justice Department cases of its kind, Maryland political consultant Kelley Rogers pleaded guilty to wire fraud on Tuesday for operating multiple fraudulent political action committees that raised money from donors for conservative causes… Continue reading

“Democracy vouchers are supposed to be an answer, but big money is swamping Seattle’s elections”

September 18, 2019, 9:12 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Seattle Times: What Yang’s talking about was Initiative 122, which Seattle voters approved in 2015 as an experiment in public financing of elections. Through a property tax it gives every Seattle voter $100 worth of “democracy vouchers” to… Continue reading