Category Archives: campaign finance

“Trump Vows to Empower Political Pastors on Christian Nationalist Broadcast”

May 3, 2023, 4:04 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawJustin Levitt

Rolling Stone cites the former President’s plans on the Johnson Amendment: “We never enforced it. We essentially ended it. I wasn’t able to finish it. But I’ll finish it this time.” The Johnson Amendment prohibits 501(c)(3) nonprofits, contributions to which… Continue reading

“Pritzker Calls for Campaign Finance Reform After Spending $323m on Campaigns”

May 2, 2023, 4:02 pmcampaign finance, judicial electionsJustin Levitt

This piece from Illinois Policy points out, among other things, that Illinois law prohibits any “single person” from donating more than $500K to a single campaign … and that both Pritzker’s campaign committee and his revocable trust donated the… Continue reading

“Florida commission slaps down Trump PAC’s ethics complaint against DeSantis”

May 1, 2023, 7:37 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, ethics investigationsJustin Levitt

Fox notes the Florida Ethics Commission decision that MAGA Inc. hadn’t sufficiently alleged the violation of Florida law in DeSantis’s will-he-or-won’t-he activities.

“How Ron DeSantis Could Unlock $86 Million for a Presidential Run”

May 1, 2023, 7:35 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

The WSJ reviews potential efforts for DeSantis to transfer the reserves in his state campaign fund to a federal Super PAC supporting his not-quite-announced-just-yet presidential bid.

“Prosecutors in Jan. 6 Case Step up Inquiry Into Trump Fund-Raising”

April 29, 2023, 5:59 pmcampaign finance, chicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: As they investigate former President Donald J. Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election, federal prosecutors have also been drilling down on whether Mr. Trump and a range of political aides knew that he had lost the race but… Continue reading

“Looking Behind the Curtain: Corporate due diligence of political spending essential to protect companies from growing risks”

April 24, 2023, 7:21 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

CPA at the Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance.

“DeSantis group plans field program, showing the expanding role of super PACs”

April 19, 2023, 11:13 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

WaPo: Activists at 27 universities will soon begin meeting twice a month to organize their peers under the banner of Students for DeSantis. Office space supporting the Florida governor’s presidential ambitions will open in each of the early-voting states. And… Continue reading

“Nikki Haley’s fuzzy fundraising math”

April 17, 2023, 7:52 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: When Nikki Haley’s presidential campaign announced its first quarterly fundraising haul earlier this month, the figure sounded impressive. The former U.N. ambassador’s campaign said it had raised $11 million between her mid-February launch and the end of the quarter… Continue reading

“Quid Pro Crow”

April 15, 2023, 3:49 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern in Slate (with maybe the best pun in an article title I’ve ever seen): When news broke last week, by way of dogged reporting in ProPublica, that Justice Clarence Thomas had accepted decades’ worth… Continue reading

“Indictment turbocharges Trump’s fundraising”

April 15, 2023, 3:35 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: Former President Donald Trump’s 2024 fundraising has been turbocharged by his indictment, according to new figures provided by his campaign. Trump raised a combined $18.8 million in the first quarter through his joint fundraising committee and his campaign, the… Continue reading

“Special counsel focuses on Trump fundraising off false election claims”

April 12, 2023, 7:12 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Federal prosecutors probing the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol have in recent weeks sought a wide range of documents related to fundraising after the 2020 election, looking to determine if former president Donald Trump or… Continue reading

“Small Potatoes? Not at All”

April 11, 2023, 7:06 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Jerry Goldfeder: A hush-money payment is obviously not as significant as scheming to find 11,780 votes, conjuring up fake electors, or inciting a mob to storm the U.S. Capitol, but campaign finance laws are just as essential to the integrity… Continue reading

“Trump Ignores Deadline for Personal Financial Disclosure to F.E.C.”

April 10, 2023, 5:49 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump has a minor addition to his mounting pile of legal challenges after he failed to meet the deadline to disclose his personal financial holdings. But the threatened initial penalty — a meager $200 —… Continue reading

“Big money is flooding into the Philly mayor’s election. Here’s how it’s shaping the race.”

April 9, 2023, 3:01 pmcampaign financeJustin Levitt

The Philadelphia Inquirer with a compilation of the self-funding, SuperPAC spending, and big-dollar checks driving the race. One former city councilmember has cited the flood of big money as the reason for suspending her mayoral campaign.