Category Archives: campaign finance
“Hidden Super-PAC Contributors Win Round as Court Upholds Secrecy”
Bloomberg BNA:
A federal court upheld the Federal Election Commission’s dismissal of disclosure charges involving two wealthy contributors who allegedly funneled $14 million to super-political action committees through obscure companies.
The FEC’s three Republican commissioners, who voted to dismiss the… Continue reading
“Trump learns to love megadonors”
“Missouri House drops effort to get documents from Greitens’ secretive nonprofit”
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”
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
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”
David Dayen for The Intercept.
“Missouri’s dark money scandal, explained”
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy for Salon.
“Trump says he will pardon Dinesh D’Souza, an Obama critic who violated campaign limits”
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”
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?”
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”
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”
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”
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