Category Archives: campaign finance

“10 super-rich people dominate giving to super PACs active in midterm elections for Congress”

February 26, 2018, 7:27 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

USA Today: Donations from 10 super-rich individuals account for more than 20% of the money filling the bank accounts of federal super PACs, a USA TODAY analysis shows, highlighting how a small group of wealthy patrons is racing to influence… Continue reading

“The True Source of the N.R.A.’s Clout: Mobilization, Not Donations”

February 25, 2018, 9:47 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: To many of its opponents, that decades-long string of victories is proof that the N.R.A. has bought its political support. But the numbers tell a more complicated story: The organization’s political action committee over the last decade has not … Continue reading

NC: “New progressive groups target legislative races, test state campaign finance laws”

February 25, 2018, 9:16 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

WRAL: FLIP NC looks like a professional political operation. It’s got slick graphics, a website and deep analysis of state legislative districts, which organizers are using to target areas where Republicans may be vulnerable and Democrats can chip away this… Continue reading

“Trump’s former bodyguard makes $15,000 a month from a GOP ‘slush fund'”

February 21, 2018, 12:54 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

CNBC: When President Donald Trump‘s longtime bodyguard Keith Schiller decided to leave his White House job last fall, many in the West Wing wondered how the president would manage without his personal security chief-turned-confidant, who had been working for… Continue reading

“Wealthy donors ramp up political giving for 2018 midterms”

February 21, 2018, 8:21 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

“Transparency and Corruption: A General Analysis”

February 21, 2018, 8:06 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Michael Gilbert has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, University of Chicago Legal Forum). Here is the abstract: This essay makes two claims: transparency in government causes the very corruption it aims to prevent, and the problem is universal. Some… Continue reading

Arizona: “Court denies regulator’s request to look at utility’s campaign spending”

February 20, 2018, 1:13 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Arizona Capitol Times reports.

“DOJ & FEC Complaints Filed Against President Trump, His Campaign & American Media Inc. for Illegal, Unreported $150K Coordinated Expenditure to Former Playboy Playmate”

February 20, 2018, 1:06 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Release: Today, Common Cause filed complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging reason to believe that American Media, Inc.’s August 2016 payment of $150,000 to former Playboy Playmate Karen McDougal, to buy and… Continue reading

“How Democrats use ‘dark money’ — and win elections”

February 20, 2018, 7:43 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

CPI: Democrats love decrying “dark money” — political contributions for which the source of funds is a mystery. But that isn’t stopping them from accepting “dark money” themselves or making it difficult to determine the original underwriter of… Continue reading

“The Supreme Court, Judicial Elections, and Dark Money”

February 19, 2018, 10:54 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

Richard Briffault has posted this draft on SSRN (forthcoming, DePaul Law Review). Here is the abstract: In its cases dealing with judicial elections, the Court has cycled back and forth over whether to treat judges as representatives of the voters,… Continue reading

“Campaign Finance and Freedom of Speech – A Transatlantic Perspective”

February 18, 2018, 4:05 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

Mathias Hong has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: If freedom of speech protects a marketplace of ideas – what is its proper currency? Is it only the force of the arguments brought forth – or is… Continue reading

Mueller’s Indictment Shows the Way for Russians to Legally Try to Influence Our Elections Next Time

February 17, 2018, 1:55 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: The Mueller indictment of 13 Russian nationals for interfering with the 2016 U.S. presidential election offers a remarkably detailed account of a complex plot to sow discord and influence the presidential… Continue reading

“Trump’s Inaugural Committee Paid $26 Million to Firm of First Lady’s Adviser”

February 16, 2018, 7:51 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT reports.

“Citizens United Loses Free Speech Appeal Over New York Donor Rules”

February 16, 2018, 7:41 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Reuters: A federal appeals court on Thursday threw out a constitutional challenge by the conservative group Citizens United to New York state’s requirement that registered charities disclose their donors annually. The 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan rejected… Continue reading