Category Archives: campaign finance
Is WaPo Fact Checker Right to Give 4 Pinocchios to Trump’s Claim That Hush Money Payments to Former Mistresses Were Not a Campaign Finance Crime? I Would Give None.
Here’s how the WaPo fact check ends:
Trump says he never ordered Cohen to break the law and silence Daniels and McDougal. But when he says such payoffs are not criminal to begin with, his defense goes off the rails.… Continue reading
“Roger Stone’s Indictment Could Be Good News for Donald Trump Jr.”
I have written this piece for Slate. It begins:
Why didn’t Special Counsel Robert Mueller charge self-proclaimed dirty trickster Roger Stone with violating campaign finance laws? And what does this say about Donald Trump Jr.’s potential exposure for his Trump… Continue reading
“A look at the impact of Citizens United on its 9th anniversary”
“Exclusive: GOP reaches landmark agreement to juice small-dollar fundraising”
Politico:
President Donald Trump’s political team and top Republican officials have reached a landmark agreement to reshape the party’s fundraising apparatus and close the financial gap that devastated them in the midterms.
With the deal, Republicans hope to create a… Continue reading
“Cohen Hired IT Firm to Rig Early CNBC, Drudge Polls to Favor Trump”
Latest WSJ bombshell:
In early 2015, a man who runs a small technology company showed up at Trump Tower to collect $50,000 for having helped Michael Cohen, then Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, try to rig online polls in his boss’s… Continue reading
NY: “State Street: Albany Lawmakers Eye Campaign Finance Reform, but Activists Want More”
WSJ:
Reformers are rejoicing that Democratic leaders of the State Assembly and Senate are set to approve a passel of bills to increase voter participation and tighten campaign-finance laws. But there’s still a push to go further on some… Continue reading
“GE Opens Its Books on Political Spending”
Agenda:
On Tuesday, General Electric announced it would become more transparent — starting this month — by disclosing any contributions it makes to so-called social welfare organizations. That’s a category of nonprofit groups that often sponsors campaign outreach and political… Continue reading
“Documents Show NRA and Republican Candidates Coordinated Ads in Key Senate Races”
Mother Jones:
The National Rifle Association appears to have illegally coordinated its political advertising with Republican candidates in at least three recent high-profile US Senate races, according to Federal Communications Commission records. In Senate races in Missouri and Montana in… Continue reading
“Trump’s Whataboutism on Campaign Finance”
“New ‘Testing the Waters’ Report Examines How Presidential Candidates Ignore Campaign Finance Laws & Regulators Let Them”
Release:
Today, Common Cause released a new report on the many ways presidential candidates bend and break campaign finance laws as they barnstorm early primary states, fundraise, evade contributions limits, and build their campaign teams while denying they are… Continue reading
“Doug Jones Seeks Inquiry Into Misinformation Efforts in Alabama Senate Race”
NYT:
Senator Doug Jones, the Democrat who was an unwitting beneficiary of misinformation tactics during a special election in Alabama in 2017, asked the Federal Election Commission on Wednesday to investigate the episodes.
Mr. Jones made his formal request for… Continue reading
“How a little-known Democratic firm cashed in on the wave of midterm money”
WaPo:
The solicitations piled into voters’ email accounts — sometimes multiple times a day. And they carried alarming messages, often in blaring capital letters.
“We’re on the verge of BANKRUPTCY.”
“Our bank account is ALMOST EMPTY!”
“Trump is INCHES away… Continue reading
“How to Fix America’s Broken Political System”
Norm Eisen and Fred Wertheimer in Politico:
Much attention has focused on H.R. 1, the comprehensive package of democracy reforms introduced on Thursday by Representative John Sarbanes (D-Md.) on behalf of the new Democratic House majority. The unprecedented legislation… Continue reading