Category Archives: campaign finance
“‘I have, in fact, done the crime’: Rep. Ami Bera’s father admits illegal campaign contributions”
LAT:
Prosecutors said there were more than 130 instances of improper campaign contributions reported from approximately 90 people. Bera’s father repaid at least portions of those donations, and investigators said that it’s possible even more money was donated illegally… Continue reading
Forces That Put Justice Benjamin on W Va Supreme Court (Think Caperton) Turn Around and Oust Him
Read Pema Levy. Then see these results.
“How Congress members opened door to bigger checks for their parties”
McClatchy:
But hold on. If you’re a donor, don’t put away your checkbook just yet.
The Democratic and Republican national committees each have separate Senate and House campaign committees to help elect members of Congress. Each has a general… Continue reading
“This Dark Money Group Spent Big On A Montana Judicial Race. Now We Know Why.”
Paul Blumenthal for HuffPo:
This was certainly the case in Sheehy’s 2012 race, although the public didn’t know it at the time.
The Montana Growth Network was launched that year by Jason Priest and Ed Walker, then both Republican state… Continue reading
“Donald Trump, in Switch, Turns to Republican Party for Fund-Raising Help”
NYT:
Donald J. Trump took steps to appropriate much of the Republican National Committee’s financial and political infrastructure for his presidential campaign on Monday, amid signs that he and the party would lag dangerously behind the Democrats in… Continue reading
“Why Dark Money Is Bad Business”
Kathleen Donovan-Maher and Steven Groopman have written this NYT oped.
“Trump Takes the Money; Don’t buy that Donald Trump is a campaign finance reformer”
David Donnelly for US News.
“FEC Seeks to Derail Soft-Money Challenge”
Bloomberg BNA:
The Federal Election Commission is seeking to derail a challenge to limits on “soft-money” contributions to political parties before the case is put on a fast track to the Supreme Court (Republican Party of La. v. Federal … Continue reading
“Trump aides huddle with RNC to plot big-money strategy”
Politico:
Donald Trump’s campaign is hashing out the details of an agreement with Republican Party leaders that could allow the presumptive GOP presidential nominee to raise six-figure checks for his presidential campaign, multiple sources with direct knowledge of the… Continue reading
Quote of the Day: Dysfunctional FEC Edition
“He was consequential like a sledgehammer was consequential…he did his best to undermine the law.”
—FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub on Don McGahn, former FEC Commissioner and currently Donald Trump’s election lawyer.
“The Supreme Court’s Next Big Fight Over Money in Politics: Will the justices gut the rest of McCain-Feingold — and make it easier for wealthy donors to influence elections?”
I have written this piece for The Atlantic. It begins:
At some point next year, the U.S. Supreme Court is likely to face a major First Amendment question: whether to overturn what remains of the 2002 McCain-Feingold Act. This measure… Continue reading
“Women’s Rising Influence in Politics, Tinted Green”
Nick Confessore:
Women are bankrolling political campaigns this year more than ever, driven by their rising rank in the workplace, boosts in women’s wealth, and networks set up to gather their donations and bolster their influence.
In an election… Continue reading
“Dark money group leads last-minute effort to speed up campaign finance changes”
Tucson Sentinel:
Arizona is already poised to relax rules regarding so-called “dark money” groups starting next year, but a last-minute amendment from the state Senate could make the changes go into effect in less than a month.
The proposal… Continue reading