Category Archives: campaign finance
“How Russian Facebook Ads Divided and Targeted U.S. Voters Before the 2016 Election”
Wired:
WHEN YOUNG MIE Kim began studying political ads on Facebook in August of 2016—while Hillary Clinton was still leading the polls— few people had ever heard of the Russian propaganda group, Internet Research Agency. Not even Facebook itself… Continue reading
Without Noted Dissent, Supreme Court Declines to Hear Blaogojevich Appeal
Here is the order list. I had thought the case presented a meaty issue, but this may have not been the right vehicle to address it. (He tried to raise a similar issue a few years ago.)
“Rokita Locked Out Of GOP Database For Accessing Donor Info”
AP:
Senate candidate Todd Rokita likely violated ethics laws as Indiana’s secretary of state by repeatedly accessing a Republican donor database from his government office, prompting party officials to lock him out of the system until he angrily complained, three… Continue reading
“Billionaire vs. Billionaire: A Tug of War Between 2 Rogue Donors”
NYT:
Two rogue billionaires — one on the left, one on the right — have emerged as the biggest political spenders of the 2018 elections, defying their own parties and pouring millions of dollars into confrontational campaign tactics.
Tom Steyer,… Continue reading
“Koch Flagship Dark Money Organization Received $48.7 Million Gift During Election Year”
MapLight:
A single donation accounted for more than three-quarters of the $63.7 million donated to the Koch brothers’ flagship political organization in 2016, according to tax records obtained by MapLight.
The $48.7 million gift to Americans for Prosperity (AFP), the… Continue reading
“Why Special Counsel Mueller Might Be Interested In Trump’s ‘Access Hollywood’ Tape”
“Supreme Court May Soon Decide When Campaign Check Becomes Bribe”
Bloomberg BNA:
Rod Blagojevich’s lawyers want the Supreme Court to tackle that question when the justices hold their weekly conference Friday. The court could reveal as soon as next week whether it will take the case.
Blagojevich’s former colleagues in… Continue reading
“Was Facebook’s Work With the Trump Campaign Illegal?”
“Stormy Weather for Campaign-Finance Laws”
Brad Smith WSJ oped, with the subhead: “Hush money looks like a personal expense. Treating it as a political one would create a bad precedent.”
“Trump lawyer’s payment to Stormy Daniels ‘illegal’ under these conditions: expert”
“Facebook Fallout Deals Blow to Mercers’ Political Clout”
NYT:
Last month, a friend of the wealthy conservative donor Rebekah Mercer arrived at Facebook’s Silicon Valley headquarters. His task: Find out what — if anything — could repair relations between Facebook, the world’s biggest social media company, and Cambridge… Continue reading
“Federal complaint alleges Rick Scott’s PAC illegally skirted fundraising restrictions”
Tampa Bay Times:
Less than 24 hours after Rick Scott announced his candidacy for U.S. Senate, he faces a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing him of breaking election laws by raising and spending unlimited campaign donations to prepare for his… Continue reading
“Trump attorney Cohen is being investigated for possible bank fraud, campaign finance violations”
WaPo:
Michael Cohen, the longtime attorney of President Trump, is under federal investigation for possible bank fraud, wire fraud and campaign finance violations, according to three people with knowledge of the case.
FBI agents on Monday raided Cohen’s Manhattan office,… Continue reading