Category Archives: campaign finance

“Behind Trump Indictment, the Right Wing Finds a Familiar Villain in Soros”

April 4, 2023, 7:54 amcampaign financeJustin Levitt

The NYT traces the claims that Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg is “Soros-backed.” Though you have to get through more than half of the piece before you actually find the connection: Mr. Soros’s involvement with Mr. Bragg’s election is indirect. In… Continue reading

Democratic, Republican fundraising for election litigation tops $154 million in 2021-22 cycle, 30% increase over 2020 presidential cycle

April 3, 2023, 1:28 pmcampaign financeDerek Muller

I’ve chronicled how the 2015 “Cromnibus” bill appears to have contributed to a sharp increase in spending on election litigation. The bill allowed additional contributions to “election recounts and contests and other legal proceedings,” above and beyond individual candidate campaign… Continue reading

“Rare ‘corpse flower’ to stink up NYC for first time in years”

April 3, 2023, 11:02 amcampaign finance, chicaneryJustin Levitt

The Amorphophallus Titanum – the one with the flower that smells like rotting meat – is apparently set to display its 24-hour blossom in NYC this week. Pundits, just when you thought you were running thin on metaphoric ledes for… Continue reading

“In Trump case, experts see echoes of failed case against Sen. John Edwards”

April 3, 2023, 11:02 amcampaign finance, chicaneryJustin Levitt

Context from the WaPo. More context: keep in mind that nobody other than the grand jury and the DA’s office has actually seen the charges in the Trump case yet.

Citizens United + Trump payoff = clickbait

April 3, 2023, 11:01 amcampaign finance, chicaneryJustin Levitt

In my first academic article, I noted that the Citizens United case seemed to have taken on the perceived sins of a whole line of campaign finance jurisprudence — and more broadly, democratic discontent. That is, it sometimes seemed… Continue reading

“Mega donors fuel record-shattering $45M Wisconsin Supreme Court race”

April 3, 2023, 11:00 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsJustin Levitt

There’s no shortage of stories today about the money blitz for Tuesday’s state supreme court election. Wisconsin Watch has the following graph:

Shareholder resolutions on disclosure of lobbying and political activity

April 3, 2023, 10:53 amcampaign finance, lobbyingJustin Levitt

Lindsey Stewart at Morningstar has this post at the HLS Forum on Corporate Governance, linking to this full report. Both have some intriguing data on the way that the different mega-asset managers have been voting recently on shareholder resolutions… Continue reading

“Nonprofits, campaign finance and more blows to democracy”

March 31, 2023, 7:45 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Lucy Bernholz blogs, responding to my draft paper, Nonprofit Law as the Tool to Kill What Remains of Campaign Finance Law: Reluctant Lessons from Ellen Aprill: In a nutshell, Professor Hasen uses Professor Aprill’s work to show the… Continue reading

Breaking: NYT Reports Grand Jury Votes to Indict Donald Trump for a Felony Related to “Hush Money” Payments; No Information Yet on Whether There is an Attempt to Bootstrap a Federal Campaign Finance Charge (Which May Not Work)

March 30, 2023, 2:36 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Breaking NYT: A Manhattan grand jury voted to indict Donald J. Trump on Thursday for his role in paying hush money to a porn star, according to four people with knowledge of the matter, a historic development that will… Continue reading

“Group that fought ‘dark money’ ballot measure files lawsuit to block Arizona voter-approved law”

March 18, 2023, 7:06 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Arizona Republic: A new state law that requires disclosure of major anonymous campaign contributors is facing another legal challenge. The lawsuit, filed Friday in federal court, comes as the voter-approved Proposition 211 was already challenged in Arizona courts. Americans for… Continue reading

“In Wisconsin, Liberals Barrage Conservative Court Candidate With Attack Ads”

March 15, 2023, 7:38 amcampaign finance, judicial electionsRick Hasen

NYT: As conservatives in Wisconsin seek to maintain control of the State Supreme Court in an all-important election for a crucial swing seat, they would appear to be fighting uphill. The conservative candidate, Daniel Kelly, is trailing in limited private… Continue reading

Ninth Circuit rejects preliminary injunction request for San Francisco’s “secondary-contributory” disclaimers for political groups

March 8, 2023, 9:29 amcampaign financeDerek Muller

Judge Graber, joined by Judges Gould and Watford, in No on E, San Franciscans Opposing the Affordable Housing Production Act v. Chiu, in a Ninth Circuit opinion released today (highlights with some revisions below–there’s lots more in the opinion but… Continue reading

Did Rupert Murdoch Make an Illegal In-Kind Campaign Contribution to the Trump Campaign by Sharing Biden’s Campaign Ads in Advance?

February 28, 2023, 7:46 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

The latest filing in the Dominion lawsuit against Fox News alleges that “During Trump’s campaign, Rupert provided Trump’s son-in-law and senior advisor, Jared Kushner, with Fox confidential information about Biden’s ads, along with debate strategy. [Citation]; Ex. 603 (providing Kushner… Continue reading

“PACs poised to supercharge California Senate campaign”

February 28, 2023, 7:00 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: Democrats are rushing in to replace California Sen. Dianne Feinstein — and so are the Super PACs. The once-in-a-generation contest for a California Senate seat could unleash a tsunami of outside spending as independent expenditure committees with unlimited fundraising powers work… Continue reading