Category Archives: campaign finance

“Cohen Hired IT Firm to Rig Early CNBC, Drudge Polls to Favor Trump”

January 17, 2019, 8:50 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

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”

January 13, 2019, 10:45 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

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”

January 12, 2019, 5:01 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

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”

January 11, 2019, 9:44 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

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”

January 11, 2019, 8:06 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs.

“New ‘Testing the Waters’ Report Examines How Presidential Candidates Ignore Campaign Finance Laws & Regulators Let Them”

January 10, 2019, 8:55 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

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”

January 10, 2019, 8:34 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

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”

January 8, 2019, 3:16 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

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”

January 7, 2019, 7:59 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

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

Wendy Button, John Edwards’ Former Speechwriter, Reflects on His Prosecution, and Similar Charges Involving Trump

January 7, 2019, 7:58 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Oped in USA Today.

“House Dems Seek SEC Rule on Political Giving Disclosure”

January 5, 2019, 10:59 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Securities and Exchange Commission could require publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending under one of the first bills the new House Democratic majority introduced Jan. 4.

Federal Court Blocks Maryland Law Aimed at Foreign Spending in Elections Requiring Online News Organizations, Including Plaintiff Washington Post, to Post and Collect Information on Spenders on State Political Advertising

January 4, 2019, 11:57 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

From today’s opinion granting a preliminary injunction in Washington Post v. McManus: In May 2018, as Americans were continuing to learn the details of a far-reaching Russian campaign to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential contest, the state of Maryland enacted… Continue reading

“Republicans Seek to Boost Small Donations, but a Fragmented System Stymies Them”

January 4, 2019, 9:56 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Last year at this time, Republicans feared the “blue wave,” a surge of voter enthusiasm for Democrats in the midterm elections. With the election over, and the fears of Republicans partially realized, the party’s worry has shifted to the… Continue reading

“What Do Donors Want? Heterogeneity by Party and Policy Domain (Research Note)”

January 4, 2019, 9:39 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

David Brookman and Neil Malhotra have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Influential theories indicate concern that campaign donors exert outsized political influence. However, little data documents what donors actually want from government; and existing research largely… Continue reading