Category Archives: tax law and election law

“How a ‘shadow’ universe of charities joined with political warriors to fuel Trump’s rise”

June 4, 2017, 3:17 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Must-read WaPo: Long before Trump promised to build a wall, ban Muslims and abandon the Paris climate accord, Horowitz used his tax-exempt group to rail against illegal immigrants, the spread of Islam and global warming. Center officials described Hillary Clinton… Continue reading

“Nearly Half of Recent Campaign Money From Undisclosed Sources”

May 17, 2017, 6:47 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: Undisclosed donors provided nearly half of the more than $20 million in outside campaign spending in three closely watched, current congressional election races, a Bloomberg BNA review of Federal Election Commission reports found. Bloomberg BNA looked at FEC… Continue reading

“New CCP Issue Brief: ‘Dark Money’ Drops to 2.9% of Campaign Spending in 2016”

May 17, 2017, 7:48 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Release: The Center for Competitive Politics, America’s largest nonprofit defending First Amendment political free speech rights, released a new Issue Brief today analyzing the amount of so-called “dark money,” or election campaign spending by nonprofits that are not required to… Continue reading

Bauer Thinks Trump Religious Liberty EO May Have Implications for Churches in Politics

May 9, 2017, 6:51 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Read.

“Trump Order Could Lure Churches into Dark Money Politics”

May 5, 2017, 8:06 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Kate Ackley reports for Roll Call.

“Two (at most) secret donors funded 93% of pro-Rubio nonprofit”

May 5, 2017, 7:37 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Open Secrets: A politically active nonprofit that supported Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) failed 2016 presidential bid raised nearly $22 million in two years, 93 percent of which came from either one or two anonymous donors, tax documents obtained by the… Continue reading

“Trump Is Expected to Relax Tax Rules on Churches Taking Part in Politics”

May 3, 2017, 2:00 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump plans to mark National Day of Prayer on Thursday by issuing an executive order that makes it easier for churches and other religious groups to actively participate in politics without risking their tax-exempt status, several administration officials… Continue reading

Plutocrats Divided: “Koch Network Spending Millions to Stop GOP Health Care Bill”

March 22, 2017, 8:47 pmcampaign finance, Plutocrats United, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

AP: The conservative Koch network is promising to spend millions of dollars to defeat the health care overhaul backed by President Donald Trump and top House Republicans. The network’s leading organizations, Americans for Prosperity and Freedom Partners, announced late Wednesday… Continue reading

“Defining ‘dark money’ and discussing the state of money, politics and ethics in Missouri”

March 16, 2017, 8:22 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

St. Louis Public Radio: Earlier this month, the spotlight was cast on the brand new nonprofit called A New Missouri Inc. Formed by Gov. Eric Greitens’ campaign treasurer, the group’s focus will be to advocate for the governor’s policy agenda.… Continue reading

Large Number of Organizations Opposes Repeal of Johnson Amendment on 501(C)(3) Political Activities

March 13, 2017, 10:05 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Letter.

“Editorial: A call for transparency — Eric Greitens still governing in the dark”

March 12, 2017, 4:35 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Editorial: Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is collaborating in the creation of a bogus nonprofit “social welfare” organization clearly designed to provide unfiltered propaganda about his political agenda. The nonprofit could collect unlimited anonymous contributions from donors seeking influence in the… Continue reading

“The right way to amend the Johnson Amendment”

March 6, 2017, 7:47 amtax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ed Zelinsky blogs.

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear True the Vote Case Seeking to Sue Lois Lerner, Former IRS Official

February 21, 2017, 7:27 amSupreme Court, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

AP: The Supreme Court has rejected an appeal from a nonprofit group that wanted to sue individual IRS officials for targeting tea party groups that applied for tax-exempt status.