Category Archives: tax law and election law

“Pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC accepted illegal contributions”

October 31, 2016, 2:48 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CPI: Pro-Hillary Clinton super PAC Correct the Record accepted $250,000 in illegal contributions from a charity backed by a Boston-based construction firm already in trouble this year for its political donations. Suffolk Cares Inc., a nonprofit charity registered under section… Continue reading

“The Republican mission to quell the IRS”

October 28, 2016, 7:23 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse in The Hill: The GOP’s crusade against Commissioner Koskinen may seem overblown, but it makes a lot of sense when you consider motive: Republicans need dark money, and dark money needs a cowering IRS. (h/t Paul Caron… Continue reading

McConnell’s SuperPac to Save Republican Senate Gets $11 Million Infusion from Non-Disclosing 501(c)(4)

October 28, 2016, 7:07 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Teddy Schleifer for CNN: The super PAC has flipped that money almost immediately into a new advertising push in a half-dozen states financed entirely by the late checks. Those contributions will not be reported until December, though many expect Sheldon… Continue reading

This Would Make a Great Final Exam Question on Express Advocacy

October 27, 2016, 7:33 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Yale Record:[corrected] In its 144-year history, The Yale Record has never endorsed a Democratic candidate for president. In fact, we have never endorsed any candidate for president. This is, in part, due to our strong commitment to being a… Continue reading

“No Guardians of These Names”

October 18, 2016, 8:25 amcampaign finance, judicial elections, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

National Institute on Money in State Politics: On Sept. 14, 2016, The Guardian released 1,500 pages of leaked documents pertaining to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker’s alleged coordination with conservative dark money groups during the 2011 and 2012 Wisconsin recall… Continue reading

“Assigning a Tax Lesson: The Relationship between the Trump Foundation and Trump’s Tax Returns”

October 6, 2016, 7:29 amcampaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill and Lloyd Mayer have written this oped for TaxProf. It begins: As the debate between the Vice Presidential candidates Wednesday night made clear, Donald Trump’s refusal to release his tax returns remains an important campaign issue. The extraordinary… Continue reading

“Disclosure Feud Over Corporate Campaign Money”

October 6, 2016, 7:06 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: But, an escalating feud over disclosure of corporate campaign money issues has made it clear that a few million dollars in disclosed super PAC contributions are not all that’s at stake. More important is the money companies are… Continue reading

“Kentucky gov. urges politics at pulpit despite federal law”

October 5, 2016, 2:36 pmcampaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Lexington Herald Leader: Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin urged a group of preachers to embrace political speech at the pulpit by telling them not to fear a federal law that prohibits candidate endorsements by tax-exempt churches.

“Trump Used Foundation Funds for 2016 Run, Filings Suggest”

October 4, 2016, 5:23 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Real Clear Politics: That check is one of at least several donations to suggest Trump used his private foundation, funded by outside donors, to launch and fuel his political ambitions. Such contributions, if they were made solely for Trump’s benefit,… Continue reading

Contrary to Early Reports, Sheldon Adelson Now Coughing Up $25 Million or More for Trump

October 2, 2016, 11:57 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Earlier I noted that Sheldon Adelson was giving only $5 million to a Trump Super PAC, only a small fraction of what he spent helping Gingrich then Romney in 2012. But now Teddy Schleifer reports the amount is likely to… Continue reading

Tweet of the Day: Karl Rove Edition

September 29, 2016, 7:13 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Here: Karl Rove on my NYC-DC @Amtrak train last night. He saw my @OpenSecretsDC laptop sticker & said "you people are a pain in my ass." Success. — Anya Gelernt-Dunkle (@HaLachmaAnya) May 19, 2016

“Secret Money to Boost Trump”

September 28, 2016, 7:59 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Politico: One of the top funders of the #NeverTrump movement is now using his name and connections to raise big money to help elect Donald Trump, but he’s telling fellow mega-donors that they can write huge checks without having their… Continue reading

“High Court Could Eye Wisconsin Campaign Finance Probe”

September 21, 2016, 8:11 pmcampaign finance, Supreme Court, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: U.S. Supreme Court intervention in a case dealing with possible campaign finance violations by Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) remains “a long shot,” despite new evidence the governor was involved in a fundraising scheme involving undisclosed contributions during… Continue reading

“Donald Trump, Pam Bondi and $25K: Was it pay to play?”

September 21, 2016, 8:01 pmcampaigns, chicanery, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Politifact Florida: With some of the facts of the case unknown, Clinton’s ad makes claims that cannot be proven. For that reason, we decided to not put this statement on our Truth-O-Meter. Still, with all the news stories re-circulating about… Continue reading