Category Archives: tax law and election law

“Democratic Strategists Set Up $75 Million Digital Campaign to Counter Trump”

November 4, 2019, 7:42 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: A progressive organization is plunging itself into the presidential campaign, unveiling plans to spend $75 million on digital advertising to counter President Trump’s early spending advantage in key 2020 battleground states.The effort, by a nonprofit group called Acronym and… Continue reading

“CREW Exposes Dark Money Donors including Thiel, DeVos and Adelson”

October 25, 2019, 5:12 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CREW: Following a historic victory against dark money by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW), Americans for Job Security (AJS) has released its donors from 2010 through 2012, including major contributions from Peter Thiel, Richard and Helen DeVos,… Continue reading

“Wealth, philanthropy and politics — considering ‘wealth tax’ proposals”

October 16, 2019, 4:45 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill oped: The impact of private wealth on public policy through tax-exempt organizations has garnered much attention of late, with recent scandals involving the Sacklers, Jeffrey Epstein, and a number of prestigious universities. Recent critiques, however, fail to… Continue reading

“Can a 501c3 Advocate for Impeachment of a Federal Office Holder?”

October 8, 2019, 8:40 amcampaigns, lobbying, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Timely exploration by Tim Mooney at NPQ.

Aprill: “A Tax Lesson for Election Law”

October 7, 2019, 7:52 amcampaign finance, federal election commission, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ellen Aprill has an important new piece at Tax Notes building off the Price for Congress request for an advisory opinion, and lucky for us you can get it from behind the paywall: An August 22 deadlock by the Federal… Continue reading

“Koch-Linked Nonprofit Must Disclose Donors, Settlement Mandates”

September 20, 2019, 3:16 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Bloomberg: A nonprofit linked to the conservative Koch organization that spent more than $20 million to elect Republican congressional candidates must disclose its donors, according to a settlement with the Federal Election Commission.The now-defunct Americans for Job Security (AJS), said … Continue reading

Lots of Election Law/Non-Profit Tax Law Issues Raised in Major Jerry Falwell Jr. Expose in Politico

September 9, 2019, 7:37 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Quite a read. In January, the Wall Street Journal reported that in 2014 and 2015, Michael Cohen hired Gauger’s side business, RedFinch LLC, to rig online polls in Donald Trump’s favor while he considered a run for the presidency. Gauger’s… Continue reading

FEC Deadlocks Over Advisory Opinion on Tom Price Attempt to Transfer Congressional Funds to Political 501(c)(4)

August 22, 2019, 1:08 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

FEC: August 22, 2019On August 22, 2019, the Commission considered an advisory opinion request (AOR) from Price for Congress, the principal campaign committee of former Rep. Dr. Thomas Price. The request asked if the committee could contribute funds to… Continue reading

Four Separate Draft Advisory Opinions Signals Potential Deadlock at FEC on Tom Price Plan to Use Campaign Funds for 501c(4) Electioneering

August 17, 2019, 6:30 pmcampaign finance, federal election commission, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

See here. If the FEC deadlocks, Price will have to decide whether to go forward with his plan and risk liability for doing so. But given how lax FEC enforcement is these days, it is not clear how much… Continue reading

“Dark Money Loses a Round”

August 8, 2019, 7:15 amcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs.

Breaking: Federal Court Holds IRS Violated Administrative Procedure Act with Rule that Exempted 501(c)(4) Political (and Other) Organizations from Filing Their List of Donors With the IRS

July 30, 2019, 6:34 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

The court ruled that if the IRS wants to enforce such a rule, it has to go through the notice and comment period.

“Should Regulators Let Jett-Setting Tom Price Use Campaign Cash for Nonprofit Travel and Expenses?

July 25, 2019, 10:16 pmcampaign finance, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

CPI reports.

“Ginni Thomas Plans New Conservative ‘Supergroup’ to ‘Protect President Trump’

June 8, 2019, 4:33 pmcampaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

The Intercept: CONSERVATIVE ACTIVIST VIRGINIA “Ginni” Thomas is launching yet another project to wage war on multiple fronts of America’s most heated cultural and political debates. This time, however, her plan will include a project to “protect President Trump” using… Continue reading

NRA Taking Money from Its Foundation Faces Possible Tax Problems in Using Money for Political Purposes

May 14, 2019, 8:09 pmtax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: The tantalizing leaks have spilled out in the weeks since the National Rifle Association’s annual convention in Indianapolis devolved into civil war.Amid anxiety over falling revenue and mounting legal trouble has come news that the gun group’s longtime… Continue reading