“Ambition and Ambiguity”
Bauer blogs on the FEC.
Category Archives: federal election commission
“LLCs and Politics at the FEC”
Brad Smith blogs:
New rules going forward are one matter, punishing people after the fact for a reasonable interpretation of the law that happens to diverge from the thinking of some on the Commission is quite another.
It is… Continue reading
“How dark-money donors find accomplices in the government”
WaPo edtiorial:
This month, the commission’s three Republicans defended their foot-dragging, arguing that it would be unfair to go after donors in the 2012 cycle, because they did not have enough notice about how the FEC would enforce federal… Continue reading
“How a film about Obama’s communist ‘real father’ won at the FEC”
WaPo:
There’s little evidence that the film, directed by Joel Gilbert, moved votes. It was not a “birther” advertisement — Gilbert never questioned that Obama was eligible to be president — but in focus groups conducted for Republicans, it… Continue reading
“FEC deadlocked on allegation that Gingrich used 2012 campaign to sell books”
WaPo:
Former House speaker Newt Gingrich will not face a Federal Election Commission investigation into allegations that he broke federal law by using his 2012 presidential campaign to promote books that he and his wife wrote, documents released Friday… Continue reading
“One FEC Commissioner’s Answer to Citizens United”
Bauer:
FEC Commissioner Weintraub believes that she has hit upon a regulatory maneuverto stop publicly traded corporations from making independent expenditures, or unlimited contributions to independent expenditure committees. At a time when newspaper editorialists carry on with attacks on… Continue reading
“Could Citizens United Help Foreign Billionaires Buy This Election? An FEC Commissioner Speaks Out”
FEC Commissioner Weintraub on Democracy Now.
“Citizens United and the Foreign Question”
NYT letters to the editor on FEC Commissioner Weintraub’s NYT oped.
“Republicans on FEC suggest they may scrutinize mystery corporate donors”
Matea Gold for WaPo:
The three Republican appointees on the divided Federal Election Commission have indicated that political donors who give through private companies solely to shield their identities can be sanctioned, signaling that the agency may scrutinize a… Continue reading
“No, Commissioner Weintraub, the FEC Can’t Circumvent Citizens United”
Allen Dickerson:
In an opinion piece published yesterday in The New York Times, Ellen Weintraub, a member of the Federal Election Commission, suggests a way to “blunt the impact” of Citizens United v. FEC. There are reasons to question… Continue reading
“The Federal Election Commission is Worse than Useless”
“Taking on Citizens United”
FEC Commissioner Ellen Weintraub with an NYT oped:
Throughout Citizens United, the court described corporations as “associations of citizens”: “If the First Amendment has any force,” Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote, “it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens,… Continue reading
ELB Podcast Episode 11. Lee Goodman: FEC Commissioner with Libertarian Outlook
How does a Commissioner on the Federal Election Commission skeptical of regulation enforce the law? Is there a sound basis for limiting foreign money in elections? Why does the FEC deadlock along party lines, and what can be done about… Continue reading
“Grasping for Cover: Making Excuses for the FEC”
Larry Noble responds to Bob Bauer.