Public Advocate Letitia James announced major new legislation designed to prevent foreign entities from circumventing New York City’s strict campaign finance laws through a loophole created by Citizens United. Introduced in the wake of substantial new evidence of a coordinated Kremlin effort to illegally funnel money through the NRA to benefit Donald Trump’s 2016 campaign, this legislation will help ensure that New York City elections are free from corrupt foreign influence.
New York City’s Campaign Finance Laws are already a national model, but the intelligence community consensus of ongoing efforts by hostile foreign powers to illegally subvert American elections has highlighted unforeseen dangers.
In order to protect the integrity of our New York City elections, the bill would strengthen the existing prohibition on direct foreign and corporate campaign contributions by extending the ban to American corporations under substantial foreign ownership or control.