For some reason President Obama's campaign deleted two tweets quickly after posting them Tuesday, but the reasons remain shrouded in mystery. When Sunlight called the campaign to ask about the deletions, an aide said that no one could talk about them over the phone. Hmm? Is there something we're missing here?
We had to email our questions to the press office. At press time, we were still awaiting illumination. Now that we have received it, you, dear readers, are among the first to know:
UPDATE, 8:30 p.m.: At 6:30 p.m. we got an email ...
Continue readingTight rules preclude reporting charitable donations to Speaker’s pet charity
With Americans saying that reducing federal corruption is now their second most important campaign issue, it's worth looking at how well a 2007 law designed to curb corruption is holding up.
Continue readingMissouri primary: McCaskill and Democrats helped Republican Todd Akin to Senate nomination
Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Mo., and Democratic outside groups, pouring in over $1 million during Missouri's Republican Senate primary, got the guy they wanted: Rep. Todd Akin, who Tuesday upset two other Republicans to take the GOP nomination.
Recent polls have shown McCaskill trailing all three Republicans in head-to-head matchups, but Akin has the smallest edge. She is betting voters will see the six-term congressman -- who gave "thanks to God our creator" in his victory speech and has been endorsed by former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian -- as too conservative.
Late in the primary, McCaskill hit TV and ...
Continue readingLawmakers, Executive Branch officials honored for about $19 million last year
Companies, associations and the lobbyists employed by them contributed almost $19 million to charities in honor of federal officials last... View Article
Continue readingSpecial interests honor Congress, executive branch with nearly $19 million in 2011
Spurred by reports that Smartphone software made by Google and Apple could violate users' privacy, a Senate Judiciary subcommittee called executives from the companies to testify in May 2011. For the most part, the senators were uncharacteristically deferential to the hi-tech titans appearing before their panel. In his brief opening statement, ranking member Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said, “We need a whole lot more information and knowledge in terms of those of us on the legislative side before we come to conclusions about what needs to be done.”
One day later, Coburn was recognized at a Consumer Electronics Association event for ...
Continue readingGraphic: Which officials were honored the most in 2011?
Companies, associations and the lobbyists employed by them contributed almost $19 million to charities in honor of federal officials last year, the vast majority of it for members of Congress. You can read the full report on 2011's honorary giving here.
To find out which lawmakers and cabinet members were honored most, or to see which interests paid the most in honorary expenses last year, search the interactive graphic below. You can even filter the graphic for lawmakers from your home state.
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<iframe frameborder="0" height="605" scrolling="no" src="http://assets.sunlightfoundation.com ...
Continue readingBroadcasters put political ad buy files online today
With the 2012 election three months away, stations in some of the nation's biggest television markets will start uploading information on political ad buys to the Internet for the first time today, bringing out of the dark ages at least some information on who's behind political ads.
The move represents a major victory for open government groups that have been fighting for more than a decade to get the information contained in television filing cabinets on the Internet, but it does come with considerable limitations. The Sunlight Foundation, along with the Free Press and other partners, is seeking ...
Continue readingPut brakes on political nonprofits? Not so fast, taxman says
Today a federal tax official provided House Ways and Means Committee members some details about how the Internal Revenue Service will review whether the political activities of shadowy nonprofit groups conflict with their exempt status.
The answer: slowly, according to the IRS Deputy Commissioner for Services and Enforcement Steven Miller, one of the witnesses at the hearing.
He said the IRS has decided to consider whether it would issue new guidance to the groups. And if the agency investigates groups, it looks at an entire year's worth of activity before determining whether an organization has violated tax laws, Miller ...
Continue readingGOP senators benefiting the most from NO DISCLOSE
Among the Republicans voting Tuesday to block a bill requiring disclosure of donors underwriting political ads were many who have benefited from the contributions of groups that don't disclose their donors.
Seven GOP senators who benefited from close to $1 million in dark money during the 2010 campaign all voted against the DISCLOSE bill. Here is a list of them, along with the amount of dark money spent to help their campaigns:
- Sen. Kelly Ayotte, R-N.H.: $3.7 million
- Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo.: $2.9 million
- Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla.: $2.7 million
- Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis.: $2 ...
Broadcasters petition FCC to stay online posting of political ad files
The nation's broadcasters are trying another method to stop the Federal Communications Commission from putting information about political ads online.
On Tuesday, the same day that the FCC put TV stations in the nation's top 50 markets on notice to begin posting the ad information by Aug. 2, the National Association of Broadcasters filed a petition asking that the order be delayed until the trade association can try to have it countermanded in federal court. That likely would push resolution of the dispute well past this fall's election.
In its petition to the FCC, the broadcasters' association ...
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