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Tag Archive: Investigations

Crusading lawyer takes aim at contribution limits

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The attorney who has been pushing the FEC to ease a host of campaign finance rules is at it again.

Dan Backer's latest target: the ceiling on how much money a person can give candidates for federal office in one election cycle, which currently stands at $46,200. In an advisory opinion request to the Federal Election Commission posted today, Backer, of DB Capitol Strategies, and two other attorneys argue the limit "has the effect of punishing the wealthy contributor" and is unconstitutional for many reasons, not the least of which is the Supreme Court's game-changing Citzens United ...

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Stealthy wealthy: How Harold Simmons’ political giving has benefited his business empire

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Photo by the Dallas Morning News

(This is the first in an occasional series that will shine a light on little known but highly influential donors.) 

Even under the post-Citizens United campaign finance rules that unleashed a new generation of mega-donors, Harold Simmons stands out as old political money.

The Dallas-based billionaire, dubbed the king of superfund sites after acquiring an environmentally-challenged company, has gotten plenty of attention for the $10 million he’s given super PACs in the first four months of this year.

But a closer examination of the record shows that Simmons’  2012 donations are just the ...

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Simmons-controlled company fights for protectionist measures

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When Titanium Metals Corp., a defense contractor that's part of Harold Simmons's business empire, lobbied for protectionist policies designed to shield it from foreign competition, the fight allied the Texas billionaire and Republican mega-donor with some unlikely political bedfellows, including Sen. Sherrod Brown, a liberal Democrat from Ohio, and a union that overwhelmingly gives to Democrats. 

Of the more than $34 million that Harold Simmons, his wife and daughters have contributed to politicians, parties and political organizations, just $520,000 has benefited Democrats. 

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Progressive groups threaten corporations on political giving

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Today government reform groups put corporations on notice: Try to funnel political donations through entities that can hide them, and expect major public relations consequences. 

 

Occupy Wall Street's Aaron Black speaks, with Tom Edgar (far left) and Bill de Blasio (second to right)

At a press conference in Washington, 15 organizations launched a national campaign to target corporations who try to influence the 2012 election by contributing to 501c4 and 501c6 nonprofits, thereby keeping their donations secret. Non-profits running the gamut from long-standing entitities such as the Chamber of Commerce to newer ones such Priorities USA, organized to help ...

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Democratic joint super PAC is a first

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Just when you thought you had the shadowy world of super PACs figured out, here comes a new twist: Three big Democratic super PACs -- formed to support President Barack Obama, and House and Senate Democrats -- are banding together to form the first ever joint fundraising super PAC.

The three, which registered their joint committee with the Federal Election Commission last week, are among the largest super PACs, in terms of contributions to their committees. They've raised a combined $10 million for the 2012 election so far. But that figure looks less impressive when compared with the haul of some ...

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FINRA: Open data not on the table

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A quasi-governmental agency that polices the investment industry has come up with a plan to make it simpler for consumers to avoid shady money managers -- but it includes no provisions to make the underlying data available to the public.  

The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA), a Self-Regulatory Organization (SRO) that polices the investment industry, was charged to come up with a proposal to make it simpler for consumers to find out whether the broker-dealers and investment advisers they consult have a history of disciplinary problems. This could be anything from multimillion dollar fines levied by authorities to felony counts to ...

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Super PAC Profile: After split decision in Ohio, ‘anti-incumbent’ group takes aim at Alabama

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After spending more than $450,000 this week to win one House race and lose another in Ohio, a Texas-based super PAC that claims to be taking nonpartisan aim at congressional incumbents is now dropping a money bomb on embattled Alabama Rep. Spencer Bachus.

In the last 48 hours, the Campaign for Primary Accountability (CPA) has filed reports for $153,267 in independent expenditures, almost all in Alabama. The group is spending to defeat two veteran members of Congress:  five-term Rep. Jo Bonner and ten-term Rep. Spencer Bachus in the Tuesday primary.  Most of CPA's spending takes aim at ...

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How super PACs fared on Super Tuesday

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We won't know how much the candidates poured into Super Tuesday races until they file disclosure forms with the Federal Election Commission next month but it's not too soon to take a look at the Super Tuesday scorecard for super PACs, using Sunlight's Super PAC tracker.

What our analysis found: In these races at least, the biggest spenders didn't always bring home winners.

Here's a look at some of the states that saw heavy super PAC spending and how it broke down.

OHIO

Biggest spender: Restore Our Future (Mitt Romney)

Winner: Mitt Romney

Restore Our ...

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Virginia ultrasound law is the image of a few others

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Source: Guttmacher Institute

Updated March 7, 4;22 p.m.

The bill Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed Wednesday requiring women in his state to undergo ultrasound screening before they can proceed with an abortion represents the latest victory for anti-abortion activists pushing to get similar legislation enacted nationwide.  

Seven states already have laws on the books requiring pre-abortion ultrasound screening, according to Elizabeth Nash, state issues manager for the Guttmacher Institute, an abortion rights group that focuses on reproductive health policy. At least 18 more states are considering similar bills. 

Above is a map showing states that either have or ...

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Abramoff: ‘You’ve got to trust me.’

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Over the weekend, Jack Abramoff disputed one of our blog posts.. Since the convicted former lobbyist neither responded to our call for comment before publication nor called us afterwards to point out what he said was our error, we decided to catch up with him Monday night at the National Press Club to ask a few questions.

It was an intriguing evening that featured the disgraced ex-lobbyist trying to out-reform the reformers as well as a potentially explosive allegation that Abramoff had a potential business partner in the Washington press corps.

The setting was a panel on campaign finance reform ...

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