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NEWS ABOUT: campaign finance

Fatcat Obama Bundlers Score Gov't Jobs, Contracts

About 80% of those who gave $500k or more now in administration

(Newser) - President Obama’s White House is packed with his top campaign fundraisers, which probably shouldn’t be too surprising—because mega-bundler Donald Gips was in charge of hiring them, according to a new investigation from iWatch News . Gips, the former head of Level 3 Communications, bundled $500,000 for Obama.... More »

Edwards May Be Nailed by Own Emails

Sources say candidate acknowledged payments to pregnant mistress

(Newser) - Prosecutors possess evidence from John Edwards' own emails that help prove a key part of the case against him and make his decision to opt for a trial instead of a plea bargain look even riskier, sources tell AP . In the emails, Edwards and his former speechwriter, Wendy Button, discuss... More »

Edwards Scorned Plea Because of Prison

Rolls dice on jury trial once again

(Newser) - The near-certainty of six months behind bars led John Edwards to scotch a plea bargain and take his very significant chances on a jury, reports the News & Observer in a look at the last-minute wrangling that took place behind the scenes. Prosecutors put on the table a deal in... More »

Edwards Charges Likely Today

Former candidate expected to be indicted or forge plea deal

(Newser) - The two-year federal investigation into John Edwards has reached a critical point and criminal charges against him are expected to be filed today. Edwards' attorney has traveled to North Carolina to meet with prosecutors, and the former Democratic presidential candidate is likely to either be indicted or reach a plea... More »

Mitt Romney Raises $10M in One Day

Donors hope to intimidate rivals with show of financial muscle

(Newser) - Mitt Romney flexed his financial muscle yesterday, raising $10.25 million in a one-day call-a-thon. “That’s a terrific start,” Romney told reporters, adding, “Actually, it’s more than just a start—it really gives us the boost that we need.” It’s also the kind... More »

Time to Stem Tide of Special Interest Campaign Cash

Special interest groups 'distort elections': Alan Simpson

(Newser) - In 2010, special interest groups and lobbyists in Washington alone gave nearly $300 million to political candidates—"more than the donations of 32 states combined," notes Alan Simpson, writing for Politico . And 2012 is sure to be worse, unless we do something about it—now. Special interest money... More »

John Edwards Hires Obama Legal Eagle

Not that he's expecting an indictment or anything...

(Newser) - In case crossing his fingers isn't enough to avoid an indictment, John Edwards has brought in former White House counsel Greg Craig to help convince feds he didn't do anything untoward—or at least illegal—with his campaign funds. "We have consistently said we don't think he violated any... More »

Clinton Donors Caught Up in Criminal Cases

Four cases, six defendants, $1.1M in contributions

(Newser) - A number of Hillary Clinton’s top fundraisers are now caught up in criminal cases, including Galen Capital Group Chairman William P. Danielczyk Jr., who was indicted last week. There are now four major federal cases involving six defendants who raised a total of more than $1.1 million for... More »

Bushies Illegally Billed Taxpayer for Political Trips

Office of Special Counsel finds widespread violations

(Newser) - A three-year Office of Special Counsel investigation has found that members of George W. Bush’s administration—including at least seven Cabinet secretaries—campaigned on the taxpayer dime. In the run-up to the 2006 elections, Cabinet members took many politically motivated trips, falsely claiming they were on official business, investigators... More »

Supreme Court Takes New Campaign-Finance Brouhaha

Arizona law seeks to level playing field

(Newser) - In a potential revisit to Citizens United, the Supreme Court will take on an Arizona law that tries to level the playing field in campaign spending, the Christian Science Monitor reports. Arizona's Citizens Clean Elections Act provides state funding for candidates who agree to a certain spending limit—and more... More »

Supreme Court Refuses to Hear 'Citizens United' for Nonprofits

Won't consider looser donation rules on PACs

(Newser) - The Supreme Court today declined without comment a case that sought to extend Citizens United's lax spending rules to nonprofits, the Christian Science Monitor reports. SpeechNow.org, a conservative advocacy group, had sued the Federal Election Commission in an attempt to loosen restrictions on political action committees, which it likens... More »

Dems Slam 'Front Groups'—Then Use Them

Nonprofits' secret donors help fund negative ads

(Newser) - Democrats have hammered Republican “front groups” for paying for negative ads with secret cash—but they themselves are employing a similar maneuver, using money from nonprofits who don’t release their donors’ names to fund their own advertising, reports MSNBC . Dems are thus following Republicans’ lead in using a... More »

Votes Cost an Average of $7

Though calculations differ

(Newser) - How much does a vote cost? Estimates vary wildly, from $5 to $175, Slate reports in its Explainer column. In 2008, winners spent an average of $1.3 million to win roughly 185,000 votes, meaning each vote cost around $7, while losers spent an average $493,000 for 91,... More »

Moaning Democrats Actually Outspending Republicans

Outside groups can't make up for party advantages

(Newser) - Democrats have been playing the financial victim lately, bemoaning the cash outside groups are throwing at Republicans. Which is kind of ironic, because the truth is that Democrats are outspending Republicans—even if you take those outside groups into account. Democratic campaign committees and left-leaning outside groups have spent a... More »

US No Longer One of 20 Least Corrupt Nations

Falls to new low in global corruption rankings

(Newser) - For the first time ever, the US has fallen out of the top 20 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index, thanks to financial scandals and the growing influence of money in our politics, Reuters reports. The US is now seen as the 22nd-least-corrupt country in the world, down from... More »

Democrats: McCain Violated McCain-Feingold

They say ad helping other GOP candidates is illegal

(Newser) - Democrats are accusing John McCain of violating the campaign finance law he championed based on some new ads in which he supports GOP congressional candidates Ruth McClung and Jesse Kelly. This, says the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in a complaint to the Federal Election Commission, represents an “in kind”... More »

O'Donnell to GOP: Hannity's 'in My Back Pocket'

Senate hopeful complains party leaving her in the cold

(Newser) - Feeling sorely underfunded, Christine O’Donnell has warned the GOP she has a secret weapon: She says she’s “got Sean Hannity in my back pocket, and I can go on his show and raise money by attacking you guys,” top Republicans tell Howard Fineman of the Huffington... More »

Chamber Took $885K From 84 Foreign Companies

But says it doesn't use it for political purposes

(Newser) - The US Chamber of Commerce has flatly denied recent Democratic attacks claiming that it uses foreign money to fund its political campaigns, and mainstream media fact checkers have largely backed them up. But Think Progress says those organizations have missed the point, pointing to data from the Chamber’s own... More »

Liberals Crank Up Heat on GOP Donors

They ask Justice Department, IRS to investigate

(Newser) - Democrats and liberal activist groups are launching a full-scale assault on the conservative groups that have been making it rain this election cycle. MoveOn.org and nonprofits like Public Citizen and Public Campaign are asking the Justice Department and the IRS to investigate these groups and their sources of funding,... More »

Soros: I'm Done Donating to Democrats

Says last 3 elections were 'exceptions,' sees GOP 'avalanche'

(Newser) - Like many Democratic über-donors, liberal billionaire George Soros is sitting this election out, but says throwing money at elections is something he didn’t like to do in the first place. “I made an exception getting involved in 2004,” Soros tells the New York Times . “... More »

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