Fred Wertheimer on Justice Roberts, rise of joint fundraising committees

According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer: In his opinion in McCutcheon v Federal Election Commission, Chief Justice Roberts said that scenarios, such as the large scale joint fundraising committees described in briefs submitted to defend the federal aggregate contribution limits, were “divorced from reality.” The Center for Public Integrity article below provides a new […]

Watchdog Groups Call on IRS to Adopt New Rules

In a letter sent to the IRS, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center summarized comments they had submitted regarding the ongoing IRS rulemaking proceeding to consider new regulations to govern eligibility for section 501 (c)(4) tax status. The letter stated: On May 7, 2014, the American Bar Association Section on Taxation submitted comments to […]

Wertheimer: “It’s Chief Justice Roberts who is “divorced from reality””

According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer: As the enclosed POLITICO article makes clear, it is Chief Justice Roberts who is “divorced from reality,” not those of us who submitted briefs in the McCutcheon case to explain that donors would be giving huge contributions if the limits on the total contributions by an individual to […]

Summary of H.R. 270, the Empowering Citizens Act

The Empowering Citizens Act (H.R. 270) introduced last year by Representatives David Price and Chris Van Hollen is the most comprehensive campaign finance reform legislation pending in Congress. The bill would end individual candidate Super PACs, repair the presidential public financing system, create a public financing system for congressional races and strengthen the rules prohibiting […]

Reform Groups Urge Senators to Support Legislation to Curb Bundling by Lobbyists for Members of Congress

In a statement issued today, reform groups urged Senators to support the Lobbying and Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2014, legislation introduced today by Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO) that would limit the ability of lobbyists to use bundled contributions to obtain undue influence with members of Congress. The organizations include the Campaign Legal Center, Citizens […]

Reform Groups Urge Senate to Enact DISCLOSE Act to Close Gaping Disclosure Loopholes Used to Hide Donors from Voters

Our organizations strongly support the DISCLOSE Act of 2014 introduced today by Senator Whitehouse (D-RI) with 49 cosponsors. Our organizations include Americans for Campaign Reform, the Brennan Center for Justice, the Campaign Legal Center, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Common Cause, Democracy 21, Demos, the League of Women Voters, People For the American […]

RNC Legal Challenge to Political Party Soft Money Ban Filed Today Has Already Been Rejected Twice by Supreme Court

Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer The RNC filed a lawsuit today in Federal District Court in Washington, D.C. challenging for the third time the ban on national parties raising and spending unlimited contributions, or soft money. They have lost this same argument twice before in the Supreme Court. The RNC lost this argument […]

Anatomy of a Supreme Court Opinion

How Chief Justice Roberts Dissembled, Obfuscated and Misled in his McCutcheon Opinion to Radically Change the Court’s “Corruption” Standard and Legalize the Use of Contributions to Buy Government Influence and Results By Fred Wertheimer — President, Democracy 21   In a Supreme Court decision last month dealing with affirmative action, Chief Justice Roberts responded to […]

Watchdog Groups Again Call on IRS to Deny Crossroads GPS Tax-Exempt Status as 501(c)(4) Group

Groups Send FEC General Counsel’s Report to IRS Finding  Major Purpose of Crossroads was Federal Campaign Activity  Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, again urged the IRS to deny the application filed by Crossroads GPS for tax exempt status as a section 501(c)(4) “social welfare” organization. According to the letter from the watchdog […]

Watchdog Groups Challenge House Ways and Means Committee Letter Claiming IRS Pursuit of Crossroads GPS was Improper

Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer and Campaign Legal Center Executive Director J. Gerald Hebert Yesterday, House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Dave Camp sent a letter to the Justice Department stating that former IRS official Lois Lerner may have violated criminal statutes and asking the Department to act on the findings within the […]