News

Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center Pleased that Secret $1 Million Donor Identifies Himself Following Request by Groups for Justice Department and FEC Investigations

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer   Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center are pleased that the secret $1 million donor who funded the corporate contribution by W Spann LLC to the pro-Romney Super PAC, Restore Our Future, has identified himself following the request by the two organizations for investigations by the Justice […]

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Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center Call on the FEC and the Justice Department to Investigate $1 Million Contribution to Pro-Romney Super PAC

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Today, Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center called on the Federal Election Commission and the Justice Department to investigate whether a $1 million contribution made by Spann LLC to Restore Our Future, a Super PAC, violated the campaign finance laws. The groups filed a requesting an investigation. Restore Our Future was formed by supporters […]

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Statement of Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer on Million Dollar Contribution to Pro-Romney Super PAC

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Below is an article by Michael Isikoff for NBC Newsentitled, "Firm gives $1 million to pro-Romney group, then dissolves." According to Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer: This story involves a $1 million donation apparently made in a manner designed to blatantly circumvent the campaign finance disclosure laws. The apparent effort to keep secret the actual donor or donors […]

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OpenSecrets: Interview with Top Campaign Finance Attorney Trevor Potter

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By Kathleen Ronayne on August 3, 2011 3:00 PM  Attorney Trevor Potter has been a part of the campaign finance world for two decades.  During the early 1990s, he served as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission, and was chair of the FEC in 1994.   During the 2000 and 2008 presidential elections, Potter served as general […]

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Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center Challenge Legality of IRS Regulations as Failing to Properly Limit Campaign Activity by 501(c)(4) Organizations

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Democracy 21 and the Campaign Legal Center filed a petition today with the Internal Revenue Service challenging the legality of IRS regulations that define whether an organization that conducts campaign activity is entitled to obtain or maintain tax-exempt status as a section 501(c)(4) organization. Under Section 553(e) of the Administrative Procedure Act, “Each agency shall […]

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Reform Groups Call for Outside Counsel to Complete Ethics Committee Investigation of Representative Maxine Waters; Groups Urge Strengthened Role for OCE

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Campaign Legal Center – Common Cause – CREWDemocracy 21 – League of Women Voters  Public Citizen – U.S. PIRG Enclosed for your information is a letter sent today by reform groups to the Chairman and Ranking Democrat on the House Ethics Committee in light of recent press reports indicating severe "partisan dysfunction and accusations of […]

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Open Secrets: Several Presidential Campaigns Rev Small-Dollar Donor Engines, While Others Sputter

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By Michael Beckel  President Barack Obama’s 2008 campaign made waves for the sheer volume and magnitude of individuals who gave him small-dollar donations — and who repeated this giving during the course of the two-year primary and general election campaign.  As he runs for re-election, Obama is hoping to recapture the magic, and early indications suggest he is. […]

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Super-PACs and Dark Money: ProPublica’s Guide to the New World of Campaign Finance

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By Kim Barker and Marian Wang The nation is gearing up for yet another "most expensive election in history," the quadrennial exercise in which mind-numbing amounts of money pour into the political system. But this year promises more than just record spending-more money will be flowing from more players with more opportunities to hide the source. […]

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Roll Call: Public Funds Dwindle for 2012 Campaigns

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         By Amanda Becker          Roll Call Staff           The federal program providing public money to presidential campaigns is dying. Going into next year’s elections, taxpayer participation is at an all-time low, the funds available are a pittance compared with what candidates can raise themselves, and the only candidates eligible this year […]

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