Press Releases Archive

House Members Urge Obama to Veto Bill if Campaign Finance Riders Not Removed

Today, 47 members of the House of Representatives signed and sent a letter to President Obama urging the President to block campaign finance riders that have been placed in the House Financial Services Appropriations bill. The letter organized by Representative Chris Van Hollen (D-MD) states that the bill would prevent the Executive Branch from issuing […]

D.C Court of Appeals Upholds Constitutionality of Federal Ban on Contributions by Federal Contractors

  Statement by Democracy 21 President Fred Wertheimer In a victory for good government, the en banc D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals today unanimously –and correctly– rejected a challenge to the constitutionality of the federal ban on campaign contributions by federal contractors. The ban applies to corporations, other entities and individuals who have federal contracts. The […]

Democracy 21 and Campaign Legal Center Provide DOJ with Precedent to Support May 27th Request for Investigation of Bush Super PAC Scheme

In a letter sent today to the Justice Department, Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, provided the Department with precedent to support the request the groups made in a May 27th letter calling on the Department to investigate potential campaign finance violations involving Jeb Bush’s Super PAC scheme. The groups are also monitoring other presidential campaigns […]

Reform Groups Urge Senators to Co-sponsor and Support the Lobbying and Campaign Finance Reform Act

In a letter sent today to Senators, reform groups strongly urged members of the Senate to support the Lobbying and Campaign Finance Reform Act of 2015, sponsored by Senator Michael Bennet (D-CO), which would limit the ability of lobbyists to use bundled contributions to buy influence with members of Congress. The groups included the Campaign […]

Watchdog Groups Urge DOJ to Name Special Outside Counsel to Investigate Legality of Bush Super PAC Scheme

Democracy 21, joined by the Campaign Legal Center, today called on the Justice Department to investigate whether former Governor Jeb Bush and his associated Super PAC, the Right to Rise Super PAC, are engaged in knowing and willful violations of the campaign finance laws. The groups also requested Attorney General Loretta Lynch to exercise her […]

D.C. Circuit Court Urged to Reject Challenge to Disclosure Provisions Upheld by Supreme Court in Citizens United

Today, Democracy 21 and Public Citizen joined the Campaign Legal Center in filing an amici brief in Independence Institute v. Federal Election Commission (FEC),urging theU.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to dismiss a challenge to the federal “electioneering communications” disclosure provisions upheld by the Supreme Court in its 2010 decision in Citizens United v. […]

Reform Groups Urge Members of Congress to Support the EMPOWER Act to Revitalize the Presidential Public Financing System

In a letter sent to Senators, nine reform groups strongly urged Senators to support and cosponsor the EMPOWER Act (S. 1176), introduced by Senator Tom Udall (D-NM). The EMPOWER Act would establish a small donor, public matching funds system for presidential candidates. A similar letter was sent to House members urging them to support and […]

Treasury Department Inspector General’s Report Suggests IRS is Headed to Denying Crossroads GPS Status as 501(c)(4) Tax-Exempt Organization

According to articles in the BNA Money & Politics Report and Bloomberg News, a report released on April 30, 2015 by the Treasury Department’s Inspector General suggests that the IRS is headed towards denying Crossroads GPS status as a 501(c)(4) tax-exempt “social welfare” organization. Crossroads GPS has used its claim of eligibility for 501(c)(4) tax-status […]

Democracy 21 Praises Supreme Court Decision Upholding Ban on Judges Soliciting Contributions

Democracy 21 praises the Supreme Court’s decision in Williams-Yulee v. The Florida Bar today that will help to protect the integrity of elected judiciaries throughout the country. The Supreme Court’s 5 to 4 decision vote upheld the Florida Bar’s ban on judges soliciting campaign contributions for their judicial elections. Chief Justice Roberts in his opinion recognized Florida’s […]

Fred Wertheimer on On Point with Tom Ashbrook

The segment is entitled “Money In Politics: The Gyrocopter’s Complaint” and focuses on the role of money in politics on the road to the 2016 election. According to On Point, “[Money in politics] is a big issue already in the 2016 campaign. This hour On Point: the mailman’s complaint. Big money, dark money, in American […]