Independent groups
Roll Call: GOP Rips IRS for Donor Request
By Eliza Newlin CarneyThe IRS may have stepped over the line this year by asking conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status to hand over the names of their donors, wrote Sen. Orrin Hatch (Utah) and 10 other Republican Senators in a letter this week to IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman.
Real Clear Politics: Regulating Political Speech
By John StosselThe very first amendment that the Founders chose to add to the Constitution couldn’t be more clear: “Congress shall make no law abridging the freedom of speech … .”Yet most people support laws against political speech — when they don’t like the speakers.
Roll Call: More Compliance Seen for Politically Active Nonprofits
By Eliza Newlin CarneyNonprofit groups that spend big money on campaign-style ads will face growing pressure to comply with tax and campaign finance laws in the wake of a federal court ruling last month, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said in a speech at the National Press Club today.
The Hill: Anti-incumbent Campaign for Primary Accountability spent more than $640, 000 in May
By Rachel LevenThe Campaign for Primary Accountability, the anti-incumbent super-PAC, spent more than $640, 000 and received nearly $439, 000 in May, according to recent filings.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
TPM: Montana Could Force SCOTUS To Re-Hash Citizens United
By BENJY SARLINThe Supreme Court could give Citizens United a second look this month as it decides whether to take up a lawsuit against the state of Montana, which wants its century-old state law restricting corporate influence in elections to stay in place.
Disclosure
US News: Obama Campaign Wants Names of Donors From Karl Rove’s Group
By Seth ClineA lawyer for President Obama filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission Tuesday demanding that Karl Rove’s nonprofit Crossroads GPS disclose its donors, according to the New York Times.
Roll Call: Senate Democrats Eye DISCLOSE Act Again
By Meredith ShinerThe Supreme Court is expected Thursday to decide on a Montana case that could undercut or reaffirm the court’s controversial 2010 campaign finance decision — and don’t think Senate Democrats aren’t paying attention.
USA Today: Democrats, GOP debate political non-profits’ donors
By Fredreka SchoutenConservatives in Congress have mounted an aggressive drive to block new proposals aimed at unmasking anonymous donations to groups such as Crossroads GPS— which is spending $2 million this month alone on ads targeting McCaskill and two other Democratic Senate candidates. Crossroads GPS, affiliated with Republican strategist Karl Rove, does not have to reveal its contributors because it is a non-profit advocacy group, not a political action committee.
NPR: Big Political Donors Shy Away From Public Scrutiny
By ANDREA SEABROOKYet it seems there’s something wealthy donors weren’t counting on when they wrote those checks — attracting attention, including from the political opposition and the media.
LA Times: Disclosure and democracy, Sen. Mitch McConnell is wrong.
EditorialIt’s a good idea to reveal who is paying for political ads.
Roll Call: Mitch McConnell Vs. Himself on Disclosure Issues
By Norman Ornstein“I think you’d have to go back to Richard Nixon to find the last time you had group of people both through the campaign and through the power of the federal government really trying to harass and silence critics, and I think they need to be called on it.”
