Super PAC

Super PACs Already Spending Big On State Level Races

Ryan J. Reilly | May 7, 2012, 5:50AM

Six months ahead of the election, super PACs have already spend more than $12 million in congressional races, according to data compiled for TPM by the Center for Responsive Politics.

While super PACs have already had a major impact in the Republican presidential primary, observers expect state-level super PAC spending in Senate and House races to have an even bigger impact than it has in the presidential race. A total of 24 separate races have already received an influx of more than $100,000 in super PAC funds, money with much more potential to swing local races than it does national.

So far, the race for Indiana Sen. Dick Lugar's seat has seen the most super PAC money, with $2.5 million in the race, most of it against the Indiana Republican or in support of his primary opponent. Tea Party Republicans are backing state treasurer Richard Mourdock, and FreedomWorks alone has spent over half a million in the race.

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Newt Gingrich

Newt Gingrich Wins Race For Biggest GOP Debt

Ryan J. Reilly | April 26, 2012, 6:19AM

Newt Gingrich is dropping out of the GOP primary with more debt than any Republican candidate in recent memory who didn't ultimately win their party's nomination.

Figures dating back to 1992 compiled for TPM by the Center for Responsive Politics show that no other Republican presidential candidate who didn't become the GOP nominee has closed out the cycle with as much debt as Gingrich's campaign.

Gingrich's campaign, according to the latest figures available from the Federal Election Commission, is $4.3 million in debt and had $1.5 million on hand. The closest failed Republican nominee in recent memory to approach the $4.3 million sum is Rudy Guiliani, whose campaign finished out the 2008 cycle $3.5 million in the hole. The campaign was only $2.2 million in debt when he dropped out in January 2008, barely half of Gingrich's debt total.

Guiliani's campaign still has $2.6 million in unpaid bills, including a $1.1 million personal loan he made to his campaign and various security, media and political consulting expenses.

Gingrich, in comparison, didn't give any money to his own campaign and charged his campaign to buy access to his email database.

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David Rivera

Prosecutors Take Parting Shots At Rep. Rivera As Investigation Ends

Eric Lach | April 19, 2012, 11:50AM

Rep. David Rivera

The Florida State Attorney's Office has released a "close-out" memo detailing the dead ends it hit in its investigation into Republican Rep. David Rivera's finances.

The probe began back in October 2010, but word spread earlier this week that prosecutors had shut down the case because of, among other factors, ambiguities in Florida's campaign finances laws and the statute of limitations preventing prosecution over campaign expenses more than two years old. Still, the close-out memo doesn't offer any apologies from the prosecutors for investigating the freshman congressman.

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David Rivera

Florida Prosecutors Ending Probe Into Rep. Rivera's Finances

Eric Lach | April 18, 2012, 12:10PM

Rep. David Rivera

Florida prosecutors are ending their probe into Rep. David Rivera's personal and campaign finances, after an investigation that had stretched over most of the first-term Republican's time in office.

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Kinde Durkee

California Campaign Scam Gets FEC Rebuke

Ryan J. Reilly | March 12, 2012, 6:00AM

Four years after the fact, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has gotten around to chastising the man behind a political action committee called "Californians for Obama" for raising thousands of dollars in support for then-Sen. Barack Obama while obscuring the fact that it didn't have any actual connections to the future president's campaign.

The group was run by a self-proclaimed movie mogul named Emmett Cash III, but Kinde Durkee -- the major Democratic treasurer who was arrested for allegedly stealing from many of her clients back in September -- handled its finances.

Californians for Obama came under FEC scrutiny in October 2007, when a California woman complained to the agency after she paid $2,423.76 to go on a "Women of Power Cruise" that was supposed to take place in September of that year. It didn't happen and her money wasn't refunded. The group had been the subject of a July 25, 2007 San Francisco Chronicle article that detailed how Cash -- who according to the Chronicle had been a registered Republican until June 2007 -- had raised nearly $10,000, most of which was paid to himself.

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Michael Grimm

GOP Rep Michael Grimm: I'd Be 'Very Stupid' To Take Cash Near FBI Building

Ryan J. Reilly | February 3, 2012, 4:25PM

House Speaker John Boehner said Friday that he was "not familiar with the details" of the unfolding campaign finance scandal involving Rep. Michael Grimm (R-NY). Let's bring him up to speed.

The New York Times reported this week that Grimm worked closely with Ofer Biton (a top aide to the orthodox Rabbi Yoshiyahu Yosef Pinto) back in 2009 to recruit the rabbi's followers to donate to Grimm's campaign. Together, they collected more than $500,000 for his campaign, helping convince Republican leaders Grimm was a viable candidate.

Now Biton is now under investigation by the FBI, which just happens to be Grimm's former employer. Grimm himself is accused of accepting a cash donation of $5,000 "near the FBI building" and three followers of the rabbi told the New York Times that Grimm or Biton said they would find ways for the campaign to accept donations over the legal limit.

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Super PAC

The $100K Club: Presidential Super PACs Almost Entirely Funded By Six Figure Contributions (CHART)

Ryan J. Reilly | February 2, 2012, 5:47AM

Mitt Romney

Six major "super PACs" backing former and current Republican presidential candidates were almost entirely funded by massive contributions from individuals and corporations of at least $100,000, according to a TPM analysis of campaign finance data.

Take Restore Our Future, the super PAC supporting but totally not coordinating with Mitt Romney: 58 donations of over $100,000 given to the super PAC made up 82.59 percent of its intake during the second half of 2011.

It shouldn't come as much of a shock that big donations as opposed to a large number of small or medium-sized donations are really what matter most to independent expenditure-only political action committees. But the numbers really demonstrate just how little moderate donations -- the kind typically touted by political campaigns proud of their grassroots support -- are playing a part in the new age of unlimited campaign cash.

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James Bopp Jr.

Citizens United Lawyer: I Hate Super PACs Too

Ryan J. Reilly | February 1, 2012, 10:38AM

The Republican lawyer on the case that arguably helped pave the way for the creation of so-called "super PACs" told TPM this week that he hopes politicians will realize that the contribution limits on their campaigns are putting them at a huge disadvantage, and will pass legislation dashing such restrictions.

An odd position for a key player in the opening of the anonymous-campaign-cash floodgates to have? James Bopp Jr. says no.

"I'm very hopeful and actually expect that incumbent politicians are going to look at themselves and say we are severely handicapped" in comparison to super PACs, Bopp told TPM, arguing that political campaigns were more accountable to voters than super PACs.

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Sheldon Adelson

Sheldon Adelson's Family Members Funded Half Of Newt Super PAC's 2011 Haul

Ryan J. Reilly | January 31, 2012, 9:53PM

Three Las Vegas residents and non-blood relatives of casino executive Sheldon Adelson who describe themselves as "self-employed" gave a combined $1 million to a "super PAC" backing Republican Newt Gingrich on the same day in December.

Sheldon Adelson reportedly didn't jump in to offer Winning The Future any help until early 2012, a period not covered by the Federal Election Commission report filed on Tuesday. But Adelson's wife's son-in-law provided $250,000 while Adelson's wife's daughters -- also "self-employed" -- tossed in $500,000 and $250,000 a piece. Their sum total accounts for nearly half of the $2,080,250 the group took in during December.

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Mark Block

Mark Block: Herman Cain Campaign's Probe Of Allegations I Broke The Law Will Wrap 'Soon'

Ryan J. Reilly | January 25, 2012, 4:34PM

It seems like ages ago now, but when current Stephen Colbert punchline Herman Cain was running for the Republican nomination his campaign had to confront a scandal that didn't involve allegations of sexual harassment.

Documents uncovered by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel showed that a firm run by chain smoking Cain chief-of-staff Mark Block had helped get the former Godfather's Pizza CEO's presidential run off the ground by donating iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa to the campaign -- all of which would be considered illegal in-kind donations.

The charges came at a convenient time for Cain -- the media was mostly focused on the sexual harassment charges -- so they mostly managed to brush off the issue by saying they'd opened their own probe into the matter. Who's running the investigation? They wouldn't say. How long will it take? Nada.

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Campaign Contributions

'Just The Beginning': Flood of 'Super PAC' Money Into Iowa Offers 2012 Preview

Ryan J. Reilly | January 3, 2012, 2:10PM

The ads are everywhere in Iowa: on cable, on network television -- during shows like "Dr. Phil," "Wheel of Fortune" and "The Tonight Show" -- and across the dial on talk radio (where it's gotten to the point that callers on talk radio shows are complaining about the onslaught). They walk, talk and act like campaign ads, but for the most part, they're not coming from candidates.

Welcome to the presidential campaign, post-Citizens United.

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Vern Buchanan

Florida GOPer Vern Buchanan Said FEC 'Exonerated' Him -- It Didn't

Ryan J. Reilly | December 21, 2011, 11:26AM

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

The Federal Election Commission thinks Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) either lied to them or has a terrible memory problem.

An FEC report obtained by TPM about allegations that Buchanan had his former car company reimburse employees for donations to his political campaign finds that there wasn't enough evidence to show that Buchanan broke the law. Buchanan's team had previously claimed that he was "completely exonerated" by the commission, citing letters from the FEC.

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Newt Gingrich

FEC Complaint Filed Over Gingrich Campaign Paying $42K For Candidate's Mailing List

Ryan J. Reilly | December 19, 2011, 1:21PM

A government watchdog group has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission against Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich following a report that his campaign paid Gingrich $42,000 for the use of his personal mailing list without disclosing it in their campaign finance filings. They also asked the FEC to investigation whether Gingrich Productions, Inc. held campaign events in conjunction with his book signings.

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Vern Buchanan

Sessions Defends Buchanan Over Allegations Of Illegal Campaign Finance Scheme

Ryan J. Reilly | December 16, 2011, 2:00PM

Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL)

Rep. Pete Sessions (R-TX), chair of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is defending NRCC Finance Chair Rep. Vern Buchanan (R-FL) over allegations he schemed to illegally reimburse employees of his former car dealership for donations to his political campaign.

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Kinde Durkee

Kinde Durkee Hearing Delayed Because Feds Need More Time

Ryan J. Reilly | December 6, 2011, 6:45PM

Kinde Durkee

A court hearing scheduled for Friday for Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee, accused of stealing money from the political campaigns and charities whose finances she managed, has been pushed back until Jan. 26.

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Federal Election Commission

FEC Deadlocks On Question Of 'Uncoordinated' Coordination

Ryan J. Reilly | December 1, 2011, 12:30PM

Updated: Dec. 1, 1:05PM

The Federal Election Commission deadlocked on a request by Karl Rove's "super PAC" to allow advertisements shot in coordination with candidates for federal office to be considered uncoordinated and not amount to in-kind donations. A motion in support of a draft opinion to reject the request failed on a three-to-three party line vote.

Republican FEC member Donald McGhan lead the questioning of a lawyer for American Crossroads, the conservative "super PAC" that is requesting to run advertisements featuring federal candidates for office.

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Mike Lee

FEC To Tell Mike Lee He Can't Form His Very Own Super PAC

Ryan J. Reilly | November 23, 2011, 5:02PM

Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT)

The Federal Election Commission is set to tell Sen. Mike Lee (R-UT), a member of the Tea Party Caucus, that he can't become the first politician in the country to form his very own "super PAC" during their public meeting next week.

A draft ruling posted by the FEC on Wednesday in response to a request for an advisory opinion Lee filed last month would deny the Utah Republican and his leadership PAC, the Constitutional Conservatives Fund PAC, the ability to create a separate account for unlimited contributions -- or "soft money" -- used to fuel independent expenditure ads.

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Stephen Colbert

Uncoordinated Coordination: Six Reasons Limits on Super PACs Are Barely Limits at All

November 21, 2011, 1:20PM

Stephen Colbert outside the FEC

by Marian Wang ProPublica

Ask any campaign-finance expert about super PACs and you'll likely keep hearing one word: "coordination." That's because Super PACs -- the super-powered groups that can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money from anyone -- have just one crucial restriction on their powers: By law, they're not supposed to coordinate with candidates.

Think that sounds clear? Think again.

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Fiesta Bowl

Feds: Illegal Donations From Fiesta Bowl Employee Went To Arizona Republicans

Ryan J. Reilly | November 17, 2011, 11:00AM

A federal grand jury returned a nine-count indictment this week against former Fiesta Bowl employee Natalie Wisneski for allegedly making illegal campaign contributions to Arizona Republicans in the name of others.

The feds say Wisneski, 47, also filed false tax returns as an officer and "high-paid employee" of the Fiesta Bowl. They say she solicited campaign contributions from Fiesta Bowl employees for federal, state and local candidates while agreeing to reimburse the employees for their contributions with Fiesta Bowl money.

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Herman Cain

Ex-Herman Cain Staffer On That Other Scandal: 'Would I Trust Mark Block? Resoundingly No.'

Evan McMorris-Santoro and Ryan J. Reilly | November 3, 2011, 1:20PM

Relying on Herman Cain's Chief Of Staff Mark Block to investigate his own financial dealings is "like asking Willie Sutton to hire an independent counsel," a former Cain regional field staffer told TPM in an interview this week.

The staffer, who worked with Block and implemented his campaign strategy, said the famous smoker is not to be trusted to get to the bottom of whether, as documents appear to show, his company Prosperity USA footed the bill "for tens of thousands of dollars in expenses for such items as iPads, chartered flights and travel to Iowa and Las Vegas" to get the Cain campaign off the ground.

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Herman Cain

Aides' Corporation May Have Illegally Gotten Cain Campaign Off The Ground

Ryan J. Reilly | October 31, 2011, 9:30AM

Updated: October 31, 11:35AM

Long before Herman Cain chief of staff Mark Block was appearing in the most mocked campaign ad of the presidential campaign so far, he and deputy chief of staff Linda Hansen started a Wisconsin corporation that the Journal Sentinel reports illegally helped the GOP presidential candidate get his campaign off the ground.

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John Edwards

Judge Won't Toss John Edwards Campaign Finance Case

Ryan J. Reilly | October 27, 2011, 10:52AM

John Edwards

Updated: Oct. 27, 11:34AM

A federal judge in North Carolina has declined to dismiss campaign finance charges against John Edwards. The case is set to proceed to trial in January, according to the Associated Press.

Edwards' lawyer argued Wednesday that the case was politically motivated and shouldn't move forward.

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American Crossroads

Watchdogs Ask IRS To Probe Non-Profits Affiliated With Karl Rove And Obama Aides

Ryan J. Reilly | September 28, 2011, 11:35AM

Karl Rove

Two good government groups have formally asked the IRS to investigate the actions of Crossroads GPS, Priorities USA, American Action Network and Americans Elect, who they say should be inelligible for tax exempt status.

Under the Internal Revenue Code, officials with the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 write, section 501(c)(4) organizations "are required to primarily engage in the promotion of social welfare in order to obtain tax exempt status."

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Belinda Cook

Illegal Contributions By Michael Steele's Sister Cost His Senate Campaign $54K In FEC Fines

Ryan J. Reilly | September 22, 2011, 11:40AM

Michael Steele

Illegal contributions by the sister of former Republican National Committee Chairman and current MSNBC contibutor Michael Steele got his former Senate campaign fined $54,000 by the Federal Elections Committee, the agency disclosed this week.

It all started back in 2006, when Steele's sister Monica Turner hosted two fundraisers at her home in Bethesda, Md.

Invitations to the event said they were paid for by Steele for Maryland, Inc. But because the campaign was apparently low on funds, Turner paid $6,578.35 in catering, security and valet expenses for a July event and $7,850 in expenses for an October event.

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Kinde Durkee

Bank Keeps Clients Of Arrested Treasurer Kinde Durkee From Accessing Their Cash

Ryan J. Reilly | September 15, 2011, 3:05PM

Kinde Durkee

The Los Angeles County Democratic Party passed around a donations basket at a meeting and laid off one employee this week, unsure they'd be able to make payroll. Fifty-one college students can't get access to scholarships issued by the Legislative Black Caucus Policy Institute. That's all thanks to the arrest of prominent California treasurer Kinde Durkee, accused of making personal use of her clients' funds.

As Durkee and her lawyer meet with federal prosecutors and pour over the evidence in her case, the bank where she keep most of her clients' money is refusing to release control of the accounts until they agree to "hold the Bank harmless" for any misdeeds in the Durkee case.

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Campaign Finance

Post-Citizens United, SEC Should Force Political Disclosure, Report Argues

Susan Crabtree | September 7, 2011, 6:05AM

With the 2012 political money machine now in full post-Labor Day gear, watchdog groups are trying to turn up the pressure on businesses and unions to disclose every dollar they spend on behalf of candidates, even though that kind of transparency isn't required by law.

This is the first presidential campaign after the Supreme Court's Citizen's United decision, which unlocked the floodgates for unlimited corporate and union donations, and the candidates and their supporters are already pushing fundraising to new limits with the creation of the first Super PACs -- super-sized organizations full of unlimited corporate and union cash that is not required to be disclosed to the Federal Election Commission or anyone else.

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Kinde Durkee

Feds: Treasurer Used Campaign Funds For Cosmetics, Ice Cream, Mother's Nursing Home Bill

Ryan J. Reilly | September 6, 2011, 4:00PM

Image from Johnbraid / Shutterstock

Prominent Democratic campaign treasurer Kinde Durkee, arrested in California on mail fraud charges over the weekend, routinely moved substantial sums of money out of the accounts of her clients and into the coffers of her firm, federal authorities alleged in a newly released criminal complaint on Tuesday.

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Chamber of Commerce

U.S. Chamber To Rank Politicians On Whether They Vote To Keep Contractor Donations Secret

Ryan J. Reilly | July 28, 2011, 5:41PM

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has written a letter to members of the House telling them that voting for federal contractors to be more transparent about their political spending will negatively impact their legislative scorecard.

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Charles Koch

Koch Industries Foreign Subsidiary Admits Making Illegal Donations

Ryan J. Reilly | July 1, 2011, 1:53PM

David and Charles Koch

A Luxembourg-based subsidiary of Koch Industries has admitted to making illegal campaign contributions to political candidates and committees.

INVISTA is a limited liability company involved in the textile manufacturing business that is organized in Luxembourg but headquartered in Kansas. They admitted in a filing with the Federal Election Commission that was disclosed this week that they made 12 contributions totally $26,800 to various political committees between Nov. 2005 and Oct. 2009.

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James Bopp Jr.

FEC: Politicians Can Solicit Donations For 'Super PACs,' But Only Up To $5K

Ryan J. Reilly | June 30, 2011, 4:05PM

RNC Committee Member James Bopp Jr. and the FEC building

As Stephen Colbert did his victory lap outside the Federal Election Commission's headquarters on Thursday, the six commissioners still inside the hearing voted on a measure that will have a much bigger effect on the 2012 election.

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FEC

Outside FEC, Stephen Colbert Says His 'Super PAC' Is No Joke (VIDEO)

Ryan J. Reilly | June 30, 2011, 11:50AM

Stephen Colbert

The Federal Election Commission gets it -- Stephen Colbert is punking them. But the FEC treated the Comedy Central host's request for an advisory opinion like anyone else, and on Thursday granted him the ability to form a "super PAC."

Their ruling allows his parent company Viacom to pay for most of their "coverage" of Colbert Super PAC's activities under a press exemption without having to disclose such expenditures as in-kind donations.

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Stephen Colbert

Campaign Reformers Say Stephen Colbert's FEC Joke Has Gone Far Enough

Ryan J. Reilly | June 29, 2011, 6:45PM

Stephen Colbert

Your average meeting of the Federal Election Commission is lucky to attract one reporter - usually Ken Doyle, the senior editor of the trade publication BNA's Money & Politics Report. "I've been there many times when he and I were the only people in the audience," campaign finance lawyer Brett Kappel told TPM.

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Campaign Finance

Kagan: SCOTUS Ruling Against Arizona Public Financing Is 'Chutzpah'

Ryan J. Reilly | June 27, 2011, 12:45PM

Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan

The conservative majority of the Supreme Court on Monday struck down an Arizona campaign finance law that offered political candidates facing well-funded opponents a subsidy to "level the playing field" and protect from public corruption.

Chief Justice John Roberts and the conservative majority agreed with the five conservative politicians and two political action committees who argued that the law stifled free speech, claiming it meant they were punished if they raised too much money because the government would subsidize their opponents.

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Ron Johnson

Ron Johnson Defers Himself Enough Compensation To Cover Costly Senate Campaign

Brian Beutler | June 24, 2011, 9:35AM

Candidate for U.S. Senate Ron Johnson (R-WI)

Freshman Sen. Ron Johnson (R-WI) is facing new and uncomfortable questions about the deferred compensation package he received from the plastics company he ran before entering the Senate.

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel notes that Johnson received $10 million from the company, Pacur, weeks after his $9 million self-financed campaign came to an end.

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Campaign Donations

Distributor Funneled Money To Biden Prez Campaign, Free Booze To Delaware Democrats

Ryan J. Reilly | June 10, 2011, 7:51AM

V.P. Joe Biden

An alcohol distributor has admitted he illegally reimbursed his employees for donations made to the presidential campaign of Vice President Joe Biden at a sham fundraising event and provided free booze at parties for numerous politicians.

Christopher Tigani, the former president of NKS Distributors Inc., admitted in a plea agreement with the Justice Department that he bundled at least $219,800 in illegal campaign contributions to federal and state candidates. He also admitted he and his company provided in-kind contributions to federal and state candidates and campaign committees, including free alcohol at political fundraising events.

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Rielle Hunter

How John Edwards' $400 Haircut Lead To Alleged Illegal Donations

Ryan J. Reilly | June 3, 2011, 12:25PM

John Edwards

It was April 2007 and Bunny Mellon, a then 96-year-old wealthy supporter of former Sen. John Edwards, was angry over how the media was over-blowing the news that the North Carolina Democrat got a $400 haircut.

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Anna Eshoo

Eshoo: Chamber Having 'Sissy Fit' Over Campaign Disclosure

Ryan J. Reilly | June 3, 2011, 9:20AM

Rep. Anna Eschoo (D-CA)

Lawmakers on Thursday offered two competing amendments to a bill addressing the anonymous flow of taxpayer money to third party political groups. One would have required disclosure of such donations, the other would ban the government from doing anything to shed any light on the financial flows.

Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-CA) said her amendment, which was ruled out of order, would "require that anyone that receives an appropriation, a contract, doing business with the federal government produce full disclosure relative to political expenditures." She said it would eliminate "a dark corner of our system that is not being addressed."

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Chamber of Commerce

Transparency Efforts By Corporations Undermine Chamber's Anti-Disclosure Stance

Ryan J. Reilly | June 2, 2011, 10:25AM

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce claims that a draft executive order being considered by the Obama administration would be an assault on free speech. The proposed order would require federal contractors to disclose donations to third party groups. But many of the companies affiliated with the Chamber have extolled the values of disclosure and already publicly reveal their donations voluntarily.

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Citizens United

Judicial Takebacks: Reagan Nominee Overlooked Supreme Court Ruling On Corporate Donations

Ryan J. Reilly | May 31, 2011, 6:50PM

Last week a federal judge nominated by President Ronald Reagan rocked the campaign finance world when he ruled that corporations could give directly to candidates. Now he's signaled he might want a do over.

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Campaign Donations

Why Democrats Are Losing The Messaging War On Federal Contractor Disclosure

Ryan J. Reilly | May 28, 2011, 11:00AM

United States Chamber of Commerce

Campaign finance reformer advocates aren't only facing setbacks in federal courtrooms -- they're also getting beat on the messaging war with Republicans over a proposal to make federal contractors disclose their donations to third-party groups.

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