Campaign Finance
Secret Summit: 24 hours with the Koch brothers
“The retreats drum up hundreds of millions of dollars for conservative political candidates and set policy for the Kochs’ network of political organizations, which all share the same goal — moving the country to the right. Most of the cash is funneled through “dark money” groups that are not legally required to disclose their donors.…
Read MoreDonors with Kakaako ties spending big on elections
Donors linked to contractors, developers and landowners involved with the increasingly controversial rebuilding of Kakaako have contributed more than $680,000 since 2009 to Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s two gubernatorial campaigns, according to a Honolulu Star-Advertiser analysis of state data.
Read MoreUnraveling the San Diego campaign finance scandal
“News broke in San Diego last week about a mysterious foreign national bent on influencing San Diego politics by illegally funneling money to political campaigns through a retired San Diego police detective and a undisclosed “straw donor.” Now, the politicians on the receiving end of the tainted funds are scrambling to distance themselves from the…
Read MoreMinnesota campaign finance regulators’ database isn’t adding up
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that the online files from the Minnesota agency charged with tracking candidate and campaign fundraising are riddled with inaccuracies, leading to errors that total as much as $20 million over the past decade, according to an analysis. About 7,000 records of donations between Minnesota groups are incorrect — an error…
Read MoreTed Cruz Failed To Disclose Ties To Caribbean Holding Company
“Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz potentially violated ethics rules by failing to publicly disclose his financial relationship with a Caribbean-based holding company during the 2012 campaign, a review of financial disclosure and company documents by TIME shows.”
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Faking the grade, mug shots online, pharma payments and the politics of mental health care
How Sunrise police make millions selling drugs | Sun Sentinel“Police in this suburban town best known for its sprawling outlet mall have hit upon a surefire way to make millions. They sell cocaine.” How safe are Indiana day cares? | Indianapolis Star“Indiana spends about $2.5 million inspecting and licensing more than 4,000 day cares that…
Read MoreHidden cash fueled Warren campaign
“Long before the term “Super PAC” entered the national lexicon of campaign finance, unauthorized committees — those acting in support of but without the expressed approval of candidates — gave donors a means to skirt limits that New York places on those donating directly to candidates.”
Read MoreMinneapolis mayor’s race lags in disclosing campaign contributions
The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports: “If candidates for mayor of Minneapolis were running in Boston, they would file a report online of their campaign contributions every two weeks for six months before the election. If they were running in Seattle? Once a week. And in a range of other cities with a mayoral election this fall, they…
Read MorePolitically active ‘social welfare’ nonprofits get IRS approval with cash, connections
The Sunlight Foundation reports that in the wake of Citizens United, tax-exempt social welfare groups, 501(c)4 organizations, have becoming increasingly popular as conduits for big, anonymous campaign donations. A survey by the Sunlight Foundation found dozens of groups in Washington D.C., Maryland and Virginia that appear to benefit Republican and Democratic politicians, despite being set…
Read MoreThe huge drone that could not be grounded
“A major defense contractor used campaign donations and insider access on Capitol Hill to defy the Air Force and keep a troubled drone aloft at a cost to taxpayers of billions of dollars,” according to a Center for Public Integrity report.
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