Campaign Finance
Secret files reveal how pay-to-play works in N.J.
A special report by The Star-Ledger exposes how one politically connected engineering firm parlayed campaign donations into millions of dollars in public contracts, all the while keeping the scheme hidden from the public. An analysis of the records, meticulously kept and numbering 137 pages, found Birdsall made more than 1,000 secret campaign contributions worth in…
Read MoreComputer Industry, Unions Big Donors to Immigration Bill Supporters
The 27 senators who voted against an immigration overhaul bill amendment, which strengthens border security but is also a step towards passing the overall immigration package, on average received very little money from the computer industry, human rights groups and labor unions, but did receive heavy support from donors in the agribusiness industry, according to…
Read MoreObama’s choice for Federal Housing Finance Agency head under fire
The Center for Public Integrity reports that “Rep. Mel Watt, the North Carolina Democrat whom President Barack Obama has appointed to oversee mortgage finance giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac has received more campaign money from financial interests than any other industry or special interest.” “Since he entered Congress in 1992, Watt has received $1.33 million…
Read MoreNRA spends record money on lobbying this year
“As gun control debates raged in Congress early this year, the National Rifle Association increased its federal government lobbying expenditures to record levels, new filings with the U.S. Senate indicate,” according to an investigation by The Center for Public Integrity.
Read MoreU-T San Diego may have offered bargain ad deals to candidates they endorsed.
Tom Shephard, a political consultant for Bob Filner, a Democrat running for mayor of San Diego, noticed a lot of full page newspaper ads attacking his client; ads that he was quoted $8,000 for. “Amita Sharma and Ryann Growchowski, with inewsource and KPBS, audited ads in the San Diego Union-Tribune every day between Labor Day…
Read MoreU-T political ad rates don’t add up
“inewsource and KPBS audited ads in the U-T every day between Labor Day and Election Day 2012 and compared the list with campaign finance records. The results show varied payments for ads, indicating the U-T may have offered bargains to the anti-Filner campaign and to other candidates and issues the newspaper endorsed,” according to the investigation.
Read MoreHow Walmart, ExxonMobil, and Coke Buy Latino Friends in Congress
“Lobbyists and corporations that employ them can’t give gifts to lawmakers—unless they funnel the money through a nonprofit,” according to an investigation by Mother Jones.
Read MoreImmigration reform and private prison cash
“Key lawmakers in the immigration debate are among the top recipients of campaign contributions from the prison industry”
Read MoreExtra Extra Monday: Public schools lose millions to crooks, radon hotbeds, campaign-finance funded luxury
Center for Investigative Reporting/EsquireThe Shooter“The man who shot and killed Osama bin Laden sat in a wicker chair in my backyard, wondering how he was going to feed his wife and kids or pay for their medical care.” The Tampa Bay TimesPublic schools lose millions to crooks and cheaters“Axson’s case points to a larger problem with…
Read MoreCorporate PACs update donations after backing losers
Bloomberg News reports that corporate political action committees, such as those of Boeing and General Electric, waste no time in donating to winners of congressional elections after previously placing money on losing campaigns. Bloomberg reports that “at least eight corporate PACs that contributed to the losing candidate gave to the victor in the month following the…
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