Category: Money in Politics

FEC fails to prosecute money laundering scheme

American Democracy Minute for July 14, 2022: Lawsuit Filed Against FEC for Dismissing Credible Complaint on Secret Payments to Trump Family & Insiders

We reported back in May on the Federal Elections Commission deadlock over alleged secret payments benefitting Trump family members. The complaint alleges Trump family members and insiders financially benefited from sweetheart contracts paid out by a political action committee supporting President Trump’s re-election campaign. The Campaign Legal Center has now filed a lawsuit contesting that decision.

American Democracy Minute for May 19, 2022: FEC v. Cruz SCOTUS Ruling on Campaign Finance

You may have missed it, but there was a U.S. Supreme Court decision on campaign finance last week. One of the remaining provisions in the 2002 McCain–Feingold Campaign Finance Act, kept candidates making loans to their campaign late in the election cycle from paying themselves back more than $250,000 after the election. It was intended to keep candidates from personally benefiting – or being influenced– from donations after the election.