Democrats Sue to Force U.S. Election Agency to Reveal Political Donations
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
NYT
WASHINGTON — Unable to stanch the flow of corporate money to Republican causes, Democrats tried a new tack on Thursday by bringing a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to force the disclosure of tens of millions of dollars in secret donations.
The lawsuit seeks to close “a major loophole” that allows private companies and nonprofit groups to operate “under a veil of anonymity” in raising money for political work, said Representative Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who brought the lawsuit along with lawyers for several liberal groups.
In another push for greater disclosure, President Obama is considering issuing an executive order that would require contractors with federal business to report their political donations. “His goal is transparency and accountability,” said the White House spokesman, Jay Carney.
A surge in corporate spending on political causes — the result of a Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case in January 2010 — became a major issue in the Congressional races that year and promises to be important in the 2012 presidential race.
(More here.)
NYT
WASHINGTON — Unable to stanch the flow of corporate money to Republican causes, Democrats tried a new tack on Thursday by bringing a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to force the disclosure of tens of millions of dollars in secret donations.
The lawsuit seeks to close “a major loophole” that allows private companies and nonprofit groups to operate “under a veil of anonymity” in raising money for political work, said Representative Chris Van Hollen, a Maryland Democrat who brought the lawsuit along with lawyers for several liberal groups.
In another push for greater disclosure, President Obama is considering issuing an executive order that would require contractors with federal business to report their political donations. “His goal is transparency and accountability,” said the White House spokesman, Jay Carney.
A surge in corporate spending on political causes — the result of a Supreme Court decision in the Citizens United case in January 2010 — became a major issue in the Congressional races that year and promises to be important in the 2012 presidential race.
(More here.)
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