Who's paying? Courts say public has a right to know

Outside groups may have to disclose donors

By: Robin Bravender and Dave Levinthal, Politico.com
July 27, 2012 03:12 PM EDT

Secretive outside groups shelling out millions of dollars for political advertisements could now be required to disclose the donors who cut them big checks

Responding to a recent court decision, the Federal Election Commission said Friday that it will force nonprofit groups that air ads that refer to specific federal candidates, but don’t overtly advocate for or against them, to report the names and addresses of donors who give more than $1,000.

The FEC’s enforcement could affect nonprofits such as the Karl Rove-backed conservative group Crossroads GPS, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the Democratic group Priorities USA. Those groups have been able to raise unlimited amounts from donors, but haven’t been forced to disclose their names.

The agency will require groups to report their donors retroactively, it said Friday. Groups will be forced to report donors who gave more than $1,000 since March 30, 2012.

(More here.)