This spring, a jury convicted Robert Braddock, the Finance Director to former Congressional candidate—and former Speaker of the Connecticut House of Representatives—Christopher Donovan, with conspiring to hide the source of $27,500 in campaign contributions. According to the indictment, Braddock accepted contributions to the campaign knowing that they had been reimbursed by individuals associated with
August 2013
DuPage County (Illinois) Board Repeals Self-Imposed Pay-to-Play Restrictions
Posted in State Pay-to-Play
The Daily Herald reported that last Tuesday suburban Chicago DuPage County repealed previously adopted county-specific pay-to-play rules. In 2010, DuPage County enacted a county ordinance prohibiting any “officer,” including county board members, from soliciting or accepting campaign contributions in excess of $1,000 from any person or entity seeking an official action or doing business with…
Pay-to-Play: Hidden Factor in Low Contributions to NYC Mayoral Candidates?
By Kevin Glandon on
Posted in City Pay-to-Play
The New York Times, in a recent article, called attention to the “paltry” sums contributed by the hedge fund industry to New York City mayoral candidates. The article explains that hedge fund political contributions are limited—noting that some of the hedge fund industry’s “biggest personalities” are absent from the donor list, while others…
Update: Indictment for Zimbabwe Lobbying Adds Foreign Agent Charges
By Brian D. Smith on
On August 8, 2013, we reported that federal prosecutors in Chicago unsealed a criminal complaint alleging that two men violated U.S. sanctions by lobbying on behalf of Zimbabwe. In the earlier post, we noted that the defendants’ alleged activities appeared to have also violated federal law related to unregistered foreign agents, and we speculated that…
How Pay-to-Play Laws Are Changing Elections
By Kevin Glandon & Zachary G. Parks on
Posted in Campaign Finance, Pay-to-Play
Obscure pay-to-play rules are having a big impact on U.S. elections. In an article in today’s The Hill, we examine how these little understood rules provide institutional fundraising advantages for certain candidates at the expense of others. We also point out how these laws are changing the operational rules of the road, forcing candidates…
Federal Prosecutors Continue to Use a Variety of Tools for Foreign Lobbying
By Brian D. Smith on
On August 6, federal prosecutors in Chicago unsealed a criminal complaint against two men alleged to have worked on behalf of the government of Zimbabwe and President Robert Mugabe to generate political support in the United States to lift the U.S. sanctions against Zimbabwe. The two men – Prince Asiel Ben Israel and C. Gregory…
Effective Today: Alabama Allows Unlimited Corporate Campaign Contributions
By Angelle Smith Baugh on
Posted in Campaign Finance, State Law
Effective today, corporations can now make unlimited campaign contributions directly to candidates in Alabama state and local elections. The Alabama legislature passed this law to remove the $500 per election cap on corporate contributions in May, but, as we previously covered, there was some ambiguity regarding when the law would take effect.