Clik here to view.
Straw Into Gold: Candidates Trading Leadership PAC Dollars for Campaign Cash
This story is cross-posted at TIME.com With just a few days remaining in the first quarter of 2014, Mary Landrieu did something generous: The embattled Democratic senator from Louisiana, herself in the...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The JCN Story: Building a Secretive GOP Judicial Machine
This story was cross-posted at The Daily Beast. Robin Arkley was instrumental in getting JCN off the ground. (Louisiana State University) It was a cold winter night in Washington, D.C., not long after...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Once more, a slide in lobbying revenues
Northrop Grumman posted a big jump in second-quarter spending on lobbying, but overall numbers were down again. Kristoffer Tripplaar/ Sipa USA (Sipa via AP Images) Substantial spikes in outlays for...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A few new faces — but not many — among megadonors to presidential super PACs
Houston Texans Chairman Robert McNair gave to super PACs supporting Scott Walker, Jeb Bush, Ted Cruz and Lindsey Graham. (AP Photo/Paul Spinelli) The 2016 presidential race may be a whole new ball game...
View ArticleClik here to view.
When it comes to contributions, Trump doesn’t play in the big leagues
Donald Trump at the Fox News debate on Thursday. Donald Trump was pretty much the only Republican presidential candidate at last night’s prime time Fox News debate to find fault with the current...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Cruz prays for clergy support, but Clinton’s blessings tally higher
GOP White House candidate Ted Cruz on Monday at a Faith & Freedom event in Anderson, S.C. (AP Photo/Rainier Ehrhardt) Ted Cruz is on a crusade to lock down what he calls “the evangelical bracket,”...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Wellspring gives big boost to Judicial Crisis Network with $6.6 million grant
The address listed on the Judicial Crisis Network’s IRS filing is 722 12th St. NW, fourth floor. But Americans for Tax Reform, the only fourth floor tenant, deflected questions about whether JCN had...
View ArticleClik here to view.
OpenSecrets Blog’s best in 2015: explanatory and accountability journalism
Congressional travel to Azerbaijan was the focus of several revealing stories on OpenSecrets Blog in 2015. (Photo/Vit Simanek. CTK via AP Images) Lists are easy, as any writer left behind on a skeletal...
View ArticleClik here to view.
$100 million floods into presidential super PACs in second half of 2015
Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton at a rally in Des Moines on Sunday. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer) Well-known liberal and conservative political donors left the sidelines and injected tens...
View ArticleClik here to view.
The Hillary Clinton of the Maryland 8th?
Kathleen Matthews is the clear choice of the Democratic establishment in the Maryland 8th. (Photo By Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call) (CQ Roll Call via AP Images) This story was cross-posted on TIME.com....
View ArticleClik here to view.
New nonprofit tied to stealthy circle of dark money groups
Matthew Whitaker, a former U.S. Attorney, is executive director of FACT. (Photo: FactDC.org) Leading the pushback from the outside against President Obama’s attempt to bring the Supreme Court back up...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Take your kids to work at the FEC, and let them dis the place!
Staff and commissioners of the FEC put together a telling scavenger hunt for their younger visitors on Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day. Thursday was “take your kids to work” day. Apparently at...
View ArticleClik here to view.
A gaping funding chasm between Clinton and Trump
At the end of May, Donald Trump had $1.3 million in cash on hand, just 3 percent of Hillary Clinton’s stash. (AP Photo/John Locher, File) Last month, Donald Trump tweeted that his campaign had “perhaps...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Pence’s pay-to-play problem
Indiana Gov. Mike Pence’s presence on the presidential ticket could make for fundraising headaches. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) When Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump chose Indiana Gov. Mike...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Where the (GOP) parties at?
Republican National Convention attendees probably won’t be limiting their stay in Cleveland to the Quicken Loans Arena. Media, politicians and special interests organized more than 340 outside events....
View ArticleClik here to view.
Millions in political donations fueled by matching bonuses at Boston law firm
OpenSecrets Blog and The Boston Globe‘s Spotlight team partnered on this story; it was published by both outlets. Michael Thornton and his wife made more than $1 million in campaign contributions...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Calls for investigation of Thornton Law mount; Warren vows to return donations
Thornton Law Firm partner Garrett Bradley is named in a complaint alleging an illegal straw donor system at the firm. (Barry Chin/Globe Staff) This story was co-published by The Boston Globe and...
View ArticleClik here to view.
Federal prosecutors open criminal grand jury probe of Thornton Law firm...
The Capitol Hill headquarters of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, the largest recipient of donations from partners at Thornton. (Photo: Google) OpenSecrets Blog and The Boston Globe‘s...
View ArticleClik here to view.
It’s not over: The FEC is on the job with messy 2016 reporting by Trump...
President Trump may be more concerned about Special Counsel Robert Mueller digging around, but the FEC’s on his case too. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) We’ll stipulate that President Trump’s problems with the...
View Article
