Reid campaign paid granddaughter for gifts to supporters
(CNN) - Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid’s campaign committee said Tuesday it had done nothing improper when it spent nearly $17,000 in campaign funds on hundreds of items from a jewelry company owned by Reid’s granddaughter, Ryan Elisabeth Reid.
Those items - coasters, picture frames and other trinkets with themes from Reid’s hometown of Searchlight, Nevada - were given to staff members and campaign supporters as thank you gifts, according to a Reid aide. Each item is valued at about $50.
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High court divided over political donor limits
Washington (CNN) - A free-speech legal fight over the fuel of partisan politics - the billions at stake in federal campaign donations - produced a predictably divided Supreme Court on Tuesday.
A spirited hour of oral arguments left in doubt whether current aggregate limits on direct campaign contributions by individuals - in the Federal Election Campaign Act - will be upheld.
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Companies shed more light on their political donations
New York (CNNMoney) - Here's one of corporate America's worst-kept secrets: Companies are propping up politicians' campaigns with huge stacks of cash.
But a new study shows that more publicly-traded firms are being more upfront than ever about who they're backing and how much they're paying.
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Justices reject campaign finance appeal over corporate contributions
Washington (CNN) - The congressional ban on direct campaign contributions to federal candidates by corporations will stay in place after the Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear an appeal from a campaign supporter of Hillary Clinton.
The justices last week accepted for a review a separate appeal over individual donation limits. That case will be argued in the fall, with an expected ruling some months later.
The case denied Monday is Danielczyk v. United States (12-579).
High court to hear contentious campaign finance case
Washington (CNN) - The Supreme Court will wade once again into the politically tricky issue of campaign finance laws, agreeing to hear a challenge to individual donation limits in federal election campaigns.
At issue is whether strict limits on direct campaign contributions by individuals– in the Federal Election Campaign Act– violate the First Amendment. Oral arguments will be held in the fall.
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Politicians respond to Supreme Court rulings
(CNN) – Political figures reacted to the release of Supreme Court rulings Monday on the controversial Arizona immigration law and over campaign finance.
The high court struck down key parts of the Arizona bill, voting 5-3 that the federal government has the power to block the state's measure. However, the court upheld one of the most controversial parts of the bill – a provision that allows police to check a person's immigration status while enforcing other laws if "reasonable suspicion" exists that the person is in the United States illegally.
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Supreme Court refuses to reconsider campaign finance controversy
(CNN) - The Supreme Court refused Monday to reconsider one of its most controversial decisions of recent years, which has had a dramatic effect on election campaigns.
In a 5-4 ruling, with the more liberal justices dissenting, the high court refused to hear arguments over whether a state can limit campaign spending by corporations.
Alec Baldwin on Capitol Hill
Washington (CNN) - Actor Alec Baldwin made a cameo on Capitol Hill Wednesday, advocating for a bill aimed at changing finance regulations for congressional elections.
At a press conference accompanied by Democrats Illinois Sen. Dick Durbin and Connecticut Rep. John Larson, and Maine Rep. Chellie Pingree. Baldwin stressed the importance of "reducing the influence of corporate lobbyists and special interest money."
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Arizona election finance law reveals high court rift
Washington (CNN) - The Supreme Court's conservative majority appeared to hold the cards Monday in a key campaign finance reform case involving an Arizona election law that would provide matching funds to underfunded candidates. The justices could continue a recent legal trend and strike down another effort at government restrictions on election spending.
The state law offers extra taxpayer-funded support for office seekers who have been outspent by privately funded opponents or by independent political groups. A key sticking point during the one-hour oral arguments was whether this law was designed to "level the playing field" through a public finance system, a legislative goal the court in the past has said is unconstitutional.
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House passes bill eliminating public financing
Washington (CNN) - The House of Representatives voted Wednesday to eliminate the federal public financing system that helps pay for presidential campaigns and political conventions.
The vote was 239-160. Ten Democrats voted with the Republicans to pass the bill.
The House bill, sponsored by Oklahoma Republican Rep Tom Cole, would eliminate the Presidential Election Campaign Fund. This voluntary public financing system was created in 1976, in the wake of the Watergate scandal, to lessen the influence of corporate money on campaigns. Taxpayers can check off a box on their tax returns directing $3 in federal money to the program. Candidates who apply for public financing must adhere to overall spending limits.
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