Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Wealthy two dozen: 24 super PACs that got the most last-minute money

Twenty-four super PACs collected more than $1 million in contributions during the final weeks before the election, according to filings with the Federal Election Commission.

Secret money fuels Freedomworks

New filings show that Freedomworks, the Tea party-aligned super PAC that's in the midst of a messy leadership breakup, got more than $12 million from two shadowy companies set up just this fall.

Stealthy Wealthy: Donald Sussman, Rep. Pingree make strange bedfellows

In the five or so years since hedge fund manager Donald Sussman and Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, have known each other, the investment tycoon has made his mark in her state, becoming its top political donor in 2012 and a major backer to Democratic super PACs. He's also found ways to bankroll her campaign, while buying a controlling interest in the local papers that cover her district.

Adelsons' $10 million checks revealed among last-minute campaign donations

Eye-popping checks from the Adelsons were among the more startling findings as campaign committees revealed their last-minute election donors.

FEC considers whether company can solicit PAC contributions from its dealers

Can Slim Jim solicit employees of 7-11 for donations to its political action committee? 

Snap Decision: DeMint leaves Senate for Heritage

How sudden was Sen. Jim DeMint's surprise announcement Thursday that he'll be leaving his post to head the conservative Heritage Foundation? The Senate Office of Public Records confirms receiving a disclosure form that lawmakers and top staffers have to make when they are negotiating with a potential employer from the South Carolina Republican on the same day DeMint's new job was announced. Ethics rules require the forms to be filed when salary discussions are underway.

Money in politics drives up U.S. corruption perception index

Who benefited most from dark money in the 2012 election?

Eighteen incoming members of Congress each got more than $1 million in dark money donations during their recent campaigns, but many more have reason to resent the stealthiest of campaign contributions, a Sunlight Foundation analysis has found. Dark money represents campaign contributions whose sources never have to be publicly reported. That's because the money is funneled through non-profit entities organized under a section of the tax code that protects them from having to name their donors. These kind of groups -- such as the pro-GOP Crossroads GPS and the pro-Democrat League of Conservation Voters -- have increased their electoral role in the wake of a series of court rulings that opened the door for unlimited corporate and union spending on campaigns. Nonprofit groups made more than $300 million of such donations during the course of the 2012 election cycle, the vast majority to influence the fall races.

Maxine Waters gets promotion despite ethics questions

Congresswoman Maxine Waters will serve in the top Democratic position in the House Financial Services Committee, despite uncertain ethics, a past Office of Government Ethics (OGE) investigation, and a history of questionable fundraising.

Post-election campaign finance disclosures: What we are watching

Federal Election Commission voyeurs rejoice! Last-minute super PAC donors are about to be revealed.

New Senate money man Michael Bennet has had fast rise to power

In appointing Colorado Sen. Michael Bennet as the head of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee the party will be getting a representative from a crucial western swing state whose 2010 election served as a model for President Barack Obama forging his winning campaign strategy.

Emerson was in formal talks with electric co-op days after reelection

On Nov. 19, nine business days after she won reelection with 72 percent of the vote, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson, R-Mo., began final negotiations for a new job with the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association, official documents show.

Mitt can't quit Marriott

The big buzz about the Marriott Hotel company's decision to reach out and hire the unemployed -- or one of them, at least -- underscores the hospitality giant's knack for gathering and exercising influence in Washington.

Revolving door: Jo Ann Emerson leaves Congress for rural electrification co-op

Less than four weeks after winning re-election to a ninth term in Congress with more than 70 percent of the vote, Rep. Jo Ann Emerson announced Monday that she'll be leaving in February to head the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association. Emerging from a Depression-era effort to bring electricity to farm communities, the non-profit association has grown into a heavy Washington hitter: It's Influence Explorer profile shows more than $27 million in campaign contributions and $46 million in expenditures to lobby Congress, mainly on energy and tax issues.