Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

Banking money fuels senators who want to slow down Volcker

The six senators who introduced legislation Thursday to slow down implementation of the "Volcker rule," designed to prohibit banks from profiting from trading on their own accounts, are the recipients of ample amounts of campaign cash from the financial industry.

FEC: Perry can use some presidential funds to create super PAC

The Federal Election Commission green-lighted Texas Gov. Rick Perry’s request to turn the funds he collected for his presidential campaign to other political uses -- just not all the funds.

On IPO bill, Democratic senators nibble on the hand that feeds them

A bill backed by President Obama and largely drafted by some of his Silicon Valley donors is causing an embarrassing rift in his party's ranks and creating an awkward situation as Democratic leaders in the Senate try to make last-minute changes today before sending it to the White House.

Naming names: How super PAC ads might look if DISCLOSE were enacted

If this hasn't happened yet to you, it probably will in this year of record-breaking spending by outside interest groups: You are watching TV or perusing the Internet when you are confronted by one of those ads telling you that your prospective public servant is a disgusting human being and completely incompetent. Worst of all, the ads are brought to you by a committee or organization whose vague name gives no clue as to its true identity. Then you ask, "Who is doing this to me? "

Why DeMint's donation to a super PAC could give his party heartburn

Super PACs have given GOP megadonors new avenues to make campaign contributions at a faster clip than ever, but in at least one quarter of the party establishment, they may be causing some heartburn this week.

Adelson gives Gingrich a lifeline

In February, casino magnate and pro-Israel advocate Sheldon Adelson, along with his wife, Miriam, bet $5 million more on Newt Gingrich's flagging presidential bid by contributing to his super PAC, Winning our Future. This makes the couple the source of five out of six dollars raised by the super PAC since it launched late last year. Their daughter, Shelley, contributed another $500,000.

Who's the web savviest presidential candidate of all?

Running for president requires web presence. Facebook, Twitter, web videos and websites that take online donations are ubiquitous among this year's presidential contenders. Yet, in an ever-more sophisticated technical world, the basics are not enough, and each candidate is trying some unique approaches to mine the Internet for donations -- a key to President Obama's fundraising success in 2008.

Fight to oust Hatch fuels a $1 million outside money blitz

With Sen. Orrin Hatch appearing to pass a first crucial political test on Thursday night when his supporters swelled attendance at GOP caucus meetings in his state to record numbers, the inundation of outside money in the Utah Senate race may only pick up steam. Super PACs have played a bigger role in the multi-stage contest that will decide the 36-year Senate veteran's fate than any other 2012 congressional contest so far. And that's not even counting the money spent by a nonprofit group spending hundreds of thousands of dollars supporting Senator Hatch.

On patent law, Mavs owner Mark Cuban knows the score

When two popular Internet utilities get in a high-priced legal fight and a famously outspoken NBA owner jumps in the middle, it's hard not to keep your eye on the roundball -- especially on the day  March Madness gets underway. 

Crusading lawyer takes aim at contribution limits

The attorney who has been pushing the FEC to ease a host of campaign finance rules is at it again.

Stealthy wealthy: How Harold Simmons' political giving has benefited his business empire

Simmons-controlled company fights for protectionist measures

When Titanium Metals Corp., a defense contractor that's part of Harold Simmons's business empire, lobbied for protectionist policies designed to shield it from foreign competition, the fight allied the Texas billionaire and Republican mega-donor with some unlikely political bedfellows, including Sen. Sherrod Brown, a liberal Democrat from Ohio, and a union that overwhelmingly gives to Democrats. 

Progressive groups threaten corporations on political giving

Today government reform groups put corporations on notice: Try to funnel political donations through entities that can hide them, and expect major public relations consequences. 

Democratic joint super PAC is a first

Just when you thought you had the shadowy world of super PACs figured out, here comes a new twist: Three big Democratic super PACs -- formed to support President Barack Obama, and House and Senate Democrats -- are banding together to form the first ever joint fundraising super PAC.