Sunlight Foundation

  1. Bopp seconds request to FEC to allow politicians to raise funds for Super PACs

    By Bill Allison May 31, 2011 4:21 p.m.

    Citizens United architect and campaign finance law foe James Bopp Jr. has seconded a request by Democratic campaign finance experts Perkins Coie for the Federal Election Commission to allow politicians and party committee officials to solicit corporations and labor unions for unlimited funds to be spent by independent expenditure-only committees, also known as Super PACs. Bopp's new client, the Republican Super PAC, has already outlined such a fundraising strategy to Republican party officials. 

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  2. Powerful financial council could deny or delay public information

    By Nancy Watzman May 31, 2011 1:43 p.m.

    A newly created powerful federal financial council will have broad latitude to deny or delay Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) requests if it adopts proposed rules, charges a financial watchdog group.

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  3. Egypt's PR shop terminates their US operation

    By Lindsay Young May 26, 2011 6:17 p.m.

    A few weeks after Egypt’s President Hosni Mubarak stepped down in response to the public outrage against his 30 year rule, the Egyptian government’s PR outfit in Washington terminated their operation, records show. Chlopak, Leonard, Schechter and Associates ended their representation of the Egyptian press office on February 28, 2011, shortly after Mubarak resigned on February 11.

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  4. Lobbyists for Morocco go on a meeting spree soon after political upheaval

    By Lindsay Young May 26, 2011 10:14 a.m.

    A nonprofit established by the government of Morocco went on a lobbying frenzy earlier this year, coinciding with the time when pro-democracy demonstrations in the country took an ugly turn. The Moroccan-American Policy Council, which is the registered agent of the Moroccan government met with 130 congressional offices on February 23, 24 and 25 just days after the riots broke out, FARA records show.

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  5. Meet the fellows

    By Joshua Hatch May 25, 2011 11:51 a.m.

    Thanks to a generous grant from The Atlantic Philanthropies, Sunlight will be inaugurating on June 1 the John E. Moss Fellowships, an intensive, hands-on training experience designed to better prepare young journalists for the opportunities and demands of the digital news environment.

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  6. Major banks use one lobbyist to team up on Dodd-Frank

    By Ryan Sibley May 24, 2011 11:25 a.m.

    The international law firm, Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen and Hamilton LLP, is lobbying Congress on behalf of three of the world’s biggest financial institutions regarding the derivatives market -- one of the major issues tackled by the Dodd-Frank financial reform legislation, according to disclosure forms filed this year.

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  7. Checking in on the House Oversight Committee

    By Joshua Hatch May 22, 2011 10:05 p.m.

    This Tuesday, the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform will have a doozy of a doubleheader. In the morning, the full committee will tackle the issue of rising gas prices, asking the question, how are government actions and regulations driving the price at the pump?

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  8. Democratic Super PACs ask FEC to OK candidate fundraising

    By Bill Allison May 19, 2011 4:39 p.m.

    Following on the heels of the new fundraising strategy laid out by James Bopp Jr. for Republican Super PAC, a pair of similar Democratic groups -- also known as independent expenditure-only committees -- have asked the Federal Election Commission to rule on whether party committee officials and candidates for federal office can permissibly raise unlimited funds from any source for these outside organizations. 

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  9. Upstate New York race sees the first of the outside spending this cycle

    By Anupama Narayanswamy May 19, 2011 11:12 a.m.

    The May 24 special House election in upstate New York is attracting the first slew of outside spending in the current election cycle. Party committees and other nonprofit groups have spent more than $1.88 million on this race so far.

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  10. Sunlight Live to cover Obama Middle East speech

    By Joshua Hatch May 18, 2011 4:44 p.m.

    On Thursday, May 19, President Obama will give a speech on recent events in the Middle East, from the "Arab Spring" uprisings to the lack of progress on an Israeli-Palestinian peace pact. How he addresses these issues is influenced by U.S. interests in the region, as well as lobbying efforts by foreign governments and organizations such as the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, better known as AIPAC.

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  11. New Bopp Super PAC wants Republicans to help it raise unlimited funds

    By Bill Allison May 16, 2011 1:04 p.m.

    A Super PAC formed by campaign finance law challenger and Indiana attorney James Bopp Jr. intends to harness the fundraising efforts of Republican Party committees  and candidates to raise unlimited contributions from individuals and corporations to be spent influencing elections in the 2012 campaign. 

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  12. Campaign disclosure foe James Bopp forms Super PAC

    By Bill Allison May 13, 2011 11:21 a.m.

    Attorney James Bopp, who's a key architect of the legal battle that's led to a flood of outside spending in elections, has registered a new independent expenditure only committee with the Federal Election Commission called the Republican Super PAC Inc.

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  13. Freshman lawmaker works to repeal transparency effort in Dodd-Frank

    By Ryan Sibley May 12, 2011 2:48 p.m.

    Last week members of the Capital Markets Subcommittee forwarded legislation to repeal a portion of Dodd-Frank that requires big banks to disclose income information for all of its employees onto the full Committee on Financial Services for consideration. 

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  14. Mexican government hires lobbyists, lawyer to help nationals facing capital punishment

    By Anupama Narayanswamy May 12, 2011 2:45 p.m.

    The Mexican consulate in Tuscon hired Arizona-based lawyer Gregory Kuykendall  for legal service and advice for Mexican nationals charged with crimes that could lead to a death sentence and for those already sentenced, recently filed disclosures under the Foreign Agents Registration Act filing show.

    Read all about it

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