Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

1. Shalesmanship: Ralph Hall's Energy act might have benefited his own bottom line

   By Jake Harper Mar 1, 2013 8 a.m.

   Veteran Rep. Ralph Hall appears to be profiting from legislation he helped write. But the Texas Democrat-turned-Republican didn't want to discuss his profits from the Barnett Shale.

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2. Two freshmen seek end to corporate personhood

   By Jake Harper Feb 11, 2013 2:42 p.m.

   Two new members of Congress, Reps. Rick Nolan, DFL-Minn., and Mark Pocan, D-Wis., will introduce a resolution on Tuesday aimed at reducing corporate influence in politics through an amendment to the U.S. Constitution. 

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3. Emergency Committee for Israel keeps spending in fight against Hagel

   By Jake Harper Feb 8, 2013 2 p.m.
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4. Bloomberg spending in Chicago congressional race

   By Jake Harper Feb 7, 2013 6:30 p.m.
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5. On Wisconsin: Badger State gets no break from political air wars

   By Jake Harper Feb 6, 2013 5:45 p.m.

   (Updated Feb. 8, 2:45 p.m. ET)

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6. Anti-Hagel ad spending tops $200K

   By Jake Harper Feb 6, 2013 2:20 p.m.
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7. Total 2012 election spending: $7 billion

   By Jake Harper Jan 31, 2013 11:47 a.m.

   A new estimate from the Federal Election Commission puts total spending for the 2012 election at more than $7 billion -- $1 billion more than previously thought. 

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8. New members of the 113th: What they own and whom they owe

   By Jake Harper Jan 28, 2013 2:21 p.m.

   Even before he was elected last November to represent Chicago's southern exurbs in the House, Illinois Democrat Bill Foster decided to sell his stake in Electronic Theatre Controls, a company he founded with his brother. Foster jettisoned the shares -- worth at least $5 million -- "to minimize potential conflicts of interest when voting on legislation that might impact his personal finances," according to his press secretary. 

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9. Roe v. Wade at 40: Abortion debate fuels multi-million-dollar influence effort

   By Jake Harper Jan 24, 2013 9:30 a.m.
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10. Firing, fast tracked bill show clout of copyright holders

    By Jake Harper Dec 19, 2012 8:17 a.m.

    If there were any question of the clout big media wields in Washington, the fate of Derek Khanna, the House Republican staffer who called for scaling back the copyright protections these interests benefit from, should leave no doubt. Khanna, whose copyright paper was mistakenly published online by a House Republican policy making body, then quickly withdrawn after protests erupted from major media firms and their congressional allies, was fired earlier this month.

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

    By Jake Harper Dec 7, 2012 11:24 a.m.

    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.

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12. After election, dozens of super PACs shut down

    By Jake Harper Nov 16, 2012 4:51 p.m.

    The Colbert Report Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c Colbert Super PAC SHH! - Secret Second 501c4 - Trevor Potter www.colbertnation.com Colbert Report Full Episodes Political Humor & Satire Blog Video Archive

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13. House freshmen faring well as incumbents

    By Jake Harper Nov 7, 2012 5:27 p.m.

    A vast majority of the freshmen swept into office two years ago on an anti-incumbency tide managed to survive their first reelection as incumbents, and while some appear to have been helped by last-minute infusions of cash from outside spenders, in many cases, independent expenditures don't appear to have made much of a difference.

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14. Outside spenders dump $210 million into last full week of the campaign

    By Jake Harper Nov 2, 2012 10:38 a.m.

    In the last full week before the election, outside spending groups have bombarded voters with a record $210 million in ads, direct mail, and other political expenditures, and, as in weeks past, the vast majority of the funds went to support Republican candidates. Since Sept. 7 -- when the FEC began requiring all groups to disclose independent expenditures, regardless of the content -- the rate of outside spending has ballooned, reaching a new high this week. A Sunlight analysis of Federal Election Commission records shows that organizations dropped $132.6 million to back Republicans in the period between Oct. 26 and Nov. 1, while just $76.4 went to help Democrats. That compares to $26 million for the second week of September.

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Investigations by Sunlight Foundation reporter Jake Harper