Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

2016 preview? Three videos by GOP groups all target Hillary Clinton

As the White House released long-sought documents on the Benghazi affair and Republican lawmakers have renewed their criticism of the Obama administration's handling of it, three big Republican groups have all produced videos on the episode that led to the death of an American ambassador. All strike a similar tone and focus on the same target: Hillary Clinton, the former secretary of state whose strong polling numbers make her an early favorite in the 2016 presidential election.  

In the Kentucky Derby of political giving, one horse laps the field

While bettors will be spending big on the 20 thoroughbreds racing to win Saturday's 139th Kentucky Derby, many of the horses' owners have been making their own high-stakes bets -- the kind that could pay off in much more than roses.

There he goes again: Larry Flynt backs Mark Sanford

If Mark Sanford accepts the endorsement of Hustler publisher Larry Flynt and the $2,600 that goes along with it, the South Carolina Republican congressional hopeful will be joining a list of well-known Democrats and breaking a long streak for the pornographer-turned-political activist.

Stanley Cup runneth over with political cash: NHL owners scored big for GOP

The puck drops tonight for the start of the Stanley Cup playoffs, and while hockey's bigwigs will be watching from afar in their box suites, they certainly took the ice during last year's election -- scoring big for the GOP. According to data from Sunlight's Influence Explorer, National Hockey League owners provided more than $3 million to politicians, PACs and independent expenditure groups during the 2012 election cycle.

Obama dedicates Bush library; will he disclose donors to his own?

As President Barack Obama attends today's dedication of the George W. Bush Presidential Center, he's mum about fundraising for his own post-presidential library -- and whether he'll disclose names of donors.

Big tech, big oil and defense help underwrite Obama inaugural

President Barack Obama raised more than $43 million for his second inaugural, including seven-figure donations from some of the nation's biggest tech, defense and energy companies, a report filed on Saturday with the Federal Election Commission shows.

Obama phones go by another name in Congress

Obama taps Romney donors for labor board

Whether it's a sign of post-partisanship or sheer exasperation is hard to say, but two of the three nominees that President Barack Obama today tapped for seats on the National Labor Relations Board donated to the Republican who wanted to take his place.

Baseball's (political) heavy hitters

While MLB players will be taking the field for Sunday's and Monday's opening day games in hopes of winning a World Series title in October, team owners may have their sights set on winning a different sort of Fall Classic. According to data from Sunlight's Influence Explorer, MLB organizations pumped in over $24 million to politicians, PACs and independent expenditure groups throughout the 2012 election cycle. No wonder presidents like to toss out the season's first pitch; you can see President Barack Obama at right, practicing for a 2010 appearance on the mound.

Immigration: Give me your poor, your tired . . . your lobbyists?

Long before the last election put new political momentum behind the stalled efforts to enact a comprehensive update of the nation's immigration laws, Washington's influence industry was teed up to make it a titanic battle, an analysis of lobbying disclosures by the Sunlight Foundation shows.

Obama visits GOP givers to make a point about sequestration

When President Barack Obama travels Tuesday to the historic Newport News Shipbuilding facility to make a point about the potential damage from the looming sequestration axe, he'll be making a political point in more ways than one.

What big donors would like to hear in the State of the Union

Influence profile: Interior nominee Sally Jewell

In S&P suit, Obama biting hand that fed him?

Maybe it's proof that money can't buy you love:  President Barack Obama's administration is widely reported to be about to take Standard & Poor's to court, despite the fact that employees of the credit rating agency and its corporate parent, McGraw-Hill, have disproportionately favored Democrats in recent election cycles.