Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group

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.

Democratic convention watch: Join the conversation tonight

The Sunlight Foundation is at the Democratic convention, literally and virtually, and you can join us online Wednesday and Thursday nights.

Corporate funded nonprofit works at nexus of politics and entertainment

A corporate-funded nonprofit organization that operates out of a Washington, DC lobbying firm's offices and describes itself as working in the "nexus between the entertainment community and Washington" will be helping to host a "high-profile evening event" on Tuesday at the Democratic convention in Charlotte.

Introducing the new and improved Party Time

Just in time for the really big political parties in Tampa and Charlotte, Party Time's gussied up!

Play ball! How MLB teams rank in political giving

It's opening day of Major League Baseball's 2012 season, so Sunlight has decided to take a look at which teams are the heaviest hitters when it comes to political giving.

OCE report on financial reform shows nexus between fundraising and legislating

On Nov. 24, 2009, Sara Conrad, the fundraising consultant for Rep. Joseph Crowley, D-N.Y., sent an email to Michael Stein, head of government relations for financial services giant Morgan Stanley, inviting him to attend a Dec. 10 fundraising reception for Crowley’s campaign. The email was a follow-up to a prior conversation he had with Crowley’s chief of staff, Kate Winkler, about the Ways and Means Committee member's upcoming campaign events. 

House to charge Charlie Rangel with ethics violations

Despite his oft repeated assertions to the contrary, Rep. Charles Rangel, D-N.Y., will be charged by the House Committee on Standards of Official Conduct for as yet unspecified violations of congressional ethics rules.

Matching bundlers to fundraisers

Here at the Reporting Group, we’ve always wanted to tie the fundraising invitations in our Party Time database to actual donations reported to the Federal Election Commission by a politician or a political action committee--to be able to show a donor gave money to a politician at a certain event.

Financial reform fundraising: Are lobbyists for Wall St. firms hosting hundreds of events for lawmakers?

Sam Geduldig, a lobbyist for high profile financial firms, banks and credit card companies who has the ability to "kill legislative threats to his clients," is listed as a host on 18 invitations to fundraisers for Republican members of Congress and their leadership committees, a Sunlight Foundation Reporting Group review of Party Time data from January 2009 to the present has found.

Bad dates: ProPublica notes lack of accuracy in campaign finance data

ProPublica's Sebastian Jones notes what for us has been one of the most maddening features of campaign finance data: the dates don't mean very much at all. Campaigns report when they receive money, and political action committees report when they donate it. In theory, those dates should match, but as Jones points out, they don't:

Financial reform lobbyists host fundraisers for senators

Cram down look ups, cont. cont....

For more detail on what this is, see here. While this is still partially that, it's also turning into something else. As I noted, this is raw research, not a finished product--results to come. One thing I'm finding is that looking closely at slices of data from Party Time leads in all kinds of directions...

Specter ramps up the fundraising

In the whirlwind of fundraising parties this month"as of today we've collected 428 invitations for this month and counting"Sen. Arlen Specter stands above his peers, with a dozen parties scheduled in March and more beyond.

Financial crisis doesn't disrupt financial fundraisers

"As the public boils with anger over millions of dollars in retention bonuses for American Insurance Group employees, financial interests quietly continue to woo lawmakers with fundraising parties this month.