CovOps
 Location : Ether-Sphere
Job/hobbies : Irrationality Exterminator
Humor : Über Serious
 |  Subject: Secret money seeps into politics and the courts  Sat Mar 26, 2022 10:13 pm | |
| There was a moment this week during the confirmation hearing of Judge Ketanji Jackson. who has been selected to be appointed to the Supreme Court, when Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell commented that a fringe group was spending “dark money to raise the profile of the judge.
“Dark money” has become part of the vocabulary of American politics since the Supreme Court handed down the landmark decision of United Citizens v. Federal Election Commission. If you have not heard about that decision and you care about the survival of our democracy, you should become educated.
I am sure many will say that I am exaggerating the effect of that decision, but my response is: Follow the money. The problem is that you can’t follow the money and determine the real donors because their identity is hidden, which is why they call it dark.
Citizens United was decided in 2010. Citizens United is a conservative non-profit organization that wanted to air and advertise a film critical of Hillary Clinton, who was running for president against Barack Obama. Advertising the film would have been a violation of a bipartisan bill called the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which was passed in 2002, which prohibited any corporation, non-profit organization or labor union from making “electioneering communication” within a certain time before an election or making any expenditure advocating the election of defeat of any candidate at any time.
In a 5-4 decision, the Supreme Court for the first time in American history determined that corporations, labor unions and non-profits had First Amendment rights and this bipartisan federal law was there unconstitutional because spending money is essential to disseminating free speech as established in a 1976 decision, Buckley v. Valeo. It is still illegal for these organizations to give money directly to candidates for federal office, but money given to political organizations does not violate the law and there is no limit on how much money they can spend.
Citizens United is credited with the creation of Super PACs, political action committees that cannot give money directly to candidates but can spend unlimited sums of money to advocate a particular candidate. Many of the television advertisements we see in political campaigns are paid for by these Super PAC’s. The Super PAC is required to disclose the identity of the donor, but therein lies the problem.
There are nonprofit organizations called 501(c)(4) organizations which can donate to the Super PAC, but these organizations are under no legal obligation to disclose their donors and there is no limit on the amount of money they can spend. Thus, the money donated to these nonprofits becomes dark money.
Therefore, when Senator McConnell raises the prospect that dark money is being spent to raise the profile of Judge Jackson, he is referring to an organization that has spent money received from undisclosed donors to enhance her standing. Of course, his assertion is extremely hypocritical because he knows quite well how the use of dark money led to the appointment of three justices on the Supreme Court during President Trump’s term of office.
The Federalist Society began as a discussion society for conservative and libertarian law students but has evolved into the most important and powerful right-leaning institution in the United States. Its founders have become law professors, members of Congress, and Cabinet officials, and it has close ties to five of the nine justices on the Supreme Court.
The executive vice president of the Federalist Society is Leonard Leo, who has been called the judge whisperer to Trump. Trump had boasted in his election campaign that the Federalist Society would pick the judges he appointed. Leo has raised hundreds of millions of dollars from unknown donors to pack the courts with people that pass the Federalist Society litmus test.
The Judicial Crisis Network, a conservative group, has a 501(c)(4) organization called the Concord Fund that has raised and spent nearly a half of billion dollars to get judges appointed to the federal bench. According to Senator Richard Whitehouse from Delaware, who presented evidence to the Judiciary Committee considering Judge Jackson’s nomination, the amounts spent on Justice Gorsuch were $21 million, on Justice Kavanaugh $17 million and on Justice Barrett $14 million. The donors to this effort are hidden so we cannot even determine if they have business before the court. That should frighten all of us. The Judicial Crisis Network even funded political advertisements accusing the potential nominee of President Biden of being influenced by liberal activists.
Regardless of your political affiliation, you should be very concerned about the influence of unknown donors, not only in the selection of judges, but also in the election of our legislators and president. I recognize that there are wealthy donors on both sides. George Soros’ contributions are as offensive on the left as Richard Koch’s contributions on the right. If large sums of money are being spent to influence selection of judges, other appointments or legislation, shouldn’t we know who is spending that money?
This is not a Republican issue or a Democrat issue. It is an American issue, and we have lived with the consequences of Citizens United as billions of dollars have been spent to influence decisions that profoundly affect our lives.
There is a solution. Legislation can be passed to require donors to be identified. Senator Whitehouse has introduced the DISCLOSE ACT, requiring organizations spending money in federal elections to disclose their donors, allowing the voters to determine who is attempting to sway their votes and gain control over government and the courts.The constitution could be amended to make it clear that the First Amendment does not apply to non-breathers (corporations).
Or we can remain silent and allow a handful of people to control every aspect of our lives.
.https://www.examiner.net/2022/03/26/secret-money-seeps-into-politics-and-the-courts/
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