Money in Politics

Soros-Backed Super-PAC to New York Pols: Pass Reform or We're Taking You Down

Friends of Democracy vows to oust Democrats and GOPers blocking public financing for New York State elections.

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| Tue Jun. 18, 2013 8:32 AM PDT
chart wall street bill donations

Want to Know How Your Rep. Voted on Wall Street Regs? Check the Campaign Cash.

House members who voted in favor of a recent bill scaling back financial reform happened to receive lots more money from the financial industry.

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| Mon Jun. 17, 2013 8:13 AM PDT

This Is What a Multimillionaire Calling In His Chits Looks Like

Whatever Art Pope wants, it seems, Art Pope gets.

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| Fri Jun. 14, 2013 7:33 AM PDT
A screenshot of Paul Newbie TV ad

Secret Money Is Now Swaying State Judicial Elections

How dark-money groups like the Chamber of Commerce and Americans for Prosperity have turned sleepy state supreme court races into partisan slugfests.

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| Thu Jun. 13, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

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Spot What's Wrong With Rand Paul's NSA Fundraising Email

In an appeal for donations filled with whoppers and conspiracy theories, the senator exploits the surveillance scandal.

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| Wed Jun. 12, 2013 8:49 AM PDT

New York's Gov. Cuomo Unveils His Own Bill to Battle Big-Money Politics—But Does It Matter?

Even Cuomo admits passing new reforms before next week's deadline is a long shot.

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| Wed Jun. 12, 2013 9:04 AM PDT

Montana Republicans Launch Campaign to Ban Dark Money

Big Sky GOPers join New York and California in pushing to pass new political money reforms.

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| Wed Jun. 5, 2013 7:29 AM PDT
Kids at a pool

The NRA Wants This Town to Legalize Packing Heat at the Pool

Charleston, West Virginia, has modest gun restrictions in a pro-gun state, but maybe not for long.

—By Lois Beckett, ProPublica

 | Tue Jun. 4, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

Cigarette Maker Funded Dark-Money Conservative Groups

Reynolds American chose the dark-money route, giving money to Norquist, the Koch brothers, and the US Chamber of Commerce.

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| Fri May. 31, 2013 9:37 AM PDT
Jeffrey Katzenberg with Barack Obama

Meet the New George Soros

The aging, mostly hands-off Soros is still the right's biggest bogeyman. Conservatives should pay more attention to Jeffrey Katzenberg.

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| Tue May. 28, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

WATCH: Does the IRS Scandal Mean Dark Money Groups Will Go Unchecked? [Fiore Cartoon]

The IRS actually should be investigating shady political nonprofits.

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| Thu May. 23, 2013 1:35 PM PDT
audit the irs

Official at Heart of IRS Tea Party Scandal Spiked Audits of Big Dark-Money Donors

In 2011, the IRS killed audits of five big-time donors. Inside the IRS mess you haven't heard about.

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| Thu May. 23, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

Is This Big Tea Party Group Really an Innocent Victim of the IRS?

The tax agency may have had good reason to scrutinize Tea Party Patriots—including a formal complaint I filed in 2011.

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| Wed May. 22, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
Former IRS Commissioner Doug Shulman

Former IRS Chief: "I Certainly Am Not Personally Responsible" for Tea Party Scandal

A contentious Senate hearing Tuesday made clear that the fallout could extend to campaign finance rules.

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| Tue May. 21, 2013 11:55 AM PDT

White House Learned of IRS Tea Party Probe Early—But Didn't Tell Obama

There's still no evidence that Obama or his top aides knew about the investigation during last year's election.

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| Tue May. 21, 2013 6:48 AM PDT

The Michele Bachmann Campaign Probe, Explained

Why the FBI and other investigators are taking a closer look at the Minnesota rep's ill-fated 2012 presidential run.

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| Tue May. 21, 2013 3:00 AM PDT
Mark Zuckerberg, Charles Koch, and Sheldon Adelson

Billionaires Now Own American Politics

Dark money is already shaping the 2016 race as motivated megadonors handpick the candidates and the issues.

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| Mon May. 20, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

IRS Speaks Out: We Messed Up, But We Would've Scrutinized Tea Partiers Anyway

Here's the agency's most detailed response to the tea party debacle.

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| Thu May. 16, 2013 5:50 PM PDT
tea party washington monument

Actually, Tea Party Groups Gave the IRS Lots of Good Reasons to Be Interested

IRS profiling was a fiasco. Yet, some tea party groups have left a trail of fiscal problems and possible tax-code abuse.

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| Fri May. 17, 2013 3:00 AM PDT

How Congress Helped Create the IRS-Tea Party Mess

Lawmakers could clear up the confusing rules for dark money groups. But do they really want to?

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| Fri May. 17, 2013 3:00 AM PDT