On Jan. 21, 2010, the Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the longstanding prohibition on independent expenditures by corporations violated the 1st Amendment.

The elections that followed have been the most expensive in U.S. history. #DarkMoneyOutVotersIn

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crp.org/citizensunited 2/ With its decision, the court allowed corporations to spend unlimited sums to support/oppose political candidates.

The majority made the case that political spending from independent actors, even from powerful corporations, was not a corrupting influence on those in office.

NEW: 2023 was a record-breaking year for money in politics as millions of disclosed, and undisclosed, dollars poured into lobbying and elections. 💰

Here's a recap of what you need to know going into the 2024 election cycle. 1/🧵

crp.org/money2023 2/ In March, OpenSecrets officially reported that the midterm election was the most expensive midterm cycle ever, with money flowing into state and federal elections topping $16.4 billion.

opensecrets.org/news/2023/03/s…

These individuals have dipped deepest in their pockets for campaign contributions to federal candidates, parties, PACs, 527 organizations and Carey committees.

These donors contributed over $600 million to influence elections at the federal level. 1/🧵

crp.org/big20don
2/ Sam Bankman-Fried was a top donor in 2022, but Bankman-Fried was recently convicted for masterminding one of the biggest financial frauds in U.S. history by misappropriating customer funds to become one of the largest donors of the 2022 midterms.

crp.org/sbfi

NEW: A new record of $2.1 billion was spent on federal lobbying by midyear, surpassing 2022's record by a whopping $86.6 million.

Let's break it down and follow the money 1/🧵

crp.org/record 2/ A total of 12,112 lobbyists registered with the federal government lobbied during the first half of 2023.

That's 22 lobbyists for every member of Congress.

opensecrets.org/federal-lobbyi…

NEW: Prosecutors are probing Trump’s political operation after it shelled out over $44 million to lawyers and law firms that have also represented witnesses in cases against him. 1/🧵

crp.org/witness 2/ In a new filing, the DA’s office in Fulton County, Ga., prosecuting Trump in an election interference case provided a list of potential witnesses — several of whom have been represented by lawyers or firms that were paid by Trump’s political network.

abcnews.go.com/US/pro-trump-a…

NEW: Political groups backed by dark money and wealthy donors have spent $1.7 million on candidates this election cycle, raising concerns about transparency and the influence of outside money in the battle for control of the General Assembly. 1/🧵

crp.org/drkva 2/ The largest of these "dark money" groups has spent $1 million in support of Republican candidates as of Sept. 12.

Some watchdog groups have raised concerns about the political influence of special-interest organizations that conceal their donors and motivations.

NEW: Financial disclosures revealed that Ginni Thomas was paid $700,000 by the Heritage Foundation, a conservative group that has weighed in on Supreme Court justice confirmation processes, filed multiple amicus briefs and had cases before the Court. 1/🧵

crp.org/ginni 2/ Thomas filed the new disclosure on Aug. 31 after receiving a 90-day filing extension around when news of Thomas’ undisclosed trips and entanglements with Harlan Crow broke earlier this year.

June 24 marks the one-year anniversary of the Supreme Court’s ruling that overturned the 1973 Roe v. Wade decision.

Groups advocating around abortion rights poured millions into lobbying & political contributions since the Dobbs ruling. 1/🧵

crp.org/dobbs 2/ Federal lobbying spending on abortion flourished in 2022. Anti-abortion rights groups spent an all-time high of $1.5 million and abortion rights groups spent $2.2 million, a jump from previous years.

NEW: An OpenSecrets investigation shows Publix heiress Julia "Julie" Jenkins Fancelli steered millions more than previously reported to "dark money" groups involved in the rally preceding the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021 🧵 1/
crp.org/jan6 2/ Fancelli is the sole funder and president of the George Jenkins Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit that made a $1.3 million contribution to Moms for America — a dark money group that sponsored the Jan. 6 rally — in 2020. The contribution is previously unreported.

More than $1 billion in "dark money" poured into 2020 elections through ads & political contributions from shell companies or 501(c) groups bankrolled by secret donors—but only a small fraction was direct spending disclosed to the FEC crp.org/dmo1b

https://twitter.com/annalecta/status/1521920857366478848

Dark money is already at play in the 2022 election cycle. A super PAC backing J.D. Vance in Ohio’s Republican Senate primary received at least $200,000 from a “dark money” group tied to billionaire tech investor Peter Thiel called Per Aspera Policy crp.org/ptvd