‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌
[link removed] [[link removed]] John,

In the 14 years since Citizens United , history has not been kind to the Supreme Court’s decision.

And with each passing year, it's only become clearer that we need stronger policies to regulate our campaign finance system.

2024 marks the fourth presidential election cycle since the Citizens United ruling, in which the Supreme Court ruled that corporate political spending that is not coordinated with a candidate or their campaign — known as “independent expenditures”— cannot be restricted, which, along with the Speechnow.org ruling that same year, led to the creation of super PACs.

In 2024 alone, super PACs and outside groups have already spent more than $320 million to influence the presidential primary (John, it’s only April 4th).

In the ruling, the court concluded that such expenditures, “including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption.”

Despite the court’s assurances, prosecutors have since found multiple examples of money meant to support independent expenditures that they alleged played a role in actual corruption.

Our analysis revealed that since the Citizens United ruling, the Justice Department has brought charges in at least four cases that involve allegations related to quid pro quo bribery and money tied to independent expenditures – the very scenario that the Citizens United court cast doubt upon. Independent expenditures indeed *could* be used by special interests to bribe government officials.

This is the kind of corruption in our elections that CREW is fighting to expose, and end – because we deserve a government that is working for the people, not the highest bidder. Help us fight the influence of dark money in politics by supporting CREW with a donation today → [[link removed]]If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately:

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The Citizens United majority also dismissed the idea that buying influence and access was a form of corruption that could justify restrictions, proclaiming that “the fact that speakers may have influence over or access to elected officials does not mean that these officials are corrupt.”

But our analysis [[link removed]] proves otherwise. In fact, it highlights how super PACs are a vector for using large contributions to seek access to and influence with elected officials.

*
In
one
case,
a
Mexican
businessman
who
“sought
to
buy
political
influence”
in
San
Diego
funneled
close
to
$600,000
in
illegal
foreign
funds
into
the
city’s
2012
election,
including
by
making
straw
donations
to
super
PACs.
*
In
another
case,
when
former
Rudy
Giuliani
associates
Lev
Parnas
and
Igor
Fruman,
along
with
several
others,
were
indicted
for
conspiring
to
make
conduit
contributions
and
to
violate
the
ban
on
foreign
donations,
the
Justice
Department
alleged
that
Parnas
and
Fruman
made
contributions
in
the
name
of
another
to
two
super
PACs
in
order
to
“obtain
access
to
exclusive
political
events
and
gain
influence
with
politicians.”

The examples above only address cases where prosecutors believed they could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that the law had been violated, which means they almost certainly represent just the tip of the iceberg in terms of the corruption at play in our political system.

Here at CREW, we’re going to continue our investigative work to uncover the dark money in our politics, and put an end to it. But we can’t do without your help.

Donate to CREW today and support our investigative and legal work to uncover and expose dark money in politics → [[link removed]]

Thank you,

Adam Rappaport
General Counsel
CREW

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