May 9, 2024

New from the Institute for Free Speech

Putting “Dark Money” in Context: Campaign Spending by Nonprofits per Election Cycle

By Helen Knowles-Gardner 

.....One of the principal misconceptions about “dark money” is that it accounts for a significant percentage of total campaign spending. 

In 2017, the Institute for Free Speech presented data showing that “the sensational rhetoric common in discussions of ‘dark money’ gives a false impression that nonprofits are a major source of campaign speech. In reality nonprofits that are not political committees consistently account for less than 5% of political spending.” 

Seven years later, our research shows that during the past two election cycles, nonprofits accounted for less than 1% of political spending, including campaign spending and independent expenditures. The pejorative term “dark money” is aimed at scaring the public into believing that nonprofits, which are not necessarily required to disclose their donors if the groups make independent expenditures advocating the election or defeat of candidates, are major financial players in the world of campaign finance. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Congress

The Hill: A disturbing national security bill could silence nonprofits and college protests

By Mike Zamore and Kia Hamadanchy

.....This week, the Senate may pass a bill granting the executive branch extraordinary power to investigate and strip nonprofits of tax-exempt status based on a unilateral accusation of wrongdoing. 

The potential for abuse under H.R. 6408 is staggering. If it were to become law, the executive branch would be handed a tool perfectly designed to stifle free speech, target political opponents and punish disfavored groups.           

The bill would empower the Treasury secretary with the authority to effectively dismantle any nonprofit organization they deem to have provided “material support” to terrorist groups. Adding this authority to the tax code would also allow the IRS to investigate and harass nonprofits. 

This legislation is completely unnecessary. Under current law, nonprofits are already prohibited from providing material support to terrorist organizations. In fact, it’s a federal crime.

Fox News: Hamas sympathizers could be added to list that includes terrorist suspects if GOP bill becomes law

By Adam Shaw

.....Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kan., is introducing the No Flights for Terrorists Act, which would put individuals on the Transportation Security Administration’s no-fly list if they have encouraged violence against Jews, pledged support for terrorist groups, or have been disciplined by higher education institutions for such conduct…

The bill is being co-sponsored by Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and comes after thousands of protesters have been arrested at colleges and universities in recent weeks, since the formation of an encampment at Columbia University on April 18…

"When protesters chant ‘We are Hamas’ and carry around ‘Death to America’ posters, we should believe them. Any student, professor or paid protester in America who promotes terrorism or engages in terrorist acts on behalf of Hamas should immediately be placed on the TSA No Fly List," she said.

Sen. Josh Hawley: Hawley Demands Biden DOJ Investigation into Illegal Dark Money Funding of Anti-Israel College Groups

.....Today U.S. Senator Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) sent a letter to U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland, pressing President Biden's Department of Justice to investigate the third-party funding behind the violent, coordinated antisemitic protests currently plaguing college campuses across the country.

The Courts

Bloomberg Law: Keep Montana TikTok Ban Paused, Advocacy Groups Urge Court

By Tonya Riley

.....A slew of free speech and internet freedom advocacy groups urged a federal appeals court to uphold a lower court decision blocking Montana from banning social media app TikTok, arguing the ban violates the First Amendment.

The groups, which include the American Civil Liberties Union, argued banning the popular social media app is analogous to blocking newspapers from publishing, which the Supreme Court has found unconstitutional.

“The State’s prohibition here is even more sweeping than those in Near or Pentagon Papers,” the groups wrote, citing two high court First Amendment precedents. “Montana has not merely forbidden particular communications or speakers on TikTok based on their content but it has banned an entire platform—suppressing an extraordinary amount of protected expression in the process.”

ACLU of Indiana: ACLU of Indiana Sues to Block New Law Undermining Professors’ Free Speech

.....This morning, the ACLU of Indiana filed suit in U.S. District Court asserting that a new state law, Senate Enrolled Act 202, violates the First and Fourteenth Amendments of the U.S. Constitution. Earlier this year, the Indiana General Assembly passed the bill and Governor Eric Holcomb signed it into law. The law blatantly impinges on the academic freedom that is guaranteed by the First Amendment…

SEA 202 states professors must be disciplined if they fail to “foster a culture of free inquiry, free expression, and intellectual diversity” and “expose students to scholarly works from a variety of political or ideological frameworks.” However, neither professor can discern what these incredibly ambiguous terms mean and what they are required to do or refrain from doing to avoid running afoul of the statute. The law could mean that public college or university professors must give debunked theories equal time in their classrooms alongside rigorously studied academic analysis.  

Washington Post: D.C.’s largest high school to show alternate Palestinian film after suit

By Spencer S. Hsu

.....The D.C. Public Schools system and Jackson-Reed High School on Wednesday agreed to end their ban on an Arab student group’s attempt to screen a pro-Palestinian documentary and host events about Palestinian culture after the American Civil Liberties Union of D.C. brought a First Amendment lawsuit.

Free Expression

Chronicle of Higher Education: Yes, the Encampment at Your College Could Help Trigger a Federal Investigation

By Michael Vasquez

.....College leaders who’re wondering whether chaotic protests on their campuses could trigger federal investigations now have a more explicit answer.

On Tuesday, the Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights released a “Dear Colleague” letter that spelled out in greater detail what sorts of episodes could trigger investigations into alleged discrimination “based on race, color, or national origin.”

Daily Caller: Labor Board’s Pro-Union Ruling Could Have Devastating Consequences For Free Speech

By Will Kessler

.....A judge with the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) last week ruled in favor of a case that has serious implications for free speech by employers when talking about unions, legal experts told the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Judge Brian Gee found that the NLRB was correct in its assertion that certain comments made in interviews in 2022 by Amazon CEO Andy Jassy violated federal labor law amid a national unionization campaign at the company. Jassy’s comments were about how union members would be “better off” without a union because there would be less red tape between employees and management, and came as the Biden administration has pushed to promote unionization. However, the judge’s decision could significantly chill free speech.

Bloomberg Law: EEOC Republican Warns Employers About Workplace DEI, Politics

By Riddhi Setty

.....Companies need to exercise caution around the hot button topics of DEI and political speech in the workplace, EEOC Commissioner Andrea Lucas said at a conference Wednesday…

Lucas also addressed the pitfalls of bringing political speech into the workplace, particularly in terms of an employer voicing their beliefs on a political matter.

“I think a lot of employers are starting to rethink whether or not that was a good idea, but they opened Pandora’s box,” said Lucas. “My perspective at the employer level is to encourage people to rethink whether or not you really like weighing in on every single controversy.”

If you’re going to have Black Lives Matter discussions in the workplace, you should be prepared to have “blue lives matter” discussions as well, she said.

The States

Courthouse News: Arizona Legislature challenges campaign spending law in appeals court

By Joe Duhownik

.....Arizona legislative leaders appeared before the state court of appeals Tuesday to challenge a voter-backed campaign finance disclosure law they say violates the state constitution. 

Senate President Warren Petersen of Gilbert and House Speaker Ben Toma of Peoria, both Republicans, say Proposition 211 — or the Voters Right to Know Act — takes rulemaking authority away from the Legislature and over-delegates that authority to Arizona Citizens Clean Elections Commission, an agency of the executive branch.

Proposition 211 was supported by more than 70% of voters in the 2022 general election and requires any person or organization making campaign media expenditures of more than $50,000 to statewide elections or $25,000 to local elections to disclose the original source of any contributions totaling more than $5,000. 

Seattle Times: Why one man filed 800 campaign finance complaints against WA candidates

By Jim Brunner

.....Over the past several months, Washington’s campaign-finance watchdog agency has been flooded with hundreds of complaints against political campaigns — a deluge driven largely by one person.

Conner Edwards, a 31-year-old recent law school graduate, has filed more than 800 complaints with the Public Disclosure Commission against candidates and political committees since late last year.

Edwards, who has worked as a campaign treasurer for mostly Republican candidates, says his crusade has a simple justification: “The PDC has not been doing their job.”

Despite Washington’s shiny image as a leader in political-money transparency, he says the PDC is failing to crack down when campaigns don’t file important reports detailing who is giving them money and how it’s being spent.

Fox News: Ohio AG defends letter warning 'woke' masked anti-Israel protesters they face prison time: 'We have a society'

By Andrew Mark Miller 

.....In a letter sent on Monday, [Ohio Attorney General Dave] Yost warned university presidents of a historic state law that could mean masked anti-Israel demonstrators on college campuses could face felony charges.