Also: Montana's Senate race gets national attention

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May 14, 2020
This week in money-in-politics

Thank you to everyone who donated to the Center for Responsive Politics for #givingtuesdaynow. We know these are trying times and we are truly grateful for the support and encouragement of our watchdog role over the influence of money in politics. ([link removed])
Trump campaign spending unprecedented sums on legal fees as lawsuits pile up


President Donald Trump’s 2020 campaign is spending unprecedented amounts of donor dollars on lawsuits and cease-and-desist orders as it wages an expensive reelection battle.

The Trump campaign has spent more than $16 million on legal and compliance services between the 2018 and 2020 election cycles, according to OpenSecrets’ analysis of campaign expenditures. That sum accounts for roughly 10 percent of the campaign’s total spending through the end of March. No other presidential campaign has ever spent that much money on legal services.
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** China Telecom spending on foreign influence amid Trump admin crackdown
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Chinese telecommunications operators poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into foreign influence operations targeting the U.S. amid escalating tensions between the two countries over a range of issues from cybersecurity to trade and the coronavirus pandemic.
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** House Democrats’ relief package would give Washington lobbying giants access to small business aid
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Speaker Nancy Pelosi unveiled Democrats’ $3 trillion relief package Tuesday. The bill would provide nearly $1 trillion in relief to local governments and authorize direct payments to American families. But buried in the bill is a provision that allows trade associations, unions and 501(c)(4)s to access small business loans.
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** Outside groups, third-party candidates meddle in Montana Senate race with party backing
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Montana Gov. Steve Bullock might be trailing Sen. Steve Daines in fundraising, but his recent edge over the incumbent in polls has led national groups to pour money into the critical Senate race. While outside groups backing Bullock are spending money to flip the Senate, the GOP is attempting to widen the field via third-party candidates in order to split votes.
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OpenSecrets in the News

See where we've been cited by media outlets around the nation this week:

* ** FBI serves warrant on senator in investigation of stock sales linked to coronavirus (The Los Angeles Times) ([link removed])
Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina turned over his phone to agents after they served a search warrant — a significant escalation in the investigation into whether Burr violated a law preventing members of Congress from trading on insider information.

* ** Lobbyist spending spikes during coronavirus crisis (ABC News) ([link removed])
OpenSecrets reporter Karl Evers-Hillstrom spoke with reporter Matt Prichard about the escalation of lobbying activity following the economic downturn brought about by the coronavirus pandemic.

* ** Bloomberg's gun control group plans $5 million effort in Arizona (AZ Central) ([link removed])
Michael Bloomberg's gun control group plans to spend at least $5 million in Arizona in an effort to aid Democratic candidates from the presidency down to the state Legislature.

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