Your weekly money in politics newsletter.

December 15, 2022

Qatar’s arms imports soared in the decade after FIFA awarded it the 2022 World Cup

Qatar’s multimillion dollar U.S. lobbying operation paved the way for more than $4.2 billion worth of arms exports from the United States since 2010.

Ticketmaster faces antitrust investigations and congressional hearings in wake of botched Taylor Swift presale

Live Nation has dramatically increased its federal lobbying efforts since 2017, spending $1.2 million on federal lobbying in 2021 alone.

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried indicted on campaign finance violations as House Financial Services Committee probes new CEO

Former FTX CEO Sam Bankman-Fried was charged with campaign finance violations, including giving at least $25,000 to candidates and PACs under other names.

OpenSecrets and Fulbright

OpenSecrets Executive Director Sheila Krumholz met with Aira Azhari, Democracy and Government Unit Manager of Ideas Malaysia and Fulbright Scholar, to discuss campaign finance laws.

Her group advocates for creating campaign finance transparency laws and, ultimately, she dreams of having a site like OpenSecrets for Malaysia.

OpenSecrets in the News

See our media citations from outlets around the nation this week:

Congress considers crypto consumer protection bill that Sam Bankman-Fried backed before FTX collapse (CNBC)

Despite the allegations later made against him and his company, Bankman-Fried supported the DCCPA. FTX lobbied for the bill more than any other legislation in 2022, according to watchdog OpenSecrets.

Leftovers, anyone? (POLITICO)

Even in the most expensive races, where millions of dollars flowed in and out, chunks of money are sitting in the bank. Here’s how much money is left in the most expensive general election races, as of Nov. 28 and compiled by OpenSecrets.

Sandy Hook to Uvalde: Congress has proposed many gun control laws. Only one has passed. (USA Today)

Gun rights organizations have spent much more than gun control advocates to lobby members of Congress, according to opensecrets.org. Spending rose significantly after the 2012 Sandy Hook shootings.

The Georgetown Voice