Abolish Super PACs, Ban Foreign Corporate Money, State Legislators Introduce Two Bills to Protect Election Integrity in Massachusetts Posted on February 9, 2021 (February 9, 2021) Challenging Super PACs BOSTON, MA – State legislators have introduced two bills in the Massachusetts Legislature to abolish super PACs and to prohibit spending by foreign-influenced corporations in Massachusetts elections. State Senator Jo Comerford is the lead sponsor of Senate bill SD 634, State Senator Mark Montigny is the lead sponsor of Senate Bill SD 759, and StateRead More
Statement on the Supreme Court’s denial of certiorari in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission. Posted on November 9, 2020 Challenging Super PACs This morning, the U.S. Supreme Court issued an order denying certiorari review in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case to end super PACs. This case–launched in November 2016 by Rep. Ted Lieu (D-Cal.), the late Rep. Walter Jones (R-N.C.), Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Or.), and three congressional candidates from both major parties–was a bipartisan effortRead More
FSFP Senior Counsel Courtney Hostetler Discusses Money in Politics and Foreign Influence in U.S. Elections on The Jason Rigden Show. Posted on November 3, 2020 (January 8, 2021) Challenging Super PACs FSFP Senior Counsel Courtney Hostetler recently appeared on The Jason Rigden Show to discuss money in politics and foreign influence in U.S. elections. “Super PACs are these giant independent expenditure committees that are allowed to take in unlimited contributions and spend unlimited amounts of money on campaigns. And the reason they can do this isRead More
Sixteen States Urge The Supreme Court To Hear The Case To End Super PACs Posted on July 22, 2020 (July 22, 2020) Challenging Super PACs US Senators Join in Support, Filing Separate Brief Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and Washington State Attorney General Bob Ferguson among parties submitting amicus briefs in support of Supreme Court review of Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the landmark case seeking to end super PACs WASHINGTON, D.C. (July 22, 2020) – Sixteen states, led by Washington State,Read More
FSFP Hosts Virtual Briefing to Discuss Recent Developments in Lieu v. FEC, the Case That Could End SuperPACs Posted on July 8, 2020 Challenging Super PACs FSFP hosted a virtual briefing to discuss recent developments in Lieu vs. FEC, the case that could abolish super PAC spending in U.S. elections. Speakers for the online event included Rep. Ted Lieu (D-CA-33), Professor Jeffrey Fisher (Stanford Law School), FSFP President John Bonifaz, and FSFP Legal Director Ron Fein. “The Supreme Court actually didn’tRead More
Supreme Court Will Have Chance to Review Case Seeking to End Super PAC Spending in U.S. Elections Posted on June 18, 2020 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Federal lawmakers are petitioning the Supreme Court to review a lawsuit challenging SpeechNow.org v. Federal Election Commission, the 2010 appeals court ruling that created super PACs WASHINGTON, DC (June 18, 2020) – The Supreme Court will have the chance to review a lawsuit filed by Members of Congress and congressional candidates that seeks to abolishRead More
Supreme Court Specialist Jeffrey Fisher to Lead the Supreme Court Brief on the Case that Could End Super PACs Posted on January 30, 2020 (May 29, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Jeffrey Fisher, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Supreme Court Litigation Clinic at Stanford Law School, has joined the legal team for Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. Professor Fisher will lead the forthcoming petition for certiorari to be filed with the U.S. Supreme Court this spring. BackgroundRead More
Free Speech For People asks full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to hear challenge to super PACs Posted on November 18, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs We recently filed a petition for rehearing en banc in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The goal of the Lieu litigation is to give the D.C. Circuit, or the Supreme Court, the opportunity to overturn the D.C. Circuit’s 2010 SpeechNow decision that created superRead More
Next steps in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs Posted on August 20, 2019 (June 12, 2020) Challenging Super PACs In 2016, Free Speech For People, on behalf of a bipartisan coalition of Members of Congress and 2016 congressional candidates, filed a lawsuit against the Federal Election Commission to abolish super PACs. The lawsuit, filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., seeks the reversal of the 2010 ruling of the U.S. Court of AppealsRead More
Senators Whitehouse, Blumenthal, Hirono submit amicus brief in challenge to super PACs Posted on June 28, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse D-RI), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), and Mazie Hirono (D-HI) submitted an amicus brief to the U.S. Court of Appeals in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. In their brief, the senators urge the court to reexamine its previous SpeechNow holding that failed to recognize the practical effectRead More