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
CREW submits amicus brief in challenge to super PACs Posted on June 28, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) submitted an amicus brief in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The brief argues that the DC Circuit erred in SpeechNow.Org v. FEC when it created super PACs, and that the full Court should reconsider that decision. CREW’s brief makes threeRead More
Researchers submit amicus brief on the appearance of corruption and super PACs Posted on June 27, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, a group of empirical researchers submitted an amicus brief in Lieu v. Federal Election Commission, the case that could end super PACs. The brief by Professor Christopher Robertson (Associate Dean for Research and Innovation and Professor of Law at the University of Arizona), Professor Kelly Bergstrand (Assistant Professor of Sociology at the University ofRead More
New reply brief in the case that could end super PACs Posted on June 24, 2019 (June 18, 2020) Challenging Super PACs Today, we filed a short procedural reply brief 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 createdRead More
How Do Potential Supreme Court Nominees Stack Up on Citizens United? Posted on March 14, 2016 (October 2, 2018) Hours within the death of Justice Scalia, Senate Republicans vowed they would refuse to hold a hearing on any of the nominees presented by President Obama. Despite their refusals, the president has continued with the nominate process. In an interview with Truthout, Scott Greytak, counsel at Free Speech for People, discusses how the potential nominees stack upRead More
Who Blew The Lid Off Campaign Contributions Posted on December 18, 2015 (October 2, 2018) Citizens United may have set the stage for Super PACs, but it is the SpeechNow ruling and the Justice Department’s inaction that bear the greater responsibility. Read More
John Bonifaz on Free Speech TV’s ‘Ring of Fire’ Posted on November 29, 2015 (November 29, 2018) Watch our President and Co-Founder, John Bonifaz appear on Free Speech TV’s show, “Ring of Fire” discussing Super PACs and what may be the beginning of their demise. Read More
The Birth of the Super PAC By Renée Loth via The Boston Globe Posted on November 23, 2015 (November 29, 2018) Last week, on Monday, November 16, Renée Loth moderated our panel at Harvard Law School on SpeechNow v. FEC and ending Super PACs. Loth is featured in today’s issue of The Boston Globe, discussing “The Birth of the Super PAC” and its relation to the 2010 SpeechNow ruling. Read More
Ron Fein & Albert Alschuler on the Burt Cohen Show: Beginning of the End of Super PACs? Posted on November 17, 2015 (October 2, 2018) Free Speech For People’s Legal Director, Ron Fein and Julius Kreeger Professor, Emeritus, University of Chicago Law School , Albert Alschuler joined the Burt Cohen show to discuss the SpeechNow.org v FEC ruling and its impact on today’s democracy. Read More