{"id":142715,"date":"2016-04-10T12:56:30","date_gmt":"2016-04-10T18:56:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=142715"},"modified":"2016-04-11T13:00:01","modified_gmt":"2016-04-11T19:00:01","slug":"how-citizens-united-is-helping-hillary-clinton-win-the-white-house","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2016\/04\/how-citizens-united-is-helping-hillary-clinton-win-the-white-house\/","title":{"rendered":"How \u2018Citizens United\u2019 is helping Hillary Clinton win the White House"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/04\/07\/19521\/how-citizens-united-helping-hillary-clinton-win-white-house\" target=\"_blank\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-142721 size-large\" src=\"http:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/HillaryZyglis2-771x526.jpg\" alt=\"HillaryZyglis2\" width=\"771\" height=\"526\" srcset=\"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/HillaryZyglis2-771x526.jpg 771w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/HillaryZyglis2-336x229.jpg 336w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/HillaryZyglis2-768x524.jpg 768w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/HillaryZyglis2-1170x798.jpg 1170w, https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/04\/HillaryZyglis2.jpg 1260w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 771px) 100vw, 771px\" \/><\/a><a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/04\/12\/17107\/12-things-know-about-hillary-clinton\" target=\"_blank\">Hillary Clinton<\/a> fashions herself as the ultimate general in a war against big-money politics.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou&#8217;re not going to find anybody more committed to aggressive campaign finance reform than me,\u201d Clinton said following the New Hampshire primary.<\/p>\n<aside class=\"module align-left half type-aside\">\n<h3>About this article<\/h3>\n<p>This story comes from the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/04\/07\/19521\/how-citizens-united-helping-hillary-clinton-win-white-house\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>, a nonprofit, nonpartisan investigative media organization in Washington, D.C. It\u2019s\u00a0part of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/politics\/buying-president-2016?utm_campaign=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo-news&amp;utm_medium=taxonomy-link\" target=\"_blank\">Buying of the President 2016<\/a>. Tracking the candidates, political committees and nonprofits that are making this presidential election the most expensive in history.\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/politics\/buying-president-2016?utm_campaign=syndication&amp;utm_source=yahoo-news&amp;utm_medium=taxonomy-link\" target=\"_blank\">Click here<\/a> to read more stories in this investigation.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<p>But the Democratic presidential front-runner stands poised to bludgeon her general election opponent with Republicans\u2019 favorite political superweapon: the Supreme Court\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2012\/10\/18\/11527\/citizens-united-decision-and-why-it-matters\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Citizens United<\/em><\/a> decision, which earlier this decade launched a new era of unbridled fundraising.<\/p>\n<p>Clinton\u2019s massive campaign machine is built of the very stuff \u2014 super PACs, secret cash, unlimited contributions \u2014 she <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hillaryclinton.com\/issues\/campaign-finance-reform\/\" target=\"_blank\">says she\u2019ll attack<\/a> upon winning the White House.<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a> investigation reveals that Clinton\u2019s own election efforts are largely immune from her reformist platform. While Clinton rails against \u201cunaccountable money&#8221; that is \u201ccorrupting our political system,\u201d corporations, unions and nonprofits bankrolled by unknown donors have already poured millions of dollars into a network of Clinton-boosting political organizations. That\u2019s on top of the tens of millions an elite club of Democratic megadonors, including billionaires George Soros and Haim Saban, have contributed.<\/p>\n<p>Far from denouncing their support, Clinton has embraced it, personally\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/onpolitics.usatoday.com\/2015\/05\/06\/hillary-clinton-reaches-out-to-super-pac-donors\/\" target=\"_blank\">wooing<\/a> potential super PAC donors and dispatching former President Bill Clinton and campaign manager <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2015\/09\/hillary-clinton-2016-priorities-usa-25-million-213826\" target=\"_blank\">John Podesta<\/a> on similar missions.<\/p>\n<p>Several of the big-money groups crucial to the Clinton-for-president effort are led or advised by one man, Clinton <a href=\"http:\/\/www.thenation.com\/article\/how-david-brock-built-empire-put-hillary-white-house\/\" target=\"_blank\">scourge-turned-disciple<\/a>\u00a0David Brock, who\u2019s also seized control of \u2014 and defanged, former staffers say \u2014 a prominent, nonpartisan watchdog group that helped <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/report-clinton-led-state-department-gave-inaccurate-answer-on-email-use\/2016\/01\/06\/da01edf8-b4a1-11e5-a842-0feb51d1d124_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">lay groundwork<\/a> for what\u2019s become the Clinton <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/investigations\/how-clintons-email-scandal-took-root\/2016\/03\/27\/ee301168-e162-11e5-846c-10191d1fc4ec_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">email server scandal<\/a>. Each of the groups plays a specific role, from advertising to opposition research, in bolstering the Hillary for America campaign committee Clinton herself leads.<\/p>\n<p>Clinton\u2019s campaign argues it \u201ccannot afford to unilaterally disarm\u201d and quit the big-money game. That, they say, is because powerful conservative interests, most notably the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/the-fix\/wp\/2014\/01\/06\/mapping-the-koch-brothers-massive-political-network\/\" target=\"_blank\">secretive outfits<\/a> backed by billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch, plan to support the Republican presidential nominee with hundreds of millions of dollars. Republican front-runner <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/06\/16\/17488\/9-things-know-about-donald-trump\" target=\"_blank\">Donald Trump<\/a>, himself a billionaire, is burning his own wealth as campaign fuel.<!--more--><\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhen she is elected president, Hillary Clinton will make it a priority to restore a government of, by and for the people,\u201d spokesman Josh Schwerin told the Center for Public Integrity.<\/p>\n<p>Not satisfactory, say some prominent liberals, whose reactions range from underwhelmed to apoplectic.<\/p>\n<p>They cite <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/04\/30\/17261\/12-things-know-about-bernie-sanders\" target=\"_blank\">Bernie Sanders<\/a> as proof a Democratic presidential candidate can contend in elections mostly on the strength of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politifact.com\/nbc\/statements\/2016\/mar\/21\/hillary-clinton\/hillary-clinton-says-her-campaign-depends-small-do\/\" target=\"_blank\">small-dollar donations<\/a> \u2014 and without cultivating support from super PACs and billionaires.<\/p>\n<p>Clinton\u2019s supposedly reform-minded campaign, they continue, has instead tolerated, if not encouraged, a Democratic operation akin to what the Koch brothers have wrought.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019d be like tobacco companies coming out and saying they wanted to fight against lung cancer,\u201d said Dylan Ratigan, the former MSNBC television host and author of\u00a0<em>New York Times<\/em> bestseller <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Greedy-Bastards-Corporate-Communists-Banksters\/dp\/1451642229\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Greedy Bastards<\/em><\/a>, who hasn\u2019t yet endorsed a presidential candidate. \u201cIn a way, the Koch brothers have more credibility than Clinton on election money issues \u2014 they\u2019re at least upfront about how they want to use money to buy politics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A Center for Public Integrity\/Ipsos poll conducted in late February indicates many potential general election voters are likewise concerned about how serious Clinton is about remaking the nation\u2019s campaign system \u2014a\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/03\/22\/19478\/sanders-clinton-want-campaign-finance-overhaul-face-huge-obstacles\" target=\"_blank\">monumental challenge<\/a> under any circumstance, but a goal supported by the\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2015\/06\/03\/us\/politics\/poll-shows-americans-favor-overhaul-of-campaign-financing.html?_r=0\" target=\"_blank\">vast majority of Americans.<\/a><\/p>\n<p>Half of all poll respondents overall \u2014 and nearly four in 10 self-identified Democrats \u2014 said Clinton is relying on super PACs and big money too much. That compares to 18 percent overall who said Clinton is relying on them the \u201cright amount\u201d and 5 percent who said \u201ctoo little.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>And when asked, \u201cIf elected president, which of the following would do the most to reform the campaign finance system and make it less reliant on big money?\u201d Clinton trailed both Sanders and Trump among respondents.<\/p>\n<p>The situation has frightened some conservatives, who see Clinton evolving into a sort of Madam Strangelove, worrying little about lefty protestations while learning to love her backers\u2019 money bombs. Almost never, they note, does Clinton speak ill \u2014 or at all \u2014 of the specific super PACs supporting her and itching to damage Republicans.<\/p>\n<p>And she almost never speaks out against pro-Clinton money that\u2019s difficult, if not impossible, to trace to a flesh-and-blood source, such as corporate treasury dollars or donations from \u201csocial welfare\u201d nonprofits that may, by law, hide their own contributors from public view.<\/p>\n<p>Call it pragmatism, call it ruthlessness. By any name, Clinton\u2019s acceptance of big-money politics means trouble for Republicans, who\u2019ve been reveling all decade in the Supreme Court\u2019s 2010 decision in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.scotusblog.com\/case-files\/cases\/citizens-united-v-federal-election-commission\/\" target=\"_blank\"><em>Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission<\/em><\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The ruling <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2012\/10\/18\/11527\/citizens-united-decision-and-why-it-matters\" target=\"_blank\">freed<\/a> corporations, unions and certain nonprofits to raise and spend unlimited amounts of money to advocate for and against political candidates. Conservatives have embraced <em>Citizens United<\/em> more widely than liberals, many of whom consider poorly regulated political money a poison that weakens democracy.<\/p>\n<p>What initially prompted the high court\u2019s decision? A dispute over a decidedly anti-Clinton movie that a conservative nonprofit organization called Citizens United wanted to <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/wp-dyn\/content\/article\/2010\/01\/21\/AR2010012103582.html\" target=\"_blank\">broadcast<\/a> during the 2008 presidential primaries.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWouldn\u2019t you know that Hillary Clinton has become one of the greatest beneficiaries of the <em>Citizens United<\/em> Supreme Court decision,\u201d Citizens United President David Bossie said. \u201cIt is an irony that is not lost on me.\u201d<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<h3>A \u2018Milky Way\u2019 of Clinton groups<\/h3>\n<p>During the 2016 election cycle, most presidential candidates have enjoyed support from super PACs created for one reason: to supercharge the candidates\u2019 campaigns.<\/p>\n<p>The development represents the full flourishing of a trend that began during the 2012 presidential election. While technically separate from the campaigns they back \u2014 federal law prohibits super PACs and campaigns from coordinating most spending \u2014 the super PACs are legally independent, but often run by friends, associates or former staffers of the presidential candidate being supported.<\/p>\n<p>And Clinton has been a trailblazer: Three cash-flush super PACs, stacked with Clinton allies, exist almost exclusively to strengthen Clinton\u2019s presidential effort.<\/p>\n<p>Priorities USA Action, for example, is an advertising juggernaut that\u2019s already spent millions helping Clinton secure the Democratic nomination. Ready for Hillary PAC (now Ready PAC) organizes and collects information from grassroots supporters. Correct the Record serves as a political SWAT unit attacking those who attack Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>A fourth super PAC, American Bridge 21st Century, aides Democratic candidates in general with opposition research \u2014 and was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/2775798-brockAmericanBridge.html\" target=\"_blank\">praised by Clinton<\/a>\u00a0at its outset.<\/p>\n<p>That group\u2019s recent efforts largely focus on researching, tracking, embarrassing and damaging candidates competing in the Republican presidential primary. Barring a <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/contested-republican-national-convention-work\/story?id=37003821\" target=\"_blank\">contested<\/a> Republican National Convention where a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtontimes.com\/news\/2016\/mar\/6\/mitt-romney-wont-rule-out-accepting-gop-nomination\/\" target=\"_blank\">non-candidate<\/a> fantastically becomes the nominee, one will face Clinton in the general election.<\/p>\n<p>These four core pro-Clinton super PACs have together raised more than $86 million toward Election 2016, according to a Center for Public Integrity analysis of the groups\u2019 most recent filings with federal regulators. The true figure is almost certainly larger \u2014 significantly larger \u2014 because three of the four super PACs haven\u2019t yet disclosed money they\u2019ve raised since Jan. 1.<\/p>\n<p>Of this known haul, about $14 million collectively \u2014 about one of every six dollars raised \u2014 comes from dozens of corporate, union or nonprofit sources. Tracking these contributions to a human source ranges from relatively easy to effectively impossible.<\/p>\n<p>And these pro-Clinton super PACs are intimately linked.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item odd\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<p>Two of them \u2014 American Bridge 21st Century and Correct the Record \u2014 share space <a href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/maps\/place\/455+massachusetts+ave.+nw\/@38.9007179,-77.0177824,3a,75y,26.4h,90t\/data=!3m7!1e1!3m4!1sNLyx2xYufXKVfFi7ef1gBw!2e0!7i13312!8i6656!4b1!4m2!3m1!1s0x0:0xf6f8dfc0b36d5bd3!6m1!1e1\" target=\"_blank\">in a Washington, D.C., office building<\/a> at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.455mass.com\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">455 Massachusetts Ave. NW<\/a> \u2014 \u201cits exquisite interior is appointed with materials of the finest quality,\u201d building developers <a href=\"http:\/\/www.455mass.com\/overview.html\" target=\"_blank\">boast<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Federal records show all four super PACs regularly shuttle millions of dollars in cash and resources among themselves. This means an initial, anonymous contribution to one super PAC can flow through any of the rest before it\u2019s finally used to help Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>Consider the $1 million Priorities USA Action <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00578997\/1046461\/sa\/17\" target=\"_blank\">gave<\/a> Correct the Record in December. Correct the Record, in turn, <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00578997\/1046461\/sb\/29\" target=\"_blank\">gave<\/a> American Bridge 21st Century $400,000 later that month.<\/p>\n<p>Priorities USA Action and Correct the Record, which is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/post-politics\/wp\/2015\/05\/12\/how-a-super-pac-plans-to-coordinate-directly-with-hillary-clintons-campaign\/\" target=\"_blank\">pushing legal boundaries<\/a> by coordinating many of its efforts directly with Clinton\u2019s campaign, have even formed a federal joint fundraising committee called\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/pdf\/472\/201512189004297472\/201512189004297472.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">American Priorities 16<\/a>, a vehicle that allows the two groups to more seamlessly solicit donations and swap resources.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<p>No tie binds these groups closer than Brock, the Clinton ally who either leads or has advised or <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2013\/10\/garin-brock-to-ready-for-hillary-event-098939\" target=\"_blank\">assisted<\/a> them all. The irony here is rich: Brock\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.amazon.com\/Seduction-Hillary-Rodham-David-Brock\/dp\/0684837706\" target=\"_blank\">publicly<\/a> hounded the Clintons during the 1990s before transforming himself from an unabashed conservative into a blue-streaked liberal.<\/p>\n<p>Brock is also involved with several nonprofit organizations friendly to Clinton\u2019s cause, such as Media Matters for America, which tracks conservative communications, and the <a href=\"http:\/\/americanindependent.com\/board-of-directors\" target=\"_blank\">American Independent Institute<\/a>, which <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/blogs\/media\/2014\/06\/david-brock-to-launch-journalism-institute-190746\" target=\"_blank\">funds<\/a> journalism exposing \u201cthe nexus of conservative power in Washington.\u201d Brock\u2019s American Democracy Legal Fund \u2014 a political group managed by Correct the Record chief Brad Woodhouse and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/527s\/527cmtedetail_contribs.php?cycle=2014&amp;ein=471750779\" target=\"_blank\">funded<\/a> in part by American Bridge 21st Century \u2014 last month slapped Sanders with a Federal Election Commission complaint accusing his campaign of violating federal campaign laws.<\/p>\n<p>Another key Clinton supporter is Emily\u2019s List, a political fundraising operation that helps fund the campaigns of Democratic women who support abortion rights. It\u2019s partnering with Priorities USA Action on a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.emilyslist.org\/news\/entry\/priorities-usa-emilys-list-madam-president-campaign-announce-partnership-to\" target=\"_blank\">project<\/a> to mobilize women voters on Clinton\u2019s behalf. It also formed a <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/pdf\/862\/201511029003261862\/201511029003261862.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">federal joint fundraising committee<\/a> with Priorities USA Action.<\/p>\n<p>Additionally, super PAC <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/pdf\/092\/10030432092\/10030432092.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Planned Parenthood Votes<\/a>, which supports multiple Democratic candidates, has spent more than $1.2 million on pro-Clinton efforts this election. Planned Parenthood has endorsed Clinton and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/politics\/first-draft\/2016\/03\/31\/pro-hillary-clinton-groups-plan-first-ad-against-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">works closely<\/a> with Priorities USA Action.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe doesn\u2019t just have a constellation, she has a galaxy \u2014 a Milky Way \u2014 of this outside funding,\u201d says former Rhode Island Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/06\/03\/17172\/9-things-know-about-lincoln-chafee\" target=\"_blank\">Lincoln Chafee<\/a>, who ran against Clinton in the Democratic presidential primary and dropped his bid in October.<\/p>\n<p>Leaders of the pro-Clinton super PACs say they serve an essential purpose: efficiently and effectively defending her against Republicans who will use the\u00a0<em>Citizens United<\/em> decision against Clinton to the greatest extent possible.<\/p>\n<p>Clinton, they continue, also can\u2019t be expected to battle unlimited political money with limited resources \u2014 the most a presidential candidate\u2019s own campaign <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fec.gov\/info\/contriblimitschart1516.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">may accept<\/a> from an individual donor during the general election is $2,700.<\/p>\n<p>Brock, for his part, says he\u2019s \u201cvery proud of the progressive infrastructure\u201d that he\u2019s helped build in a bid to aid Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>After the <em>Citizens United<\/em> decision, Brock said, Democrats and liberals had a choice.<\/p>\n<p>They could bury their \u201ccollective heads in our ideals and principles and cede the new political reality to the likes of Karl Rove and the Koch brothers or play by the rules as they are and play to win,\u201d Brock said. \u201cWe made the decision, the correct and only one in our view, to play by the rules as they are and play to win so that progressives can gain enough political power to move America forward in a number of critical areas including campaign finance reform.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Added Justin Barasky, a Priorities USA Action spokesman: \u201cTo think we\u2019re not going to fight back against those attacks would be political malpractice. We\u2019re not going to allow Republicans to buy an election.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barasky said that Priorities USA Action, which is led by former Clinton aide Guy Cecil, does support Clinton\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.hillaryclinton.com\/briefing\/factsheets\/2015\/09\/08\/restore-integrity-to-elections\/\" target=\"_blank\">campaign finance reform platform<\/a>. Barasky also noted that the super PAC\u2019s leaders recently shut down its sister nonprofit, Priorities USA, which had <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2013\/11\/19\/13795\/pro-obama-nonprofit-boosted-undisclosed-donors\" target=\"_blank\">accepted millions of dollars<\/a> in undisclosed contributions while it was still largely a vehicle for supporting President Barack Obama and his political agenda.<\/p>\n<p>Michael Briggs, a Sanders spokesman, says he\u2019s not buying it.<\/p>\n<p>Priorities USA Action, he notes, has spent huge quantities of money to promote Clinton not in the general election against a Republican, but in key Democratic primary states where she was competing against Sanders. (Priorities USA Action has spent more than $5.5 million to boost Clinton, FEC disclosures show.)<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe found a way to raise significant amounts of money from small donors,\u201d said Briggs, adding that Sanders\u2019 average contribution today is still close to, if not exactly, the $27 figure Sanders loves to tout from the campaign trail. \u201cClinton\u2019s super PACs \u2014 it\u2019s clearly a way for her to raise a lot of special interest money from a system that\u2019s corrupt. This reliance, and the secrecy, raises the same questions that are raised about why she <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/4219049\/hillary-clinton-wall-street-speeches-paid\/\" target=\"_blank\">won\u2019t<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2016\/02\/clinton-speeches-218969\" target=\"_blank\">release<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.businessinsider.com\/hillary-clinton-speeches-on-wall-street-2016-2\" target=\"_blank\">transcripts<\/a> of her paid speeches to Wall Street executives.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Heading into March, Clinton\u2019s own campaign committee <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/10\/16\/18631\/see-how-much-2016-presidential-candidates-have-raised-so-far\" target=\"_blank\">had raised<\/a> about $160 million to the Sanders campaign\u2019s $140 million.<\/p>\n<p>But super PACs supporting Clinton had together raised tens of millions of additional dollars while no super PACs exist to primarily back Sanders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item odd\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<p>One key Clinton super PAC backer has received particular attention from Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>On July 2, Clinton <a href=\"https:\/\/assets.documentcloud.org\/documents\/2158218\/hillary-clintons-letter-to-haim-saban-against-bds.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">personally wrote Saban<\/a>, who with his wife, Cheryl, has\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/outsidespending\/donor_detail.php?cycle=2016&amp;id=U0000000380&amp;type=I&amp;super=N&amp;name=Saban%2C+Haim+%26+Cheryl\" target=\"_blank\">contributed<\/a> $5 million to Priorities USA Action this election cycle. Clinton\u2019s letter solicited Saban\u2019s \u201cthoughts and recommendations\u201d on how to counter the \u201cboycott, divestment and sanction\u201d movement against Israel\u2019s presence in Palestinian territory.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI will be speaking out publicly on this issue in the weeks ahead, so I am eager to hear your perspective and advice,\u201d Clinton wrote Saban, adding in a handwritten postscript: \u201cLooking forward to working with you on this.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The letter came three days after Saban, <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forbes.com\/profile\/haim-saban\/\" target=\"_blank\">a billionaire TV mogul<\/a>, and his wife together contributed $2 million to Priorities USA Action.<\/p>\n<h3>An uneasy relationship<\/h3>\n<p>On the campaign trail, and on her own terms, Clinton alludes to shadowy political money as the currency of a modern right-wing conspiracy.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe have to end the flood of secret, unaccountable money that is distorting our election, corrupting our political process, drowning out the voices and votes of people,\u201d Clinton said in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=oABt-UqdUDw\" target=\"_blank\">a speech last year<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs president, I&#8217;ll appoint Supreme Court justices who recognize that <em>Citizens United<\/em> is bad for America. And if necessary, I&#8217;ll fight for a constitutional amendment that overturns it,\u201d Clinton <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2016\/01\/21\/opinions\/hillary-clinton-citizens-united-more-democracy\/index.html\" target=\"_blank\">wrote<\/a> in a CNN op-ed piece marking the sixth anniversary of the <em>Citizens United<\/em> decision.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBig surprise: A flood of money from rich people, corporations, special interests has poured into our politics,\u201d Clinton said during a speech last month in Madison, Wisconsin. \u201cThe idea, I believe, that money is speech turns our Constitution upside down \u2026 the Supreme Court has given the wealthiest Americans even greater power to affect what happens in our democracy.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But Clinton and her campaign often bristle at direct inquiries about her campaign\u2019s relationship with super PACs and other big-money political forces that support her.<\/p>\n<p>At a Democratic debate Feb. 11 in Milwaukee, for example, Clinton parried PBS News Hour anchor Judy Woodruff\u2019s inquiry about millions of dollars liberal financiers George Soros and Donald Sussman have poured into Priorities USA Action.<\/p>\n<p><em>(The Center for Public Integrity receives funding from the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/about\" target=\"_blank\">Open Society Foundations<\/a>, which Soros funds. A complete list of Center for Public Integrity funders is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/about\/our-work\/supporters\" target=\"_blank\">found here<\/a>.)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>\u201cYou&#8217;re referring to a super PAC that we don&#8217;t coordinate with, that was set up to support President Obama, that has now decided that they want to support me,\u201d Clinton said. \u201cThey are the ones who should respond to any questions. Let&#8217;s talk about our campaigns.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>When Sanders later pressed her about Priorities USA Action, she shot back: \u201cIt&#8217;s not my PAC.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schwerin, Clinton\u2019s spokesman, declined to address specific <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a> questions about secret and tough-to-track money that super PACs are using to support her candidacy.<\/p>\n<p>He likewise declined to answer questions about Brock, the leader of many pro-Clinton organizations.<\/p>\n<p>Such responses fit the pattern of Clinton\u2019s campaign: Eschew talk of the cash-flush political groups orbiting her campaign, or even in general about super PACs and the like.<\/p>\n<p>This proves especially true when Clinton is face-to-face with Sanders, who often antagonizes her about her paid speeches to Wall Street executives, connections with wealthy supporters and support from big-spending groups that wouldn\u2019t exist in their current forms but for <em>Citizens United<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>A Center for Public Integrity analysis of Democratic presidential debate transcripts indicates that Sanders almost always mentions the <em>Citizens United\u00a0<\/em>decision, super PACs and other money-in-politics topics more than Clinton does.<\/p>\n<p>Technically, Clinton is correct about her relationship with super PACs: Federal law prohibits her, or any presidential candidate, from commanding and controlling super PACs that back them. (Even Sanders receives modest support from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/fact-checker\/wp\/2016\/02\/11\/sanderss-claim-that-he-does-not-have-a-super-pac\/\" target=\"_blank\">super<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/09\/10\/17947\/did-shady-pro-bernie-sanders-super-pac-just-dupe-james-bond\" target=\"_blank\">PACs<\/a> and \u201cdark money\u201d <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/01\/21\/19167\/dark-money-boosting-bernie-sanders\" target=\"_blank\">nonprofits<\/a>\u00a0and he can\u2019t legally force them to stop.)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<p>But many do the next best thing: Both Clinton and most of her Republican counterparts have instead stood by, without quarrel, as close political operatives and intimates fuel and run supportive super PACs.<\/p>\n<p>Priorities USA Action paid Paul Begala, a close Clinton friend, $200,000 for \u201ccommunications consulting\u201d work from January 2014 to August 2015, FEC records show. Begala <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/2779894-rfh1.html\">also<\/a> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/2779895-rfh2.html\" target=\"_blank\">aided<\/a> Ready for Hillary PAC.<\/p>\n<p>During that time and beyond, Begala also worked as an <a href=\"http:\/\/www.cnn.com\/profiles\/paul-begala\" target=\"_blank\">on-air political contributor<\/a> for CNN, frequently commenting on Clinton, her opponents and the presidential race in general \u2014 and not always disclosing his relationship with Priorities USA Action or Ready for Hillary PAC.<\/p>\n<p>How close are Clinton and Begala? Close enough that Begala on April 28, 2009, asked Clinton associates at the U.S. State Department for \u201ca briefing on what HRC has accomplished in the first hundred days\u201d of her tenure as secretary of state.<\/p>\n<p>He\u2019d be talking about Clinton on an upcoming CNN special, he explained.<\/p>\n<p>Twelve minutes later, an aide forwarded Begala\u2019s message to Clinton\u2019s top advisers, including Huma Abedin, Philippe Reines, Cheryl Mills and P.J. Crowley. Begala apparently got what he wanted, writing back to say, \u201cPJ can give me what I need.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Begala <a href=\"http:\/\/www.mrctv.org\/videos\/e-mails-show-cnn-analyst-paul-begala-went-state-dept-pro-hillary-talking-points-2009\" target=\"_blank\">then appeared<\/a> on CNN April 29 to discuss Clinton\u2019s performance. Afterward, he emailed Mills with an update.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI gave Sec. Clinton an A+ in our dopey CNN report card last night,\u201d he told her in an email, released after a federal judge <a href=\"http:\/\/www.wsj.com\/articles\/judge-orders-clinton-emails-released-on-a-rolling-basis-1432053928\" target=\"_blank\">ordered<\/a> the State Department to publish most emails Clinton wrote and received from a private address she used for official business.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cXo,\u201d replied Mills, Clinton\u2019s chief of staff.<\/p>\n<p>Finally, Mills forwarded <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/2775790-begala2.html\" target=\"_blank\">the email chain<\/a> to Clinton herself at Clinton\u2019s now-notorious private email address \u2014 the contents of which were housed on a private server in her New York state home that\u2019s now the subject of an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/local\/public-safety\/us-judge-weighs-deeper-probe-into-clintons-private-email-system\/2016\/02\/23\/9c27412a-d997-11e5-81ae-7491b9b9e7df_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">FBI investigation<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h3>Shining light on Clinton \u2018dark money\u2019<\/h3>\n<p>A look at specific contributions to the super PACs supporting Clinton shows just how difficult it can be to unravel who is really writing the checks.<\/p>\n<p>For example, federal records <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00526673\/1020133\/sb\/ALL\" target=\"_blank\">show<\/a> that on June 29, super PAC Priorities USA Action received $1 million from an outfit called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fairshareaction.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Fair Share Action<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Fair Share Action, too, is a super PAC \u2014 a liberal one that says it works to \u201celect public officials who stick up for working families.\u201d The big check followed its <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00526673\/1020133\/sb\/ALL\" target=\"_blank\">earlier<\/a> $5,000 contribution to Ready for Hillary PAC.<\/p>\n<p>So who funds Fair Share Action? During 2015, a pair of \u201csocial welfare\u201d nonprofits alone <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/forms\/C00526673\/1020133\/sa\/ALL\" target=\"_blank\">bankrolled<\/a> it: Environment America Inc. ($800,000) and Fair Share Inc. ($300,000).<\/p>\n<p>But neither Environment America Inc. nor Fair Share Inc. is required to comprehensively or publicly reveal its donors, because as \u201csocial welfare\u201d groups that can\u2019t primarily focus on electoral politics, federal law says they don\u2019t have to. (Several other environmentally minded nonprofits give to Environment America Inc., federal tax filings indicate.)<\/p>\n<p>Wendy Wendlandt, acting director for both Fair Share Action and Fair Share Inc., declined to volunteer the names or contribution amounts of Fair Share Inc.\u2019s donors.<\/p>\n<p>Wendlandt did say that both Fair Share Inc. and Environment America Inc. are \u201clargely funded by individual members\u201d with money \u201craised in teeny, tiny contributions.\u201d Neither group, she continued, accepts for-profit corporate contributions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s important to distinguish between grassroots groups like Environment America and Fair Share which are truly organized with a social mission and those organizations which are specifically set up to shield political donors,\u201d Wendlandt said, adding that Fair Share Inc. supports proposed laws requiring \u201csocial welfare\u201d nonprofits to disclose donors who fund electioneering efforts. \u201cHowever, until such laws are enacted, we do not turn away any donation which is legal and motivated by a desire to further the public interest.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Barasky of Priorities USA Action declined to comment on Fair Share Action\u2019s contribution.<\/p>\n<p>Priorities USA Action also received $200,000 last year from the corporate treasury of <a href=\"http:\/\/www.suffolk.com\/about_us.html\" target=\"_blank\">Suffolk Construction Company Inc.<\/a>, a Boston-based firm with a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.suffolk.com\/projects.html\" target=\"_blank\">portfolio<\/a> filled with dozens of completed private sector and public sector projects, including <a href=\"http:\/\/www.suffolk.com\/projects\/government\/featured.html\" target=\"_blank\">facilities<\/a> operated by the federal government.<\/p>\n<p>Government contracting records <a href=\"https:\/\/www.usaspending.gov\/transparency\/Pages\/RecipientProfile.aspx?DUNSNumber=107904625&amp;FiscalYear=2008#PrimeData\" target=\"_blank\">indicate<\/a> that the federal government has awarded Suffolk Construction more than $168.8 million worth of contracts since fiscal year 2008.<\/p>\n<p>Officials at Suffolk Construction repeatedly declined to explain why the company contributed money to Priorities USA Action.<\/p>\n<p>One clue: Federal records show Suffolk Construction\u2019s John Fish is a major political bankroller, having personally donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to federal candidates and committees over the years. Fish, who the Federal Reserve named chairman of the board of the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, did not return requests for comment.<\/p>\n<p>Most of Fish\u2019s contributions went to Democrats, including Clinton\u2019s presidential campaign. But Fish also last year contributed to the presidential campaigns of Sen. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/04\/13\/17058\/12-things-know-about-marco-rubio\" target=\"_blank\">Marco Rubio<\/a>, R-Fla., and Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/06\/30\/17582\/9-things-know-about-chris-christie\" target=\"_blank\">Chris Christie<\/a>, R-N.J.<\/p>\n<p>Priorities USA Action\u2019s Barasky again declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Other pro-Clinton super PAC contributions listed in federal disclosure documents are more modest but similarly opaque, their true sources hidden within a tangle of corporate acronyms and aliases.<\/p>\n<p>Take a $5,000 contribution last year to Ready for Hillary PAC from \u201cRMS\u201d in Cleveland, Ohio.<\/p>\n<p>The hunt for answers begins at <a href=\"http:\/\/rmsaquaculture.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">R.M.S. Aquaculture<\/a> \u2014 \u201cCleveland\u2019s aquarium superstore!\u201d But a man answering the phone there expressed confusion about the contribution and insisted the company had never donated to Ready for Hillary PAC, or any super PAC.<\/p>\n<p>There is another RMS in Cleveland, state incorporation documents indicate. This RMS\u2019 address tracks to a building where real estate developer <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forestcity.net\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Forest City<\/a>\u00a0also has offices.<\/p>\n<p>Turns out there\u2019s a connection between the two companies: Forest City spokesman Jeff Linton confirmed that RMS more or less functions as a \u201cfamily office\u201d for the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forestcity.net\/company\/history\/Pages\/default.aspx\" target=\"_blank\">Ratner family<\/a>, which founded Forest City.<\/p>\n<p>Several family members are frequent political contributors, federal records show, donating to both Democrats and Republicans. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.forestcity.net\/company\/people\/Pages\/display-corporate_officers.aspx?personID=5\" target=\"_blank\">Albert Ratner<\/a>, for example, personally has given nearly $120,000 to <a href=\"https:\/\/newdayforamerica.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">New Day for America<\/a>, a super PAC supporting GOP presidential candidate and Ohio Gov. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/07\/21\/17209\/9-things-know-about-john-kasich\" target=\"_blank\">John Kasich<\/a>. He\u2019s also donated $2,700 to the campaign committees of both Kasich and Clinton.<\/p>\n<p>Ready for Hillary PAC spokeswoman Nicole Titus declined to discuss specific contributions received by the PAC, but noted that it accepted donations from more than 130,000 contributors and built \u201can early network of supporters who were ready to begin working\u201d the moment Clinton announced her candidacy.<\/p>\n<p>Ready for Hillary PAC also received $5,000 in 2014 from \u201cPCCC, LLC\u201d of Brentwood, Tennessee.<\/p>\n<p>The Price Cutter Charity Championship, a professional golf tournament in Missouri, is on the same <a href=\"http:\/\/pricecuttercc.org\/web-com-tour-announces-2016-schedule\/\" target=\"_blank\">Web.com Tour<\/a> schedule as a tournament in Brentwood, Tennessee. But tournament director Jerald Andrews says it \u201chas no connection whatsoever\u201d to the pro-Clinton super PAC.<\/p>\n<p>Is PCCC LLC an entity controlled by the <a href=\"http:\/\/boldprogressives.org\/about\" target=\"_blank\">Progressive Change Campaign Committee<\/a>, a political group that pushes for liberal reforms and is aligned with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.? No, says co-founder Adam Green \u2014 it\u2019s not his PCCC that\u2019s behind the money.<\/p>\n<p>There is a Dallas-based private equity company called <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pharosfunds.com\/philosophy.php\" target=\"_blank\">Pharos Capital Group LLC<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The firm also has an office in Brentwood, Tennessee. Its address matches the one Ready for Hillary PAC listed for PCCC LLC. For two weeks, Pharos Capital Group LLC officials declined Center for Public Integrity requests to explain whether Pharos Capital Group LLC and PCCC LLC are one and the same.<\/p>\n<p>An answer finally came in late March when Pharos Capital Group LLC Vice President Ryan Shelton acknowledged that PCCC LLC is a \u201crelated entity\u201d controlled by Pharos Capital Group LLC Managing Partner <a href=\"http:\/\/www.dallasnews.com\/business\/columnists\/cheryl-hall\/20151218-at-60-low-profile-money-magnate-ready-to-show-people-like-me-exist.ece\" target=\"_blank\">Kneeland Youngblood<\/a>, a frequent contributor to Democratic candidates, <a href=\"http:\/\/docquery.fec.gov\/cgi-bin\/fecimg\/?201512149004197521\" target=\"_blank\">including Clinton<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The mini-mysteries continue with a $5,000 contribution Ready for Hillary PAC received in June 2014, from Victoria Pre-Owned Autos Inc. in Bergen County, New Jersey \u2014 the same day that a dozen other companies gave the super PAC money, federal records indicate. Donations ranged from $250 to $12,500.<\/p>\n<p>Lucky Ugulu, one of Victoria Pre-Owned Autos Inc.\u2019s partners, confirmed his company donated to the super PAC. He said he made it at the behest of his local Democratic party.<\/p>\n<p>New Jersey Democratic State Committee spokesman Matt Farrauto said his committee doesn\u2019t endorse candidates in primaries and made no such ask. Lou Stellato, chairman of the Democratic Committee of Bergen County, has\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/politickernj.com\/2015\/08\/currie-leads-dems-endorsement-in-nj-for-clinton\/\" target=\"_blank\">endorsed<\/a> Clinton, and did not return a message seeking comment.<\/p>\n<p>As for Ugulu, he\u2019d like his money back: business isn\u2019t strong, and since making his contribution, he\u2019s barely heard a peep from either the Clinton campaign or pro-Clinton super PACs. Ugulu says he\u2019s now planning to skip November\u2019s presidential vote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s just a system that asks for money and gives you nothing in return,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>That\u2019s not always the case, though.<\/p>\n<p>In April, Ready for Hillary PAC earned $105,000 from <a href=\"http:\/\/mokosocialmedia.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">MOKO Social Media Ltd.<\/a>, a for-profit firm with offices in Sydney, Australia; Alexandria, Virginia; and New York City.<\/p>\n<p>What did MOKO get for its money?<\/p>\n<p>Ready for Hillary PAC granted MOKO the right to email the PAC\u2019s millions of supporters with up to eight commercial messages, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.documentcloud.org\/documents\/2775855-Ready-for-Hillary-List-Rental-Agreement-Center.html\" target=\"_blank\">according to a contract<\/a>\u00a0obtained by the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>The messages would come from <a href=\"http:\/\/30akgphwhwh2jyjpj1hjnrszcx.wpengine.netdna-cdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/20151125_Blue_Nation_Review_Transaction.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">Blue Nation Review<\/a>, a popular and unabashedly lefty news site that MOKO then owned. Ready for Hillary PAC also agreed to \u201cretweet on Twitter and post on Twitter mutually agreed upon content produced by MOKO-owned property Blue Nation Review.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The idea, MOKO founder Ian Rodwell told the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a>, was to promote content that was \u201crelevant to the same audience.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But MOKO only sent one email message, said Titus of Ready for Hillary PAC. And in November, MOKO sold most of its stake in Blue Nation Review to a new company called True Blue Media LLC.<\/p>\n<p>Who owns True Blue Media LLC?<\/p>\n<p>Clinton consigliere David Brock.<\/p>\n<p>In <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/david-brock-blue-nation-review_us_564f0f3de4b0879a5b0a7bc5\" target=\"_blank\">acquiring<\/a> Blue Nation Review, Brock now owned both a media property and remaining access to Ready for Hillary PAC\u2019s millions of supporters.<\/p>\n<p>He <a href=\"http:\/\/www.huffingtonpost.com\/entry\/david-brock-blue-nation-review_us_564f0f3de4b0879a5b0a7bc5\" target=\"_blank\">tapped<\/a> Peter Daou, a former Clinton campaign operative, as Blue Nation Review\u2019s editor.<\/p>\n<p>Daou replaced Jimmy Williams, Blue Nation Review\u2019s founder, an avowed Democrat and a Clinton supporter who nevertheless wasn\u2019t willing to play editorial favorites with Clinton over Sanders.<\/p>\n<p>In an interview, Williams said Brock made it clear to him that Blue Nation Review would not report on Democrats neutrally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt appears Blue Nation Review\u2019s goal is to destroy Bernie Sanders, and I\u2019m not willing to be a part of that,\u201d said Williams, who now hosts the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.decodedc.com\/meet-jimmy-williams-decodedcs-new-host\/\" target=\"_blank\">DecodeDC<\/a>\u00a0podcast. \u201cI believe in the Reagan rule \u2014 do not speak ill of your party members \u2014 applied to Democrats.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Indeed, Blue Nation Review now routinely publishes pieces slamming Sanders or lauding Clinton. Recent stories feature headlines such as \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/bluenationreview.com\/maddow-speaks-hard-truths-about-bernie\/\" target=\"_blank\">Integrity: Rachel Maddow Speaks Hard Truths About Bernie\u2019s Campaign<\/a>,\u201d \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/bluenationreview.com\/republicans-for-hillary\/\" target=\"_blank\">Welcome: Republicans for Hillary<\/a>\u201d and \u201c<a href=\"http:\/\/bluenationreview.com\/is-bernie-in-denial-about-hillary\/\" target=\"_blank\">Is Bernie in Denial About Attacks on Hillary?<\/a>\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Brock declined to address his purchase of Blue Nation Media. Daou did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item odd\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<h3>Defanged watchdog?<\/h3>\n<p>Brock also assimilated into his network another brand-name organization \u2014 Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington \u2014 that few would have previously mistaken as a Clinton cheerleader.<\/p>\n<p>CREW, a nonpartisan, nonprofit government watchdog, routinely hounded Republicans, but <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/legal-filings\/entry\/crew-files-fec-complaint-against-rob-andrews\" target=\"_blank\">pursued<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/legal-filings\/entry\/crew-asks-south-carolina-ag-to-investigate-alvin-greene-senate-run\" target=\"_blank\">its<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/legal-filings\/entry\/complaint-re-donation-to-treasury-by-mary-landrieu-campaign\" target=\"_blank\">share<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/legal-filings\/entry\/ethics-complaint-against-ny-rep-gregory-meeks\" target=\"_blank\">of<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/legal-filings\/entry\/crew-investigation-governor-andrew-cuomo-new-york-private-email-accounts\" target=\"_blank\">Democrats<\/a>, as well.<\/p>\n<p>And it was CREW, in December 2012, that <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/page\/-\/PDFs\/Legal\/FOIA\/12-6-12_State_FOIA.pdf?nocdn=1\" target=\"_blank\">filed a Freedom of Information Act request<\/a> demanding U.S. State Department officials cough up information about email accounts Clinton used as secretary of state \u2014 an action that helped give wings to what, this election, has become Clinton\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/news\/fact-checker\/wp\/2016\/03\/09\/fact-checking-the-hillary-clinton-email-controversy\/\" target=\"_blank\">unshakable<\/a>\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2016\/02\/12\/cruz-office-space-ad-hits-hillary\/\" target=\"_blank\">political<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/www.usnews.com\/opinion\/blogs\/peter-roff\/articles\/2016-03-08\/clintons-email-scandal-isnt-going-away\" target=\"_blank\">albatross<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>But after Brock <a href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2014\/08\/david-brock-citizens-for-responsibility-and-ethics-in-washington-110003\" target=\"_blank\">became<\/a> CREW\u2019s chairman in August 2014, co-founder and Executive Director Melanie Sloan <a href=\"https:\/\/nonprofitquarterly.org\/2014\/08\/18\/big-leadership-change-at-crew-melanie-sloan-out-david-brock-in\/\" target=\"_blank\">tendered her resignation<\/a>. She officially quit in January 2015. And since Sloan departed, CREW has all but ignored liberal politicos.<\/p>\n<p>Not so with conservatives: CREW has filed more than 20 formal complaints against various Republican politicians, Republican operatives or right-leaning political groups, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a> review of CREW\u2019s publicly disclosed activities indicates.<\/p>\n<p>Among its targets: <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/legal-filings\/entry\/crew-ethics-complaint-chris-christie-new-jersey-free-travel-lodging\" target=\"_blank\">Christie<\/a>, a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/press\/entry\/rubio-and-fulop-backing-super-pacs-broke-law\" target=\"_blank\">political organization backing Rubio<\/a> and a\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/press\/entry\/crew-files-complaint-against-trump-foundation\" target=\"_blank\">charitable organization led by Trump<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>CREW\u2019s most notable public actions against Democrats since January 2015 are comparatively tepid: It filed one <a href=\"http:\/\/crew.3cdn.net\/847facf34504ff89ac_a1m6i9nrn.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">complaint<\/a> against a Democratic-aligned organization \u2014 a nonprofit supporting Jersey City, New Jersey, Mayor Steven Fulop \u2014 and scolded federally indicted Sen. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/press\/entry\/crew-statement-indictment-senator-robert-menendez-new-jersey\" target=\"_blank\">Robert Menendez<\/a>, D-N.J., and Rep. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.citizensforethics.org\/press\/entry\/rep-fattah-indictment\" target=\"_blank\">Chaka Fattah<\/a>, D-Pa., in statements.<\/p>\n<p>Meanwhile, the \u201cCREW\u2019s Most Corrupt\u201d report, which the nonprofit had published every year in some form <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crewsmostcorrupt.org\/mostcorrupt\/entry\/past-reports\" target=\"_blank\">since 2005<\/a>, ceased after Brock became CREW chairman. The report routinely lambasted liberal members of Congress, including some <a href=\"http:\/\/www.latimes.com\/politics\/la-pol-ca-presidential-endorsements-congress-california-20151130-htmlstory.html\">who\u2019ve<\/a> <a href=\"http:\/\/abcnews.go.com\/Politics\/hillary-clinton-endorsement-exposes-divide-black-democrats\/story?id=36868935\" target=\"_blank\">endorsed<\/a> Clinton this election, such as Reps. <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crewsmostcorrupt.org\/mostcorrupt\/entry\/most-corrupt-report-2011\" target=\"_blank\">Maxine Waters<\/a>, D-Calif., and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.crewsmostcorrupt.org\/mostcorrupt\/entry\/most-corrupt-members-of-congress-report-2012\" target=\"_blank\">Gregory Meeks<\/a>, D-N.Y.<\/p>\n<p>CREW\u2019s operations immediately changed upon Brock\u2019s arrival, said Anne Weismann, who was then the organization\u2019s chief counsel, and briefly, acting executive director. She left CREW in 2015 and now works as executive director for the <a href=\"http:\/\/campaignforaccountability.org\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\">Campaign for Accountability<\/a>, a nonpartisan government watchdog organization.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFrom a blog item on up, it was made clear CREW was not to go forward with anything without Brock\u2019s approval,\u201d Weismann said. \u201cWe prided ourselves on being fearless and nonpartisan, and we were not afraid to go after Democrats. After Brock came, it was no longer the case at all \u2026 that we had that discretion. It\u2019s unfortunate.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Sloan, who now runs consulting firm <a href=\"http:\/\/www.triumphstrategy.com\/\" target=\"_blank\">Triumph Strategy<\/a>, declined to comment.<\/p>\n<p>Noah Bookbinder, who succeeded Sloan as executive director, says CREW remains \u201ca very different kind of place than the other organizations David [Brock] works with.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>CREW\u2019s focus, Bookbinder said, has somewhat shifted toward state-level affairs and money-in-politics matters and away from certain past projects, such as \u201cCREW\u2019s Most Corrupt\u201d and investigating government email systems. All the same, Bookbinder says it\u2019s important to him that CREW \u201cmaintain the independence and credibility that it\u2019s always had.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Today, Brock serves as board vice chairman of CREW, which last year moved into the same building as pro-Clinton Correct the Record and American Bridge 21st Century. Asked about his current involvement with the watchdog group, Brock said that in his \u201cinteraction in the day-to-day business of CREW, I have not made any restrictions about who CREW could or should bring complaints against or comment on. \u2026 It remains focused on corruption and corporate influence, wherever we find it.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Real estate executive and longtime Democratic donor Albert Dwoskin became CREW\u2019s chairman last year when Brock transitioned from chairman to vice chairman.<\/p>\n<p>For his part, Dwoskin has donated more than $15,400 to Clinton\u2019s campaigns and pro-Clinton political committees over the years, federal records indicate. That includes $2,700 \u2014 the legal maximum \u2014 to Clinton\u2019s presidential campaign in April 2015. That also includes more than $10,700 worth of office space he contributed in-kind to Ready for Hillary PAC during 2013.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/news\/2014\/06\/organizing-for-action-whos-giving-to-obama-linked-nonprofit\/#jordan\" target=\"_blank\">Wayne Jordan<\/a>, a major Democratic Party donor, and <a href=\"http:\/\/www.amsterdamgroup.net\/david-harris\/\" target=\"_blank\">David Mercer<\/a>, a longtime Democratic operative with <a href=\"http:\/\/thehill.com\/capital-living\/cover-stories\/284785-after-a-vicious-attack-a-miracle\" target=\"_blank\">close ties<\/a> to the Clintons, also joined CREW\u2019s board in 2014, IRS records show.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"container\">\n<div class=\"field-item even\">\n<div class=\"body-copy-inner\">\n<h3>Campaign reform activists underwhelmed<\/h3>\n<p>On the campaign trail, Clinton\u2019s words should hearten souls that believe money <em>isn\u2019t<\/em> speech and should be more heavily regulated by the government.<\/p>\n<p>But Clinton has a problem: Her seemingly natural allies are balking.<\/p>\n<p>A telling development occurred in late February, when Robert Reich, who served as labor secretary under President Bill Clinton, declined to support Hillary Clinton \u2014 and instead endorsed Sanders.<\/p>\n<p>In doing so, Reich took a <a href=\"http:\/\/www.commoncause.org\/press\/press-releases\/common-cause-chair-robert-reich-takes-leave-of-absence.html\" target=\"_blank\">leave of absence<\/a> from his post as chairman of Common Cause, one of the nation\u2019s foremost campaign finance reform organizations.<\/p>\n<p>If Clinton becomes the Democratic nominee, Reich says he\u2019ll support her.<\/p>\n<p>But he worried aloud about whether Clinton, as president, would ever fight like he believes Sanders would fight to overhaul campaign funding rules.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt will not be easy for any candidate, especially one who has taken a lot of super PAC money, to disavow super PACs,\u201d Reich told the Center for Public Integrity. \u201cFor Sanders, this issue is one of the central tenets of his campaign, and if he\u2019s elected, he has a mandate to act. She does not.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Among the more than 20 campaign finance reform group officials the <a href=\"http:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Center for Public Integrity<\/a> interviewed about Clinton in February and March, many offered some measure of understanding for Clinton\u2019s situation \u2014 with several employing the \u201cshe can\u2019t unilaterally disarm\u201d talking point the Clinton campaign uses.<\/p>\n<p>In other words: Better that Clinton play and win by the lousy election rules in place today and reform the system later than martyr herself on some altar of idealism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHer solutions are robust, and I believe it when she says she\u2019ll follow through,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pfaw.org\/media-center\/spokespeople#marge\" target=\"_blank\">Marge Baker<\/a>, executive vice president for People for the American Way, which <a href=\"http:\/\/www.pfaw.org\/citizens-united\" target=\"_blank\">advocates<\/a> for a constitutional amendment overturning\u00a0<em>Citizens United<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe don\u2019t expect her to lay down arms. We would like to see her elevate this issue into a centerpiece of her campaign,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.demos.org\/adam-lioz\" target=\"_blank\">Adam Lioz<\/a>, counsel and senior adviser at <a href=\"http:\/\/www.demos.org\/about-demos\" target=\"_blank\">Demos<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Many others, stung by what they consider Obama\u2019s underperformance on political transparency and campaign reform matters, have this advice for Clinton: Show us, don\u2019t tell us.<\/p>\n<p>They want to see a President Hillary Clinton sign an executive order requiring government contractors to disclose funding they give \u201c<a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2016\/01\/20\/19156\/what-political-dark-money-and-it-bad\" target=\"_blank\">dark money<\/a>\u201d political nonprofits.<\/p>\n<p>They want to see her appoint new commissioners to the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicintegrity.org\/2015\/12\/17\/19008\/new-fec-chairman-aims-calm-agency-war-itself\" target=\"_blank\">ever-gridlocked<\/a>\u00a0Federal Election Commission, where five of six commissioners continue to serve despite their terms having long ago expired.<\/p>\n<p>And they most certainly want to see her engage congressional reform proposals, even if they\u2019re relatively <a href=\"http:\/\/everyvoice.org\/solutions\" target=\"_blank\">modest measures<\/a> such as incentivizing people to make small-dollar political contributions.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere are some things we need to see before we can figure out the level of her commitment,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/everyvoice.org\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\">David Donnelly<\/a>, president and chief executive of <a href=\"http:\/\/everyvoice.org\/\" target=\"_blank\">Every Voice<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Others are more skeptical. Much more skeptical.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThere\u2019s nothing in her background that suggests this will be a top priority for her,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/www.campaignlegalcenter.org\/team\/trevor-potter\" target=\"_blank\">Trevor Potter<\/a>, president of the nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center and a former FEC chairman who served as general counsel for Republican U.S. Sen. John McCain\u2019s 2008 presidential campaign.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIf her candidacy is any reflection of her personal priorities, she\u2019s a hypocrite,\u201d said <a href=\"https:\/\/mayday.us\/team-and-board\/\" target=\"_blank\">Cyrus Patten<\/a>, chief executive of <a href=\"https:\/\/mayday.us\/the-plan\/\" target=\"_blank\">Mayday.US<\/a>, which works to elect hardcore campaign reformers. \u201cMy faith in her commitment to change is slim.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Why, some asked, didn\u2019t Clinton months ago attempt to build her reformist r\u00e9sum\u00e9 by, say, proposing a super PAC d\u00e9tente with her Democratic rivals?<\/p>\n<p>They pointed to a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/brown-warren-pledge-to-curb-outside-campaign-spending\/2012\/01\/23\/gIQAi4jbLQ_story.html\" target=\"_blank\">\u201cPeople\u2019s Pledge\u201d agreement<\/a> struck during the 2012 U.S. Senate race between Democrat Elizabeth Warren and then-Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s a bit of a cop-out to say there\u2019s no other option available\u201d than to use the power of <em>Citizens United<\/em>, said <a href=\"https:\/\/movetoamend.org\/staff\" target=\"_blank\">Kaitlin Sopoci-Belknap<\/a>, national director for\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/movetoamend.org\/about-us\" target=\"_blank\">Move to Amend<\/a>. \u201cAll candidates have a choice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Harvard University professor Larry Lessig, who last year briefly sought the Democratic presidential nomination on an election reform-centric platform, agrees.<\/p>\n<p>\u201c[Clinton] runs a campaign where she avoids the issue wherever she can,\u201d said Lessig, who wants to publicly fund congressional elections he <a href=\"http:\/\/longnow.org\/seminars\/02012\/jan\/17\/how-money-corrupts-congress-and-plan-stop-it\/\" target=\"_blank\">considers<\/a> gamed by corporate and other big-money interests. \u201cIf we don\u2019t fix Congress, nothing else matters.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Then there\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/cenkuygur\" target=\"_blank\">Cenk Uygur<\/a>, host of liberal politics show \u201cThe Young Turks.\u201d He offers this wager: \u201cI bet my bottom dollar Hillary Clinton will do absolutely nothing to change the system,\u201d Uygur said. \u201cIf you believe her, you\u2019re a sucker.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Schwerin, Clinton\u2019s spokesman, defended her reform record.<\/p>\n<p>He noted that as a U.S. senator, Clinton co-sponsored numerous bills aimed at enhancing donation disclosure and increasing public campaign financing.<\/p>\n<p>She also co-sponsored perhaps the highest-profile piece of campaign reform legislation this century: the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.congress.gov\/bill\/107th-congress\/senate-bill\/27\/cosponsors\" target=\"_blank\">Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2001<\/a> \u2014 better known as McCain-Feingold.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cHillary Clinton,\u201d Schwerin said, \u201chas spent her career fighting for campaign finance reform.\u201d<\/p>\n<h3>Now what?<\/h3>\n<p>It\u2019s not inconceivable that the existential threat Clinton supporters offer as justification for them adopting <em>Citizens United<\/em>-inspired campaign techniques \u2014 the Koch brothers\u2019 political network \u2014 could stand down during the general election.<\/p>\n<p><em>The Washington Post<\/em> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/the-gop--and-its-big-funders--scramble-to-insulate-congress-from-trump\/2016\/03\/23\/44b7734c-f10c-11e5-85a6-2132cf446d0a_story.html?hpid=hp_hp-top-table-low_trumpeffect-720pm%3Ahomepage%2Fstory&amp;tid=a_inl\" target=\"_blank\">reports<\/a> that the Koch-backed groups, such as Americans for Prosperity, are mulling whether to abandon Trump if Republicans make him their presidential candidate. Instead, Koch groups would pour their prodigious resources into U.S. House and U.S. Senate races. (Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks declined to comment.)<\/p>\n<p>Were such a situation to transpire, Clinton\u2019s super PAC and nonprofit network could dominate in size and scope any of the entities Republicans currently have at their disposal, including super PAC American Crossroads and sister nonprofit Crossroads GPS, both of which were messaging powerhouses during the 2012 presidential election. Pro-Clinton Priorities USA Action is already <a href=\"http:\/\/blogs.wsj.com\/washwire\/2016\/03\/17\/pro-clinton-super-pac-bites-back-at-donald-trump\/\" target=\"_blank\">skewering<\/a> Trump.<\/p>\n<p>Establishment Republicans say they\u2019d have no qualms pummeling Clinton on this point or her broader embrace of <em>Citizens United<\/em>-driven electioneering.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt undermines the central premise of what she\u2019s saying about super PACs \u2026 it\u2019s clear hypocrisy, and it\u2019ll be a problem for her,\u201d said Amelia Chass\u00e9, spokeswoman for America Rising PAC, a Republican super PAC specializing in \u201cexposing the truth about Democrats through video tracking, research and communications.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In the meantime, there\u2019s one man who\u2019s convinced Clinton will use every political weapon at her disposal in order to again reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. \u2014 the father of super PACs.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cSeems she believes what she\u2019s doing is not harmful for the system, and she doesn\u2019t think it\u2019s corrupting her,\u201d said <a href=\"http:\/\/time.com\/3856427\/super-pac-david-keating\/\" target=\"_blank\">David Keating<\/a>, an attorney whose 2010 federal court victory in <a href=\"http:\/\/www.fec.gov\/law\/litigation\/speechnow.shtml\" target=\"_blank\"><em>SpeechNow.org v. FEC<\/em><\/a> gave rise to super PACs. \u201cIf Hillary does get elected, I hope her positive experience in the campaign will convince her that the rules should be left in place the way they are.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong><em>A version of this story was published with <a href=\"http:\/\/www.nbcnews.com\/news\/us-news\/how-citizens-united-helping-clinton-win-white-house-n551226\" target=\"_blank\">NBC News<\/a>.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Democratic presidential front-runner stands poised to bludgeon her general election opponent with Republicans\u2019 favorite political superweapon: the Supreme Court\u2019s Citizens United decision, which earlier this decade launched a new era of unbridled fundraising.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":142721,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[708,705,226,116],"class_list":["post-142715","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-2016-election","tag-money-in-politics","tag-presidential-race","tag-washington"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142715","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=142715"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/142715\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/142721"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=142715"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=142715"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=142715"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}