The Associated Press reports that today the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit struck down spending limits imposed a few years ago by the Federal Election Commission on nonprofits (including 527s). I haven’t had a chance to read the opinion yet, but it looks as if the courts — as they should — are making swiss cheese of campaign-finance reform.
Judge Brett Kavanagh, for the majority:
If one person is constitutionally entitled to spend $1 million to
run advertisements supporting a candidate (as Buckley held), it
logically follows that 100 people are constitutionally entitled to
donate $10, each to a non-profit group that will run advertisements
supporting a candidate.SNIP
[M]ere
donations to non-profit groups cannot corrupt candidates and
officeholders.
Read CJ’s coverage of a recent North Carolina court decision also undermining campaign-finance restrictions here.