Campaign consultants and attorneys never seem to be a loss for ways to exploit outdated campaign finance laws to hide the sources of campaign money, to the detriment of voters.
As voters head to caucuses in Iowa tonight, ahead of New Hampshire's primary next week, managers of so-called Super PACs have seized on an especially slick way of obscuring donors' identities.
The publication Politico reports that the brains behind the Our Destiny political action committee, which has spent $1.86 million touting the presidential candidacy of former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman, has applied to the Federal Election Commission for permission to file disclosure reports on a monthly basis, instead of quarterly.
The effect is that the committee won't have to file its disclosure report this week, before the New Hampshire primary, but rather can wait until Jan. 31, long after the New Hampshire votes have been counted. As a result, voters won't know the identities of the contributors who gave the $1.86 million until after they've gone to the polls.
Earlier, the Federal Election Commission permitted such a switch by Restore Our Future, a Super PAC backing former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's presidential bid. The committee, which has spent more than $4 million attacking Newt Gingrich, won't file its next report until Jan. 31, long after the Iowa caucus and New Hampshire primary.
Super PACs are relatively new to federal elections, thanks to 2010 court rulings that permitted corporations and unions to give unlimited sums to independent campaign committees.
In Citizens United v. FEC, the U.S. Supreme Court promised that donations would be widely disclosed on the Internet. The justices may understand the nuances of the First Amendment. But they are no match for slick consultants who know the vagaries of election law.
The nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics reports that as of last week, 264 Super PACs had been formed. They raised $32 million and spent $15.8 million. And the 2012 campaign is only now getting serious.
Congress has the power to remedy the situation by approving legislation that would require immediate disclosure of all donations. Yes, clever consultants would find loopholes. But current law makes their jobs a little too easy.
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