(Image source: Supreme Court of the United States)
BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN AND NATHAN BYRNE
ANCHOR LAUREN GORES
Money and politics. They go together like — money and politics. And we heard plenty about that pairing in the last election, right?
You know? When both presidential candidates raked in around a billion dollars each?
[Source: The New York Times]
Well, the battle isn’t over. Alabama businessman and activist Shaun McCutcheon hasn’t just made his case. He’s made it go all the way to the Supreme Court.
Here’s the current rule as it stands — one person can’t give more than $46,200 to candidates and $70,800 to parties and committees. McCutcheon’s claim — the FEC has no constitutional basis for those numbers.
“He does not challenge the limit on contributions to an individual candidate, but he does claim it's unconstitutional to prevent him from contributing to as many candidates as he wishes.”
Politico’s Tarini Parti points out the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case is notable — because the justices haven’t judged campaign finance law since 2010’s controversial Citizens United decision. CNN’s Supreme Court producer, Bill Mears says that decision …
“ … helped open the floodgates to massive corporate spending in the 2012 elections and gave birth to super PACs - and trumps state laws. It also led to further litigation seeking to loosen current restrictions on both the spending and donations areas.”
The implications of this McCutcheon case are big. Critics say ruling the limit unconstitutional would mean a single wealthy person could have too much influence. Another potential outcome — it would raise questions about contribution limits in states. We should note when the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. ruled on the issue it upheld the limits.
(Image source: Supreme Court of the United States)
BY CHRISTINA HARTMAN AND NATHAN BYRNE
ANCHOR LAUREN GORES
Money and politics. They go together like — money and politics. And we heard plenty about that pairing in the last election, right?
You know? When both presidential candidates raked in around a billion dollars each?
[Source: The New York Times]
Well, the battle isn’t over. Alabama businessman and activist Shaun McCutcheon hasn’t just made his case. He’s made it go all the way to the Supreme Court.
Here’s the current rule as it stands — one person can’t give more than $46,200 to candidates and $70,800 to parties and committees. McCutcheon’s claim — the FEC has no constitutional basis for those numbers.
“He does not challenge the limit on contributions to an individual candidate, but he does claim it's unconstitutional to prevent him from contributing to as many candidates as he wishes.”
Politico’s Tarini Parti points out the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the case is notable — because the justices haven’t judged campaign finance law since 2010’s controversial Citizens United decision. CNN’s Supreme Court producer, Bill Mears says that decision …
“ … helped open the floodgates to massive corporate spending in the 2012 elections and gave birth to super PACs - and trumps state laws. It also led to further litigation seeking to loosen current restrictions on both the spending and donations areas.”
The implications of this McCutcheon case are big. Critics say ruling the limit unconstitutional would mean a single wealthy person could have too much influence. Another potential outcome — it would raise questions about contribution limits in states. We should note when the U.S. Court of Appeals for D.C. ruled on the issue it upheld the limits.
