"Dark money" refers to money that is given to political campaigns or organizations by individuals, corporations, or groups, but their identities and intentions remain undisclosed or hidden from public view. It is called "dark" because it remains secretive and doesn't have transparency, making it difficult to know who is behind the financial support and what they expect in return.
Full definition
During the last three election cycles, 30 % or more of the outside spending on federal elections came from
dark money groups.
Promoting the «free speech» rights
of dark money donors is another partisan political endeavor.
Like our reporting
on dark money, it is one of those stories behind all the other stories.
Instead, they are looking for conflicts of interest,
for dark money that might have influenced his research.
The estimate does not include so -
called dark money, unlimited amounts of cash that donors can use to support candidates without public disclosure.
Especially in a time
when dark money threatens to take outer our political system, the Internet offers a forum for people to make a difference with ideas, not dollars.
Some members also have
strong dark money ties to national conservative political advocacy groups.
Dark Money Groups spend millions influencing our elections without reporting where the money came from.
Like our reporting
on dark money, it is one of those stories behind all the other stories.
Through enhanced enforcement and increased penalties for political consultants who flout the law, this new legislation will root out bad actors and shine a spotlight on the sordid influence of
dark money in politics.
Other notable funders include Scaife Family Foundations, and the secretive DonorsTrust, a group that has been described as the «
Dark Money ATM of the conservative movement.»
We could also pass the Disclose Act, which would help end secret spending
by dark money groups (which can end up being conduits to foreign spending) and ban spending by corporations that are foreign - owned or - controlled.
Sitting Commissioner Bob Burns (R), who has attempted to open an investigation
into dark money funding in the 2014 elections, has received funding from both Pinnacle West and Save our AZ Solar.
Last week in Washington DC, Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley's
political dark money group met with corporate funders at the DC headquarters of the American Natural Gas Alliance (ANGA).
Jane Mayer in her
book Dark Money discusses how the mission statement of the Bradley Foundation changed over time,
Jane Mayer,
[Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right], 2016.»
However, under pressure from activists after openDemocracy revealed how Brexit campaigners were
funnelling dark money through Northern Ireland to fund «Take Back Control» adverts, the Democratic Unionist Party was forced last night to reveal its major donor to be a group calling itself the Constitutional Research Council.
A look at
how dark money organizations daisy - chain their contributions in order to fun politics.
Other districts saw unprecedented flows of cash from outside groups hoping to overturn choice - minded majorities, often
through dark money channels that obscured their true origins.
«We can not
allow dark money to eclipse the will of voters,» said State Senator Todd Kaminsky.
«Limit the influence of
dark money campaign contributions and end government spending that takes place in the shadows» through measures such as closing the infamous LLC loophole.
DeVos Family Foundation, Alliance for School Choice, American Federation for Children, Stand for Children, All Children Matter, Children's Scholarship Fund,
Major Dark Money Donor
Wilder said he's heard concerns
about dark money and foreign money coming into campaigns via cyrptocurrency, but «we're at the point where we have to try to figure it out.»
Leadership for Educational Equity, Teach for America, Stand for Children, New Leaders for New Schools, California Charter School Advocates, Major Dark Money Donor
The trouble is a vast amount of the recipients of
DonorsTrust dark money are, by their very nature, political.
Our party's shift to the extremes is being accelerated by out - of -
state Dark Money.
Furthermore, the Chamber was by far the largest
dark money spender in US Congressional races, where $ 25.8 million of its total expenditure of almost $ 30 million.
It and
other dark money groups can serve as conduits for anonymous donations from corporations and other wealthy special interests to flood elections, making it particularly dangerous to democracy.
Both organizations are
conservative dark money funnels that advertise their ability to transfer huge sums to conservative groups without donor disclosure.
At the heart of the matter is that two Republican Wisconsin Supreme Court justices benefited from spending by the
same dark money groups that prosecutors believe illegally coordinated with Walker.
And you know, fueled by Real Estate and Charter School $ $ $,
dark money channeled through invisible Virginia PO Boxes, IEs from who - knows - who, they'll swamp a few key Dem seats and they'll win again, despite overwhelming Democratic statewide voters.
It starts with just a basic news item from a November 2017, «Pelosi, Soros Headline Left's
Biggest Dark Money Conference,» along with a related piece noting how those conference attendees were told not to share names or leave «sensitive materials behind.»
Rather than throwing up their hands and surrendering to the
outside dark money forces already invading their state, Dawn Penich - Thacker, Save our Schools Arizona Co-founder and spokesperson tells CMD they are ready to battle the Kochs.
The long running criminal investigation into whether or not Scott Walker and deep -
pocketed dark money groups illegally coordinated the expenditure of some $ 30 million to win the 2012 recall elections should be old news by now.
• Curtailing IRS oversight of
dark money nonprofits active in elections, and repeal the prohibition on nonprofits engaging in political speech
In a state with as much year - round sunshine as Florida, home solar should be booming, but whether it will is now the subject of a high - spending political fight being fueled in part by
dark money interests.
«It is vital to ensure that foreign governments and other malevolent actors can't distort elections with
dark money ads or attacks on voting machines and databases,» Michael Waldman, president of the Brennan Center for Justice, said.
What they did was heroic,» says Maurice Cunningham, an associate professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Boston, who tracked
dark money during the 2016 election.
While it's of course impossible to say that the Chamber's
dark money deluge in these races accounted for the slew of GOP victories, it certainly may have helped tip the balance in the closer races.
openDemocracy has been leading the way on this story from the start of the year — see our full
dark money investigation here.
During Friday's Democratic Weekly Address, Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D - RI) said Supreme Court nominee Judge Neil Gorsuch «needed to convince me he would stand up to real threats to our democracy
like dark money.
Phrases with «dark money»