GOP Bill Designed To Disrupt John Doe Dark Money Probe, Court Filings Confirm
This is a cross-post from GD.
http://truth-out.org/news/item/22562-gop-bill-designed-to-disrupt-john-doe-dark-money-probe-court-filings-confirm
New court filings confirm that Wisconsin's John Doe campaign finance investigation hinges on how state election law treats "issue ad" groups coordinating with political campaigns, shedding new light on a Republican effort to quietly change the law in advance of Governor Scott Walker's reelection campaign.
SB 654, quietly introduced earlier this month by Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who is reportedly under investigation in the John Doe probe, would reverse judicial precedent and declare that "issue ads" cannot be considered a candidate contribution. Those changes, if enacted, would conform Wisconsin statutes to Wisconsin Club for Growth's arguments in the John Doe case, and legalize the conduct under investigation in time for statewide elections later this year.
Introduced late on a Monday and quickly scheduled for a hearing on Wednesday, the press and public were given zero time to assess SB 654. Attention focused exclusively on the bill's impact on issue ad disclosure; none of the individuals testifying in the March 5 hearing, and none of the articles written about the legislation so far, noted the bill's impact on the definition of candidate contributions or discussed how it would overturn Court of Appeals precedent.
If issue ads cannot ever be made for a "political purpose," they cannot be considered a contribution, thereby reversing Wisconsin Coalition for Voter Participation and permitting issue ad groups to coordinate with candidates.
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Isn't ONE-PARTY RULE just wonderful???? 