Sittenfeld v. United States – Campaign Contributions as Crimes?
No Quorum, No Problem? Navigating the FEC Freeze
Video: Artificial Intelligence Use in Political Campaigns
Early Returns Law & Politics Podcast with Jan Baran - Wes Bizzell: The Role of Corporate America and Associations in Politics
[Podcast] New Year, New PAC: Have a Successful PAC Audit in 2023
Patient Steering and Charting
Early Returns Podcast - Jan Baran, Jessica Furst Johnson and Jason Torchinsky - Political Lawyers Take a Deeper Dive into 2022 Elections and Look Ahead to 2024
The Supreme Court may soon accept a pivotal case – Sittenfeld v. United States – that could redefine when a political contribution becomes a crime. In this two-minute video, Caleb Burns discusses how the outcome of this case...more
The FEC is down a quorum – but what does that mean for PACs, enforcement, and your compliance obligations? In this short video, Wiley's Mark Renaud breaks down the risks, the potential silver linings, and why staying...more
With a busy state election cycle behind us, spring is an ideal time to give your Political Action Committee (PAC) a thorough cleaning. These checklist items should be part of your regular PAC maintenance. ...more
Corporations often establish federal political action committees (PACs) to support the election of officials who are aligned with their businesses’ policy goals. PACs are necessary because the Federal Election Campaign Act...more
As those in the U.S. enter tax season, now is a good time to review and ensure company PACs are in compliance with federal tax law. As organizations that primarily engage in political activities, PACs are generally tax-exempt...more
The following summarizes periodic pay-to-play reporting requirements under laws in Illinois, Maryland, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia and Rhode Island. Certain companies must file reports regarding their business...more
On January 30, 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) released new, inflation-adjusted contribution limits for the 2025-2026 election cycle. Federal law limits the amounts and sources of campaign contributions from...more
The Federal Election Commission announced updated contribution limits for the 2025-2026 election cycle...more
As published in the Federal Register on January 30, 2025, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has followed the statutory dictates and raised the federal individual contribution limits to account for inflation. The new...more
A Lookback at the Federal Election Commission in 2024 by: Matt Petersen - Now that the presidential election has concluded and 2024 is drawing to a close, it is worth looking back at one of the most consequential years for...more
A recent consent judgment issued by the U.S. District Court for D.C. provided a powerful reminder to corporate and labor union PACs that they must (1) obtain affirmative consent from employees before deducting amounts from...more
Few industries experienced a more drastic reversal of fortune on Election Day than the cryptocurrency sector. On November 4, several of its largest companies were locked in a seemingly interminable battle with the Securities...more
Maine - On November 5, 2024, Maine residents voted in favor of passing a ballot measure that limits contributions from individuals, PACs and business entities to PACs “for the purpose of making independent expenditures” to...more
Now that the 2024 election has passed, individuals and organizations must be mindful of special legal issues that arise from contributions made to, and expenses incurred for, federal, state or local inaugural or transition...more
In the November 2024 In-Compliance Round-Up, we cover the following: William J. McGinley, Partner at Holtzman Vogel, to Serve as Next White House Counsel - Jessica Furst Johnson: Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey wants to...more
All federally registered PACs are required to file post-general election reports with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by midnight EST on Thursday, December 5, regardless of their activity. This includes both monthly and...more
Elon Musk's Surprising Defense to $1MM Election Giveaway - In a stunning argument to the PA Attorney General’s claim that Elon Musk’s $1MM Election Giveaway is an illegal lottery, yesterday Musk’s lawyer’s argued that it...more
In a follow up to my previous post Who Needs Rules? Elon’s Election $1MM A Day Giveaway, the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania filed a Civil Action today in the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia County seeking an injunction to...more
Under new rules that went into effect in 2024, certain business entities are now required to file Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) Reports with the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (“FinCEN”) of the U.S....more
On September 24, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit temporarily stayed a preliminary injunction, previously issued by the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Ohio, against a portion of Ohio’s...more
FEC Advisory Opinion Approves Federal Candidate Request to Add Super PAC to Joint Fundraising Committee - In Advisory Opinion 2024-07, the FEC approved a request made by Team Graham, the principal campaign committee of...more
As noted in our prior updates, on June 2, 2024, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed into law H.B. 1, which prohibits foreign nationals from making or being solicited for political contributions in connection with Ohio state and...more
As noted in our prior update, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine signed H.B. 1 into law on June 2, 2024. H.B. 1 enacted a ban on foreign nationals making or being solicited for political contributions, defining foreign nationals to...more
In Advisory Opinion 2024-07, the FEC approved a request made by Team Graham, the principal campaign committee of Senator Lindsey Graham, to add a Super PAC to an existing joint fundraising committee named Graham Majority...more
Since the early days of the internet, the Federal Election Commission (FEC) has kept its hands off of unpaid online political expression. Though federal campaign finance law generally treats paid online communications as...more