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Ruling allows contributions to activist groups for campaigns
A federal appeals court on Friday handed another victory to conservative opponents of campaign-finance restrictions, striking down limits on individual contributions to advocacy groups that want to use the money for or against candidates in federal elections.
But in a unanimous decision, the nine-judge U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit also ruled that a conservative group called SpeechNow.org must disclose its donors and other details of its finances to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), a requirement the group had sought to loosen.
The case was one of the first to be decided after Citizens United v. FEC, a Supreme Court ruling two months ago. That ruling found that corporations are akin to individuals when it comes to political speech and are therefore free to spend as much company money as they like for or against candidates. The appeals court found that a similar rationale applies to independent political groups such as SpeechNow.