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Money & Influence 11.22.2021

Bloomberg: RNC Paying Trump’s Legal Bill for N.Y. Probe of Real Estate Firm

The RNC’s use of donor money to pay Trump’s personal legal bills shows why Congress needs to extend the ban on such use of campaign funds to party committees, as well as candidate committees, said Paul S. Ryan, an attorney for the nonprofit Common Cause. “Federal law should ensure that contributions to political committees like the RNC are only used for legitimate political expenses—not for personal legal bills,” he said.

Money & Influence 11.16.2021

Daily Beast: Mercers Throw Steve Bannon Under the Bus in Election Probe

Paul Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, filed the initial 2018 complaint against Cambridge and Trump. He also blamed the GOP. “It’s more of the same, with the FEC’s Republican commissioners dragging their feet, allowing the statute of limitations to expire, and hobbling or blocking investigations entirely,” Ryan said. “The result is no enforcement of the law.”

Money & Influence 11.15.2021

Boston Globe: Calls build for State House to reopen; Capitol only one of two still keeping public out

When the capitol is closed, "the public loses touch with our government, we lose confidence in our government," said Sandy Ma, executive director of Common Cause Hawaii. "We really lose a sense that the government is acting for us."

Money & Influence 11.11.2021

New York Times: Three Men Charged With Running ‘Scam PACs’ That Bilked Small Donors

Paul S. Ryan, the vice president of policy and litigation at Common Cause, a watchdog group, called the indictment “good news for democracy and small donors,” adding that Mr. Tunstall was perhaps the best known of the fund-raising operatives taking advantage of donors in this way. “This should send a sign to potential scam artists that the Department of Justice is watching,” Mr. Ryan said. Mr. Ryan said he expected that a superseding indictment would eventually cover Mr. Tunstall’s past four years of activity. He noted that the charges filed were made under financial crimes statutes and not under campaign finance law. And he urged federal lawmakers to stiffen the existing campaign-finance rules to better protect small contributors. “Congress really needs to act here,” Mr. Ryan said.

Money & Influence 11.11.2021

Daily Beast: Embattled GOP Senator Says a Staffer Messed Up His Campaign Reports and Vanished. We Found Him in Minutes.

Paul S. Ryan, vice president of policy and litigation at campaign watchdog Common Cause, said the allegations cover “massive violations,” including breaking a law more than 100 years old. “Federal law prohibits candidates from receiving contributions from corporations. This law has been on the books for more than a century for the purpose of preventing politicians from being in the pocket of big corporations,” Ryan told The Daily Beast. The audit, he said, “shows his campaign likely committed massive violations of federal law through receipt of more than $8.5 million in corporate contributions.” Ryan explained that candidates can borrow money from financial institutions in the ordinary course of business and on standard lending terms. However, he said, auditors discovered more than $7 million in unsecured loans—without Braun putting up “the typically required collateral to assure the loans would be repaid.” As for the $1.5 million from Braun’s own company, Ryan said the loan exemplifies “special treatment from financial corporations” that “undermines the integrity of our campaign finance laws.” “Senator Braun and the corporate lenders should be held accountable for any violations,” Ryan added.

Money & Influence 11.3.2021

Daily Beast: Gabby Giffords Sues the NRA Over Secret GOP Donation Scheme

The sense of relief was shared by Paul Ryan, vice president for policy and litigation at watchdog Common Cause, who told The Daily Beast that in the federal campaign finance world, “there’s no cop on the beat.” “For too long the FEC, primarily due to GOP Commissioners blocking agency action, has allowed massive violations of campaign finance law to go unpunished. Political players in Washington know there’s no cop on the beat. They cross legal lines, get away with it, and then commit even more egregious violations,” Ryan said.  He explained that, in response to complaints, “the FEC drags its feet for years”—often allowing the five-year statute of limitations to expire, after which the agency cannot haul violators into court. “Outrageously, commissioners then sometimes acknowledge that violations occurred, but that the FEC has run out of time to do anything about it,” Ryan continued. “The Campaign Legal Center and Giffords aren’t taking it anymore. This is vitally important work to hold lawbreakers accountable—work the FEC should be doing, but isn't. Godspeed.”

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