Politicos beware: Court ruling could prompt more transparent campaign spending

The Federal Election Commission could begin demanding more information about the vendors and consultants political committees pay, thanks to a federal appeals court decision Friday.

The impact of the decision — which could have implications for how precisely political committees such as President Donald Trump’s re-election campaign and the Democratic National Committee have to detail their spending — will rest on how the FEC chooses to apply it, several campaign finance experts said.

“This could help the FEC be more aggressive about requiring specific and actual reporting of the use of campaign funds and limiting the use of subvendors,” said Larry Noble, general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center and a former FEC general counsel. “However, the FEC could also look at this and say it’s a unique situation involving a clear scheme to hide the use of the funds.”  

FEC Chairwoman Caroline Hunter, a Republican, could not immediately be reached for comment on the impact of the decision. Read more…