Appeals court rejects ruling allowing corporate campaign funding

Source: Washington Post

An appellate court on Thursday rejected a lower court ruling that companies could donate directly to political campaigns.

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond reversed a Virginia district court decision in the criminal case U.S. v. Danielczyk, which concerned contributions to Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign.

U.S. District Judge James Cacheris ruled in 2011 that the Supreme Court’s landmark 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission decision gave corporations First Amendment rights to free political speech that were equal to those of individual people. In the Citizens United case, the court allowed corporations to spend as much as they wanted on elections as long as the money wasn’t given directly to candidates.

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/appeals-court-rejects-ruling-allowing-corporate-campaign-funding/2012/06/28/gJQAGjgi9V_story.html