Supreme Court Rejects Latest Attempt to Undermine Disclosure, Denies Cert in SpeechNow.org v. FEC

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Today, the U.S. Supreme Court declined to grant certiorari in SpeechNow.org v. FEC, allowing a decision of the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals to stand which had upheld the comprehensive disclosure requirements applicable to SpeechNow.org and other federal political committees.   SpeechNow.org had argued that committees making only independent expenditures, now known as “Super-PACs,” should be exempted from these disclosure requirements based on its claim that these requirements served no legitimate governmental purpose. 
“The Court’s decision not to take the case is a victory for disclosure and a reaffirmation of its little-noted but nearly unanimous ruling in Citizens Unitedupholding federal disclosure provisions,” said Tara Malloy, Associate Legal Counsel with the Campaign Legal Center.  “We hope it encourages Congress to again take up the DISCLOSE Act after the November elections, and provides further confirmation that meaningful political disclosure is not only good policy, but a constitutional exercise of Congress’s authority to ensure the integrity of elections.  Besieged by anonymous political advertising this fall, the American people expect Congress to act to address this flood of secret spending in our elections.”  

The Legal Center, along with Democracy 21, filed amici briefs with both the district court and D.C. Circuit to defend the challenged disclosure laws.