(JustPatriots.com)- Those who are worried about dark money in elections are likely very concerned about a new ruling handed down by the Federal Election Commission recently.
As Fox News reported recently, the FEC decision could ultimately pave the way for additional untraceable donations to happen in politics
On Monday, the D.C. Court of Appeals declined to reconsider a decision it made back in 2021 that blocks courts from reviewing rulings the FEC makes. The Washington Post reported that this essentially prevents private watchdog groups from challenging some of the FEC’s decisions.
In its opinion, the court argued that judges don’t have authority to challenge the FEC’s invocation of “prosecutorial discretion” when they’re defending decisions to not pursue cases.
Because courts can’t rule on these decisions, the private groups that might seek to scrutinize cases related to spending aren’t provided with an avenue to present their challenges, if the FEC defends itself using its prosecutorial discretion.
Many activists have said that this new decision will easily pave the way for more dark money donations to be made.
The FEC often finds itself in deadlocked situations on decisions. That’s because the bipartisan group of six commissioners can’t have more than three members from either party, and four votes are needed to prosecute a case. So, in other words, their decisions often end in a 3-3 split.
Before the 2021 decision, watchdog groups had the ability to challenge any case that they believed the FEC ended up dismissing wrongfully. Those cases from now on fail if the FEC commissioners who rejected the instance say it was done using their prosecutorial discretion.
In total, dark money accounts for as much as tens of millions of dollars in political donations that are sent to both major political parties during each election cycle. This allows certain groups to donate tons of funds to certain candidates without having to face any scrutiny from the public.
In 2021, a dark money network that backs liberal candidates raised in excess of $1.5 billion in political donations — all that were anonymous and meant to push forward liberal priorities.
Last year, the group — made up of five different nonprofits that are managed by Arabella Advisors, a consulting firm based in Washington, D.C. — spent more than $1 billion total.
Last month, Caitlin Sutherland, the executive direct of Americans for Public Trust, commented on this group to Fox News Digital, saying:
“These latest tax returns prove that the Arabella Advisors network remains the largest dark money player in American politics.
“After raking in nearly $1.6 billion in anonymous contributions, and spending nearly $1 billion, this network has established itself as the preeminent hub on the left to finance efforts to defund the police, pack the Supreme Court, enforce radical green energy policies, and prop up the Biden administrations failing agenda.”
The five nonprofits under the Arabella Advisors umbrella are the North Fund, Hopewell Fund, Windward Fund, Sixteen Thirty Fund and the New Venture Fund.
