When a non-profit organization called Citizens United attempted to air and advertise a political documentary called “Hillary: The Movie” (funded in part by corporate contributors), the Federal Election Commission said that this would be a violation of the 2002 Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, which proscribed corporations from engaging in “electioneering communication” within 30 days of a primary or 60 days of a general election.

Do corporations have a right to engage in political speech? Can corporations donate directly to political campaigns? Prof. Michael R. Dimino of Widener University’s Commonwealth Law School examines campaign finance and corporate contributions in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission.

*******

As always, the Federalist Society takes no position on particular legal or public policy issues; all expressions of opinion are those of the speaker.

Learn more about Michael R. Dimino:
https://commonwealthlaw.widener.edu/academics/faculty/detail/13/

*******

Related Links & Differing Views:

Fordham Journal of Corporate & Financial Law: “Citizens United: 8 Years Later”
https://news.law.fordham.edu/jcfl/2018/03/07/citizens-united-8-years-later/

The Yale Law Journal: “Reconsidering Citizens United as a Press Clause Case”
https://www.yalelawjournal.org/essay/reconsidering-citizens-united-as-a-press-clause-case

Harvard Law Review: “Citizens United at Work”
https://harvardlawreview.org/2014/12/citizens-united-at-work/

The Atlantic: “How to Reverse Citizens United”
https://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/how-to-reverse-citizens-united/471504/

Engage: “Illuminating Citizens United: What the Decision Really Did”
https://fedsoc.org/commentary/publications/illuminating-citizens-united-what-the-decision-really-did

The Federalist Society: “Debate: Was Citizens United Wrongly Decided?”
https://fedsoc.org/commentary/videos/debate-was-citizens-united-wrongly-decided-audio-video