Last week’s Supreme Court ruling striking down the ban on direct corporate spending in elections could allow overseas corporations — even those controlled by foreign governments — to pour money into U.S. elections, supporters of campaign-finance regulation warn.

“Clearly there’s a huge opening now,” Stephen Spaulding of Common Cause told TPMmuckraker.

The ruling affirms that corporations, like individuals, have a free-speech right to spend unlimited amounts from their general treasuries on ad campaigns that support or oppose political candidates. It’s true that foreign nationals are currently prohibited by law from making independent expenditures in U.S. elections. But that prohibition has little teeth. According to experts, it doesn’t apply to foreign-owned corporations that incorporate in the U.S., or have U.S. subsidiaries — meaning most foreign multinationals likely aren’t covered. So there’s “essentially no difference” between domestic and foreign corporations in terms of their ability to pump money into U.S. elections, says Lisa Gilbert of U.S. PIRG — a view backed by several other advocates of increased regulation.

via Reformers: Court Decision Creates ‘Huge Opening’ For Foreign Companies To Sway Elections | TPMMuckraker.

Tags: Politics, USA