Key Files on Big-Ticket Political Donations Vanish at Federal Election Commission

So, not only won't we know who is donating now but someone is scrubbing the FEC files and deleting large amounts of data on where money came from in past elections. I see this as about controlling information about past donors which might leave a money trail. Here are some excerpts from the story.

www.alternet.org...

We have discovered that sometime after January of this year, the FEC deleted a whole set of contributions totaling millions of dollars made during the 2007-2008 election cycle. The most important of these files concern what is now called “dark money” – funds donated to ostensible charities or public interest groups rather parties, candidates or conventional political action committees (PACs). These non-profit groups – which Washington insiders often refer to generically as 501(c)s, after the section of the federal tax code regulating them – use the money to pay for allegedly educational “independent” ads that run outside conventional campaign channels. Such funding has now developed into a gigantic channel for evading disclosure of the donors’ identities and is acutely controversial.

and here the Harold Simmons who funded the swift boating of John Kerry has had most of the data regarding him deleted by the FEC.

Harold Simmons’ contribution to the American Issues Project in 2008 is a sterling instance of what we are talking about. The Texas tycoon, with major interests in minerals and waste disposal that critics charge have been furthered by his long history of political donations, was already famous for the millions he poured into the notorious “Swift Boat” campaign that shredded John Kerry’s 2004 bid for the presidency. In 2008, he came back with what, until the September financial collapse, looked like another potential game-changer. With almost $2.9 million dollars of his money, the American Issues Project financed a television ad linking Barack Obama to William Ayres, who decades before had been a member of the Weather Underground. The ad created a sensation, with many critics questioning both its verisimilitude and its legality.

Right through January 2012, the FEC’s database contained not only the record of the organization’s expenditures, but also Simmons’ contribution. Now only the former is there. We have identified many similar cases, including almost three million dollars that John Templeton, Jr. donated to Let Freedom Ring and another $100,000 contribution by Foster Friess to the same organization.

I would bet that both sides (Dems and Repubs) alike do this ....... since they are part of the same system.

See money does buy everything including elections and for the right price you can make all the evidence disappear.

The game is rigged and I refuse to play anymore.

Don't hold your breath waiting to see someone do jail time. Justice is something that can be bought and sold here

I'm sure both sides have influenced moves like this, but one side probably has ten times more to hide, in dollars and numbers of donations. We all know which side big contributions go to and who is buying most of the votes, but they all swim in the same ocean. Watch out for the sharks.

reply to post by Matheden6

, but one side probably has ten times more to hide, in dollars and numbers of donations. We all know which side big contributions go to and who is buying most of the votes,

You're absolutely right, thanks for reminding us. For the 2012 election:

Obama has raised twice as much as Romney, $300 million to $154 million.

Obama has raised more from large contributors $181 million to $128 million.

www.opensecrets.org...