Eric Petry
@eepetry.bsky.social
Counsel in the Elections and Government Program at the Brennan Center for Justice, working to address money in politics and public corruption. Opinions my own.
The Wall Street Journal has remarkable new reporting on Trump’s unprecedented fundraising from corporate America, including companies with business before the federal government. www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
Exclusive | ‘The Boss Wants This Money’: Inside Trump’s Unprecedented Fundraising Operation
Meredith O’Rourke, nicknamed ‘princess of darkness,’ carries out the president’s desire to wring hundreds of millions from companies for his projects.
wsj.com
As the midterm congressional elections heat up, the richest political committee in the US is, of course … the super PAC controlled by a president who’s not on the ballot and is constitutionally barred from ever running again.
BREAKING: Today Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer is introducing legislation that would create a powerful new federal enforcement agency to fight political corruption.
Two stories this week point to the same pattern: private money flowing into the executive branch, including from companies seeking contracts or favorable decisions in matters pending before regulators.
A complex web of funds and $781,948,878 in donations—that we know of. This is the mystery money powering Trump's second term.
The Mystery Money Powering Trump’s Second Term
The president and his allies have built a network of groups financed by wealthy donors and businesses that is advancing his priorities with little public disclosure.
on.wsj.com
NEW: Months after FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty cast a decisive vote approving Paramount’s historic $8 billion merger with Skydance Media, she and a guest accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from the company worth more than $12,000.
FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar Deals
Accepting tickets to the Kennedy Center honors gala compromised the commissioners’ impartiality, ethics experts told ProPublica. FCC Chair Brendan Carr has been gifted at least $63,000 worth of ticket...
propublica.org
Another day, another story detailing how Trump's businesses are profiting from his presidency. The White House says the president wasn't involved in the specifics, but this same pattern keeps emerging, from crypto, to real estate, to other ventures. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/u...
Trump Paid $2 Million by South Korean Company Facing Trade Investigation
The payment illustrates the minefield Mr. Trump has created by maintaining personal financial ties with foreign businesses while he is in office.
nytimes.com
The egregious slush fund is on ice, and courts have shown they'll enforce the basic ethical rules that apply to all lawyers (including government attorneys!) to prevent abuses. But Trump's IRS immunity deal still hasn't been rescinded. We shouldn't lose sight of that. apnews.com/article/trum...
Judge says Trump IRS lawsuit was filed for 'improper purpose,' refers lawyer for possible discipline
A federal judge says President Donald Trump’s lawsuit against the IRS over his leaked tax returns was filed for an “improper purpose” as she referred one of his attorneys for possible disciplinary act...
apnews.com
For decades, Congress has ceded its authority to presidents and the judiciary and failed to pass long-overdue reforms to repair our warped campaign finance system. A Supreme Court ruling this week must be a wake-up call for lawmakers. bit.ly/4b5yJ9H
Supreme Court Continues to Dismantle Anticorruption Laws
Its latest decision to strike down campaign finance limits underscores the need for Congress to pass popular anticorruption reforms.
brennancenter.org
There’s always been self-dealing in government, but not like this. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/02/w...
Trump’s Huge Windfall Has Few Known Global Precedents
nytimes.com
America “must return to a reading of the Constitution that recognizes its fundamental democratic commitments,” @jayswanson.bsky.social told @wsj.com. The paper asked several experts what they’d change about the U.S. Constitution ahead of America’s 250th birthday. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...
Changing the Constitution: Five Proposals for a More Perfect Union
We asked five experts across the political spectrum: What would you change about the U.S. Constitution if you could?
wsj.com
"While Trump v. Barbara was a weighty case, it shouldn’t have been a hard one. And the decision does not make the court some guardian of multiracial democracy. This court has been taking a sledgehammer to it throughout this term." Me and @tomtmwolf.bsky.social in @ms.now ms.now/opinion/supr...
Opinion | The Supreme Court saved birthright citizenship — but Kavanaugh’s dissent is ominous
Thomas Wolf and Samuel Breidbart: The decision in Trump v. Barbara is a rare moment of restraint in this court’s ongoing anti-democratic rampage.
ms.now
The financial disclosures Pres. Trump released this week are stunning. No president has cashed in on the White House on this level before—over $2B last year, including $1.4B from crypto alone. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/30/u...
Trump Pulled In at Least $2 Billion After Returning to the White House
nytimes.com
SCOTUS adopted a "radical and wrong interpretation of the [F]irst amendment” when it struck down yet another campaign finance law today, @eepetry.bsky.social told @us.theguardian.com. "This is another example of the [C]ourt’s drive to destroy anti-corruption laws."
US supreme court strikes down limits on campaign spending
Case stems from 2022 lawsuit challenging FEC’s enforcement of limits on ‘coordinated party expenditures’
theguardian.com
BREAKING: In NRSC v. FEC, the Roberts Court again strikes down campaign finance limits, continuing its 16-year drive to dismantle anticorruption guardrails under a radically wrong interpretation of the First Amendment.
Trigger laws enabled some states to ban abortion the second the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. Now Virginia is considering one that would limit political spending if the Court ever overturns Citizen United. bit.ly/3OYOEOV
Virginia Lawmakers Should Pass Citizens United Trigger Law
Challenging the Supreme Court’s mistaken Citizens United ruling will help spur legal change and curb the influence of big money in state politics.
brennancenter.org
NYT reports pardons going to the wealthy and politically connected who can pay $$ for insider lobbyists. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/06/u...
Pardon Industry Offers Rich Offenders a Path to Trump
nytimes.com
How does Trump’s extraordinary self-enrichment since retaking office compare to historic instances of political corruption? To learn more, read our latest Money in Politics Roundup: 1/3 bit.ly/3MSYmBN
Our new new Money in Politics Roundup explores the Trump administration's unprecedented profiteering and the key campaign finance stories shaping the midterms. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Money in Politics Roundup — February 2026
These stories on campaign finance and influence peddling are shaping the midterms.
brennancenter.org
In our new Money in Politics Roundup, we dig into Trump's $3 billion in profiteering last year, the midterm races where spending is heating up, potential changes in the law for better or worse, and more! www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Money in Politics Roundup — February 2026
These stories on campaign finance and influence peddling are shaping the midterms.
brennancenter.org
Important point just now in the NRSC v. FEC argument: the Court's assumptions and predictions in past campaign finance cases have turned out to be wrong in practice. That's a big reason why Citizens United and other decisions have caused such harmful consequences for American politics.
Discussion in NRSC v. FEC keeps returning to how the rise of super PACs has harmed parties. That's clearly true and underscores the need for reform, including ways to strengthen parties. But that's a job for Congress. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
Stronger Parties, Stronger Democracy: Rethinking Reform
The Brennan Center considers whether relaxing certain campaign finance regulations in order to direct political money back into the official party organizations can help strengthen American democracy.
brennancenter.org
The justices' questions in NRSC v. FEC about future challenges to other campaign finance laws highlights why this is an issue for Congress to address. Money in politics is a complex problem with many facets. But courts consider these laws in isolation.
Interesting to see the justices in the NRSC oral argument press Noel Francisco on future challenges to campaign finance law. This is making explicit how the dynamic at the Court works. Each law is considered in isolation, but the reality it’s a progressive chipping away of the rules.
Powerful point from Justice Sotomayor in today’s oral argument in NRSC v. FEC: “every time we tinker with Congress’s design [for campaign finance law] we make things worse. Indeed.
NRSC v. FEC, happening now: Important point from Justice Sotomayor that the Court's interventions in campaign finance cases have caused more harm than good. Exactly right! As the Brennan Center argued in our amicus brief. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...
National Republican Senatorial Committee v. Federal Election Commission
The Brennan Center and Steptoe LLP filed an amicus brief urging the Supreme Court to reject the petitioners’ argument that limits on coordinated party expenditures violate the First Amendment.
brennancenter.org
NRSC v. FEC, happening now: Justice Alito asks who is helped and who is hurt by party coordinated spending limits. That's an important policy question, but it's for Congress to consider, not the courts! It does not weigh on constitutional analysis under the First Amendment.
NRSC v. FEC, happening now: Challengers say donors don't "launder" candidate contributions through parties because it's easier to write a massive check to a super PAC. Corruption is still corruption, even if there are easier paths for corruption.
Next week, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a challenge to campaign finance rules aimed at guarding against political corruption. @eepetry.bsky.social explains what’s at stake:
Supreme Court Poised to Take Another Swipe at Campaign Finance Law
Congress, not the Supreme Court, should make the rules for political party fundraising.
brennancenter.org
