Latest news with #campaignFinance
CNN
5 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Elon Musk gave $10 million to Republican midterm efforts just before announcing his own America Party
PACs Congressional newsFacebookTweetLink Follow Billionaire Elon Musk donated a total of $10 million to a pair of super PACs aimed at helping Republicans retain their majorities in Congress after next year's midterm elections, new campaign finance reports show. The donations of $5 million each to the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund came on June 27 – amid Musk's bitter feuding with President Donald Trump over federal spending legislation – and just days before the world's richest man declared he would form his own political party. The newly disclosed donations underscore Musk's outsize influence in US politics and raise fresh questions about what role the mercurial businessman might play in elections moving forward. The Tesla CEO emerged in Thursday's filings as the largest individual contributor to each of those congressional super PACs. Separately, campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission show Musk this year plowed more than $45 million of his own money into America PAC, the super PAC he oversees – as he worked, unsuccessfully, to shape the outcome of a Wisconsin Supreme Court race. In the 2024 election, Musk spent more than $290 million to help elect Trump and his favored congressional candidates. He served as a top White House adviser and the leader of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency for several months this year before stepping back from government work to focus on his companies. At the time, he signaled he also might pull back on his political spending. But by early July, Musk was publicly battling again with Trump and congressional Republicans over domestic policy legislation Musk said would explode the deficit. He also pledged to form the America Party, although there are few signs that he has taken concrete steps in that direction. Thursday's report with the FEC covers his super PAC's activity only through the end of June. CNN's Alex Leeds Matthews and David Adkins contributed to this report.
CNN
5 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Elon Musk gave $10 million to Republican midterm efforts just before announcing his own America Party
PACs Congressional newsFacebookTweetLink Follow Billionaire Elon Musk donated a total of $10 million to a pair of super PACs aimed at helping Republicans retain their majorities in Congress after next year's midterm elections, new campaign finance reports show. The donations of $5 million each to the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund came on June 27 – amid Musk's bitter feuding with President Donald Trump over federal spending legislation – and just days before the world's richest man declared he would form his own political party. The newly disclosed donations underscore Musk's outsize influence in US politics and raise fresh questions about what role the mercurial businessman might play in elections moving forward. The Tesla CEO emerged in Thursday's filings as the largest individual contributor to each of those congressional super PACs. Separately, campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission show Musk this year plowed more than $45 million of his own money into America PAC, the super PAC he oversees – as he worked, unsuccessfully, to shape the outcome of a Wisconsin Supreme Court race. In the 2024 election, Musk spent more than $290 million to help elect Trump and his favored congressional candidates. He served as a top White House adviser and the leader of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency for several months this year before stepping back from government work to focus on his companies. At the time, he signaled he also might pull back on his political spending. But by early July, Musk was publicly battling again with Trump and congressional Republicans over domestic policy legislation Musk said would explode the deficit. He also pledged to form the America Party, although there are few signs that he has taken concrete steps in that direction. Thursday's report with the FEC covers his super PAC's activity only through the end of June. CNN's Alex Leeds Matthews and David Adkins contributed to this report.
CNN
6 hours ago
- Business
- CNN
Elon Musk gave $10 million to Republican midterm efforts just before announcing his own America Party
PACs Congressional newsFacebookTweetLink Follow Billionaire Elon Musk donated a total of $10 million to a pair of super PACs aimed at helping Republicans retain their majorities in Congress after next year's midterm elections, new campaign finance reports show. The donations of $5 million each to the Senate Leadership Fund and the Congressional Leadership Fund came on June 27 – amid Musk's bitter feuding with President Donald Trump over federal spending legislation – and just days before the world's richest man declared he would form his own political party. The newly disclosed donations underscore Musk's outsize influence in US politics and raise fresh questions about what role the mercurial businessman might play in elections moving forward. The Tesla CEO emerged in Thursday's filings as the largest individual contributor to each of those congressional super PACs. Separately, campaign reports with the Federal Election Commission show Musk this year plowed more than $45 million of his own money into America PAC, the super PAC he oversees – as he worked, unsuccessfully, to shape the outcome of a Wisconsin Supreme Court race. In the 2024 election, Musk spent more than $290 million to help elect Trump and his favored congressional candidates. He served as a top White House adviser and the leader of the cost-cutting Department of Government Efficiency for several months this year before stepping back from government work to focus on his companies. At the time, he signaled he also might pull back on his political spending. But by early July, Musk was publicly battling again with Trump and congressional Republicans over domestic policy legislation Musk said would explode the deficit. He also pledged to form the America Party, although there are few signs that he has taken concrete steps in that direction. Thursday's report with the FEC covers his super PAC's activity only through the end of June. CNN's Alex Leeds Matthews and David Adkins contributed to this report.
The Independent
16 hours ago
- Business
- The Independent
Trump donor swindled more than $30 million from people thinking they were getting access and visas
A Trump donor orchestrated a $30 million scheme that promised foreign investors permanent residency and access to U.S. politicians in exchange for their money. Sherry Xue Li, 53, pleaded guilty on Wednesday to money laundering conspiracy and conspiracy to defraud the United States by obstructing the Federal Election Commission 's administration of campaign finance laws, the New York Times reports. In her decade-long scheme, Li and her co-defendant Lianbo Wang defrauded investors out of more than $30 million through a fictitious development project called the Thompson Education Center based in Sullivan County, New York, federal prosecutors said. The pair marketed the project as a 'Chinese Disneyland' that would include an amusement park, medical center, business center, a college, and homes, the federal complaint states. They told the investors, mainly foreign nationals from China, that if they contributed $500,000, they would be guaranteed lawful permanent residence in the United States through the EB-5 investment visa program. To make the fictitious project seem more real, the pair distributed promotional materials that contained photographs of Li with prominent U.S. politicians to falsely convey government support for the Thompson Education Center. In some cases, they also sold access to prominent politicians by collecting foreign investors' money and 'unlawfully contributing' it to U.S. political campaigns and committees, prosecutors said. For example, in June 2017, Li attended a fundraiser dinner to support the re-election of President Donald Trump. The cost of admission was $35,000 per person, the complaint states. Li planned to bring a dozen foreigners with her to the ritzy event. Li and Wang, however, then told the attendees they must each pay $93,000 — $80,000 to attend plus nearly $14,000 for food and travel expenses. They then sent instructions on how to wire transfer the money to bank accounts tied to Li, according to prosecutors. The pair then used the money they collected from the foreigners to contribute $600,000 in their own names. At the Washington, D.C. event, Li posed with the president and First Lady Melania Trump. They later used this photo to promote their development project. Federal law prohibits foreigners from making contributions in connections to U.S. elections. The president, his campaign and first lady have not been accused of wrongdoing in connection with this case. Throughout the years-long scheme, Li used the funds she collected to bankroll her own personal expenses, like casinos, jewelry, high-end retailers and upscale restaurants. Some of the money was used to 'create and perpetuate the fiction' of the Thompson Education Center's development, making it appear as though the project was actually underway, prosecutors said. In reality, Li and Wang hired contractors, engineers, and other workers to draw up architectural plans to keep up the illusion. Sometimes, when pressed about updates on the development, Li sent photos of a different construction site to investors. Wang pleaded guilty in 2024 to engaging in unlawful monetary transactions and conspiracy to defraud the United States. He was sentenced to five years behind bars. Li now faces up to 20 years in prison. As part of her plea agreement, Li agreed to forfeit $31.5 million, as well as property at three locations, prosecutors said. In total, more than 150 investors invested at least $31.5 million in the development project. Roughly half of that amount came from EB-5 investors who were promised green cards in return for their investments. None of them were granted green cards. 'Li defrauded more than 150 victims in the United States and abroad through years of lies and deception and sought to profit by selling access to the democratic process,' United States Attorney Nocella said in a statement. 'In doing so, she attempted to corrupt a fundamental institution in this country—fair and transparent elections free from unlawful foreign influence. Our Office is committed to investigating and prosecuting predatory fraudsters who steal victims' hard-earned money.'
Yahoo
07-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
More than $1 million spent in Orland Park, Tinley Park mayoral campaigns
When he ran for a full term as Orland Park's village clerk in 1991, James Dodge figures he spent about $3,000. Flash forward to this past spring's mayoral election. In the months leading up to the April 1 election, Dodge and his political committees shelled out nearly $190,000, according to state campaign finance reports. He defeated Keith Pekau, who was seeking a third term and running with his own slate of candidates. Pekau, through two election committees, spent almost twice as much as Dodge, campaign filings for the first quarter show. And it wasn't just Orland Park with big election outlays. Tinley Park mayoral candidates Michael Glotz and Michael Maloney, spent more than $700,000 January through March, according to state finance filings. Voters and elections have gotten more complicated, with candidates competing for the attention of potential supporters through a variety of media and messages, Dodge said. 'You are competing with all the advertisements and messages everybody is exposed to every day,' Dodge said Thursday. 'You are trying to break through with your message.' That means ads on cable television, data acquisition to find out voter demographics, messages on social media across different platforms and the reliable standards of yard signs and mailers, Dodge said. 'The nature of campaigns nowadays is you are competing with everything, and there is a lot of competition for people's attention,' he said. 'You have to have enough communication to get through all of that.' It costs money and involves paid workers for things such as photography and media production, a monitored online presence responsive to voter question. Even the old standby mailer has gotten pricier over election cycles, Dodge said. 'Nowadays even an oversize post card costs about 70 cents each to deliver to each home,' including the cost of design and printing, he said. 'If you are sending it out to 10,000 homes you are looking at $70,000.' During that same first-quarter period, the candidates and their election campaigns in Orland Park took in contributions of more than $400,000, according to state campaign finance filings. Tinley Park also saw significant amounts of money spent, and earned, in the weeks prior to the election. Incumbent Mayor Michael Glotz and challenger Michael Maloney took in more than $200,000 during the sprint to Election Day, according to records. Glotz won a second term, defeating Michael Maloney April 1. Through his own mayoral election committee and the One Tinley Park committee, which fielded candidates for trustee and clerk, Glotz spent more than a half-million dollars in the January-March quarter, disclosure statements show. Glotz responded to text messages Wednesday and Thursdays to arrange an interview, but never did commit to a time to respond to questions. Tinley Together, which Michael Maloney headed as the mayoral challenger to Glotz, took in about $182,000 in the January-March quarter and spent $177,000, according to state filings. The mayor's Friends of Michael Glotz took in $20,100 in the first quarter, but spent $149,000, with contributions including $72,000 to the One Tinley Park committee. One Tinley Park fielded Glotz and candidates, and the committee took in more than $190,000 and spent close to $385,000, according to state electoral board filings showing first-quarter income and spending. Both mayors listed expenses for photography, signs, printing and campaign help. In Dolton, one-term Mayor Tiffany Henyard received a pittance in contributions during the home stretch of the campaign. Trustee Jason House easily ousted Henyard, locking up 88% of the vote in the village's Democratic primary. In the April 1 general election, he received more than 95% of the vote over Independent mayoral candidate Casundra Hopson-Jordan. During the first quarter, House's Friends of Jason House, recorded receipts of a bit more than $31,000 and spent a little more than $45,000, according to state finance reports. Spending included outlays for consulting, text blasts and mailings. He headed the Clean House ticket, which also featured candidates for trustee and clerk. State electoral board records did not show any filings for that committee. Henyard's Friends of Tiffany Henyard showed total receipts of $1,000 and no expenditures during the January-March quarter, according to the report filed by her Friends of Tiffany Henyard committee. Filings showed the committee ended the election with just under $90,000 on hand, although debts totaled $58,000. All of the debt is comprised of loans Henyard has made to her campaign dating to January 2021, with the most recent loan, for $25,000, coming last November, according to her committee's most recent report. In Orland Park, Dodge's Dodge for Mayor committee took in $55,200 in the first quarter, and spent more than $34,000 during that period for things such as research and marketing, according to the committee's recent state filing. He headed the Orland Park for All committee, which recorded first-quarter receipts of $119,000 and expenses over the same period of $138,000. The money went for things such as advertising on Google, printing, renting office space and mailings, according to the committee's quarterly filing. Pekau's Keith for Mayor committee recorded first-quarter intake of $46,600, and expenses of $165,500, according to state filings. The committee transferred $120,000 in February and March to the People Over Politics slate Pekau headed. People Over Politics saw total receipts in the first quarter of more than $187,000, and that included nearly $150,000 in transfers from Pekau's mayoral committee and money chipped in by candidates on the ticket. People Over Politics recorded expenses in the first quarter of a bit more than $230,000, with money going to things such as phone polling, printing, consulting, advertising and yard signs, according to its quarterly filing.
