Mother Jones: How Scott Walker and His Allies Hijacked the Wisconsin Supreme Court

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If the Supreme Court rules that there is no basis for an investigation, it could signal that coordination is permissible and render "the state's contribution limits meaningless," warns Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel at the Campaign Legal Center, a Washington-based group that advocates for tougher campaign finance rules. Nonprofit groups, such as Wisconsin Club for Growth and WMC, can raise and spend unlimited cash and they don't have to disclose their donors. But there are strict limits and disclosure rules on contributions to political candidates. By coordinating with outside groups, a candidate can skirt both contribution limits and disclosure rules. Should the Wisconsin Supreme Court halt the probe, groups including the Wisconsin Club for Growth and WMC would likely "view it as a green light to continue" coordinating, Ryan says. And that may well help the future electoral prospects of the justices themselves.

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