Foreign .001 percenters are people too
by digby
It stands to reason that the .001% would band together to influence elections. There are so few of them, it also stands to reason they’d recruit foreign members of their class. And why not? The policies that help the American mega-rich will very likely help the foreign mega-rich as well. And that’s what counts:
In a first of its kind case, federal prosecutors say a Mexican businessman funnelled more than $500,000 into U.S. political races through Super PACs and various shell companies. The alleged financial scheme is the first known instance of a foreign national exploiting the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision in order to influence U.S. elections. If proven, the campaign finance scandal could reshape the public debate over the high court’s landmark decision.
Until now, allegations surrounding Jose Susumo Azano Matsura, the owner of multiple construction companies in Mexico, have not spread beyond local news outlets in San Diego, where he’s accused of bankrolling a handful of southern California candidates. But the scandal is beginning to attract national interest as it ensnares a U.S. congressman, a Washington, D.C.-based campaign firm and the legacy of one of the most important Supreme Court decisions in a generation.
How could this happen? Well, there’s one big change in campaign finance law that made it possible:
“Before Citizens United, in order for a foreign national to try and do this, they’d have to set up a pretty complex system of shell corporations,” said Brett Kappel, a campaign finance expert at the law firm Arent Fox. “And even then, there were dollar limits in place. After Citizens United, there are no limits on independent expenditures.”
Read on. It’s quite a story.
But remember that the real problem with our elections is non-existent voter fraud.
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