When the US Supreme Court obliterated most campaign finance regulations in its ruling on the “Citizens United” case in January of 2010, many observers warned that the decision could lead to foreign corporations pumping money into American elections, among other serious consequences.
Now, well over one year later, we find out such a scenario did come to pass; a foreign subsidiary of an American multinational corporation contributed tens of thousands of dollars to American candidates and political organizations — as many as five years before the Supreme Court’s controversial decision. And the corporation involved is none other than Koch Industries.
According to reports and filings with the FEC, a foreign-based subsidiary of Koch Industries, the second-largest private corporation in the country run by two major conservative financiers, admitted to illegally contributing over $25,000 to political campaigns and political committees between 205 and 2009, well before the Citizens United case opened an even wider portal for corporate money to be funneled into American elections.
The company, a chemical outfit called Invista, is “registered” in Luxembourg and the money it contributed came from foreign bank accounts. The foreign cash bonanza was hardly partisan in nature. Though the Kochs are well-known as major contributors to Republican candidates and causes, the Invista foreign money went to GOP as well as Democratic recipients, including the Democratic Governors’ Association.
A foreign subsidiary of U.S. corporate giant Koch Industries acknowledged making thousands of dollars in illegal contributions to state candidates between 2005 and 2009 and agreed to settle a case brought by the Federal Election Commission, the agency announced Friday.
The contributions came from Invista S.a.r.l., a chemical company, which is registered in Luxombourg but headquartered in Kansas, that is a subsidiary of Koch Industries. Koch Industries is believed to be the second largest privately held company in the U.S. and is owned by two brothers who are well known for their financial support to conservative political candidates and causes. The Federal Election Commission announced the settlement Friday, saying attorneys for Koch Industries came forward after an internal investigation determined their foreign-registered subsidiary had provided the money for the donations.
The company’s submission “states that the violations resulted from a general lack of knowledge among company personnel of either the nature of INVISTA’s legal structure or of the restrictions that applied to it as a foreign company,” the FEC’s general counsel wrote.
All but one of the seven political committees that received the illegal foreign money – which totaled more than $25,000 — have returned the checks, according to the FEC. The recipients included state-level candidates from Virginia, Delaware, and Kansas, as well as a $15,000 contribution to the Democratic Governors Association made in 2007. (Invista’s parent company, Koch Industries, gave over $1 million to the Republican Governors Association in 2010).
The $25,ooo at issue in the Invista case is mere pennies compared to the overall fundraising prowess of the Kochs, their massive private corporation and their affiliated political organizations. The Koch Industries PAC alone gave $2.7 million to candidates in 2010, and the Kochs have pledged to raise up to $88 million for the 2012 election.
The influence and power of the Kochs within American politics is unmatched. Nearly all of the new members of Congress voted into office in November of 20120 received contributions from the Kochs. And with a wave of Republican governors allied with the Tea Party and conservative heavyweights like the Kochs swept into office at the same time last fall, the conservative mega-financiers have considerable sway over state-level policies.
Just last month, the Kochs held their annual meeting in the upscale ski resort of Vail, Colorado, attended by numerous politicians and office holders. Among the state governors attending wee John Kasich of Ohio, Bob McDonnell of Virginia, Rick Perry of Texas, and Rick Scott of Florida.
The annual conference is a breeding ground for the expansion of what the Kochs call ” free-market policies and initiatives” that has led to the explosion of aggressive moves by Koch-allied governors and state lawmakers to attack public employees and organized labor while slashing government spending.
The Koch Brothers, in my humble opinion, are the worst scum and will not be happy until we are all reduced to serfdom while they bask in their huge ill gotten wealth. Wake up America!
Three words: public campaign financing.
Even if elected officials are not influenced by their donors, it’s not unreasonable for some people to suspect that that they are. Private financing corrodes trust in government. It’s past time to have a system that allows people in politics to be independent of private interests if they choose to do so.
The Koch brothers have a very specific agenda: They’re in favor of policies that benefit the Koch brothers. It’s bloody obvious and it’s to be expected. What’s offensive is not that the Koch brothers are rich and and powerful yet feel themselves victimized. What’s offensive is that they’re very successful in getting policies passed that benefit…the Koch brothers. They have access, influence, and power. We – the rest of us, in unions or not – only have our pathetic votes.
The Koch brothers are virtual cartoons of malevolence and greed. I want people to know their names and recognize their faces. I want them to make a connection between their politics and the evil they do. I want them to be a lead weight around the GOP’s messaging. Let’s get to work.