campaign finance violations
Illegal donor contributions
Campaign finance violations are breaches of laws governing money in elections—illegal contributions, undisclosed donations, exceeding spending limits, or using campaign funds for personal expenses.
The term appears constantly in political coverage: The candidate faced campaign finance violations for accepting foreign donations.
Violations range from technical paperwork errors to deliberate schemes to circumvent contribution limits.
- dark moneyUndisclosed political contributions
- hush moneyPayment to ensure secrecy
- slush fundHidden discretionary money pool
- contribution limitsMaximums on donations allowed
- investigationsSystematic searches for truth
audits · penalties · fines · criminal charges · foreign donations · corruption · Citizens United · super PACs · political action committee · pay to play · quid pro quo · ethics committees · legal proceedings · reform movements · soft money · watchdog organizations · bundling · lobbyists
campaign, campaigns, campaigned, campaigning, campaigner, campaigners, finance, finances, financed