From Super PACs to Dark Money
An interview with Prof. Richard Briffault
CLE Credit — Approved in 4 States
American political campaigns are increasingly financed by Super PACs and shadowy nonprofits. Some believe that too much money being funneled by special interest groups and wealthy donors opens the door to corruption and influence buying. Host Suraj Patel sits down with Professor Richard Briffault to explore campaign finance laws and the key issues of contention to get to the bottom of this complicated debate.
Watch Part 2 of From Super PACs to Dark Money.
About Prof. Richard Briffault
“You can get a better sense of the candidate, who the candidate is, what the candidate is about, what they are going to be like in office by knowing who their backers are.”
Professor Richard Briffault is the Joseph P. Chamberlain Professor of Legislation at Columbia Law School. He joined the Columbia Law faculty in 1983. He was law clerk to the Honorable Shirley M. Hufstedler of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and was Assistant Counsel to New York Governor Hugh L. Carey. In 2014, Professor Briffault was appointed Chair of the Conflicts of Interest Board of the City of New York. He was a member of New York State’s Moreland Act Commission to Investigate Public Corruption (2013-14), and served as a member of or consultant to several New York City and State commissions dealing with state and local governance. He is currently the Reporter for the American Law Institute's project on Principles of Government Ethics. He is also vice-chair of Citizens Union of the City of New York. His research, writing and teaching focus on state and local government law, legislation, the law of the political process, government ethics and property. He is co-author of the textbook State and Local Government Law (7th ed. 2009); principal author of Dollars and Democracy: A Blueprint for Campaign Finance Reform (the Report of the Commission on Campaign Finance Reform of The Association of the Bar of the City of New York 2000); and author of Balancing Acts: The Reality Behind State Balanced Budget Requirements (20th Century Fund Press 1996) as well as more than seventy law review articles.
