Despite Vice President Kamala Harris' campaign's public disavowal of lobbyist funding, a comprehensive review of campaign finance records by the Daily Caller News Foundation suggests a different reality.
The records reveal that Harris' campaign has been the recipient of numerous contributions from lobbyists since she assumed control of President Joe Biden's reelection campaign on July 21.
According to the Federal Election Commission (FEC) records, a significant influx of lobbyist funding began to flow into Harris' campaign following reports by The New York Times and Politico that she was upholding Biden's policy of not accepting direct contributions from individual lobbyists. The lobbyists who have been generously contributing to Harris' campaign represent a broad spectrum of industries, from technology to cannabis. Disclosures reveal that the organizations represented by Harris' lobbyist donors include tobacco and vaping giant Altria, Apple, Dow Chemical Company, a bio-fuel trade group, and a cannabis interest group, among others.
Harris has a track record of accepting lobbyist funding despite her public pledges to the contrary. The Washington Examiner reported that during her 2020 presidential campaign, Harris accepted over $100,000 from lobbyists at firms such as DLA Piper, Venable, and DCG, thereby breaking her promise. "Our campaign is not taking a dime from corporate PACs or lobbyists and that was a very deliberate choice," Harris had assured in a February 2019 email to her supporters, according to the Examiner. "Yes, it means we are leaving money on the table. But thats ok with me."
While FEC records suggest that the Harris campaign is not adhering to its current pledge to refuse donations from lobbyists, the pledge itself does not prohibit lobbyists from contributing to her election effort. The Democratic National Committee (DNC), which can allocate funds to support Harris' White House bid, has no restrictions on accepting donations from lobbyists.
The Harris campaign appears to be aware of this loophole. According to Politico, vice presidential nominee Tim Walz was sent to a fundraising event teeming with lobbyists, hosted by former Democratic Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe. Invitations to the event, which raised $1.2 million, reportedly stated that while the Harris campaign does not accept donations from lobbyists, the DNC does.
Despite her history of accepting corporate and lobbyist funding during her tenure as a senator and presidential candidate, Harris has consistently criticized the influence of money in politics. "I think that money has had such an outside influence on politics, and especially with the Supreme Court determining Citizens United, which basically means that big corporations can spend unlimited amounts of money influencing our campaigns, right?" Harris stated in April 2018. "Were all supposed to have an equal vote, but money has now really tipped the balance between an individual having equal power in an election to a corporation. So Ive actually made a decision that Im not going to accept corporate PAC checks. I just, Im not.
According to Yasmin Nelson, a lobbyist at Holland & Knight and former senior Harris advisor, Harris and her team have a pretty open door to lobbyists. Nelson, who managed to secure a meeting with Harris' team in June, is also fundraising for her.
Harris' personal connections to the lobbying industry are also noteworthy. Her husband, second gentleman Doug Emhoff, was previously a partner at DLA Piper, a law firm known for its extensive lobbying work. Andy Vargas, a former longtime aide to Harris, is a senior vice president at Mercury Public Affairs, a lobbying firm criticized for representing Turkey, Qatar, and an organization reportedly linked to an Iranian-backed influence network.
Other groups represented by Harris' lobbyist donors include the Motion Picture Association, software company Adobe, the National Association of Realtors, the California Teachers Association, and the Center for American Progress, as per FEC records.
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