Campaign Finance Experts Potter and Wertheimer to Discuss New Supreme Court Case Focusing on Donation Limits to Candidates

News provided by

Sep 10, 2013, 12:35 ET

Trevor Potter, president and general counsel, Campaign Legal Center

Fred Wertheimer, president, Democracy 21

Tuesday, Oct. 1, 10 a.m.; First Amendment Lounge, National Press Club

WASHINGTON, Sept. 10, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- With the U.S. Supreme Court about to hear arguments on another case that could allow donors to give millions of dollars more than they now can contribute to federal campaigns, two experts on campaign finance law will discuss the case of McCutcheon v. FEC and its impact on campaign finance regulations.

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20080917/NPCLOGO)

Shaun McCutcheon is a Republican donor who is asking the High Court to allow him to contribute more than the $123,200 to candidates and parties he is now limited to under federal law. A decision overturning the limit would allow him and other individuals to contribute more than $3.5 million every two years -- the maximum donation to each candidate and party, according to the Campaign Legal Center.

The Court upheld the contribution limits in its landmark 1976 Buckley v. Valeo decision. In the Citizens United case in 2010, the Court's Republican-appointed majority overturned earlier rulings and relaxed restrictions on independent corporate and union spending.

Trevor Potter, a former Federal Election Commission chairman, served as comedian Stephen Colbert's election lawyer during the 2012 campaign. He served as general counsel to Senator John McCain's 2000 and 2008 presidential runs and is founding president and general counsel of the Campaign Legal Center, which supports limits on campaign contributions.

Fred Wertheimer is founder and president of Democracy 21, an advocacy group that lobbies for stronger campaign finance laws. A former president of Common Cause, he has led efforts to reduce the impact of money on politics for more than three decades.

This National Press Club Newsmaker event is scheduled for Tuesday, Oct. 1, at 10 a.m. in the First Amendment Lounge on the 13th floor of the National Press Building, 529 14th St. NW, Washington, D.C.

Contact: Jonathan D. Salant, NPC Newsmakers Event Host, [email protected]; Herb Perone, NPC Newsmakers Chair, 301-512-7636, [email protected]

SOURCE National Press Club