A straw donor is a person who illegally uses another person's
money
Money is any item or verifiable record that is generally accepted as payment for goods and services and repayment of debts, such as taxes, in a particular country or socio-economic context. The primary functions which distinguish money ar ...
to make a
political contribution in their own name.
United States
In the United States, making a political contribution in another person's name is illegal, as is agreeing to be the named donor with someone else's money. For example, a straw donor may contribute to a political campaign before being reimbursed by another, who is using that person as a conduit to exceed the limits on campaign contributions under the laws of a jurisdiction.
In federal elections in the United States, straw donor schemes are illegal under
52 U.S.C. § 30122, which states:
No person shall make a contribution in the name of another person or knowingly permit his name to be used to effect such a contribution, and no person shall knowingly accept a contribution made by one person in the name of another person.
This section was enacted as part of the
Federal Election Campaign Act
The Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (FECA, , ''et seq.'') is the primary United States federal law regulating political campaign fundraising and spending. The law originally focused on creating limits for campaign spending on communicatio ...
in 1971.
Thornton Law scandal
A Massachusetts law firm, Thornton Law, has been accused of funneling funds to the Democrats through a massive and illegal straw-donor scheme. In a 33-page report, lawyers at the
Federal Election Commission
The Federal Election Commission (FEC) is an independent regulatory agency of the United States whose purpose is to enforce campaign finance law in United States federal elections. Created in 1974 through amendments to the Federal Election Cam ...
found "extensive evidence" that Boston’s Thornton Law firm likely used a phony program to repay their law firm's partners for political donations, but the case was dismissed after commissioners deadlocked 2-vs-2 on whether to pursue it.
The law firm's partners donated nearly $1.6 million to mostly Democratic candidates and committees between 2010 and 2014. They were reimbursed $1.4 million as "bonuses" ten days later, in many cases receiving bonuses that precisely matched their political donations.
“While our investigation did not find sufficient evidence to support a criminal charge, we are recommending enhancements to current state campaign finance laws to address the ambiguities in the law that gave rise to these allegations”, Essex District Attorney Jonathan Blodgett said.
While the small firm made donations primarily to Democrats, their donations also included some Republicans. Most political campaigns quickly returned any donations upon being informed of the investigation.
Dinesh D'Souza
In 2014, the