CITIZENS UNITED
The Legal Infrastructure That Funds Everything Else
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In 2010, the Supreme Court ruled in a 5-4 decision that laws restricting corporate political spending violate the First Amendment. In the fifteen years since, outside spending on federal elections has exploded more than 28-fold — from $144 million in 2008 to more than $4.2 billion in 2024. Dark money topped $1 billion in the 2024 presidential election alone. Every organization documented in this section benefits from that ruling. It is the legal infrastructure that funds everything else.
What Citizens United Is
Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission is a landmark 5-4 Supreme Court decision issued on January 21, 2010. It reversed century-old campaign finance restrictions and enabled corporations and other outside groups to spend unlimited money on elections. Brennan Center
The case began in 2007 when a conservative nonprofit challenged campaign finance rules that prevented it from airing a film criticizing presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. The Supreme Court could have issued a narrow ruling on that specific situation. Instead, a 5-4 majority took the opportunity to rule that virtually all limits on independent political spending from corporations and other outside groups violated the First Amendment. Brennan Center
Justice Anthony Kennedy, writing for the majority, held that independent political expenditures by corporations do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption. That single sentence incinerated a century of campaign finance law. Within months, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit extended the logic to contributions — creating today's super PACs. Center for American Progress
The late Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg called Citizens United the worst ruling of her time on the Court. Overwhelming majorities of Americans have consistently expressed disapproval of the ruling, with at least 22 states and hundreds of cities voting to support a constitutional amendment to overturn it. Brennan Center
What It Actually Did
Outside spending exploded more than 28-fold between 2008 and 2024 — from $144 million to more than $4.2 billion. Dark money groups funneled billions of dollars through nonprofit fronts. Super PACs bankrolled almost every major campaign, with a tiny number of donors writing checks in the tens or hundreds of millions. Center for American Progress
Dark money groups spent almost $2 billion on the 2024 election — roughly double the total spent in 2020. Since Citizens United, dark money groups have spent at least $4.3 billion on federal elections. Brennan Center
In the 2022 midterms, just 21 of the biggest donor families contributed $783 million and billionaires provided 15 percent of all federal election financing — most of which went to super PACs supporting congressional campaigns. These donors easily outspent the total given by millions of small donors giving to House and Senate candidates that cycle. Brennan Center
The Koch network, Stand Together, and Americans for Prosperity operate through exactly these mechanisms. Leonard Leo's dark money network — which funded the judicial pipeline that produced three Trump Supreme Court nominations — operates through exactly these mechanisms. The Bradley Foundation routes money through donor-advised funds the same way. Citizens United made all of it legal.
The Three Mechanisms
Citizens United did not produce a single lever. It produced three interlocking mechanisms that move unlimited money through the political system while evading disclosure.
Super PACs — Political action committees that can accept unlimited contributions and spend unlimited amounts on independent expenditures. They must disclose their donors to the FEC — but they routinely receive money from dark money groups whose donors are not disclosed, creating a pathway for wealthy special interests to influence elections while keeping their identities hidden. Campaign Legal Center
501(c)(4) Dark Money Groups — Nonprofit organizations classified as social welfare organizations under the tax code. They can engage in political activity without disclosing their donors. Because dark money groups need only report spending for certain activities such as independent expenditures and electioneering communications, much of their spending has become increasingly difficult to track. Stand Together, Americans for Prosperity, and Leonard Leo's network all operate through this structure. Brennan Center
Straw Donors and Shell Entities — In 2025, the Campaign Legal Center identified an apparent straw donor — "Building our Future Today, LLC" — that made over $2.5 million in contributions to two different super PACs just two months after its creation, with no public record of conducting any business, strongly suggesting it was established solely to conceal the true source of the political spending. Campaign Legal Center
What the Court Promised — and What Happened
Citizens United rested on two core assumptions. Both have been contradicted by fifteen years of evidence.
The Court promised disclosure would ensure accountability. The majority reasoned that transparency requirements would allow voters to evaluate who was paying for political ads. These protections are increasingly illusory because of weak rules and lax enforcement. Brennan Center
The Court promised independent spending could not corrupt. The majority held that spending not directly coordinated with a candidate carried no substantial risk of corruption. The 2024 election dispensed with that illusion. A group funded by Elon Musk took on core components of the winning campaign — including voter outreach operations — the kind of coordination the Court said could not exist. Brennan Center
The FEC Problem — and the New Threat
The Supreme Court is not solely responsible for the legal changes that made these activities possible. A dysfunctional federal regulator — the evenly divided Federal Election Commission — and Congress have also played important roles. In 2024, an FEC deadlock created a new loophole, allowing fundraising entities to run campaign ads without allocating their costs. Both parties availed themselves of this loophole, but Republicans in particular exploited it. Brennan Center
Since President Trump took office in January 2025, he has continuously threatened the FEC's ability to regulate him and operate independently from his control. The Campaign Legal Center has responded to these threats in court, securing a district court ruling in July 2025 that the FEC failed to execute its responsibility when it dismissed a complaint against an alleged dark money scheme in the 2024 Montana Senate election. Campaign Legal Center
What Can Be Done ✅
The conventional wisdom is that Citizens United can only be reversed by a constitutional amendment or a future Supreme Court ruling. That is flat wrong.
State-level corporate definitions. Citizens United held that government may not regulate a corporation's right to spend money independently in elections. But the Court did not say what a corporation is — it could not. That question lies beyond even the Supreme Court's reach. Each state creates and defines its corporations. It need not permit its creations to consume it. States can define corporations in ways that limit their political spending without running afoul of Citizens United. Local activists in Montana are pursuing this approach — the Transparent Election Initiative filed a constitutional initiative with the Montana Secretary of State on August 1, 2025. Center for American Progress
The DISCLOSE Act. Federal legislation requiring full disclosure of all political spending by outside groups. Has passed the House and failed in the Senate. Contact your Senators demanding they support it.
FEC independence. Contact your Representatives and Senators demanding that the FEC's independence be protected from executive control.
Track and expose. OpenSecrets, the Campaign Legal Center, and the Brennan Center track dark money spending in near-real time. Use their tools. Name the donors when they are identified. Share their findings.
Resources and Organizations Fighting Back
Campaign Legal Center — How Citizens United Affects Us in 2026 — current litigation tracker, FEC accountability, and dark money documentation
Brennan Center — Citizens United, Explained — definitive explainer with current spending data
Brennan Center — Dark Money Hit a Record High of $1.9 Billion in 2024 — the most current comprehensive dark money analysis
OpenSecrets — Outside Spending Summary — real-time tracking of super PAC and dark money spending by cycle
Center for American Progress — The Corporate Power Reset — the state-level strategy framework and Montana initiative
End Citizens United — electoral accountability campaign for campaign finance reform
Move to Amend — constitutional amendment campaign
Documents in this library: 📄 The Koch Network — Organizational Profile & Threat Assessment 📄 The Bradley Foundation — Organizational Profile & Threat Assessment 📄 The Federalist Society — Organizational Profile & Threat Assessment
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