CHAPTER FIVE CAMPAIGN FINANCING CRIMES INTRODUCTION The nation’s campaign financing laws are designed to regulate the influence of money on politics, to combat actual or apparent quid pro quo corruption. 46 The campaign finance laws do this by limiting the size of contributions that individuals may contribute; by prohibiting contributions from entities such as corporations, unions, and banks, whose potential corrupting influence on democratic government has been historically demonstrated, to candidates for public office and political parties; and by imposing strict disclosure requirements on those who participate in the federal campaign financing process. Transparency in campaign financing has also become a pillar of international standards for democratic elections. In addition to the federal government, all the states have campaign financing laws. These vary from state to state, and in many instances they vary significantly from those at the federal level. Because this book is written for federal prosecutors and investigators, its focus is on the federal laws that govern this subject. In addition, because the power of the federal government in the area of campaign financing is limited primarily to regulating the financing of federal candidates, Burroughs v. United States, 290 U.S. 534 (1934), the focus of this chapter is further limited to federal laws that address the As to actual quid pro quo corruption, the Supreme Court has held that campaign contributions may constitute a violation of the Hobbs Act, 18 U.S.C. § 1951, only when they are provided in exchange for a specific requested exercise of official authority. Evans v. United States, 504 U.S. 255 (1992); McCormick v. United States, 500 U.S. 257 (1991). This is in recognition of the important and necessary role that campaign contributions play in our political system. 46 122