Citizens United

Learn about corporate "speech" and other "rights" v. people's rights. And help put Americans before corporations.

Citizens United was created in November 1988 by conservative activist Floyd G. Brown, It is "a nonprofit corporation organized under the laws of Virginia and tax-exempt under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code." Citizens United is affiliated with The Presidential Coalition, a 501(c)(4), and the 2007 Conservative Victory Committee, a Section 527 political action committee. Previously, it was affiliated with the National Security Political Action Committee (National Security PAC), Presidential Victory Committee and Americans for Bush. Citizens United is led by David Bossie, who has served as president since 2000. Its offices are on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Capitol hill area of Washington, D.C.

History

Citizens United was founded by Floyd Brown in 1988.

Documents Contained at the Anti-Environmental Archives

Documents written by or referencing this person or organization are contained in the Anti-Environmental Archive, launched by Greenpeace on Earth Day, 2015. The archive contains 3,500 documents, some 27,000 pages, covering 350 organizations and individuals. The current archive includes mainly documents collected in the late 1980s through the early 2000s by The Clearinghouse on Environmental Advocacy and Research (CLEAR), an organization that tracked the rise of the so called "Wise Use" movement in the 1990s during the Clinton presidency. Access the index to the Anti-Environmental Archives here.

Controversies

According to The Wall Street Journal in July 2015, "A federal judge in Manhattan rejected a bid by the conservative advocacy group Citizens United to stop New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman from requiring charities to disclose to him their major donors."

Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

In January, 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court, in a divided 5-4 vote, held that section 441b of the 2002 McCain-Feingold federal campaign finance law (Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act) was unconstitutional. The law prohibited corporations and unions from using their general treasury funds to make independent expenditures for "electioneering communication," or for speech expressly advocating the election or defeat of a candidate.

The ruling effectively protected corporate speech the same as individual speech. The majority’s ruling about corporate electioneering marked a dramatic break from the past. In doing so, the Court rejected a century of previous court decisions that ruled corporate donations can, and should be regulated. In its ruling, the court never explained why corporate identity demands the same treatment as individual identity.

Movies

Opposition to Presidential Candidate Hillary Clinton

By far to date, Citizens United's biggest controversy surrounds its efforts to influence the 2008 presidential elections through "Hillary: The Movie." A federal court ruled that "Citizens United could not run ads for its negative film on Hillary Rodham Clinton without disclosing the ad’s donors. The group wants to release and promote 'Hillary: The Movie' to coincide with the dates when many states will hold primary elections, but the court found that in order for the ads to adhere to current campaign finance law, Citizens United would have to disclose who paid for the ads." The group has appealed this case all the way to the Supreme Court. For more information about the legal arguments in that case and its implications for individual rights in a democracy as compared with corporate rights, see Portal:Corporate_Rights

Opposition to Presidential Candidate John Kerry and to Michael Moore's "Fahrenheit 9/11"

In September 2004, "Fred Thompson, Charles Krauthammer, Fred Barnes, Michael Medved, Michael Barone and Bill Sammon among other Washington veterans" were featured in Citizens United's film , "Celsius 41.11." This movie purported to "[counter] the lies and deceptions of Fahrenheit 9/11 and [provide] a full deconstruction of Senator John Kerry, the Democrat presidential nominee."

In June 2004, Citizens United also joined the right-wing campaign to block distribution of Fahrenheit 9/11, by filing a complaint with the Federal Election Commission, claiming that the movie violated federal election law.

Opposition to the ACLU

Citizen United produced ACLU: At War With America. The film featured "Michael Boos, Mark Corallo, Former Congressman John Hostettler, Michael Medved, Former Attorney General Edwin Meese III, Deroy Murdock, U.S. Congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave, Michael Reagan, Alan Sears, Mathew Staver and Victoria Toensing."

Opposition to the United Nations

Citizen United produced: Broken Promises: The United Nations at 60.

Role in Anti-Immigration Campaigns

Citizens United produced Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration

Other Movies

• Blocking "The Path to 9/11"
• 'HYPE The Obama Effect
• Rediscovering God in America
• Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny
• We Have the Power
• Perfect Valor

Rediscovering God in America, Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny, and We Have the Power were hosted by Newt Gingrich.

Television Ads

The group has run ads against Democratic candidates and in favor of Republican policies. For example:

• Citizens United Launches New Television Ad Against Senator John Kerry "Man of the People".

• In March 2003, Citizens United "launched a national ad campaign supporting Bush's hard-charging approach to Baghdad," with Fred Thompson as the "face" for the anti-war "counter movement."

• Alex Castellanos' National Media, Inc. "produced ads that ran in February and March 2003, supporting the war in Iraq and supporting the troops."

• The Strategy Group for Media is connected with Citizens United PAC through Brian J. Berry, who is a member of the Citizens United board of directors. The Strategy Group produced an ad criticizing John Kerry.

However, the group did produce a television advertisement that revealed supposedly "liberal" legislative actions taken by then Presidential candidate Senator John McCain. The Group aired the ad on Fox News Channel.[2] But the relative amount of funding spent on this as compared with other efforts could be viewed as window dressing and certainly does not make their criticism "bipartisan."

Donatelli Group and the Swift Boat connection

The Citizens United online store is operated through DonationReport.com, plus an extension code for Citizens United.

The connection for the DonationReport.com website arrives at a Login—requiring both a User ID and Password—which belongs to eDonation.com, a member of The Donatelli Group, a fundraising company that has raised campaign funds for the Republican National Committee, Republican National Convention, Bush-Cheney '04 Inc., John McCain, the NRA and an exhaustive list of Republican members of the U.S. Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives, as well as other political organizations.

The Donatelli Group, using its "primary segment" Campaign Solutions, is associated with Creative Response Concepts, the public relations firm that advised Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the "organization that accused Kerry of inflating his Vietnam War record" during the 2004 presidential campaign.

The Donatelli Group, which produced the RNC website, also created the SWIFTBOATVETSFORTRUTH.ORG website July 30, 2004, with Connell Donatelli Inc. (a.k.a. The Donatelli Group) as Registrant. Connell Donatelli Inc. was also listed as both Administrator and the Tech Organization for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth website.

Projects and affiliated programs

American Sovereignty Action Project (ASAP)

• This is also known as the American Sovereignty Project (ASP).

Boycott France

• See the Citizens United website.

Citizens United Political Victory Fund (CU-PVF)

• CU-PVF is Citizens United's political action committee.

Counter George Soros

• See the Citizens United website.

"Taxpayers Defense Committee"

In 1993, the Taxpayers Defense Committee was a "joint project of the Citizens United and the Conservative Victory Committee."

Legal Briefs

See "Courtroom Advocacy: A Listing of Filed Legal Briefs": See also SourceWatch's Corporate Rights portal for more information on the legal briefs filed in the Supreme Court case over "Hillary: The Movie."

Citizens United also filed briefs in the following controversies, among others:

• Amicus Curiae Brief supporting Vice-President Dick Cheney in the GAO's lawsuit (Walker v. Cheney)
• Amicus Brief opposing the Illinois Attorney General's attempt to dictate or othewise restrict the content of non-profit organization communications (Ryan v. Telemarketing Associates)

"Policy Papers"

See "Policy Papers".

Mailing List Issue

Response Unlimited lists Citizens United for the Bush Agenda, Citizens United Foundation, and The Presidential Coalition on a mailing list used for "Reagan Republicans for the New Millennium" Donors".

An Eagle List Company list for USA Next Donors (United Seniors Association Donors) updated January 21, 2007, listed the Citizens United for the Bush Agenda among users for the "past six months".

Campaign donors for 2000 presidential hopeful Steve Forbes listed by the Eagle List Company included Citizens United and the American Sovereignty Project.

Official Mission Statement

Citizens United describes itself as "an organization dedicated to restoring our government to citizens control. Through a combination of education, advocacy, and grass roots organization, Citizens United seeks to reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security. Citizens United's goal is to restore the founding father's vision of a free nation, guided by the honesty, common sense, and good will of its citizens," its website states.

Officers and Board of Directors

Also see Officers and Board of Directors:

• David N. Bossie, President, Citizens United & Citizens United Foundation, Burtonsville, Maryland
• Michael Boos, Vice President & General Counsel & Director of Citizens United American Sovereignty Action Project, Manassas, Virginia
• Floyd G. Brown, Chairman of the Board; Executive Director, The Reagan Ranch & Young America's Foundation, Santa Barbara, California
• Brian J. Berry, Director; Media Consultant, Austin, Texas
• Douglas L. Ramsey, Secretary-Treasurer, Seattle, Washington
• Ron Robinson, Director; President, Young America's Foundation, Reston, Virginia

• Bob Barr, Congressman and Honorary Chairman

Registration and financial information

A disclaimer at the bottom of the Citizens United online store page states:

"Information concerning Citizens United's registration and financial information can be obtained from the following: Florida Division of Consumer Services by calling within the state 1-800-help-fla, reg. No. SC-04837, 100% of contributions are received by the organization; documents and information submitted under Maryland's charitable solicitation act are available, for the cost of postage and copies, for the Maryland Secretary of State, State House, Annapolis, MD 21401, (410) 974-5534; Mississippi Secretary of State's Office by calling 1-888-236-6167; Attorney General of the State of New Jersey by calling 973-504-6215; New York State Attorney General, Charities Bureau, 120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271; North Carolina Department of the Secretary of State, solicitation licensing section, 919-807-2214; Pennsylvania Department of State, or by calling, from within Pennsylvania, 800-732-0999; Virginia Division of Consumer Affairs in the Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs; Secretary of State (State Washington) by calling 1-800-332-4483; West Virginia Secretary of State, State Capitol, Charleston, VA 24305; or by contacting Citizens United, 109 Carpenter Drive, suite 210, Sterling, VA 20164. Registration with a government agency does not imply endorsement by that agency."

Contact information

1006 Pennsylvania Avenue, SE
Washington, DC 20003
Phone: 202 547-5420
Toll-Free: 800 362-4788
FAX: 202 547-5421
Website: http://www.citizensunited.org/
Weblog: http://www.citizensunited.org/blog/

Articles and resources

Related SourceWatch articles

• Donatelli Group
• Internet activism
• MoveOn
• New World Order
• U.S. congressional elections in 2006
• U.S. congressional elections in 2008
• U.S. presidential election, 2004
• U.S. presidential election, 2004: Campaign Ads
• U.S. presidential election, 2004: Republican Campaign Ads
• U.S. presidential election, 2008

External resources

• Citizens United, NNDB.com.
• See "Clinton, Conspiracism, and the Continuing Culture War," American Spectator (The Public Eye), 1998: "Citizens United is an example of how the players and themes in conspiracist anticommunism shifted seamlessly to conspiracist antiliberalism and joined the campaign against a demonized Clinton, pulling their conspiracy theories into the mainstream media and Congress." Includes background information on Bossie, Boos, Brown, and other key players in Citizens United.

External articles

2009

• Adam Liptak, Supreme Court to Revisit Hillary Documentary, New York Times, August 29, 2009.
• See also numerous articles about the Supreme Court case listed at Portal:Corporate_Rights.

2008

• John Eggerton, "Boehner, Conservative Groups Weigh In on Localism: FCC Chairman Kevin Martin Hears from Rep. John Boehner, Americans for Tax Reform, Christian Coalition, Citizens United," Broadcasting & Cable, June 13, 2008.
• "Anti-Obama DVD Distributed in Swing States -- By Top Newspapers," Associated Press, October 28, 2008.
• William Triplett, "Anti-Clinton docu goes back to court: High court will hear 'Hillary' producers' appeal," Variety, November 14, 2008.
• Adam Liptak, "Justices Agree to Hear Case on Anti-Clinton Film", New York Times, November 14, 2008.

2007

• Fred Lucas, "Critical Documentary on Hillary Clinton Set for Fall Release," Cybercast News Service, February 9, 2007.
• Jonathan Rick, "Citizens United Files Brief in Landmark Campaign-Finance Case," The Conservative Voice, March 26, 2007.
• "Newt Gingrich & Citizen's United Lash Out at Amnesty Bill," Gateway Pundit Blogspot, June 21, 2007.
• Quin Hillyer, "Re-Post: Gingrich vs. Amnesty," AmSpec Blog/The American Spectator, June 25, 2007. See Gingrich/Bossie ad.
• Citizens United, The New Stealth PACS/Public Citizen, accessed June 28, 2007.

2006

• Stephen Manfredi, "Dick Morris and David Bossie Unveil New 'Wiretap' Ad: Dem Weakness in Fighting Terrorism," Citizens United (Free Republic), October 30, 2006.

2005

• "Hollywood Vandals Brand Bush a Nazi," Human Events Online, February 18, 2005.
• Meghan Clyne, "U.N. Naysayers Greet 60th Anniversary With Biting Documentary," New York Sun, September 7, 2005.

2004

• Liz Sidoti, "'Priceless' parody ad singes Kerry on lifestyle," Associated Press (Boston Globe), March 9, 2004: "A conservative group headed by one of former President Clinton's harshest critics is airing an ad that pokes fun at presumptive Democratic nominee John Kerry's haircut, designer clothing and property holdings. ... Citizens United, headed by former Republican congressional aide David Bossie, began airing the ad—a parody of MasterCard's 'priceless'." commercials—on cable and broadcast channels Sunday in select presidential battleground states."
• "US group unveils Kerry attack ads. A US conservative group has released a series of television advertisements criticising US Democratic presidential hopeful John Kerry," BBC, March 9, 2004: "The ads, paid for by a group called Citizens United, condemn Mr. Kerry as a 'rich liberal elitist'. ... The advertisements ran in select states over the weekend but went nationwide across the US on Monday."
• "Citizens United Ad May Run During 60 Minutes; Ad Seems to Violate CBS's Policy Against 'Advocacy Advertising'," Media Matters for America, June 18, 2004.
• "CBS to air new 'anti-Clinton ad'?; Citizens United ad would apparently violate CBS's stated policy not to run 'advocacy' ads on 'controversial issues of public importance'," Media Matters for America, June 18, 2004.
• John Gorenfeld, "Michael Moore Terrorizes the Bushies," Salon, June 23, 2004.
• "Citizens United ad got free air time on FOX," Media Matters for America, June 23, 2004.
• Steve Gorman, "U.S. Panel Dismisses 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Complaint," Reuters, August 6, 2004. The Federal Election Commission unanimously rejects CU's complaint against Fahrenheit 9/11, which sought to end advertising for the movie after July 30.
• Sharon Theimer, "Anti-Kerry group seeks press exemption," Associated Press, August 5, 2004. CU asks the Federal Election Commission for a media exemption, so that it can run election-time ads for an anti-John Kerry book and anti-Kerry and John Edwards documentaries.
• Joe Conason, "Triumph of the W. Trying to counter the success of Michael Moore, Karl Rove's men in Hollywood are rushing to release a pro-Bush epic, 'The Big Picture.' But are they violating federal campaign law?" Salon, August 20, 2004. re Lionel Chetwynd, "widely known as one of the Bush administration's most fervent advocates in the movie industry".
• Dave Neiwert, "Our friends at Citizens United," Orcinus Blogspot, August 21, 2004.
• Federal Election Commission Advisory Opinion Number 2004-30; Letter from Federal Election Commission to Citizens United, September 10, 2004.
• Editorial: "Calling All Book-Burners," New York Post (Free Republic), September 26, 2004.
• "New Anti-Michael Moore Film Features Ripped-Off Music," Cosmic Iguana Blog, October 26, 2004.

2003

• Liza Porteus, "'Pro-War' Movement Springs Into Action," Fox News, March 2, 2003.
• Nat Ives, "MTV Refuses Antiwar Commercial," New York Times, March 13, 2003: "Supporters of an invasion of Iraq have seen doors slammed on them as well. ... The Citizens United Foundation, a group that ran commercials in 1991 supporting the nomination of Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court, made its own commercial supporting President Bush and a possible war in Iraq. Starring Fred Thompson, a former Republican Senator and an actor now appearing on 'Law & Order,' the spot was produced to counter the celebrity factor of the Martin Sheen [anti-war] spot and others from the antiwar camp."

2002

• William Hughes, "Warmongering on the D.C. Mall," artbabyart.com, 2002.