Thumbs down: Dark money gets even darker

Dark money has been a truly unhealthy developments in U.S. politics. The money is collected by social welfare organizations - groups supposedly founded for educational purposes but all too frequently used for political campaigns. Unlike traditional campaign committees, these groups aren't required to publicly identify their donors. They buy ads and send mail, but voters are left to guess who is sending the message. When the U.S. Supreme Court opened the floodgates for more spending, one rationale offered by Justice Anthony Kennedy was that voters are protected by disclosure rules. Not with these secretive groups.

And dark money is getting a little darker, courtesy of the Trump administration. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin announced that the Internal Revenue Service will no longer require these groups to include donor lists in their tax returns. The rational: donor names might inadvertently be made public despite laws against disclosure of tax information. The law also forbids foreigners from donating money to influence U.S. elections, but under the new IRS rules, no one will know where the money is coming from. Thumbs down.

You can send a letter to the editor at letters@pressdemocrat.com