The
Lab

Only 1/3 of spending disclosed to FEC. Biggest undisclosed year on record.

Midterm cycle. Focus on Senate control.

Late pivot to Trump after Rubio exit. Embassy move followed.

Largest midterm spend in American history at that point.

Set new all-time individual donor record. Trump lost despite spend.

Sheldon died Jan 2021. Miriam continued as sole donor. Trump won.

Newt Gingrich primary

$16.5M to Winning Our Future

Gingrich suspended May 2

Mitt Romney general

~$30M+ to Restore Our Future

Obama re-elected

Marco Rubio primary

$20M+ before switching to Trump

Rubio out March 15

Donald Trump general

$25M late-cycle injection

Trump elected

Trump re-election bid

$172.7M — record individual spend

Biden elected

Trump second term

$100M+ Miriam alone to Preserve America

Trump returned to office

U.S. Embassy moved to Jerusalem (2017)

The Adelsons lobbied Trump directly and reportedly offered to pay for the move. Sheldon called it the proudest moment of his political life.

Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (2017)

The corporate rate cut from 35% to 21% saved Las Vegas Sands — the Adelson casino empire — an estimated $700M in tax liability in the first year alone.

Online gambling federal ban push

Sheldon Adelson spent years lobbying Congress to ban online gambling — a direct competitor to his casino properties — including backing the Restoration of America's Wire Act.

West Bank annexation (2024)

Miriam Adelson was reported to have conditioned 2024 support on Trump's endorsement of Israeli annexation of the West Bank. Her spokesperson denied it.

01

The Filibuster Trap

Any reform bill needs 60 Senate votes. The industry funds enough senators on both sides to prevent cloture. The bill dies in procedure, not debate.

02

The Court Pipeline

Congress passes a restriction. Industry funds litigation. Courts staffed with former Hill staffers apply Buckley. The restriction is struck down. Repeat.

03

The Shadow Lobbying Loop

Former officials advise clients during cooling-off periods without triggering registration. The work is identical to lobbying. The label is not.

04

The Revolving Door

The legislators who write reform laws will become lobbyists. They write in the exceptions they plan to use. The revolving door doesn't just resist reform — it writes reform.

"If the First Amendment has any force, it prohibits Congress from fining or jailing citizens, or associations of citizens, for simply engaging in political speech."

558 U.S. 310, 365

"The Government may not suppress political speech on the basis of the speaker's corporate identity. No sufficient governmental interest justifies limits on the political speech of nonprofit or for-profit corporations."

558 U.S. 310, 365

"Speech is an essential mechanism of democracy, for it is the means to hold officials accountable to the people. The right of citizens to inquire, to hear, to speak, and to use information to reach consensus is a precondition to enlightened self-government."

558 U.S. 310, 339

"The appearance of influence or access, furthermore, will not cause the electorate to lose faith in our democracy."

558 U.S. 310, 360

"We now conclude that independent expenditures, including those made by corporations, do not give rise to corruption or the appearance of corruption."

558 U.S. 310, 357

"The Court's ruling threatens to undermine the integrity of elected institutions across the Nation. The path it has taken to reach its outcome will, I fear, do damage to this institution."

558 U.S. 310, 478 (Stevens, J., dissenting)

"Corporations are not actually members of 'We the People' by whom and for whom our Constitution was established."

558 U.S. 310, 425 (Stevens, J., dissenting)

"A democracy cannot function effectively when its constituent members believe laws are being bought and sold."

558 U.S. 310, 452 (Stevens, J., dissenting)

"The majority's approach to corporate electioneering marks a dramatic break from our past. Congress has placed special limitations on campaign spending by corporations ever since the passage of the Tillman Act in 1907."

558 U.S. 310, 476 (Stevens, J., dissenting)

SpeechNow.org v. FEC · D.C. Circuit, 2010

Super PACs created

Relying directly on Citizens United, the D.C. Circuit ruled that contribution limits to "independent expenditure only" committees are unconstitutional. Super PACs — entities that can raise and spend unlimited funds — were born within months of the decision.

IRS 501(c)(4) route · 2010–present

The dark money structure

501(c)(4) social welfare organizations discovered they could spend on "issue advocacy" without disclosing donors. Paired with Citizens United's removal of spending limits, this created the full anonymous-money infrastructure that now moves billions per cycle.

State of the Union · January 27, 2010

Obama's rebuke — six feet away

"With all due deference to separation of powers, last week the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests — including foreign corporations — to spend without limit in our elections." Six justices sat feet away. Justice Alito was seen mouthing "not true."

01

Citizens United (2010)

Corporations and nonprofits may spend unlimited funds on independent political expenditures. This ruling created the legal foundation for the entire dark money structure.

02

501(c)(4) Donor Secrecy

Social welfare organizations are not required to disclose donors to the FEC — ever. Since a 2018 IRS rule change, they need not disclose major donors on Form 990 either.

03

Pass-Through Giving

A 501(c)(4) can transfer funds to another 501(c)(4), then to a super PAC, obscuring the original source across multiple layers. Each transfer is fully disclosed — but only to the next entity.

04

Issue Ad Exemption

Ads that do not explicitly say "vote for" or "vote against" do not trigger disclosure requirements, even if run the week before an election. The definition of "issue ad" is litigated constantly.