Citizens United v. FEC Unlocks Unlimited Corporate Political Spending

The Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that corporations and unions can spend unlimited money on independent political ads. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion; Justices John Paul Stevens, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, and Sonia Sotomayor dissented. The ruling struck down portions of the 2002 McCain-Feingold campaign finance law and opened the legal channel that conservative donors used over the next decade to funnel money into 501(c)(4) groups tied to Heritage, Federalist Society, and Claremont.