In 2010, the Supreme Court decreed that anyone including corporations could spend what they wanted on political campaigns so long as they avoided “coordinating” with their candidates of choice.  The ruling kicked wide open the door for “dark money” — funds from corporations as well as individual donors who, because of other court decisions, can use a variety of front organizations to remain anonymous.

Kent Harrington, a former senior CIA analyst, served as National Intelligence Officer for East Asia, Chief of Station in Asia and the CIA’s Director of Public Affairs

In his review of the documentary film Dark Money that aired on PBS in 2018, Kent Harrington focuses our attention on the confluence of money, the media and elections.

A case study on Montana politics, the film shows how “dark money” influenced statewide elections and depicts “a detailed, sophisticated and fascinating narrative on its growing threat to our political process at every level of governance” and asks “what role do the corporations that increasingly dominate the American media landscape have in maintaining the integrity of our democracy?” 

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Editor’s note: Typically, we like to bring our readers attention to current news articles. In this instance, we felt even though the Harrington article is from 2018 the focus he brings to the topic is on point in today’s political landscape.