As the NRA fades, a more zealous US pro-gun group rises as a lobbying power
Pro-Israel groups target US lawmakers critical of Israel’s war ahead of primaries
August 2023
Politics Weekly America
The power of junk food companies in Washington – podcast
This week, Jonathan Freedland speaks to Dr Eduardo J Gómez of Lehigh University, on how his new book Junk Food Politics taught him about the power of lobbyists
June 2023
Amazon and Google fund anti-abortion lawmakers through complex shell game
Blue-chip companies gave to Republican group funneling money to lawmakers who overturned abortion-ban veto in North Carolina
March 2023
Silicon Valley Bank chief pressed Congress to weaken risk regulations
CEO Greg Becker personally led the bank’s half-million-dollar push to reduce scrutiny of his institution – and lawmakers obliged
February 2023
Disinfo black ops
Revealed: the US adviser who tried to swing Nigeria’s 2015 election
Sam Patten, an American consultant later mired in controversy, exploited emails obtained by Tal Hanan’s team
January 2023
The fight for democracy
Rightwing group pours millions in ‘dark money’ into US voter suppression bid
Tax filings reveal advocacy arm of Heritage Foundation spent $5m on lobbying in 2021 to block voting rights in battleground states
Group aiming to sabotage Whitmer’s Covid policies funded by dark money
Non-profit affiliated with utility DTE Energy funded effort to repeal Michigan governor’s emergency order powers
Antitrust target Ticketmaster spends big on lobbying amid woeful 2022
Ticketing debacles involving Taylor Swift and Bad Bunny have led to calls for parent company Live Nation’s stranglehold on live entertainment to be broken
October 2022
Why pro-Israel lobby group Aipac is backing election deniers and extremist Republicans
The group places support for Israel over all over considerations, endorsing extreme rightwing candidates in the midterm elections
September 2022
US congressman accuses LIV CEO Greg Norman of pushing Saudi ‘propaganda’
Greg Norman faced accusations of promoting Saudi “propaganda” following meetings with Washington lawmakers, in which the Australian golfer sought to garner support for the Saudi-backed LIV Series
October 2021
Utilities cut power to US customers while taking huge Covid tax credits
Apple and Disney among companies backing groups against US climate bill
June 2020
Peter Bradshaw's film of the week
Irresistible review – Jon Stewart’s political non-satire for liberals is as dull as it gets
Steve Carell is lacklustre as a political strategist for the Democrats in this flaccid film that sits on the fence
March 2020
The coronavirus relief bill could turn into a corporate coup if we aren't careful
Matt Stoller
America will be unrecognizable after this pandemic if big corporations walk away with trillions of dollars and no strings attached
February 2020
Sheldon Adelson to donate $100m to Trump and Republicans, fundraisers say
Billionaire casino magnate, a staunchly pro-Israel conservative, expected to give to Super Pacs and ‘dark money’ groups
August 2019
Five key ways the Koch brothers pushed their rightwing agenda
Charles and David Koch spent millions to promote conservative candidates and causes, provoking anger – and devotion
June 2019
Welcome to Trump's Corrupt State – the Star Wars cantina of world politics
Robert Reich
The administration and the Republican party are nests of lobbyists and con artists who make Greedo look like a saint
April 2019
We must ensure US public lands stay public, or risk ‘demolition of society’
Kate Aronoff
A lawyer and longtime energy lobbyist, the new interior secretary, David Bernhardt, has one goal in mind: handing as much land as possible to corporations
March 2019
The Observer view: even Donald Trump’s base must doubt him now
Michael Cohen’s damning testimony means that unless Trump wins the next election, he could find himself in court
