Appeals court overturns disclosure ruling

A U.S appeals court on Tuesday overturned an earlier district court decision that increased disclosure requirements on certain groups that run political advertisements.
 
The D.C. court sent the ruling back to the district court with instructions to refer the matter to the Federal Election Commission first. The lower court found that the law governing the disclosure requirement is "anything but clear."
 
Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.), who filed the initial lawsuit that said the FEC overstepped its bounds when it decided that certain groups didn’t have to disclose their donors, said the appeals court ruling is a blow to transparency.

 “The Court of Appeals’ decision today will keep the American people, for the time being, in the dark about who is attempting to influence their vote with secret money,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
 
The court sided with Van Hollen in May in a ruling that nonprofit groups that run issue ads — broadcast ads that run 60 days before an election and mention a candidate but don’t specifically call to elect that candidate — must disclose its donors.
 
Two of these nonprofit groups — the Center for Individual Freedom and the Hispanic Leadership Fund — appealed the May ruling.
 
Most other groups are required to disclose this information, but in 2007 the FEC concluded that these nonprofit groups were exempt, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which filed an amicus brief in the case.