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{{Short description|Conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization}}{{About|the American conservative political organization|the liberal political organization|Americans United}}{{Use mdy dates|date=November 2021}}{{Use American English|date=January 2023}}

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| remarks = }}Citizens United is a conservative 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization in the United States founded in 1988. In 2010, the organization won a U.S. Supreme Court case known as Citizens United v. FEC, which struck down as unconstitutional a federal law prohibiting corporations and unions from making expenditures in connection with federal elections. The organization's president and chairman is David Bossie.WEB,weblink Frequently Asked Questions, Citizens United, May 24, 2016,

Overview

Citizens United's stated mission is to restore the United States government to "citizens' control, through a combination of education, advocacy, and grass-roots organization" seeking to "reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security."Who We Are, CitizensUnited.org Citizens United is a conservative political advocacy group organized under Section 501(c)4 of the federal tax code, meaning that donations are not tax deductible. To fulfill this mission, Citizens United produces television commercials, web advertisements, and documentary films.WEB,weblink Fulfilling Our Mission, CitizensUnited.org, CU films have won film festival awards, including Perfect Valor (Best Documentary at the GI Film Festival) and Ronald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny (Remi Award at Houston Worldfest International Festival).{{Citation needed|date=November 2021}}David Bossie has been its president since 2000. In 2016 he took a leave of absence to be deputy campaign manager of Donald Trump's campaign for President of the United States.WEB, Ehrhardt, Rainier, Donald Trump campaign hires Citizens United president David Bossie known for historic 2010 Supreme Court ruling that deregulated political spending,weblink Daily News, September 2, 2016, AP, Its offices are on Pennsylvania Avenue in the Capitol Hill area of Washington, D.C.

Current Leadership

The current president, David Bossie, has been president since he served as the chief investigator into then President Bill Clinton's possible abuse of finances in 1997, and was later the deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. In 2020, he served in executive positions for President Donald Trump's and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection campaigns.

History

The political action committee Citizens United was founded in 1988 by Floyd Brown, a longtime Washington political consultant. The group promotes free enterprise, socially conservative causes and candidates who advance their mission.

Positions and advocacy

Citizens United is known for its support of conservatives in politics. The group produced a television advertisement that reveals several legislative actions taken by John McCain, which aired on Fox News Channel.Citizens United Against McCain, January 31, 2008. {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131110191204weblink |date=November 10, 2013 }} On October 2, 2006, in reaction to revelations of a cover-up of inappropriate communications between Republican Congressman Mark Foley and House pages, Citizens United president David Bossie called on Dennis Hastert to resign over his role in covering up the scandal.Conservative Activists Call on Hastert To Res, ThinkProgress, October 2, 2006.The group sued and lost a case against New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over Schneiderman's demand that it disclose all its donors.NEWS, Stempel, Jonathan,weblink Citizens United loses New York ruling over donors, Reuters, July 27, 2015, August 3, 2016, In 1999, Citizens United wrote and funded a VHS tape produced by The Strategy Group on the Clinton administration's relationship with Chinese businessmen called "The Truth Revealed... Confidential Report: Bill Clinton, Al Gore and the Communist Chinese Connection". It is written and hosted by then company president, Floyd G. Brown.{{Citation |title=Citizens United's The Truth Revealed... Confidential Report (1999) |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dekhUw4Hlq8 |language=en |access-date=2022-09-30}}Citizens United campaigned against Michael Moore's 2004 film Fahrenheit 9/11, advocating for government limits on how much advertising the film received.NEWS, ((Peter Overby (Twitter))),weblink Are 'Fahrenheit 9/11' Ads Campaign Spots?, NPR, June 28, 2004, August 3, 2016, It also made advertisements attacking the film,NEWS,weblink Entertainment | US groups want Moore film banned, BBC News, June 18, 2004, August 3, 2016, and when the Federal Election Commission held that Moore's film was not a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act, produced its own rebuttal film called Celsius 41.11.WEB,weblink United Nations Faces New Challenges, March 25, 2015, Fox News, August 3, 2016, However, the FEC held that paying to air Celsius 41.11 would constitute an illegal corporate campaign expenditure.WEB,weblink Context of 'September 8, 2004: FEC Denies Citizens United Request to Show Partisan Documentary on Television before Presidential Elections', www.historycommons.org, October 4, 2017, August 4, 2019,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20190804170301weblink">weblink dead, In 2008, Citizens United produced a documentary film highly critical of Hillary Clinton called (Hillary: The Movie).MAGAZINE, Stephanie Mencimer,weblink Hillary's Hero: Judge Royce Lamberth, Mother Jones, January 13, 2008, August 3, 2016, Fearing prosecution from the FEC, the organization sought a declaratory judgment in federal court to assure their right to show the movie, leading ultimately to the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. It previously produced and screened advertisements attacking other Democrats, including Bill Clinton, John Kerry,WEB,weblink CNN.com – New ads call Kerry 'rich liberal elitist' – Mar 8, 2004, Edition.cnn.com, March 8, 2004, August 3, 2016, and Al Gore. In the 1988 US presidential election, Citizens United ran an ad that used Willie Horton to attack Democratic nominee Michael Dukakis.The group has produced a film criticizing the United Nations.

Trump administration

In 2016, the Donald Trump presidential campaign enlisted Citizens United President David Bossie as deputy campaign manager.NEWS, Costa, Robert, September 1, 2016, Trump enlists veteran operative David Bossie as deputy campaign manager,weblink Washington Post, February 4, 2017, During the campaign, Bossie made regular television appearances on behalf of the Trump campaign.NEWS, Kaplan, Alex, September 28, 2016, Trump Is Trying To Divert The Media From His Disastrous Debate, And CNN Just Admitted It's Working,weblink MediaMatters, February 4, 2017, Bossie is a close friend and longtime acquaintance of Trump administration officials Steve Bannon and Kellyanne Conway,NEWS, Benen, Steven, Steve Benen, September 2, 2016, Citizens United chief takes leadership role on Team Trump,weblink MSNBC, February 4, 2017, having introduced Bannon to Trump in 2011.NEWS, Benac, Nancy, Colvin, Jill, February 1, 2017, Little heard in public, Bannon is quiet power in Oval Office,weblink Associated Press, Washington, February 4, 2017, February 1, 2017,weblink" title="web.archive.org/web/20170201223436weblink">weblink dead,

Documentaries

Citizens United has released 25 documentaries including:

• The Truth Revealed... Confidential Report: Bill Clinton, Al Gore and the Communist Chinese Connection (1999)
• Celsius 41.11 (2004)
• (Border War: The Battle Over Illegal Immigration) (2006)
• (Hillary: The Movie) (2008)
• Rediscovering God in America (2008)
• (Fire From the Heartland: The Awakening of the Conservative Woman) (2010)
• Generation Zero (2010)
• Nine Days that Changed the World (2010)
• Occupy Unmasked (2012)

Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission

Citizens United was the plaintiff in a Supreme Court case that began as a challenge to various statutory provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), known as the "McCain-Feingold" law. The case revolved around the documentary Hillary: The Movie, which was produced by Citizens United. Under the McCain-Feingold law, a federal court in Washington, D.C., ruled that Citizens United would be barred from advertising its film.NEWS,weblink 'Hillary: The Movie' to Get Supreme Court Screening, Barnes, Robert, The Washington Post, A5, March 14, 2009, The case ([{{SCOTUS URL Docket|08-205}} 08-205], 558 U.S. 50 (2010)) was heard in the United States Supreme Court on March 24, 2009. During oral argument, the government argued that under existing precedents, it had the power under the Constitution to prohibit the publication of books and movies if they were made or sold by corporations.WEB,weblink The Myth of Campaign Finance Reformdate=2010, After that hearing, the Court requested re-argument specifically to address whether deciding the case required the Court to reconsider those earlier decisions in Austin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce and McConnell v. FEC. The case was re-argued on September 9. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for political ads made independently of candidate Political campaign.HTTPS://WWW.NYTIMES.COM/2010/01/22/US/POLITICS/22SCOTUS.HTML FIRST= ADAMAGENCY=ASSOCIATED PRESS DATE=JANUARY 21, 2010, October 15, 2015, A dissenting opinion by Justice StevensStevens opinion at ibid. was joined by Justice Ginsburg, Justice Breyer, and Justice Sotomayor.

Funding

Citizens United has accepted funding from The Presidential Coalition, LLCWEB,weblink Campaignmoney.com, The Presidential Coalition, LLC "527" Political Organization,weblink April 22, 2019, (which according to their website is "An Affiliate Of Citizens United")WEB, About Us: Farm Team, The Presidential Coalition,weblink and the Koch brothers.WEB, Ashbrook, Tom, 'Citizens United' And The Koch Brothers,weblink WBUR,

References

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External links

• {{Official websiteweblink}}

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