James Madison Center for Free Speech
The James Madison Center for Free Speech is a legal defense organization in Washington, D.C., United StatesJohn David Dyche, [https://books.google.com/books?id=7usMAQAAMAAJ&q=%22james+madison+center+for+free+speech%22 Republican Leader: A Political Biography of Senator Mitch McConnell], Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2009 p. 124. {{Isbn|9781935191599}}Ann Southworth, [https://books.google.com/books?id=wwhVQqpNQaoC&dq=%22Pacific+Justice+Institute%22&pg=PA30 Lawyers of the right: professionalizing the conservative coalition], Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2008, p. 30. {{Isbn|9780226768366}} devoted to challenging legal restrictions on money in politics, such as limits on campaign contributions.{{cite book|title=Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right |date=2016 |first1=Jane |last1=Mayer |publisher=Doubleday |pages=232–236}}
Overview
The James Madison Center was founded by Republican Senator Mitch McConnell in 1997 with help from Betsy and Richard DeVos.{{Cite news|last=Moskowitz|first=P. E.|date=2019-08-20|title=Everything You Think You Know About 'Free Speech' Is a Lie|language=en-US|url=https://www.thenation.com/article/archive/portland-speech-milo-antifa-koch/|access-date=2021-01-05|issn=0027-8378}} Its general counsel is James Bopp.Dya Shapiro, Ilya Shapiro, [https://books.google.com/books?id=KtZtZK4ehqEC&dq=%22james+madison+center+for+free+speech%22&pg=PA429 Cato Supreme Court Review, 2009–2010], Cato Institute, 2010, p. 429Keevan Morgan, [https://books.google.com/books?id=XdyOkDnQGtYC&dq=%22james+madison+center+for+free+speech%22&pg=PA135 Why You Are a Liberal – Or Should Be], Bloomington, Indiana: iUniverse, 2004, p. 135 The non-profit was founded to protect political expression as part of the First Amendment and to counter the American Civil Liberties Union's campaign finance work.{{Cite web|title=Mission Statement|url=https://www.jamesmadisoncenter.org/about/mission.html|access-date=2021-01-05|website=www.jamesmadisoncenter.org}}{{Cite web|last=Campbell|first=Jon|date=2012-10-05|title=How Does James Bopp Jr. Fund His Legal Work Attacking Campaign Finance Reform?|url=https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2012/10/james-bopp-jr-s-unusual-relationship-with-the-james-madison-center.html|access-date=2021-01-05|website=Slate Magazine|language=en}} The Center provides free legal services to underfunded clients, however most funds go to Bopp's law firm.
In 2020, the Corporate Officers and Board of Directors of the Center are: Wanda Franz, President; Darla St. Martin, Secretary; and David N. O’Steen, Treasurer.{{Cite web|title=Officers and Directors|url=https://www.jamesmadisoncenter.org/about/officers.html|access-date=2021-01-05|website=www.jamesmadisoncenter.org}} The Board doesn't play an active role in governing the organization, delegating management to Bopp.
It has supported the recognition of the Ten Commandments as one of America's founding texts.William J. Federer, [https://books.google.com/books?id=sY2_JJhRAMYC&dq=%22Pacific+Justice+Institute%22&pg=PA7 The Ten Commandments & Their Influence on American Law – A Study in History], Amerisearch, Inc., 2002, p. 7 It opposed a measure proposed by the Federal Election Commission to ban nonprofits from expressing views on public policy.Mark Sidel, [https://books.google.com/books?id=LJ4Bk02qYpcC&dq=%22james+madison+center+for+free+speech%22&pg=PA121 More Secure, Less Free?: Antiterrorism Policy & Civil Liberties after September 11], Ann Arbor, Michigan: University of Michigan Press, 2007
Controversy
In 2013, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) filed a complaint with the IRS that the James Madison Center misrepresented its activities by diverting a majority of its funds to Bopp's law firm and was in "violation of prohibitions against using charitable organizations for private inurement and private benefit."{{Cite web|date=2013-07-09|title=Press Conference Fiasco over IRS Whistleblower Complaint|url=https://www.accountingtoday.com/news/press-conference-fiasco-over-irs-whistleblower-complaint|access-date=2021-01-06|website=Accounting Today|language=en}} Bopp countered the complaint by calling it a smear campaign by CREW.{{Cite web|last=Nelson|first=Jennifer|title=Attorney says Washington nonprofit's complaints are part of 'smear' campaign|url=https://www.theindianalawyer.com/articles/31887-attorney-says-washington-nonprofits-complaints-are-part-of-smear-campaign|access-date=2021-01-06|website=The Indiana Lawyer|language=en-US}}
According to journalist Jane Mayer, James Bopp's law firm and the Madison Center have the same address and phone number, and "virtually every dollar from donors" goes or went as of 2016 to Bopp's law firm.
References
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External links
- [http://www.jamesmadisoncenter.org/ Official website]
Category:1997 establishments in the United States
Category:Organizations established in 1997
Category:Legal advocacy organizations in the United States