Activision Blizzard CEO donated to GOP PACs via secret shell companies
A CNBC report has uncovered two companies reportedly used by embattled Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick to covertly donate funds to Political Action Committees established to support Republican candidates.
Kotick's political leanings are not a surprise to long-term industry observers (Activision's corporate leadership has many former GOP officials in its ranks), but these revelations shed more light on how Kotick is choosing to spend his money--and reveals donation choices that Kotick apparently did not want to be publicly searchable.
The two companies in question are called 807080A and Norgate LLC. The former LLC has donated a couple hundred thousand dollars to candidates like Pennsylvania Senate candidate Dave McCormick (R), while the latter has made multiple $500,000 donations to the Senate Leadership Fund, a political action committee (PAC) that supports GOP Senate candidates across the nation.
A spokesperson for Kotick told CNBC that 807080A is generally used to manage Kotick's investments. He did not provide any explanation for the existence of Norgate LLC.
In US campaign finance law, the Federal Elections Commission regulates how much companies and individuals can donate to individual political campaigns. These caps are meant to prevent corruption of trading donations for political benefits.
In 2012, the United States Supreme Court blasted open the doors of political fundraising in the case Citizens United v. FEC (commonly referred to as Citizens United). Its 5-4 ruling declared that political spending is a form of speech, and corporations can enjoy the protections of the US Constitution's First Amendment. It also meant they would face no limits on political spending.
Supreme Court lead justice John Roberts
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