WASHINGTON — A sharply divided Supreme Court appeared ready Tuesday to strike down overall limits on how much individuals can give to federal candidates and parties.
In one of the new term’s most politically charged cases, conservative justices made clear their skepticism about the current contribution limits. The tenor of the hour-long oral argument suggested that an eventual 5-4 decision could result that strikes down the aggregate limits, which currently restrict an individual to giving $123,200 to candidates and parties over a two-year election cycle.
“You can’t pretend that that is pursued with no First Amendment cost,” Chief Justice John Roberts Jr. told Solicitor General Donald Verrilli Jr.
The Obama administration’s top lawyer, Verrilli insisted that “aggregate limits combat corruption,” and he warned that “the risk of corruption is real” as money flows through the political pipelines. Federal candidates, parties and committees reported raising and spending more than $7 billion during 2011 and 2012, according to the Federal Election Commission.
But while Verrilli acknowledged the contribution limits are “not free of First Amendment cost,” Roberts pressed harder, noting that the limits effectively restrict how many candidates a donor can express support for through a campaign contribution. Roberts added that no one would think of applying that to other forms of political expression, like newspaper articles.
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