Corporations Donated Millions to Lawmakers Who Voted to Overturn Election Results
6 January 2022
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[M]any companies have restarted campaign donations, with some saying they are doing so in the spirit of nonpartisanship.
“Our employee PAC program continues to observe longstanding principles of nonpartisan political engagement in support of our business interests,” said Trent Perrotto, a spokesman for the defense contractor Lockheed Martin [...].
Sharon J. Castillo, a Pfizer spokeswoman, said in a statement that “following the events of Jan. 6, 2021, the company adhered to its commitment to pause political giving to the 147 members of Congress who voted against certifying the election for six months.” She added that “monitoring elected officials’ conduct and statements is a part of our governance process, and we will continue to do so as we consider future Pfizer PAC disbursements.”
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Melissa Miller, a Ford spokeswoman, justified the carmaker’s donations by explaining that they were not driven by a single issue.
[...] “We resumed contributions in April after refining our process based on input from PAC members.”
After the riot, JPMorgan Chase, the country’s largest bank by assets, vowed not to use funds from its corporate PAC to support lawmakers who had objected on Jan. 6 to certifying the election results at least until the end of the current donation cycle. Still, it has given money to groups that support Republicans for both the Senate and the House, contributions that are likely to find their way to individual objectors.
“A PAC is an important tool for JPMorgan Chase employees to engage in the political process in the United States,” [...].
Citigroup, which had also paused its PAC giving in the immediate aftermath of the riot, reopened the doors to PAC contributions to lawmakers around the same time, saying it would evaluate candidates to which it donated on a case-by-case basis rather than committing to any blanket prohibitions.
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