Campaign Legal Center (CLC)

The CLC is affiliated with Campaign Legal Center Action, a lobbying and electoral advocacy group.² Both groups received substantial funding from disgraced cryptocurrency mogul Sam Bankman-Fried from 2021-2022, with Business Insider reporting that Bankman-Fried gave more than $2.5 million to the Campaign Legal Center and its affiliates. ³

Background

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) was founded in 2002 at the University of Utah to advocate for the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, also known as McCain-Feingold. During that time, the CLC defended the legislation in court during the 2003 Supreme Court case McConnell v. FEC. ⁴ In the early years of the organization’s history, the CLC was mainly funded by Pew Charitable Trusts before later expanding its litigation practice to include other election-related activities and redistricting issues. ⁵

Activities

The Campaign Legal Center (CLC) is focused on four overarching issues: campaign finance, ethics, redistricting, and voting and elections.⁶

The CLC developed a Litigation Strategy Council for potential election-focused litigation. As of March 2019, CLC has been involved in almost 70 cases and actions related to election activities. ⁴ CLC has been involved with litigation challenging partisan gerrymandering, opposing voter ID laws meant to protect elections from potential voter fraud, supporting suffrage for released felons, and preventing the state of Texas from requiring potential voters provide proof of their citizenship. ⁷

In September 2022, the CLC filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission (FEC), alleging that the National Republican Senatorial Committee improperly spent funds that were earmarked for legal expenses on campaign advertisements. End Citizens United joined the CLC’s complaint, while the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee made a separate request to the FEC for an advisory ruling on whether the practice was legal.⁸

In December 2024, the CLC filed a complaint with the FEC alleging that between August and September 2024, over $1.425 million in donations from apparel company Patagonia passed through “straw donor” group, Save Our Home Planet Action, Inc. (SOHPA), towards several Democratic Party-affiliated super PACs and committees that backed Democratic campaigns including the presidential campaign of then-Vice President Kamala Harris. Such groups included Senate Majority PAC (SMP) ($450,000), League of Conservation Voters Victory Fund (LCV Victory Fund) ($450,000), House Majority PAC (HMP) ($450,000), Future Forward PAC (FF PAC) ($50,000), and the PAC for America’s Future (also known as Future Now Fund) ($50,000).  ⁹

On March 5, 2025, CLC announced on its X (formerly Twitter) account it was suing technology entrepreneur Elon Musk as well as the second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) due to claims they were “unconstitutionally acting beyond their power to slash the federal budget, fire federal workers and threaten executive agencies.” ¹⁰

In April 2025, CLC advocated that the U.S Congress reject the SAVE Act, which would require proof of citizenship when registering to vote. In a statement, the group claimed, “Under this legislation, millions of voters would face unnecessary hurdles when trying to register, mail and online voter registration would be disrupted, harmful voter purges would be mandated, and nonpartisan election workers would face severe criminal penalties while trying to do their jobs.” ¹¹

In May 2025, CLC filed a lawsuit with the Wisconsin Supreme Court challenging the state’s congressional map. The group argued “the current congressional map in the state lacks population equality among the eight congressional districts in violation of the bedrock one-person, one vote principle.” ¹²

In May 2025, CLC argued for the U.S. Supreme Court to uphold birthright citizenship following the second Trump administration’s executive order disqualifying the children born of two illegal immigrants from receiving birthright citizenship. ¹³

In August 2025, CLC joined Public Citizen and Common Cause in filing an amicus brief with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas in support of the Johnson Amendment, which forbids 501(c)(3) organizations including churches from engaging or supporting candidates for elections while accepting tax deductible contributions. The group claims that the amendment “prohibits wealthy special interests from using charities to engage in secret spending and receive a tax write-off in the process.” ¹⁴

In September 2025, CLC opposed a series of bills which would increase federal oversight over the District of Columbia and expand federal law enforcement presence in the city. The group also supports D.C. statehood and demanded that Congress move towards that goal. ¹⁵

In September 2025, CLC announced a lawsuit on behalf of a group of Missouri voters in the Fifth Congressional District against the state’s mid-decade redistricting process. The proposed redistricting map the state adopt would split the district into three separate districts. CLC alleged that the redistricting plan would violate Missouri’s constitution since it does not explicitly authorize mid-decade redistricting. ¹⁶

In January 2026, CLC provided an amicus brief regarding an ongoing lawsuit Jolt Initiative, Inc. v. Paxton: In September 2024 the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) filed a lawsuit against Texas state Attorney General (AG) Ken Paxton on behalf of Jolt Initiative for allegedly targeting it and fellow Latino voter registration nonprofits. The lawsuit alleged that Paxton requesting information on Jolt’s volunteers as well as registered voters violated Jolt’s First and Fourth Amendment rights along with the Voting Rights Act. Despite initially withdrawing the demand for Jolt’s voter and volunteer information following the suit, in October 2025 Paxton’s office filed a “quo warranto” lawsuit against Jolt to end its operations in the state of Texas. ICAP filed a new lawsuit against Paxton in November 2025 alleging that the request to terminate Jolt’s corporate charter violated the group’s First Amendment rights as well as the Voting Rights Act. ¹⁷ In January 2026, a U.S District Court used an amicus brief put together by CLC to grant Jolt’s motion to file an injunction, finding that “Defendant Ken Paxton had likely violated Jolt’s First Amendment rights and right to be free from voter intimidation.” ¹⁸

Leadership and Staff

Trevor Potter is president of the Campaign Legal Center (CLC). Potter previously served as general counsel for Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) in his 2000 and 2008 presidential campaigns. Prior to his work for the McCain campaign, Potter was a partner at Wiley Rein & Fielding and served as a commissioner on the Federal Election Commission (FEC) from 1991-1996. ¹⁹

Adav Noti is executive director of the CLC. He previously worked in the general counsel’s office at the FEC and was a special assistant U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.²⁰

Courtney McKay is the interim vice president, communications at the CLC. Previously, she led all communications and marketing efforts for a Washington, D.C.-based trade association. ²¹

Jo Deutsch is the director of federal advocacy at the CLC. She was formerly president of the lobbying firm Deutsch Initiatives Group, and the federal director of Freedom to Marry. She has also worked with labor unions including the Association of Flight Attendants, the American Federation of State, County, and Municipal Employees (AFSCME), and the United Food and Commercial Workers.²²

Brent Ferguson is senior legal counsel, voting rights at the CLC. He was previously senior counsel at the National Redistricting Foundation, and counsel at the Brennan Center for Justice.²³

Alice Huling is the director of voting rights litigation at the CLC. She was previously counsel at the Campaign for Accountability from 2018 to 2020.²⁴

Brendan Quinn is senior manager of media relations at the CLC. He previously held editorial and press relations roles at OpenSecrets.²⁵

Kelsey Rogers is senior manager, state advocacy at the CLC. She previously held communications and legal positions at the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, and was involved in former President Barack Obama’s 2008 and 2012 presidential campaigns. ²⁶

Anna Baldwin is the director, voting rights litigation. Prior to joining CLC, she worked for 14 years in the Civil Rights Division of the U.S. Department of Justice. ²⁷

Blair Bowie is director of the Restore Your Vote. Previously, she worked for the U.S. Public Interest Research Group as its Democracy Advocate. ²⁸

Financials

On its 2023 tax returns, the Campaign Legal Center reported total revenues of $21,481,014, expenses of $17,725,339, and net assets of $43,368,869. ²⁹

Notable Funders

The CLC was originally funded by Pew Charitable Trusts, but has over time received donations from more overtly left-of-center organizations. ⁴

Notable funders of the Campaign Legal Center have included:

• Sherwood Foundation: $12,181,145 awarded from 2018-2022.³⁰
• Sandler Foundation: $7,750,000 awarded from 2016-2022.³¹
• John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation: $5,050,000 awarded from 2012-2023.³²
• William and Flora Hewlett Foundation: $3,897,500 awarded from 2014-2022.³³
• Popplestone Foundation: $3,500,000 awarded in 2022.³⁴
• Democracy Fund: $3,475,000 awarded from 2014-2020.³⁵
• Ford Foundation: $2,925,000 awarded from 2013-2024.³⁶
• Foundation to Promote Open Society: $1,035,000 awarded from 2016-2020.³⁷

The CLC has reported receiving donations from the Wyss Foundation, a private foundation established by Swiss billionaire Hansjorg Wyss.³⁸ In 2021, the right-of-center group Americans for Public Trust filed a complaint with the FEC, asking for an investigation into whether Wyss, as a foreign national, had improperly contributed to American political campaigns. The complaint argued that Wyss may have “indirectly funded federal electoral advocacy through his nonprofit organizations, the Wyss Foundation and the Berger Action Fund. The intended recipient of these funds was ultimately a variety of organizations whose primary purpose is to engage in electoral advocacy.”³⁹ In 2019, the CLC submitted testimony to the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) opposing an IRS proposed rule that would stop requiring certain nonprofits, such as those organized under Section 501(c)(4), to disclose the identities of their donors on Schedule B of their Form 990. Among other things, the CLC argued that doing so “would effectively invite illegal foreign spending in U.S. elections.”⁴⁰

Sam Bankman-Fried’s Donations

Between 2021 and 2022, the CLC received over $2.5 million from now-disgraced cryptocurrency entrepreneur Sam Bankman-Fried, who was later charged with multiple fraud offenses after his crypto-currency company FTX filed for bankruptcy in November 2022. ^{41 42} According to CLC spokesperson Brendan Quinn, CLC was unable to return Bankman-Fried’s donations because the money had already been spent. ⁴¹ Quinn explained that the CLC would not consider sending back a similar amount that was donated because “when a campaign is asked to disgorge an already-spent contribution, it generally does so by giving an equivalent amount to a charity. CLC is a charity.” ⁴¹

Quinn later released a statement which confirmed that on December 16, 2022, the CLC board had voted to place the $2.5 million in donations it had received from Bankman-Fried into a separate account “until instructions are received from bankruptcy courts.” ⁴³ Quinn’s statement further explained that the CLC had accepted the donations by Bankman-Fried “after careful vetting,” ⁴³ which included consulting and discussing the matter with similar nonprofit organizations that had “vouched for his apparent legitimacy at the time.” ⁴³ Quinn conceded that the allegations and charges against Bankman-Fried did “betray C.L.C.’s mission.” ⁴³

In December 2022, Business Insider reported that Bankman-Fried “almost single-handedly funded” the Campaign Legal Center’s 501(c)(4) affiliate Campaign Legal Center Action in 2021. Bankman-Fried reportedly gave $760,000 to Campaign Legal Center Action that year, and tax filings reviewed by Business Insider revealed that this “amounted to more than 95% of CLC Action’s revenue for that year and roughly 94% of its expenses.” Bankman-Fried also reportedly gave $300,000 to Campaign Legal Center Action in 2022.⁴⁴