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| Formation | November 1988; 36 years ago (1988-11) |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(4) non-profit organization |
| 91-1433368 | |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C. |
President, Chairman | David Bossie |
| Website | CitizensUnited.org |
Citizens United is aconservative, i.e., right-wing, 501(c)(4)nonprofit organization in the United States founded in 1988. In 2010, the organization won a U.S. Supreme Court case known asCitizens United v. FEC. The Court ruled that corporations and unions could not be prohibited from making independent expenditures in federal elections, citingFirst Amendment protections of free speech. As of 2025, the organization’s president and chairman isDavid Bossie.[1]
Citizens United's stated mission is to restore the United States government to "citizens' control, through a combination of education, advocacy, and grass-roots organization" seeking to "reassert the traditional American values of limited government, freedom of enterprise, strong families, and national sovereignty and security."[2] Citizens United is a conservative political advocacy group organized under Section 501(c)4 of the federal tax code, meaning that donations are not tax deductible. To fulfill this mission, Citizens United produces television commercials, web advertisements, anddocumentary films.[3] CU filmPerfect Valor was named Best Documentary at theGI Film Festival, andRonald Reagan: Rendezvous with Destiny also received a Remi Award at theWorldFest-Houston International Film Festival.[citation needed]
David Bossie has been its president since 2000. In 2016, he took a leave of absence to be deputy campaign manager ofDonald Trump's campaign for President of the United States.[4] The offices of the organization are on Pennsylvania Avenue in theCapitol Hill area ofWashington, D.C.
The current president, David Bossie, has been president since he served as the chief investigator into then President Bill Clinton's possible abuse of finances in 1997, and was later the deputy campaign manager for Donald Trump's presidential campaign in 2016. In 2020, he served in executive positions for President Donald Trump's and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's reelection campaigns.[2]
Thepolitical action committee, Citizens United, was founded in 1988 byFloyd Brown, a longtime Washington political consultant. The group promotes free enterprise, socially conservative causes and candidates who advance their mission.
Citizens United is known for its support of conservatives in politics. The group produced atelevision advertisement that reveals several legislative actions taken byJohn McCain, which aired onFox News Channel.[5] On October 2, 2006, in reaction to revelations of a cover-up of inappropriate communications between Republican CongressmanMark Foley andHouse pages, Citizens United president David Bossie called onDennis Hastert to resign over his role in covering upthe scandal.[6][7]
The group sued and lost a case againstNew York Attorney GeneralEric Schneiderman over Schneiderman's demand that it disclose all its donors.[8]
In 1999, Citizens United wrote and funded a VHS tape produced by The Strategy Group on the Clinton administration's relationship with Chinese businessmen called "The Truth Revealed... Confidential Report: Bill Clinton, Al Gore and the Communist Chinese Connection". It is written and hosted by then company president,Floyd G. Brown.[9]
Citizens United campaigned againstMichael Moore's 2004 filmFahrenheit 9/11, advocating for government limits on how much advertising the film received.[10] It also made advertisements attacking the film,[11] and when theFederal Election Commission held that Moore's film was not a violation of theFederal Election Campaign Act, produced its own rebuttal film calledCelsius 41.11.[12] However, the FEC held that paying to airCelsius 41.11 would constitute an illegal corporate campaign expenditure.[13]
In 2008, Citizens United produced a documentary film highly critical ofHillary Clinton calledHillary: The Movie.[14] Fearing prosecution from the FEC, the organization sought a declaratory judgment in federal court to assure their right to show the movie, leading ultimately to the Supreme Court decision inCitizens United v. Federal Election Commission. It previously produced and screened advertisements attacking otherDemocrats, includingBill Clinton,[10]John Kerry,[15] andAl Gore.[14] In the 1988 US presidential election, Citizens United ran an ad that usedWillie Horton to attack Democratic nomineeMichael Dukakis.
The group has produced a film criticizing theUnited Nations.[12]
In 2016, theDonald Trump presidential campaign enlisted Citizens United PresidentDavid Bossie as deputy campaign manager.[16] During the campaign, Bossie made regular television appearances on behalf of the Trump campaign.[17] Bossie is a close friend and longtime acquaintance of Trump administration officialsSteve Bannon andKellyanne Conway,[18] having introduced Bannon to Trump in 2011.[19]
Citizens United has released 25documentaries. These include:
Citizens United was the plaintiff in a Supreme Court case that began as a challenge to various statutory provisions of theBipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002 (BCRA), known as the "McCain-Feingold" law. The case revolved around the documentaryHillary: The Movie, which was produced by Citizens United. Under the McCain-Feingold law, a federal court in Washington, D.C., ruled that Citizens United would be barred from advertising its film.[20] The case (08-205, 558 U.S. 50 (2010)) was heard in theUnited States Supreme Court on March 24, 2009. During oral argument, the government argued that under existing precedents, it had the power under the Constitution to prohibit the publication of books and movies if they were made or sold bycorporations.[21] After that hearing, the Court requested re-argument specifically to address whether deciding the case required the Court to reconsider those earlier decisions inAustin v. Michigan Chamber of Commerce andMcConnell v. FEC. The case was re-argued on September 9. On January 21, 2010, the Supreme Court overturned the provision of McCain-Feingold barring corporations and unions from paying for political ads made independently of candidatecampaigns.[22] A dissenting opinion byJustice Stevens[23] was joined byJustice Ginsburg,Justice Breyer, andJustice Sotomayor.
Citizens United has accepted funding from The Presidential Coalition, LLC[24] (which according to their website is "An Affiliate Of Citizens United")[25] and theKoch brothers.[26]
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