Pillar of Law Institute
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| Pillar of Law Institute | |
 | |
| Basic facts | |
| Location: | Washington, D.C. |
| Type: | 501(c)(3) |
| Top official: | Susan Gore, Director |
| Year founded: | 2015 |
| Website: | Official website |
The Pillar of Law Institute is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that aims to influence campaign finance laws, which it considers a restriction on free speech at a national level. The group's work includes initiating "litigation cases to preserve civil discourse and protect political free speech."[1]
Mission
The website for the Pillar of Law Institute lists the following mission statement for the organization:[2]
| “ | The Pillar of Law Institute works with American citizens to recapture our lost commitment to open debate, the protection of political privacy, and the commonsense notion of self-governance. It is engaged in defending targets of abusive government investigations, promoting the virtues of free speech and association, and bringing transparency to government operations. There is a pressing need to combat government incursions against free speech. The Pillar of Law Institute addresses this need through pursuing litigation that combats unconstitutional advances and through encouraging a culture of respect for and attachment to our Constitution’s First Amendment.[3] | ” |
Work
The Pillar of Law Institute (POLI) was founded in 2015 as a national group aligned with the Wyoming Liberty Group. POLI was established, according to the Billings Gazette, to "fight what it believes are restrictive campaign finance laws for candidates to raise money to run for office, which it characterizes as a free speech issue."[4] The organization is one of three nonprofits funded by Susan Gore, a wealthy libertarian donor who operates in the state of Wyoming. Speaking of her policy-related activities in general, Gore has said, "The reason I started this was because I wanted to live in a place where I had better quality of life. I didn’t want to see us overwhelmed by too much government, too many regulations, a loss of our culture."[5]
According to the Casper Star-Tribune, the group primarily aims "at reducing what it believes are restrictive campaign laws in other states through communication and litigation. It opposes state and federal limits on fundraising, seeks to protect donor privacy and rejects other regulation."[6] The group itself describes its work as falling into six areas:[2]
- "The Criminalization of Political Speech"
- "The IRS and Government Speech Scandals"
- "Decreased Privacy and its Destructive Consequences"
- "Loss of Clear, Fixed and Definite Limits on Government Regarding Free Speech"
- "Turning Transparency Away from Free People and Back to Government"
- "Protecting Donor Privacy and Security"
Legislation
In May 2016, POLI filed a lawsuit in Wyoming federal court attempting to strike down a prohibition on political party delegates receiving books, travel stipends, and legal assistance from nonprofits. The lawsuit cited delegate concerns over safety at the Republican National Convention after Donald Trump advisor Roger Stone warned that if the convention were contested he and other Trump allies would "disclose the hotels and the room numbers of those delegates who are directly involved."[7]
Leadership
As of May 2016, the following individuals were listed as the staff for the Pillar of Law Institute:[8]
- Susan Gore, Director
- Benjamin Barr, General counsel
- Stephen Klein, Attorney
- Mandy Ludtke, Administrative assistant
Tax status
Pillar of Law Institute is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization. Its 501(c) designation refers to a section of the U.S. federal income tax code concerning charitable, religious, and educational organizations.[9] Section 501(c) of the U.S. tax code has 29 sections that list specific conditions particular organizations must meet in order to be considered tax-exempt under the section. Organizations that have been granted 501(c)(3) status by the Internal Revenue Service are exempt from federal income tax.[10] This exemption requires that any political activity by the charitable organization be nonpartisan in nature.[11]
Top influencers by state
Influencers in American politics are power players who help get candidates elected, put through policy proposals, cause ideological changes, and affect popular perceptions. They can take on many forms: politicians, lobbyists, advisors, donors, corporations, industry groups, labor unions, single-issue organizations, nonprofits, to name a few.
In 2016, Ballotpedia identified Pillar of Law Institute as a top influencer by state. We identified top influencers across the country through several means, including the following:
- Local knowledge of our professional staff
- Surveys of activists, thought leaders and journalists from across the country and political spectrum
- Outreach to political journalists in each state who helped refine our lists
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms 'Pillar of Law Institute'. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ Pillar of Law Institute, "Donation Letter," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Pillar of Law Institute, "Our Mission," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ Note: This text is quoted verbatim from the original source. Any inconsistencies are attributable to the original source.
- ↑ Billings Gazette, "Wyoming Liberty Group starts national organization," April 4, 2015
- ↑ WyoFile.com, "Libertarian Gore-Tex Heiress Fuels Hidden Political Donations," April 29, 2015
- ↑ Casper Star-Tribune, "Radio ad could be harbinger of future Wyoming politics (w/ audio)," July 12, 2015
- ↑ Talking Points Memo, "Roger Stone Threatens To Sic Trump Voters On Delegates Who 'Steal' Nom (VIDEO)," April 5, 2016
- ↑ Pillar of Law Institute, "Staff," accessed May 31, 2016
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Exempt Purposes - Internal Revenue Code Section 501(c)(3)," accessed January 13, 2014
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Life Cycle of a Public Charity/Private Foundation," accessed July 10, 2015
- ↑ Internal Revenue Service, "Exemption Requirements - 501(c)(3) Organizations," accessed January 13, 2014
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