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In 2010, Theodore Olson became a lead attorney in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, a landmark case that concerned election spending and freedom of speech and challenged federal campaign finance restrictions he had defended as solicitor general. Mr. Olson represented Citizens United, a conservative nonprofit group that had produced a documentary film that presented a scathing assessment of Hillary Clinton as she sought the Democratic presidential nomination in 2008. The group wanted to pay cable TV companies to make the documentary available to viewers at no charge and sought relief from federal restrictions on corporate electioneering. “If dancing nude and burning the flag are protected by the First Amendment, why would it not protect robust speech about the people who are running for office?” Mr. Olson remarked to the Wall Street Journal.
Mr. Olson helped persuade the court to strike down, in a 5-to-4 ruling, portions of the campaign finance law that restricted corporate and union spending on political advertising close to an election. The decision allowed corporations and other groups to spend unlimited funds on political campaigns. However, the court rejected Citizens United’s attempt to have the film about Clinton (and ads for it) exempted from federal disclaimer and disclosure requirements.
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darryll k. jones