Appeals court overturns disclosure ruling

 “The Court of Appeals’ decision today will keep the American people, for the time being, in the dark about who is attempting to influence their vote with secret money,” Van Hollen said in a statement.
 
The court sided with Van Hollen in May in a ruling that nonprofit groups that run issue ads — broadcast ads that run 60 days before an election and mention a candidate but don’t specifically call to elect that candidate — must disclose its donors.
 
Two of these nonprofit groups — the Center for Individual Freedom and the Hispanic Leadership Fund — appealed the May ruling.
 
Most other groups are required to disclose this information, but in 2007 the FEC concluded that these nonprofit groups were exempt, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, which filed an amicus brief in the case.