On the recordFebruary 25, 1998
there is an adage in the legal debate that when the facts and the law are not in your favor you tend to shout loudly and improperly about irrelevant principles of free speech. The opposition has done a masterful job on that. The issue is simple. In an election, does the public have the right to have disclosed in a timely fashion who is paying for an attack ad attacking a candidate? It is a matter of right to the voter and the election process. It is a matter of fairness to the attack candidate. More correctly stated, does the attacker have a constitutional right not to disclose who they are? The answer is a clear no. The public yes, the attacker no.
Said by
James M. Jeffords
Source
govinfo.gov