New York State’s $150-billion public pension fund has sued Qualcomm, seeking to force the chipmaker to reveal its political spending, according to the state comptroller.
The suit was filed late on Wednesday in Delaware Court of Chancery, after Qualcomm refused the request by the New York State Common Retirement Fund — a Qualcomm shareholder — to inspect records detailing the use of corporate resources for political activities, said state comptroller Thomas DiNapoli, who oversees the fund.
“Without disclosure, there is no way to know whether corporate funds are being used in ways that go against shareholder interests,” DiNapoli, a Democrat who is up for re-election in 2014, said in a statement.
The suit opens a new front in the fight over corporate political spending, which has risen dramatically since the U.S. Supreme Court’s 2010 ruling in Citizens United.
That decision lifted restrictions on corporate political spending and led in part to an unprecedented $6 billion of spending on the recently held U.S. elections.
While other companies have agreed to increase their disclosure of political spending, Qualcomm has not…
Since at least August 2012, the pension fund has repeatedly attempted to get the information from Qualcomm, but the company has refused to divulge it, the suit claimed.
New York’s pension fund is “concerned that it cannot determine whether senior executives and directors of Qualcomm are spending corporate resources to support their favored political candidates” or on causes that aren’t focused on boosting shareholder value, the complaint said.
Other sources show that in 2012, Qualcomm spent more than $4.7 million on federal lobbying efforts, according to the complaint.
Delightful. Glad to see this approach/attack getting started.
Ever since the conservative flunkies on the Supreme Court decided “corporations are people, too” – and started the tsunami of corporate cash flowing into the coffers of SuperPACS – the American electorate has been stymied by Congressional hacks. This tactic is one that has been considered as having the potential to lift the veil of secrecy the same “justices” obediently handed over.
RTFA for the details.
Eideard 
“A U.S. national security panel on Sunday ordered Monday Qualcomm to put off its March 6 annual shareholder meeting, delaying a long-awaited showdown in the company’s attempt to see off a takeover bid by Broadcom.
Separately, Broadcom said the decision was the result of secret moves made by Qualcomm on Jan. 29 to encourage an investigation into the proposed $117 billion buyout offer.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS), which has the power to stop deals that could harm national security, asked Qualcomm to postpone the annual meeting and election of directors by 30 days.
“This measure will afford CFIUS the ability to investigate fully Broadcom’s proposed acquisition of Qualcomm,” the U.S. Department of Treasury said in a statement.” https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/05/qualcomm-secretly-asked-a-us-security-panel-to-probe-its-117b-buyout-offer-delaying-its-shareholder-meeting-broadcom-claims.html
Broadcom is trying to reassure members of Congress about its proposed takeover of Qualcomm as an inter-agency panel considers whether to block the deal on national security grounds. http://thehill.com/policy/technology/377569-broadcom-promises-lawmakers-its-not-a-national-security-threat Broadcom argued Friday that it was committed to building on the San Diego company’s record. It also noted that Qualcomm is facing scrutiny from regulators around the world about what some say are anticompetitive licensing agreements that the company uses to fund its R&D investments.
“Trump killing Qualcomm’s huge deal could prompt a trade war in global M&A” https://www.cnbc.com/2018/03/14/trump-broadcom-qualcomm-ruling-could-chill-cross-border-ma.html Broadcom officially withdrew its bid Wednesday.
Trump said he had “credible evidence” that the deal had the potential to threaten the national security of the United States. Broadcom is based in Singapore and in California and has ties with China. Qualcomm is based in San Diego.