A federal court in Virginia has struck down a law banning corporate donations to political campaigns. The decision was based on the precedent set by the U.S. Supreme Court's Citizen's United vs. FEC which said last year that corporate campaign contributions are a form of speech protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution. 

From Politico:

District Judge James Cacheris ruled that, based on Citizens United, corporations should be allowed to contribute directly to candidates’ campaigns.“If human beings can make direct campaign contributions … and if, in Citizens United’s interpretation … corporations and human beings are entitled to equal political speech rights, then corporations must also be able to contribute within (the federal) limits,” Cacheris wrote in a 52-page decision.

The ruling came in a criminal case brought by the U.S. government against two men – William Danielczyk, Jr. and Eugene Biagi – alleging they skirted campaign contribution limits by reimbursing their employees for $186,600 in contributions to Hillary Clinton’s campaigns for Senate in 2006 and president in 2008.

Loyola Law School professor Rick Hasen wrote in a blog post that the decision is unlikely to stand.

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