But because they did not openly urge people to vote for or against a political candidate, AFP maintains it does not have to disclose how much money it spent on the mailings criticizing the record of Conrad and other lawmakers -- something required of candidates, political action committees and independent committees formed by interest groups.

"By ... claiming their carefully worded attack ads are only educational, they are distorting political campaigns to the point that public trust is lost," Gould said. "AFP may be the first of many 'corporate entities' that will ... ambush candidates from as far away as Virginia. Every individual and organization has a right to speak, but big money gets to speak louder and more often. The public has a right to know who is speaking and how much money they are spending."