By Della Hasselle
DNAinfo Reporter/Producer
MANHATTAN — Despite a January Supreme Court ruling allowing corporations to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertisements, Goldman Sachs has vowed not to get involved in any future elections.
The pledge was unexpected, and comes after the company has received increasing pressure from critics who want to limit Wall Street's role in elections, the New York Times reported on Tuesday.
"Goldman Sachs does not make any political contributions in the United States from corporate funds including contributions to so-called Section 527 entities," the company said in a statement quietly released on its website last week. "Goldman Sachs also does not spend corporate funds directly on electioneering communications."
Public Advocate Bill DiBlasio said Goldman Sachs can be a role model for others, according to the Times.
“This could be one of those moments that determines whether we are going to have a political system literally dominated by corporate money, or some ability by the people at the grass roots to determine the outcome of elections,” de Blasio told the paper.
The Supreme Court ruling, known as Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, recognizes corporations the same as it does individuals, allowing them to spend unlimited amounts of money on political advertisements under the constitutional right to free speech.
