6.19.13 political law links

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16 WATCH.  The Times.  “Senator Claire McCaskill, a Missouri Democrat and one of Barack Obama’s first backers in the Senate in his bitter presidential primary fight against Hillary Rodham Clinton, threw her support on Tuesday to the political action committee pressing Mrs. Clinton to run for president.”

VRA RULING SOON.  Roll Call.  “The Supreme Court is expected to rule next week on Section 5 of the landmark Voting Rights Act of 1965, which requires certain states with a history of discrimination to get federal approval for any changes to voting laws.”

FULL TRANSCRIPT RELEASED.  The Hill.  “House Democrats on Tuesday defied Oversight Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) by releasing a full transcript from the congressional investigation into the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups.”

AMENDMENT TO REVOKE CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS.  Story here.  “Montana’s Sen. Jon Tester on Tuesday proposed an amendment to the U.S. Constitution that says corporations don’t have constitutional rights – an attempt to restrict corporate campaign spending and overturn a landmark 2010 court ruling that expanded such spending.”

FEDERAL EMPLOYEE GIVING.  Reason.  “Lawyers in federal agencies contributed more to Barack Obama than Mitt Romney in the 2012 presidential election, a pattern that mirrored giving at every federal agency, a review of Federal Election Commission records by a Pepperdine University law professor reveals.”

MD:  ETHICS REFORM COMING.  Story here.  “Now, as [Rushern] Baker (D) nears the end of his first term and prepares to announce on Thursday his bid for a second, he can claim several successes. But he has also abandoned one of his biggest promises, the creation of an independent Office of Inspector General, and recently there were accusations that politics played a role in the awarding of a major county contract.”

NY:  CFR DEAL?  Story here.  “Two key points in Cuomo’s agenda appear at risk: a bill tackling numerous workplace, abortion rights, human trafficking laws, and the governor’s take on campaign finance and political corruption.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 6.18.13

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SCOTUS DECIDES. Politico. “The Supreme Court ruled Monday against an Arizona ballot measure requiring new voters to present proof of citizenship before being added to the voting rolls — but the justices dodged the question of whether states could ever impose such a requirement without federal approval.”

CRUZ REACTION. Politico. “Ted Cruz didn’t wait long to mount a legislative response to the Supreme Court’s ruling against Arizona’s voter registration rule.”

OFA MOVES. Story here. “Organizing for Action is launching a seven-figure ad buy championing President Barack Obama’s Affordable Care Act, as POLITICO’s Playbook reported on Monday.”

TIES CUT. Story here. “U.S. Rep. Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) has cut his ties to a Chicago lobbyist after a newspaper report revealed the lobbyist had paid more than $500,000 over the past 10 years to work in his congressional office.”

ART OF POLITICAL CAMPAIGNING CONFERENCE DEVELOPMENTS. C&E. “For all of the digital hype surrounding the use of data and technology on President Obama’s reelection effort, it was the campaign’s building and nurturing of personal relationships that truly paved the way for success.”

NEW RULES FOR NONPROFITS? Here. “It has engulfed all of Washington in scandal, but the Internal Revenue Service-tea party targeting debacle might finally bring some clarity to rules governing nonprofit organizations.”

HI: WHAT LOBBYIST REPORTS SHOW. Story here. “Lobbyist disclosures in Hawaii may be a misnomer — the records don’t disclose much.”

VA: MANSION RECORDS DIRTY LAUNDRY. The Post. “Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his wife, Maureen, have used taxpayer money for a range of small personal items they should have paid for themselves under state policy, according to spending records.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Mon. political law links, 6-17-13

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ABEDIN ARRANGEMENT QUESTIONS.  Politico.  “Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, is asking the State Department to answer a list of questions about Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s role there and whether she was allowed to trade on ‘political intelligence’ while she was a consultant allowed to represent other clients, POLITICO has learned.”

GRASSLEY AIDE AND PROBE.  Story here.  “Congressional aides are rarely targeted in federal probes, as the official duties of legislative-branch employees are protected under the Constitution.”

NOMINEES’ FUNDRAISING BACKGROUND.  The Post.  “A trio of money men who helped President Obama bring in record donations for his re­election last year were tapped Friday for highly sought diplomatic assignments in Europe.”

NEW ZEALAND HIRES.  BLT.  “Covington & Burling in Washington has signed up to lobby for another country looking to make it easier for its citizens to enter the United States.”

8TH CIRCUIT POLITICAL COMMITTEE CASE.  Story here.  ”A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Iowa law requiring outside groups to promptly disclose details about their spending to support or oppose political candidates, but struck down other reporting requirements as overly burdensome.”  The opinion is here.

11TH CIRCUIT POLITICAL COMMITTEE CASE.  The opinion is online here.  “This lawsuit challenges certain Florida election laws requiring groups who spend money to influence elections to form ‘political committees’ which must disclose how much they spend and whose money they are spending.”

IRS SLOG.  The Hill.  “House Republicans are resigned to the fact that the investigation into the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups has gone underground.”

WILL ON LERNER.  Here.  “Lerner, it is prudent to assume, is one among thousands like her who infest the regulatory state. She is not just a bureaucratic bully and a slithering partisan. Now she also is a national security problem because she is contributing to a comprehensive distrust of government.”

CA:  ACCUSATION AGAINST BROTHERS.  Story here.  “The Fair Political Practices Commission has accused Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Oakdale, and former Assemblyman Bill Berryhill of laundering more than $40,000 of campaign contributions in 2008.”

CO:  GESSLER RULING.  Here.  “Secretary of State Scott Gessler ‘breached the public trust for private gain’ when he used his office discretionary fund to pay for a trip to a Republican lawyers conference in Florida, the state ethics commission ruled Thursday.”

NC:  GAMING DONATIONS.  Story here.  “Sweepstakes operators, seeking legislation that would legalize their outlawed industry, have flexed their political muscle over the past three years, contributing as much money to N.C. candidates as large utilities.”

TX:  ETHICS VETO.  Story here.  “Gov. Rick Perry came under withering criticism Friday after using his veto to eliminate two bipartisan ethics bills and erase all state funding for the prosecutor’s unit that is investigating his prized cancer research fund.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.