STRONGER ETHICS RULES FOR SUPREMES? The Times. “House Democrats, seeking to capitalize on recent questions about the political leanings of several Supreme Court justices, are pushing for toughened ethics standards that would hold the justices on the high court to the same judicial requirements as federal judges.“
BARBOUR AND AM X-RDS. Roll Call. “Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour signed on to aid the fundraising efforts of American Crossroads, the conservative group that is expected to spend millions to boost Republicans in the 2012 cycle.”
X-RDS DOUBLES GOAL. Politico.
SOLYNDRA GETS FBI ATTENTION. Story here. “FBI agents armed with search warrants descended on the Fremont offices of bankrupt solar startup Solyndra on Thursday, opening an investigation into a company whose receipt of a half-billion dollars in government loans had already drawn sharp congressional criticism.”
ADS AND 9/11 IMAGERY. Roll Call. “he Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee has tweaked the TV ad that is set to begin airing Friday in New York over concerns about 9/11-like imagery.”
SCANDAL HITS D’S. Politico. “Allegations of fraud against a veteran California campaign treasurer have sent shock waves through the state’s Democratic congressional delegation, as lawmakers who used Kinde Durkee to keep track of their finances are now scrambling to find out whether their money has disappeared.”
EDWARDS TRIAL DELAY. Story here. “Ex-presidential candidate John Edwards’ trial on campaign finance charges has been delayed until January, giving his defense team time it says it needs to comb through more than 400,000 pages of material turned over by the government.”
THE FIRST AMENDMENT, THE PRESS, AND POLITICAL SPENDING DISCLOSURE. Volokh. “The conclusion that the press isn’t constitutionally entitled to an exemption from laws affecting other speakers seems quite right to me, and also consistent with the original meaning of the First Amendment as well as its traditional interpretation…”
NYC CAMPAIGN FINANCE BOARD PROPOSES NEW RULES. More here. “After a Supreme Court decision in 2010 allowed corporations and unions to spend an unlimited amount of money in candidate elections, a ballot initiative in New York City calling for tighter campaign finance controls was approved in 2010 by 84 percent of voters. And it fell upon the board to come up with specific rules to administer that law.”
AMAZON DEAL. Story here. “A tentative deal that would halt Amazon.com Inc.’s campaign to repeal the state’s recent Internet sales tax collection law may have pulled California back from the brink of an expensive and politically fractious June ballot war.”
HAVE A GOOD WEEKEND.