CAMPAIGN EMBEZZLEMENT IN THE NEWS. Bloomberg. “As candidates raise more money for their campaigns, there is greater opportunity for nefarious treasurers to embezzle campaign cash from politicians accustomed to putting their careers in the hands of consultants, aides and volunteers, said Michael Toner, a former Federal Election Commission chairman.”
COST OF CA SCANDAL. Roll Call. “Dozens of California Democratic campaigns and political committees may be facing huge legal bills, fines and other costs as they begin to unpack the alleged embezzlement by the prominent campaign treasurer who handled the finances for about 400 client accounts.”
SUPERCOMMITTEE BUNDLERS. Politico. “Every special interest wants a piece of the congressional supercommittee, but an elite group of lobbyists has already staked its ground, sitting at the nexus of campaign cash and access to powerful lawmakers on the deficit-slashing panel.”
MORE ON CLEAN ENERGY LOANS. The Post covers the loan program here. “The Energy Department, under fire over its management of a program that offers loan guarantees to clean-technology companies, has been finalizing additional multimillion-dollar loan guarantees in the program at a rate of more than one a week since the beginning of August. It now has just two weeks left to commit the program’s remaining $9.3 billion.”
LIGHTSQUARED RESPONDS. Politico. “LightSquared CEO Sanjiv Ahuja and its billionaire backer, Phil Falcone, fired back in an exclusive interview with POLITICO on Friday at allegations that the wireless company used its political pull with the Obama administration to secure regulatory approval of its controversial business plans.”
SUPER PAC CHANGE OF PLANS. Roll Call has the story. “One of the two leading super PACs supporting Texas Gov. Rick Perry in his bid for the GOP presidential nomination will soon change its name, underscoring the fluid and unpredictable role such groups are playing in the 2012 election.”
TIMES EDITORIAL ON “BIG MONEY.” Here.
OUTSIDE INCOME UP. Politico. “Since 2006, lawmakers on the Hill have tripled their income from private-sector jobs and companies they own, a new analysis of financial disclosure statements says.”
ATTACKWATCH IN THE NEWS. Has Team Obama’s golden social media touch been damaged by the stir caused by its launch of Attackwatch.com? The Post. “It’s safe to say that in its 24 hours of existence, Attack Watch has already backfired, becoming a tool for conservatives to use against Obama 2012. A tweet by conservative author Brad Thor summed up the critics’s argument: ‘Wow, not only are Obama & Co. incredibly thin-skinned, they’re paranoid.'” I look forward to hearing Colin’s view over at e.politics.
FCPAPROFESSOR.COM. I’m a little late, but congratulations to the FCPA Professor for moving his site to a new domain.
PERRY DEALS. The Post. “Perry became a millionaire through a practice common to many other politicians over the years, by participating in profitable deals involving political friends and their businesses.”
HASAUSTINBEENOVERRULED.COM. My HasAustinBeenOverruled.com site is about to expire and I’m not renewing the domain. The site has received several thousand hits since its launch since before Citizens United was announced and for some reason still gets a few hits a day even today. The site was launched as a “single-serving site,” “comprised of a single page with a dedicated domain name” to “do only one thing” (Know Your Meme).
HAVE A GREAT DAY. Please excuse any technical glitches. I’ve started to use my new iPad to prepare the morning emails so I’m getting used to the keyboard and the WordPress app.