ABRAMOFF’S REDEMPTION. The Times. “What you may not know is that Jack Abramoff, being Jack Abramoff — which is to say, a genetically energetic operator — is also working on a few small personal projects on the side.”
CONGRESSIONAL ETHICS ON “60 MINUTES.” For the second week in a row, “60 Minutes” had a story involving congressional ethics issues. Last week was Abramoff; this week it’s members’ financial activity. The piece is here and another story is here.
COMMENT FLOOD. The Hill. “Hundreds of Colbert’s super-PAC members emailed commission [FEC] Secretary Shawn Werth to urge more regulation of super-PACs, documents published Wednesday on the commission website show.”
ANC CASE AT THE FEC. Story here. “The Federal Election Commission has dismissed a complaint by losing U.S. Senate candidate Joe Miller alleging Alaska Native corporations broke federal law by pumping more than $800,000 into the effort to re-elect Sen. Lisa Murkowski.”
CONVENTION PAYMENTS PROCESSED. Story here. “On November 8, the Federal Election Commission issued a press release, mentioning that a few weeks ago, it sent a check for $17,689,800 to the Republican National Committee, and a check for the same amount to the Democratic National Committee, so that each of these two parties can pay for the costs of their 2012 national conventions.”
LOBBY SHOPS DIVERSIFY. The Post. “The move to beef up federal marketing, communications and consulting is especially evident among independent lobbying firms that aren’t housed within law firms, the latter of which can offset lobbying dropoffs with fees from litigation, regulatory work and representing clients in government investigations.”
SUPER PAC ATTACK. From the editorial board of The Times.
CORPORATE POLITICAL SPENDING DATA AND PRACTICES. Roll Call. “More of the nation’s largest companies are reining in political spending, avoiding making direct contributions to candidates, banning independent expenditures and putting oversight mechanisms in place, according to a study of corporate behavior released this week by a nonprofit group that studies corporate governance.”
NADER SUIT SCRAPPED. Story here. “The Federal Election Commission properly dismissed a claim that the Democrats received illegal contributions and free services from attorneys to keep Ralph Nader off of ballots in 18 states, a federal judge ruled.”
FEBRUARY EDWARDS TRIAL? Story here. “Federal prosecutors and defense attorneys for John Edwards have proposed a new schedule for the criminal case against the former U.S. senator and presidential candidate that delays the trial until mid-February.”
LOBBYING TRANSPARENCY BILL IN NV UPDATE. Here.
HAVE A GREAT DAY.