RICHARDSON INVESTIGATION. The Times. “Bill Richardson, the former governor of New Mexico who ran for president in 2008, is being investigated by a federal grand jury for possible violations of campaign finance laws, according to people with knowledge of the inquiry.”
HELP FOR HUNTSMAN, FROM A HUNTSMAN. The Times. “The group, financed in part by Mr. Huntsman’s billionaire industrialist father and guided by one of his former political advisers, has breathed new life into a campaign that otherwise lacks the resources to do much more than literally go door to door seeking votes.”
K ST. RECRUITING. Roll Call. “With Congress’ legislative agenda winding down, K Street lobby shops have begun wooing senior Senate Republican aides to leave the Hill now so the lobbyists-to-be can ride out their one-year bans during the upcoming election year.”
CHARITIES AND POLITICS. Steven Sholk’s “A Guide to Election Year Activities of Section 501(c)(3) Organizations,” has been published as part of the Practising Law Institute Course Handbook for Tax Strategies for Corporate Acquisitions, Dispositions, Spin-Offs, Joint Ventures, Financings, Reorganizations & Restructurings 2011. It’s online here.
JACKSON ETHICS PROBE NEWS. The Post. “The House Ethics Committee announced Friday it will continue its investigation into allegations Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. or someone acting on his behalf offered to raise campaign cash for then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich in exchange for a Senate appointment in 2008.” More here. Roll Call’s coverage is here. The Times has a report here. “Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. of Illinois has acknowledged to House ethics investigators that his Congressional staff may have inadvertently violated ethics rules in late 2008 by helping him wage a public campaign to be appointed to the Senate seat then being vacated by Barack Obama.”
FEC REJECTS LEE LEADERSHIP PAC REQUEST. Story here. “In a unanimous vote, the commission reaffirmed that elected officials with their own political action committees must stick to a contribution limit of $5,000 per person per year and, at the same time, rebuffed the Utah Republican’s argument that recent court rulings should allow him to run his own ‘super PAC,’ which could collect unlimited funds.”
FEC CONSIDERS X-RDS OPINION. Story here. “American Crossroads had asked the panel to clarify whether outside spending groups could produce advertisements that feature incumbent members of Congress without being subject to FEC restrictions on coordinated advertisements. The group made its request after state Democratic Party advertisements featuring Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) raised questions about coordination rules.”
PUBLIC FINANCING REJECTED. Here’s a report on last Thursday’s House vote to terminate public financing and the EAC. “The Republican-controlled U.S. House, voted for the second time this year to end public financing of presidential campaigns and the political party conventions.”
WALKER ON WASHINGTON JOURNAL. Wiley Rein’s Robert Walker appeared on C-SPAN’s “Washington Journal” on Sunday, Dec. 4, and the video is online here.
MD TEXTING DONATIONS REPORT. Story here. “Regulations to allow campaign contributions by text message are winding their way though a state approval process, and the system is expected to be in place early next year. The new method of giving is intended to encourage younger, tech-savvy donors to get involved in campaigns.” The news report has the basics, but I’m still looking for the text of the proposal. It should be online here.
DC COUNCILMEMBER INVESTIGATED. The Post. “FBI and IRS agents on Friday searched the home of D.C. Councilmember Harry Thomas Jr., who’s been under investigation for several months since being accused of diverting more than $300,000 in city funds for personal use. Nearly two dozen law-enforcement personnel took part in the search.” More on the “ethics showdown” here.
MCCRORY SUBJECT OF MATTER. Story here. “The North Carolina Democratic party filed two complaints alleging McCrory violated campaign finance laws during his 2008 campaign. Those complaints were filed in April 2010, and the state is only now investigating them.”
REVERSEROBOCALL.COM. A new site explains that its founders “believe that voters should have access to the same technology political groups use to get their message across; so we built a simple web-based robocall tool to literally give citizens back their voice in the political discourse.” A short three minute video on the site explains how the service works.
EUREKA CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM. Story here.”If Eureka passes its proposed political finance ordinance, any campaign contributions in excess of $500 must be returned to the donor or added to the city’s coffers.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.