TIMES ON DISCLOSURE. Here. “Now many lawsuits across the country are seeking to gut even limited disclosure laws in states like Maine, Florida and West Virginia. James Bopp Jr., who initiated the Citizens United case, is a prime mover behind cases attacking disclosure.”
PELOSI PUSH FOR DISCLOSE 2012. Story here.
TIMES ON DISLCOSE 2012. Here: “The Disclose 2012 Act, introduced by Representative Chris Van Hollen, Democrat of Maryland, is a tighter version of the 2010 bill that was blocked in the Senate by a Republican filibuster.” The DISCLOSE Act (2010) was a topic of discussion in the Van Hollen case that’s still before federal court in DC. The court hasn’t issued its opinion, yet. One of Van Hollen’s filings argues that the court shouldn’t draw a negative inference from congressional inaction because the 2010 legislation was “was a broad and comprehensive response to the Citizens United decision that proposed disclosure provisions with broader coverage than the current statute and that had a number of nondisclosure provisions.”
WILL ON THE SIEGELMAN CASE. Here. “Until the court clarifies what constitutes quid pro quo political corruption, Americans engage in politics at their peril, because prosecutors have dangerous discretion to criminalize politics.”
CU CELEBRATION AT CPAC. Story here. “Anonymous political speech. Foreign money in U.S. elections. The proliferation of super PACs. How grave a threat do any of things pose to American democracy? Not much, according to a panel of conservative attorneys, who gathered Thursday at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington, D.C.”
STRATEGIC ADVISERS IN THE NEWS. Roll Call. “These strategic advisers or policy counsels, or historians in Gingrich’s case, avoid getting tagged officially with an ‘L’ by tapping high-priced lawyers who are experts on the laws of lobby land.”
BOSSIE ON WASHINGTON JOURNAL. CU’S David Bossie appeared on Washington Journal on Sunday. The video is online here.
SUPER PAC HUB. Roll Call. “American Bridge 21st Century, the super PAC that grew out of David Brock’s media watchdog of the left, has become the opposition research hub of the Democratic fundraising apparatus, following Republican candidates on the trail, rooting around their closets for skeletons and furiously pumping out snarky Web videos.”
SUPER PAC SPENDING IN H RACES. Story here. “A Super PAC opposed to incumbents from either party plans to spend several hundred thousand dollars in Illinois before the March 20 primary to unseat three long-serving members of Congress from the Chicago area.”
BERMAN IN AD. Story here. “There we were last week, innocently partaking in the annual testosterone-fest that is the Super Bowl, when we were treated to an ad featuring a group of supposed auto mechanics lamenting that they never voted for the union they’re in. But look closely. One of these “mechanics” is sporting a gold watch, manicured hands, and a brand new shirt. That’s because he’s not a mechanic, or even an actor.”
END OF THE BAN? Roll Call. “Most Senate Republican leaders are hoping earmarks make a comeback, but after bowing to pressure from House Republicans and conservative elements in their Conference in 2010, some concede it might be difficult to roll back a self-imposed limit that remains politically popular with the GOP base.”
CAMPAIGN DONATION PROBE. WFB. “A major Democratic power-player in Nevada is under FBI investigation for illegal campaign contributions.”
MORE ONLINE DISCLOSURE IN MD? Story here. “A special committee on ethics reform set up by Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller will propose legislation that would put the financial disclosure forms of legislators and top state officials online next year and eliminate a requirement that filers be told the names of people who examine those statements.”
JINDAL ON ETHICS. Story here. “The proposal clarifies that penalties are enforced by the Board of Ethics and its staff has the power to assess and order penalties for late filings of campaign finance reports.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.