KIRK PAYMENTS IN THE NEWS. Chicago Trib. “At the heart of the matter is Vertolli’s assertion that the Kirk campaign may have improperly hidden money to McCracken by paying her through another company working for the campaign.”
ROLLING STONE ON SUPER PAC DONORS. Here. “Even more money from megadonors is flowing into newly created Super PACs, which, unlike advocacy groups, can spend every cent they raise on direct attacks on an opponent.”
MARK RENAUD ON PAY TO PLAY. Wiley Rein’s Mark Renaud discusses pay to play rules and presidential giving here. “In the end, it is important that potential contributors and their compliance departments have the facts and law straight so that, with a speech and associational right as important as political contributions, they are not deterred by the pay-to-play rules where the rules do not apply.” A few weeks ago Politico shared an example of what a presidential campaign invitation looks like these days.
INDEPENDENT GROUP PLANS. Politico. “Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – plan to spend roughly $1 billion on November’s elections for the White House and control of Congress, according to officials familiar with the groups’ internal operations.”
JURY WARNING. Politico. “On Day Seven of jury deliberations over campaign finance-related charges against former Sen. John Edwards, the judge overseeing the case showed her first public sign of impatience with the pace of the jurors’ deliberations.”
MORE ON EDWARDS JURY. N&O. “‘The jury sent me a note saying they’ve reached,’ [Judge] Eagles said, letting a dramatic pause linger in the air. Then with a smile and a bit of a heave of her shoulders, she finished the sentence with ‘a good stopping point.'”
TIMES ON CHAMBER. Here. “Any company that helps pay for the ads run by the chamber ought to step up and disclose its contributions.”
DAVIS SWITCH. Story here. “It’s official: Former Democratic Alabama House member and gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis is becoming a Republican and laying the groundwork for a potential political future in Virginia.”
FOUR YEARS SINCE DAVIS. Next month will mark four years since the Supreme Court decided FEC v. Davis, striking most of the Millionaire’s Amendment.
REVISING DE LOBBYING RULES? Story here. “Critics of the way Markell and lawmakers have approached lobbying reform say it’s imperative that the state close loopholes that, for example, allow lobbyists to avoid identifying the lawmakers and bureaucrats whom they are spending money on, and let lawmakers leave their elective post and return the next day as a lobbyist.”
LARGE ROBOCALL PENALTY. Story here. “If criminal convictions were not enough, add $1 million in civil penalties to the list of reasons Maryland politicos may think twice about ordering another election-night robo-call that could be viewed as trying to suppress voter turnout.”
ALEC AND MN. Story here. “The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board says it will investigate the American Legislative Exchange Council’s lobbying status in Minnesota.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.