WEATHERING THE STORM. If you’re in the DC area I hope you made it through Friday’s storms with little damage. Here at PoliticalActivityLaw.com HQ we had a power outage of around 18 hours and a lot of melting popsicles and fish sticks. I hope you’re all well and my thoughts are with those who suffered loss as a result of the storm.
AF1 AND FUNDRAISING. The Post. “In the conference call made late Friday from a special campaign phone on Air Force One, a recording of which was obtained by the Daily Beast, Obama bemoaned the anonymous super PAC donations flowing to his Republican opponent, Mitt Romney.”
IRS AND ALEC. Roll Call. “The former head of the Internal Revenue Service’s Exempt Organizations division has asked the agency to revoke the tax-exempt status of the conservative nonprofit ALEC.”
IRS AND CAMPAIGNING. The Times. “These investigations could last for months or years, and are unlikely to affect spending in this year’s election. But they could help stanch the poisonous flow of secret money in future cycles.”
THE OPINION AND HEALTH CARE LOBBYING. Story here. “Among the biggest winners in Thursday’s Supreme Court ruling to uphold the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act is the drug industry, which played an intimate, if controversial, role in shaping the new law.”
THE OPINION AND CU. What does the Supreme Court’s opinion on the constitutionality of the health care law mean for campaign finance? Maybe you thought critics of the Court would back off after Chief Justice Roberts sided with the Court’s liberals to uphold the law? The Times. “The court reached the right result on the Affordable Care Act, but that ruling was not a sign of change in a strident conservative majority.”
ACCELERATING WORK FOR HEALTH LOBBYISTS. Story here. “Lobbyists are bracing for a flood of healthcare regulations now that the Supreme Court has cleared away uncertainty about the reform law’s future.”
SUPER PAC AND DEMINT. Story here. “Sen. Jim DeMint is cutting formal ties to his wildly successful small-donor fundraising machine, the Senate Conservatives Fund, so that it can form a super PAC, POLITICO has learned.”
DONATING DOWN TICKET. Politico. “Conservative megadonors Sheldon Adelson, the Koch brothers and Donald Trump aren’t stopping with their efforts to swing the presidential election. Now, they’re shoveling cash into down-ticket races.”
TAX THE PACS? HuffPo.
BROWN AND UNAUTHORIZED DISBURSEMENTS. The Post. “D.C. Council member Michael A. Brown said Thursday that police are investigating ‘unauthorized disbursements’ from his campaign account.”
POST ON MD CFR CHANGES. Here. “The central problem in Maryland persists: Laws governing donations to political campaigns remain riddled with loopholes.”
HALEY CLEARED. Story here. “Gov. Nikki Haley did not use her office for personal gain while serving as a representative from Lexington County, the S.C. House Ethics Committee ruled today.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY. New links will be intermittent until Monday, July 9th.