BROWN TO FIRM. Roll Call. “The Boston office of law and lobbying firm Nixon Peabody has nabbed former Sen. Scott P. Brown, R-Mass., as counsel.”
COSTELLO OPENS FIRM. Story here. “Former U.S. Rep. Jerry Costello of southern Illinois is opening a lobbying firm.”
OFA AND THE ABSURD. The Hill. “White House press secretary Jay Carney insisted Monday it was ‘absurd and wrong’ to accuse Organizing for Action, the nonprofit group birthed from President Obama’s reelection campaign, of selling access to the president.”
JACKSON ADVISORY OPINION NOTED. Roll Call. “In essence, the FEC opinion allowed the Jacksons to legally transfer campaign funds into their personal accounts. Once on that path, it probably wasn’t a big step for Jackson to authorize payments to his wife for work she hadn’t done.”
TESTER AND E-FILING. USAT. “Even though most services are now online, from bank statements to brokerage accounts, members of the U.S. Senate continue to file campaign-finance reports the old-fashioned way: on paper.”
CRAIG HEARING. AP. “A federal judge sounded skeptical Monday of former Sen. Larry Craig’s claim that he properly used $217,000 in campaign funds for his legal defense after his arrest in a 2007 airport bathroom sex sting.”
SUNSHINE WEEK. This week is Sunshine Week: “Sunshine Week is a national initiative to promote a dialogue about the importance of open government and freedom of information. Participants include news media, civic groups, libraries, nonprofits, schools and others interested in the public’s right to know.”
CT: LOBBYIST STATUS. Here. “When is a lobbyist not a lobbyist?”
NC: REPORTS LATE. Story here. “The State Board of Elections is sending more than 150 letters to candidate, party, PAC and other committees that haven’t filed required fourth-quarter or year-end campaign finance reports for 2012, according to a report from Patrick Gannon of The Insider.”
UT: ETHICS BILL ADVANCES. Story here. “As two top state leaders are already under investigation, the Senate passed a bill Monday to form a new independent ethics commission for the executive branch.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.