STETSON ON COMPLIANCE. Scott Stetson discusses the importance of a vigorous political activity compliance program here.
EDITORIAL URGES SEC ACTION. Seattle Times. “If the owners of a company want to know what political causes it supports, it ought to tell them, because it is their company. People want to know. They want to know what their company is saying, and what other companies are saying to them. The SEC has been compelling corporate disclosure for almost 80 years. It has the power to do this, and it should do it.”
DATA OP UPDATE. The Hill. “The Republican National Committee is planning to spend up to $20 million to build a data-sharing platform that aims to cut the Democratic Party’s data-mining advantage in time for the upcoming election cycles.”
SOROS SON CFR PUSH. USAT. “The super PAC that Soros co-founded in April last year, Friends of Democracy, plans to double the number of House races — from eight in 2012 to 16 in 2014 — in which it will spend money backing candidates who support stricter campaign-finance laws.”
INDICTMENT IN FCPA MATTER. Story here. “A former executive of the U.S. subsidiary of a French power and transportation company was charged in a superseding indictment for his alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials, Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut David B. Fein and Assistant Director in Charge Valerie Parlave of the FBI’s Washington Field Office announced today.”
CT: TRIP QUESTIONS. News here. “A weekend trip by Gov. Dannel P. Malloy to Washington, D.C. for a White House correspondents’ dinner Saturday night is raising legal questions and drawing political criticism because his expenses for travel, hotel accommodations and food — more than $1,000 — were paid by People Magazine.”
DE: COMMON CAUSE ERROR. Story here. “An advocacy group withdrew a report today that it distributed criticizing state political donations from Delaware companies and interest groups after discovering that it grossly overstated campaign spending by the organizations.”
FL: SCOTT SIGNS BILL. Story here. “The campaign finance bill (HB 569) imposes more frequent reporting deadlines for political candidates and raises the maximum contribution limits for the first time since 1991.”
IA: BACHMANN DEVELOPMENT. Story here. “The Iowa Senate Ethics Committee has asked the state Supreme Court to appoint an investigator to look into allegations that Michele Bachmann’s presidential campaign improperly paid former staffer Kent Sorenson.”
ME: CFR RESOLUTION PASSES. Story here. “The resolution supports a proposed constitutional amendment introduced in March by independent U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont and U.S. Rep. Ted Deutch, D-Fla., that would ‘expressly exclude for-profit corporations from the rights given to natural persons by the Constitution of the United States, prohibit corporate spending in all elections, and affirm the authority of Congress and the states to regulate corporations and to regulate and set limits on all election contributions and expenditures.'”
NYC: WHAT LIU KNEW. Story here. “Mayoral candidate John Liu knew his campaign was drumming up large donations by breaking campaign finance laws, federal prosecutors suggested in closing arguments Tuesday.”
VA: ETHICS COMMISSION PROPOSED. Story here. “Virginia Democratic gubernatorial candidate Terry McAuliffe on Tuesday proposed forming an independent ethics commission to oversee elected officials and their staff.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY.