ABEDIN ARRANGEMENT QUESTIONS. Politico. “Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), the ranking member on the Judiciary Committee, is asking the State Department to answer a list of questions about Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin’s role there and whether she was allowed to trade on ‘political intelligence’ while she was a consultant allowed to represent other clients, POLITICO has learned.”
GRASSLEY AIDE AND PROBE. Story here. “Congressional aides are rarely targeted in federal probes, as the official duties of legislative-branch employees are protected under the Constitution.”
NOMINEES’ FUNDRAISING BACKGROUND. The Post. “A trio of money men who helped President Obama bring in record donations for his reelection last year were tapped Friday for highly sought diplomatic assignments in Europe.”
NEW ZEALAND HIRES. BLT. “Covington & Burling in Washington has signed up to lobby for another country looking to make it easier for its citizens to enter the United States.”
8TH CIRCUIT POLITICAL COMMITTEE CASE. Story here. “A federal appeals court on Thursday upheld an Iowa law requiring outside groups to promptly disclose details about their spending to support or oppose political candidates, but struck down other reporting requirements as overly burdensome.” The opinion is here.
11TH CIRCUIT POLITICAL COMMITTEE CASE. The opinion is online here. “This lawsuit challenges certain Florida election laws requiring groups who spend money to influence elections to form ‘political committees’ which must disclose how much they spend and whose money they are spending.”
IRS SLOG. The Hill. “House Republicans are resigned to the fact that the investigation into the IRS’s targeting of conservative groups has gone underground.”
WILL ON LERNER. Here. “Lerner, it is prudent to assume, is one among thousands like her who infest the regulatory state. She is not just a bureaucratic bully and a slithering partisan. Now she also is a national security problem because she is contributing to a comprehensive distrust of government.”
CA: ACCUSATION AGAINST BROTHERS. Story here. “The Fair Political Practices Commission has accused Sen. Tom Berryhill, R-Oakdale, and former Assemblyman Bill Berryhill of laundering more than $40,000 of campaign contributions in 2008.”
CO: GESSLER RULING. Here. “Secretary of State Scott Gessler ‘breached the public trust for private gain’ when he used his office discretionary fund to pay for a trip to a Republican lawyers conference in Florida, the state ethics commission ruled Thursday.”
NC: GAMING DONATIONS. Story here. “Sweepstakes operators, seeking legislation that would legalize their outlawed industry, have flexed their political muscle over the past three years, contributing as much money to N.C. candidates as large utilities.”
TX: ETHICS VETO. Story here. “Gov. Rick Perry came under withering criticism Friday after using his veto to eliminate two bipartisan ethics bills and erase all state funding for the prosecutor’s unit that is investigating his prized cancer research fund.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.