Monday’s political law links, 9-30-13

SPECIAL AIDES.  Story here.  “A longtime adviser and confidante of Hillary Clinton had ‘special government status’ while the former Secretary of State was at Foggy Bottom, allowing her to work on a targeted project about women’s issues while she maintained her own business, officials told POLITICO.”

DONORS DISCLOSED.  IBT.  “The 2003 form, labeled ‘Not Open For Public Inspection,’ was apparently uploaded in error on a publicly accessible state attorney general’s website.”

TRENDS FOR SEC SETTLEMENTS.  Here.  “In a speech to the Council of Institutional Investors fall conference in Chicago, [SEC Chair] White identified four triggering factors that might require admissions by corporate or individual defendants — cases where a large number of investors have been harmed or the conduct was otherwise egregious, cases where the conduct posed a significant risk to the market or investors, cases where admissions would aid investors deciding whether to deal with a particular party in the future, and cases where reciting unambiguous facts would send an important message to the market about a particular case.”

RING CASE LATEST.  LAT.  “Ring’s last-chance appeal comes before the Supreme Court justices as they meet Monday for an annual fall ritual.”

SHUTTING DOWN DOJ.  MainJustice.  The agency released plans for a government shutdown.

AZ:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE STIR.  Story here.  “The secretary of state’s suggestions for compliance with Arizona’s campaign finance laws now that the increased campaign contribution limits of Chapter 98 (HB2593) are in effect have caused quite a stir.”

KY:  FORMER REP. UPDATE.  Here.  “Former U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler will work as a lobbyist for a newly formed firm in Kentucky called Omni Advocacy Group.”

NJ:  BILLBOARD COMPANY DONATES.  Here.  “The company that built a controversial Margate Causeway billboard and its law firm gave more than $14,000 to the political campaigns of Egg Harbor Township officials around the time of the billboard’s initial 2011 approval, state election records show.”

NY:  CLEAN UP.  NY Post.  “In case you missed it, Eric Schneiderman just sided with the billionaires and the vested interests against the Constitution and competitive elections. The attorney general did so by persuading a judge to delay until Oct. 8 a hearing on a lawsuit that has a bearing on this year’s city elections.”

NY:  LHOTA LAWSUIT.  Here.  “The New York Progress and Protection PAC sued in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, arguing for the right to exceed the state’s $150,000 per-person yearly limit on donations to independent expenditure groups.”

VA:  MCDONNELL UPDATE.  The Post.  “Federal prosecutors investigating Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s ties to a wealthy donor are unlikely to file charges or resolve the case before the November election, as they conduct new witness interviews and continue to review evidence, people familiar with the investigation said.”

VT:  SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS.  Story here.  “The Court affirmed the lower court’s findings that GMF committed campaign finance law violations during the 2010 gubernatorial race.”  The opinion is online here and students of “express advocacy” will want to study it carefully.

WV:  LOBBYIST SPENDING.  Story here.  “Expensive meals, hotels and cocktails were among the freebies that West Virginia lawmakers and state employees got from lobbyists over the past four months, according to recently filed financial disclosure reports.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

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