WINNING IN WASHINGTON. WP. “It’s hard to say exactly how many of Washington’s households in the top 1 percent draw their incomes from the broad business of serving, supplying or influencing the government. But an analysis of tax data by the Economic Policy Institute shows that the area’s 1-percenters are most likely to be lawyers and executives, or those who work in management consulting or IT. Nearly 1 in 10 of those households is headed by a government worker.”
EARMARK BAN AND LOBBYING. Roll Call. “The modern lobbying business was built largely on helping clients secure member- directed pots of money in annual appropriations bills. And many of the firms that pioneered the practice have taken a serious hit since lawmakers banned earmarks in 2010.”
TRAVEL GIFT UPDATE. The Hill. “The House ethics panel has determined that a House Democrat accepted an “impermissible gift” from a private sponsor of a trip to Taiwan in 2011.”
RULING ON AIDE. WBUR. “The U.S. Senate Committee on Ethics has dismissed a complaint filed by the Massachusetts Republican Party against Sen. Elizabeth’s Warren’s chief of staff after it determined that Mindy Myers did not violate Senate rules by lending her name to a fundraising appeal for New Hampshire Sen. Jeanne Shaheen.”
ON THE CALENDAR. Leader’s Weekly Schedule: “H.R. 3487 – To amend the Federal Election Campaign Act to extend through 2018 the authority of the Federal Election Commission to impose civil money penalties on the basis of a schedule of penalties established and published by the Commission, to expand such authority to certain other violations.” More on H.R. 3487 here. The FEC’s 2012 legislative recommendation addressed extending the program, not expanding the types of reports covered.
CA: ETHICS BURST. Sacramento Bee. “On a single day this week, the Democratic leader of the state Senate stood before the Capitol to address the latest allegations in an FBI corruption probe, a Republican state senator took the witness stand to testify he had not engaged in money laundering, the state’s political watchdog handed down fines to one current and two past lawmakers who admitted campaign finance violations, and three former government officials who were recently fined for not registering as lobbyists sat through a required ethics class.”
VA: FEES TOTAL. The Post. “Private attorneys representing the office of Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell and other government officials grappling with federal and state investigations of McDonnell’s interactions with a wealthy political benefactor have now charged taxpayers more than $575,000.”
WI: SUBPOENAS FLY. WSJ. “In recent weeks, special prosecutor Francis Schmitz has hit dozens of conservative groups with subpoenas demanding documents related to the 2011 and 2012 campaigns to recall Governor Walker and state legislative leaders.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.