SEC SETTLES. WSJ. “The SEC’s so-called pay-to-play rule prohibits investment advisers from providing paid advisory services to pension funds within two years of a political contribution to an official with power to influence the funds.” The SEC release is here. This is huge news and is sure to generate a flood of urgent memos on the facts of the case and the terms of the settlement. The Times has a report here and the Inquirer’s story is here.
DARK MONEY ALLIANCE. WFB. “Members of a major left-wing dark money outfit are providing large chunks of cash for, and serving as top advisers and officers of, President Barack Obama’s personal advocacy group.”
SUPER PAC V. SUPER PAC. Newsweek. “The goal, according to Lessig, is to raise a total of $12 million by the 2014 midterm elections.”
SUPER PAC DONOR. Bloomberg. “Billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Singer donated $1 million to a super-political action committee advised by Republican strategist Karl Rove.”
SUPER PAC REGISTRATIONS. NY Post. “One New Yorker has registered a dozen political action committees, called super PACs — none of which appear to do anything but solicit money.”
PRO-RAHM SUPER PAC. Crain’s. “A longtime associate of Mayor Rahm Emanuel is forming a super PAC that intends to raise millions of dollars to support him and aldermanic allies in the upcoming city elections.”
GOOGLE AND THE STATES. Politico. “Google is a Washington powerhouse that shapes federal law, rewards congressional allies and boasts a new 54,000-square-foot office, just down the road from the U.S. Capitol. But the Internet giant quietly has planted its political roots in places far beyond the Beltway — in state legislatures and city councils that have become hotbeds for tech policy fights.”
DC: GUILTY PLEA. WP. “A former D.C. Council candidate pleaded guilty Monday to making a false financial statement to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance during his 2010 campaign.”
IL: PAY TO PLAY ISSUES. WT. “A lobbying firm with close ties to a key subcontractor hired to promote the nation’s health care law in Illinois is hosting a fundraiser for one of Gov. Pat Quinn’s top political donors, raising questions about ‘pay to play’ politics amid the state’s highly competitive governor’s race.”
VA: MORE GIFTS ALLEGED. WP. “Federal prosecutors have alleged that former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his family accepted an expensive island vacation from a Henrico hotelier with University of Virginia ties and intentionally omitted the gift on his annual state disclosure forms, according to new court filings.”
WI: LIMITS TARGETED. State Journal. “A conservative group has filed a federal lawsuit against the state seeking to strike down campaign finance limits on the total aggregate amount candidates can receive from political action committees.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.