AIDE PLEA. Bizjournals.com. “A longtime former aide to U.S. Rep. Chaka Fattah (D-Philadelphia) pleaded guilty Wednesday for his role in attempting to conceal two campaign finance-related fraud schemes initiated by a local elected official.”
WALLETS OPEN. WP. ”Together, 310 donors gave a combined $11.6 million more by this summer than would have been allowed before the ruling. Their contributions favored Republican candidates and committees over Democratic ones by 2 to 1.”
BRIEF IN PAY TO PLAY LAWSUIT. WT. “A campaign-finance watchdog group filed a brief in federal court Friday to beat back an attempt by New York and Tennessee Republicans to stymie pay-to-play restrictions.”
ONGOING. WP. “The federal probe that resulted in a guilty plea this week by a former Iowa state senator who was secretly paid to endorse two Republican presidential candidates in the 2012 campaign is ongoing — and could implicate the political operatives who were involved in routing payments to him, according to people familiar with the case.”
CU HELPS. WP. “The advantage isn’t large, but it is statistically significant: The researchers found the ruling, in Citizens United v. FEC, was associated with a six percentage-point increase in the likelihood that a Republican candidate would win a state legislative race.”
CAMPAIGN MANAGER RESIGNS. Politico. “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s campaign manager, Jesse Benton, announced his resignation late Friday, citing potential distractions over renewed attention to a scandal from the Iowa 2012 caucuses.”
SUPER PAC WORKAROUND. Bloomberg. “Figuring out how to work the system allows candidates to avoid wasting hard-won dollars when money from better-financed national groups is available.”
SUPER PAC ADS CHANGE. Galveston Daily News. “A conservative super PAC was forced Wednesday to edit a negative ad against Sen. Jeanne Shaheen after the New Hampshire Democrat’s attorneys flagged inaccuracies in the spot with the broadcaster.”
BUS COST HIT. The Hill. “Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) is using recent reports about the costs of his opponent’s campaign bus in a new television advertisement.”
LOBBYIST REMINISCES. The Onion. “Citing his habit of haranguing younger colleagues about the way things used to be, sources confirmed Wednesday that 74-year-old veteran ExxonMobil lobbyist Hank Foraker is constantly droning on about how much cheaper legislation was back in his day.”
CA: MORE REPORTING SOUGHT. LAT. “California lawmakers approved a measure Saturday that would require the state to develop a new Internet-based campaign filing and public display system and that candidates file electronic disclosures of their campaign finances every calendar quarter, instead of the current semi-annual filing schedule.”
CO: CAMPAIGN FINANCE AD. CO Independent. “It’s not just incumbent John Hickenlooper and Republican Bob Beauprez, Harry Hempy is running for governor too.”
NJ: INVESTIGATION SOUGHT. NJ.com. “A Democratic freeholder in Bergen County has asked New Jersey’s top law enforcement officer to investigate whether a national conservative advocacy group broke campaign finance laws in order to give donations above the legal limit to the 2010 campaign of county’s Republican executive, Kathleen Donovan.”
VA: MCDONNELL TRIAL UPDATE. RTD. “The political corruption charges against the 71st governor of Virginia and his wife rest with a 12-member jury that will receive final instructions from U.S. District Court Judge James R. Spencer on Tuesday and begin its deliberations.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.