RAMPING UP. USAT. “If federal prosecutors lodge corruption charges against Sen. Robert Menendez, it will mark the latest in a string of high-profile political cases from the U.S. Justice Department, including last year’s conviction of former Virginia governor Bob McDonnell.”
FAST TRACK FREEZE. WSJ. “Dozens of major labor unions plan to freeze campaign contributions to members of Congress to pressure them to oppose fast-track trade legislation sought by President Barack Obama, according to labor officials.”
RELATIVE FINANCING. 11alive.com. “More than $70,000 in campaign money has gone from Congressman Hank Johnson’s campaign into the pocket of the congressman’s wife, Mereda Davis Johnson. Rep. Johnson says his wife has earned every penny.”
CRAIG APPEAL. McClatchy. “The brief and accompanying documents filed late Tuesday at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit move the long-simmering Craig case closer to the day of reckoning. A three-judge panel could order an oral argument after the Justice Department files its own brief in several weeks.”
NM: ABOLISH LIMITS. SF New Mexican. “With bipartisan support, the Senate Rules Committee passed Senate Bill 689, sponsored by Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez, D-Belen. Sanchez said in an interview after the vote that he introduced the bill in an effort to get contributors to give directly to candidates’ campaigns rather than to independent expenditure groups, such as super PACS and nonprofits, which are neither subject to contribution limits nor required to disclose the names of donors.”
NY: CFR CONSIDERATIONS. Times Union. “This month, in the midst of arrests and investigations by federal prosecutors, and facing a showdown with the Legislature on his controversial and unpopular-with-the-public education proposals, Cuomo has gotten back on the reform wagon, at least for the next few seconds.”
WV: DISCOSURE FIGHT. PNS. “A $100,000 per plate breakfast benefitting a secretive conservative group was cancelled Sunday night after reporters received a copy of an invitation. Then, late Sunday, donor disclosure provisions were stripped from a campaign finance bill at the Legislature.”
UK: DODGY DONATION. Telegraph. “An undercover reporter posing as a wealthy Indian businessman was told he could donate money to the party via a ‘cousin’. He was also advised to spread gifts among other family members and even backdate a cheque to the party. This would allow the true source of the donation to remain hidden on the official register of political donations.”
UK: WHAT ELECTIONS LOOK LIKE. NPR. “America experiences a long, drawn-out election fever, while the U.K. hardly shows any symptoms at all. That is to say, almost none of the events most strongly associated with an American presidential campaign are part of a typical British national election.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.