BRADY SUSPECTED. WE. “The FBI is investigating payments Rep. Bob Brady, D-Pa., who is suspected of wrongdoing, allegedly made to his opponent in 2012 in an attempt to convince him to suspend his campaign, according to a new report.”
BAUER ON ALLEGATIONS. JS. “But this is not a garden-variety campaign finance case. In such cases, the state’s regulatory interests are painstakingly balanced against citizens’ constitutional rights. In the Trump-campaign Russia relationship, the balance is not the same, for the indisputable reason that Russia has no constitutional right to participate in a US election and the Trump campaign has no such right to solicit or receive the benefits of that participation.”
DONATIONS REVEIVED. USAT. “Donations to President Trump’s private charity reached their highest point in almost a decade, nearly $3 million, as he ran a winning campaign for the White House last year, a new tax filing shows.”
CT: LAWS CHANGED. CTP. “Two little-known changes in the new state budget may make it easier for those in wealthier districts to run for the General Assembly while putting time constraints on state election regulators whose staffs in recent years have been targeted for reductions.”
VT: DISPUTE SETTLED. WCAX. “A former candidate for Vermont lieutenant governor is off the hook for a five-figure fine. Dean Corren was the 2014 Progressive and Democratic nominee. Tuesday, a settlement in his campaign finance case dismisses what he considers a trumped up charge.”
VA: CAMPAIGN FINANCE BILL FILED. USN. “Among the measures Democrats discussed in a conference call with reporters is one that would ban the personal use of campaign finance funds. Virginia currently has one of the least restrictive campaign finance systems in the country, with lawmakers only barred from using campaign funds for personal use once they close out their accounts.”
WA: CAP BUSTED. SPI. “The reason is that the Seattle Police Officers Guild (SPOG) took out a full-page ad in The Seattle Times for $8,600, delivering a scattershot attack against the two-term incumbent. The ad boosted but did not mention or specifically endorse Holmes’ challenger Scott Lindsay.”
WI: MEASURE TO APPEAR. RTN. “St. Croix County supervisors voted 14-3, with one abstained vote, to include a resolution on the April 3 ballot pledging the county’s support for a U.S. Constitutional amendment for the following specifications: only human beings can have rights, money is not speech and regulating political contributions does not stifle free speech.”
UK: BREXIT AND RULES. REU. “Britain’s Electoral Commission has opened an investigation to establish whether Vote Leave Limited, the organization behind the official campaign to leave the European Union, breached campaign finance rules during the 2016 referendum campaign.”
HAVE A GREAT DAY. Happy Thanksgiving to you and yours! Safe travels and have an enjoyable break (if you can manage one). I’ll send around the next set of links early next week.