Political law links for Tues., May 1, 2012

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COMPLAINT FILED. Politico. “Two congressional watchdog groups lodged a complaint with the Federal Election Commission Monday alleging that GOP Rep. Aaron Schock violated federal campaign rules when he solicited a $25,000 donation from House Majority Leader Eric Cantor to be used in a bitter Republican-on-Republican primary.”

FL PARTY SANCTIONED. Story here. “On Monday, the RNC Committee on Arrangements announced that the Florida delegation will be at the Innisbrook Resort in Palm Harbor, nearly 32 miles from the Tampa Bay Times Forum.”

COMPLIANCE NOW, PEACE OF MIND LATER.  State & Federal’s latest Compliance Now is online here.

YARD SIGNS WITH QR CODES.  A new standard for yard signs?  C&E had coverage of the issue earlier this year here.  “The growth rate for the codes is astounding. In the summer of 2008, only 10 percent of the population had a smartphone. One presidential election later, the number of people using smartphones has quintupled to more than half of the U.S. population. Of smartphone users, a full one third of them have scanned QR codes.”

SUPER PAC PLAYS IN CA.  Roll Call.  “A super PAC reportedly supporting California Rep. Howard Berman has purchased a half-million dollars in cable TV time for the next month, according to the campaign of Berman’s opponent, fellow Democratic Rep. Brad Sherman. The ad buy runs from May 2 to June 4.”

OCE MOVES.  Roll Call.  “Rep. Spencer Bachus, chairman of the powerful Financial Services Committee, has been cleared by the Office of Congressional Ethics, which was looking into allegations that he violated insider trading rules.”  More here and here.

WHAT YOUNG’S WIFE KNEW.  Story here.  “Cheri Young testified Monday that Edwards knew about the nearly $1 million solicited from two wealthy campaign supporters to help hide the married Democrat’s lover as he sought the White House in 2008.”

MILBANK ON COMPLAINT.  Here.  “Predictably, Boehner has been complaining about the president’s campaigning. He said Obama’s team should ‘pony up’ and reimburse taxpayers for trips to three colleges in swing states last week. Boehner called Obama’s traveling ‘pathetic.’ The Republican National Committee formally asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the president’s travel.”

ETHICS PROBE IN IA. Story here. “Iowa campaign ethics officials agreed Friday to investigate Johnson County Auditor Tom Slockett over allegations that he used public time and money to support his re-election bid.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Monday’s political law links and an upcoming feature

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SUPER PAC PACT EDITORIAL.  The Times.  “Congress could also require disclosure of donors, and end the coordination between outside groups and political parties. That is increasingly unlikely, however, as long as some members of Congress owe their elections, and their allegiance, to the same groups.”

NEW VOTER ID LAWS.  The Times.  “Advocates of the new laws, which have been passed in about 30 states since the last presidential election, say they are necessary to prevent voter fraud. They include tougher voter identification requirements and more rules about where and how groups can register new voters.”

RECALLS IN THE NEWS.  Story here.  “The same national groups flooding the streets and the airwaves in Wisconsin — the Koch-supported group Americans for Prosperity on the right, the A.F.L.-C.I.O., teachers unions and the United Steelworkers on the left — are emerging as important outside supporters of President Obama and Mitt Romney, each side empowered by the Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision.”

WALMART AND ALEC.  Story here.  “The boycott ALEC movement has turned its sights on Walmart, finding new allies among the retailer’s longtime opponents.”

WSJ’S GUIDE TO GIVING.  Here.  “Whether you’re a big donor who wants to contribute beyond what you’re allowed to give to candidates and their parties, or a donor of any size looking for a different way to contribute, here’s what you need to know before giving this time around.”

SOLYNDRA IN THE NEWS.  Politico.  “Republicans are hoping to keep Solyndra alive this summer with a series of hearings and legislation to reform the Energy Department loan guarantee program.”

LATEST ORDER IN VAN HOLLEN.  Here.  “Prior to the promulgation of the regulation that was struck down, there was a valid regulation in effect implementing the BCRA’s disclosure requirement. 11 C.F.R. § 104.20(c) (effective Feb. 3, 2003 to Dec. 25, 2007); 68 Fed. Reg. 404, 419 (Jan. 3, 2003); see also Mem. Op. at 4–5. In light of the Court’s ruling, that regulation now governs the disclosures required under the BCRA.”

COMING SOON:  POLITICALLAWJOBS.COM.  Stay tuned for news on my new project.

ETHICS MOVES IN CHICAGO.  Story here.  “Whistleblowers will get more protection and city employees will be required to report corruption under proposed changes to Chicago’s ethics ordinance that will be announced Monday.”

ALLEGED MD REIMBURSEMENTS.  The Post.  “Beginning a little more than a year into his first term, Fosselman made small donations to 13 political campaigns and sought town reimbursements for the contributions. The practice continued for 10 months, until the middle of 2008. Over that time, he donated more than $1,100 to fundraisers in Maryland and had almost all of it reimbursed, according to interviews and town records.”

MI SUPER PAC UPDATE.  Story here.  “Although a dozen super PACs have been set up in Michigan, it remains to be seen how influential they will be in state politics.”

AIDE RESIGNS.  Story here.  “The top aide to North Carolina House Speaker Thom Tillis said Friday he has resigned after a newspaper questioned his relationship with a registered lobbyist.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links

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COMPLAINT ON PRESIDENTIAL TRAVEL. Story here. “The RNC Wednesday filed a complaint with the Government Accountability Office about President Obama’s official travel, alleging that he is politicking on taxpayer dime.” More here.

REFUND TO BE MADE. Story here. “The Obama campaign will return the donations of an accused Ponzi schemer who is facing an SEC investigation, a campaign official confirms.”

REPRIMAND FOR AL LOBBYIST. Story here. “The joint legislative Rules Committee on Wednesday recommended a reprimand for a lobbyist who cursed at a House member after he voted against a bill that would have allowed small wineries to market their products.”

ALEC EQUIVALENTS.  WFB.  “Liberal watchdogs have propagated the myth that ALEC stands alone as a drafter of model legislation.”

YOUNG CHALLENGED.  Story here.  “The defense said their cross-examination of Young could take days.”

EDITORIAL ON FCC POLITICAL FILE ISSUE.  Politico.  “After a decade of dragging its feet, the FCC seems poised to force stations to put this public information online — where the public can actually find it.”

NY CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM.  Story here.  “A proposal co-sponsored by Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver includes voluntary public financing of campaigns to preserve ‘the heart of our democracy.’ It would be funded by money from Wall Street fraud settlements.”

VIOLATIONS NOT FOUND.  Story here.  “Japanese ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa was found not guilty of violating campaign finance laws, strengthening his hand in opposing Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s plan to raise the consumption tax.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND. I’ll send around the next set of links on Monday. Have a great weekend!

Good morning, here are political law links for Wed., Apr. 25,2012

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APP MAKERS LOBBY.  Story here.  “Backing the app-makers are venture capitalists and operators of platforms on which the apps operate, including Google Inc., Microsoft Corp. and Apple Inc. Microsoft pumped at least $1 million last year into the Association for Competitive Technology, an app-focused trade association.”

WALMART NEWS.  Story here.  “After several years of relative calm, Walmart is once again in Capitol Hill’s cross hairs.”  More here:  “Wal-Mart, the giant retailer now under fire over allegations of foreign bribery in Mexico, has participated in an aggressive and high-priced lobbying campaign to amend the long-standing U.S. anti-bribery law that the company might have violated.”

THE MAKING OF THE STOCK ACT.  Story here.  “Wall Street mobilized K Street to push back against a provision in an insider-trading bill that could have forced financial analysts and intelligence operatives to register as lobbyists, new records show.”

YOUNG TESTIMONY IN EDWARDS TRIAL.  Story here.  “Andrew Young, the star government witness in the case against John Edwards, took the stand in the second day of the trial on Tuesday, and tried to portray himself as out of his league in the plot to conceal the child Edwards had with his mistress, Rielle Hunter.”  More here:  “Edwards assured Young that he had consulted campaign finance lawyers and the transactions were legal.”  More on questioning of the prosecution’s case here:  “Campaign finance law experts from across the political spectrum, including some former Federal Election Commission officials, say the Justice Department is wasting its time and resources and setting a terrible precedent.”

MCCASKILL AND SENATE ETHICS.  Story here.  “A Democratic lawmaker may have violated prohibitions against soliciting campaign contributions on government property while appearing on MSNBC on Monday night.”

GOOGLE’S RECORD LOBBYING.  Story here.  “Google has been hiring extra lobbyists to defend the company from a series of investigations into Google’s privacy and antitrust practices, driving up its bill.”

SENATE RULES HEARING ON ELECTRONIC FILING.  Here‘s an update from Sunlight.  Watch here today at 9:30 a.m.

FEC AGENDA.  The agenda for Thursday’s FEC meeting is online here.

FCC AGENDA.  The agenda for Friday’s FCC meeting is online here.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

The Edwards trial news and other political law links for Tues., 4/24

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EDWARDS TRIAL UPDATES. The News Observer should have thorough coverage of the Edwards trial (h/t @GoberHilgers).

WAL-MART AND THE FCPA. The FCPA Professor has thoughts on Wal-Mart’s FCPA issues here.

SEC RULES AND FEDERAL FUNDRAISING. WSJ.  “A new effort by Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign to substantially increase the amount of money wealthy backers can give has hit a hurdle: new Securities and Exchange Commission rules that are making some Wall Street donors skittish about writing checks.”

TARIFF BREAKS. A tariff bill is prompting earmark talk. Story here.

BARBOUR LOBBYING.  The Hill.  “Back on K Street after nearly a decade-long absence, Haley Barbour is lobbying for an online sales tax he championed as Mississippi governor.”

GROUPS SPENDING.  The Times.  “The conservative groups that helped Republicans win the House in 2010 are pouring money this year into an aggressive campaign to capture the Senate, a goal that they consider just as vital as winning the White House.”

SUPER PAC DISCLOSURE.  The Post.  “The federal rulings upheld longstanding disclosure requirements, and super PACs that receive that cash still file periodic reports with the Federal Election Commission. But regulations require only basic information about a company be reported…”

MO MATTER. Story here. “Former Missouri Gov. Roger Wilson told the state Ethics Commission last week that he wanted to report the origins of campaign contributions that landed him in legal trouble but was asked by federal authorities not to contact state officials.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.