D REFORMS. Politico. “Democrats began building their general election platform on Thursday, as presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton promptly endorsed a package of campaign finance and lobbying bills developed by Senate Democrats.”
RUSS’S LAMENT. Watchdog.org. “The godfather of campaign finance reform and previous eschewer of so-called dark money groups is now palling around with the League of Conservation Voters and other liberal organizations that do not disclose their funding sources.”
COLD TURKEY. CRP. “Not a single House member or staffer has disclosed a privately sponsored trip to Turkey since the Office of Congressional Ethics in October 2015 released documents connected to the largest ethics investigation since the days of disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.”
COERCION CLIENT ALERT. NLR. “The FEC needs the affirmative vote of four Commissioners to proceed with an investigation or enforcement action, so the rules as articulated by these three Commissioners will define enforcement going forward.”
GRASSROOTS WIN. Politico. “The left-leaning groups’ ability to mobilize political opposition to an industrial giant fits a pattern. They are gaining strength in public debates as well as national politics, with their work also evident in the Commission’s flagging effort to secure a mammoth free trade deal with the U.S. The fight underscores a challenge facing big institutions and their ability to adapt quickly to deal with insurgent campaigns fueled by social media and savvy NGOs.”
RNC DRIVING. WSJ. “Donald Trump is pursuing a financial strategy that would leave him largely reliant on party spending that he won’t be able to fully control.”
OPEN FOR BUSINESS. DB. “Donald Trump will assemble a group of high-powered lobbyists Thursday, so they can pitch him on their special interests behind closed doors at Trump Tower.”
NO PROS. DC. “A U.S. Fish And Wildlife Service (FWS) employee was caught secretly working for a prominent environmental lobbying group while also working for the government, according to an Interior Department inspector general
WEBSITE MIXING. SLT. “Republican Chia-Chi Teng is charging that Rep. Jason Chaffetz is using a government website as his personal ‘campaign propaganda tool’ — which Chaffetz denies.”
CALL FOR STRONGER PARTIES. Brindle. “So the solution to strengthening parties, drying up the money that goes to Super PACs, and enhancing disclosure is for the high court to take up Louisiana Republican and find the ban on soft money unconstitutional.”
MA: REFORM AFTER NOV. BG. “Legislation designed by campaign reformers to crack down on the heated fund-raising by Governor Charlie Baker and the Massachusetts GOP has been sidelined in the House, where Speaker Robert DeLeo wants to shunt it off to a task force that will study political finance, among other issues.”
TN: ALLEGED PERSONAL USE. T. “State election officials are set to audit and investigate the finances of embattled state Rep. Jeremy Durham, a move suggested by Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery that will involve an array of subpoenas.”
HAVE A GOOD DAY.