11.6 political law links

THE DNC AND THE CAMPAIGN.  POL.  “The funding arrangement with HFA and the victory fund agreement was not illegal, but it sure looked unethical. If the fight had been fair, one campaign would not have control of the party before the voters had decided which one they wanted to lead.”

RYAN ON REPORT.   WE.  “House Speaker Paul Ryan said the Federal Election Commission should investigate revelations of an intricate funding agreement between the Democratic National Committee and the campaign of then-presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, which many experts claim tipped her primary against Sen. Bernie Sanders in favor of the former secretary of state.”

COMPLIANCE AND LOBBYISTS.   LAW.  “The questions primarily concern two areas: the scope of the activities covered under FARA and an exemption that allows lobbyists to instead report their activities under the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act, which demands less detailed disclosure.”

FARA NEED TO KNOW.   RS.  “This client alert summarizes what you need to know about FARA.”

UPDATED FARA HANDBOOK.   WR.  “Any person who engages in political activities on behalf of a foreign principal will likely be required to register under FARA.”

CA:  CITY CLEARED.   CBS.  “The Fair Political Practices Commission announced Thursday that it has closed an investigation into the city of Palm Springs and concluded that the city did not commit ethics violations in connection with a mailer sent to residents regarding next week’s election.”

ME:  FINE RECORD.   SFC.  “The Maine ethics commission has levied $500,000 in fines against the four committees behind a referendum that, if approved Nov. 7, would allow a casino in York County.”

OH:  SOCIAL MEDIA AND CAMPAIGNS.  JN.  “While these financial reports do provide insight, social media platforms have become more valuable in local level races, said Miami University Regionals political science professor John Forren.”

TX:  UNSPENT FUNDS.   TT.  “Straus, a powerful moderate Republican who has served as speaker for five terms, reported nearly $10 million in unspent campaign cash through June, according to a filing with the Texas Ethics Commission.”

TX:  COMMISSIONER CITED.   OAO.  “A news release announcing Greg Simmons’ decision to seek re-election was sent out Thursday, violating Texas Ethics Commission rules.”

UT:  DISQUALIFICATIONS AFTER NONFILING.   DH.  “Two candidates in the Cedar Hills mayoral and council races neglected to turn in their final campaign finance report and, by law, have been disqualified from the race.”

WA:  VOUCHERS UPHELD.   RG.  “A judge has upheld Seattle’s first-in-the-nation voucher system for publicly financing political campaigns as constitutional.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

11.2 political law links

THE ADS.  POL.  “Here is a sampling of ads purchased by Russian-linked accounts and aimed at U.S. Facebook and Instagram users…”

FEC CAN’T REGULATE.  MC.  “As executives from Facebook Inc., Google Inc. and Twitter Inc. face congressional committees this week over concerns that Russian agents used their platforms in order to influence the 2016 election, a Democratic member of the Federal Election Commission says the regulatory agency has limited power to increase the transparency of online political advertisements compared to Congress.”

FAMILY ON PAYROLL.  HILL.  “Nearly a dozen lawmakers have family members on their campaign payrolls, raising eyebrows at a time when nepotism in Washington is under renewed scrutiny.”

DISCLAIMER PROD.  BC.  “CLC has teamed up with the Take Back Action Fund (TBAF) to file an advisory opinion request with the FEC that they say requires the commission to address the issue of online ad transparency by the end of 2017.”

CALL FOR CHARGES.  DC.  “Even before Fusion GPS, Correct the Record and Priorities USA served as arms of the Clinton campaign, which is an overt violation of campaign finance laws.”

MA:  ICE CREAM INCENTIVE.  BOS. “The Ben & Jerry’s co-founder and longtime campaign finance reform advocate is touring Boston on Friday to dish out free scoops and collect signatures for a recently certified 2018 ballot initiative in Massachusetts in support of a 28th amendment to the Constitution.”

NJ:  MAYOR ACCUSED.  NJ.  “Mayor Ras Baraka has been charged with violating campaign finance rules during the 2014 mayoral race, according to a 28-count complaint filed by the state Election Law Enforcement Commission.”

UT:  MATH.  PR.  “His arithmetic was: $725-$1,533.92 = $0. The actual arithmetic should have been: $725-$1,533.92 = -$808.92.”

VA:  LATE NUMBERS.  WP.  “Virginia Republican gubernatorial candidate Ed Gillespie started to close a financial gap with Democratic rival Ralph Northam in October, new filings show.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.  

11.1 political law links

REVAMP URGED.  REU.  “An industry group for lobbyists on Tuesday called on Congress to overhaul the transparency laws that govern their activity in the wake of indictments of two lobbyists, including Paul Manafort, a former campaign manager for U.S. President Donald Trump.”

BOARD HIRES LOBBYISTS.  CO.  “Wells Fargo’s board has spent more than half a million dollars on lobbyists in the past year as it’s pushed to move past a major sales scandal over fake accounts, new disclosures show.”

RUSSIAN AD FALLOUT.  WIRED.  “Lawmakers pressed the tech giants for failing to stop voter suppression, not detecting Russian operatives paying for ads in rubles, and the terrifying power they possess over American politics. Then, lawmakers touted their efforts–on Facebook and Twitter, of course.”

FB COOPERATION.  USAT.  “Facebook has compelling reasons not to cooperate fully, and also for trying to limit its exposure to political advertisements. Why?”

ZUCK BLINDSPOT.  NPR.  “Facebook leaders now say that, perhaps by moving too quickly, they failed to anticipate all the ways in which people could abuse their platform.”

MESSAGING HEADACHE.  AXIOS.  “While much of the fake news conversation in the U.S. has been around fake news spreading on Facebook’s News Feed, reports of misinformation spreading globally on Facebook’s messenger properties, Whatsapp and Messenger, demonstrate another major problem for the global tech company.”

BITCOIN CONTRIBUTIONS.  TR.  “State and local political campaigns should not accept Bitcoin contributions because it is too difficult to trace payments, says a new report issued by the state of Kansas–but that doesn’t square with current federal guidance on the issue.”

SUPER PAC BUY.  JSO.  “On Tuesday, a Democratic super PAC launched a $1 million TV and digital ad defending Baldwin. Senate Majority PAC is controlled by allies of Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York.”

BILL ON FOREIGN LOBBYING.  POL.  “The new bills would empower the Department of Justice to enforce registrations under the Foreign Agents Registration Act by demanding the production of documents and testimony to ensure compliance. They also would eliminate a broad exemption from registration established in 1995 and charge DOJ with developing a comprehensive enforcement strategy, which would be reviewed by the department’s inspector general and later by the Government Accountability Office.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.