8.17 political law links

WATCHDOG APPOINTMENTS.   CBS.  “Mr. Trump has only nominated one watchdog to fill the 13 current vacancies among inspectors general, even though he pledged to ‘drain the swamp’ during his campaign.”

CA:  ROSS JOHNSON, 77.   OCR.  “When Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger appointed him to head the Fair Political Practices Commission in 2007, Johnson soon suggested Schwarzenegger’s idea to ban fundraising during budget season was impractical and ‘suspect constitutionally.'”

MT:  JAIL OVER FINE.   GFT.  “A former Montana state legislator has been jailed for failing to pay a $59,000 fine for violating campaign finance laws.”

NY:  MAYOR MONEY RACE.   BN.  “Byron W. Brown’s money machine keeps rolling, helping the incumbent mayor build what is close to a $600,000 campaign fund as the Democratic primary election enters its final month.”

NC:  AGAINST MONEY.   CO.  “A political group trying to drive big money out of politics is endorsing three House Democratic candidates — and declaring it an electoral necessity that the party adopt an aggressive message of campaign finance reform.”

OR:  KNIGHT GIVES.   RG.  “Nike co-founder Phil Knight contributed $500,000 to the campaign of Oregon GOP gubernatorial hopeful Knute Buehler this week, continuing his recent history of massive donations in Oregon governor’s races.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

8.16 political law links

FEC TOMORROW.   The agenda for tomorrow’s meeting is available.

TRANSFER IN THE NEWS.   FB.  “Failed Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has sent $800,000 from her campaign funds to her new political action group, Federal Election Commission filings show.”

PENCE RAISING.  HP.  “No vice president in modern political campaigning formed their own fundraising committee independent of the president so far in advance of an election until Vice President Mike Pence launched the Great America Committee in May.”

CA:  UPDATE ON LIMITS.   LAT.  “The state Fair Political Practices Commission last month began the process of lifting the $4,400 limit on political contributions by elected officials to anti-recall campaigns.”

MO:  LOBBYIST GIFTS.  CM.  “Lobbyists spent almost $350,000 during the first six months of the year buying gifts for members of the Missouri General Assembly and their staffs.”

NY:  FILE AND FLEE.   NYP.  “Just days after convincing the Campaign Finance Board to award him an extra $1.6 million in public matching funds for what he called a tough re-election race, Mayor de Blasio headed to Rhode Island Monday for a family vacation.”

NC:  LEADER REMITS.  NO.  “Senate leader Phil Berger’s campaign recently paid a $5,500 forfeiture after an audit found multiple improper contributions above the legal limit.”

WA:  ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DEMOCRATIC GROUP.   TNT  “The Washington State Attorney General’s Office says Pierce County Democrats repeatedly violated state campaign finance laws by failing to properly report thousands of dollars in spending and donations.”.

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

8.15 political law links

FEC DIGEST.   FEC.  “The Commission made public three closed cases.”  Information on those cases and more at the link.

ELIAS ON THE WEB.   LAW.   “Election law just isn’t what it used to be. With more money and more people involved in campaigns at every level, lawyers working in the relatively small field are seeing an uptick in business opportunities and job demands. The National Law Journal sat down with Perkins Coie partner Marc Elias, who served as general counsel of Hillary Clinton’s 2016 presidential campaign, to talk about the phenomenon.”

SUPER PAC ADS.  Hill.  “The $100,000 ad campaign will appear on cable throughout the state and also includes a digital and statewide radio effort.”

BILLBOARD ADS.   CST.  “The super Pac was officially spawned last August by a Chicago company, ‘Cards Against Humanity,’ headquartered at 1917 N. Elston.”

REMEMBER GRANNY D?   SS.  “It was 18 years ago that Doris ‘Granny D’ Haddock, at 89, first set off on her year-long cross-country march to Washington for campaign finance reform — and seven years ago that the political activist passed away, at 100.”

AK:  SLEEPER SUIT.   SLA.  “Although the decision on Thompson v. Hebdon would only directly affect Alaska’s state-level elections, the legal rationale behind these limits, if upheld in court, could be of consequence for elections in other states, including congressional races.”

AZ:  LAWSUITS FLY.   DC.  “Prescott Mayoral candidate Mary Beth Hrin has followed up last week’s campaign-related defamation lawsuit with a claim of election finance fraud by the organization that sent out recent mailers about her.”

DC:  DOES IT NEED REFORM?   WP.   “It seems strange that mayoral and D.C. Council races would be the subject of campaign finance scandal, but the District is different from most municipalities.”

ME:  ETHICS RESULTS TO BE RELEASED.  PH.  “The Maine Ethics Commission is poised to release findings this month in its investigation of Senate Assistant Majority Leader Andre Cushing and a complaint by his sister that he improperly transferred money between a political action committee he controlled and his campaign, personal and business accounts.”

NC:  ACCUSATIONS AGAINST COOPER.   NO.  “State politicians are prohibited from soliciting campaign donations from lobbyists and certain groups while the legislature is in session.”

OH:  $1 MILLION GIVE.   CD.  “A Dayton-area man who made his billions in dog food has contributed $1 million to a super PAC supporting Jon Husted’s campaign for the Republican nomination for governor.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.