[Political Activity Law]

TOMORROW AT THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.   The agenda for tomorrow’s scheduled meeting is here.

SUPER PAC UP.  WT.  “Jumping into the fray, a pro-Trump super PAC is preparing ads accusing Mr. Comey of putting politics above the country. The ads will first run digitally, then on national TV the day of the hearing.”

GROUND GAME.  LAT.  “Super PACs traditionally pay for many of the political ads that flood the airwaves, but after the 2016 election, the Congressional Leadership Fund looked for new ways to play a role, said Corry Bliss, executive director of both groups.”

PROFITS DONATED.   DC.  “The Trump Organization says that at the end of the year, it will donate the profits it accrued from $270,000 in payments made this year by a lobbyist working for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.”

CA:  PARTY FUNDS.   OCR.  “Just in case anyone wonders what the real issue was in the very close race between Eric Bauman and Kimberly Ellis over who would become the next chairperson of the California Democratic Party, it was money.”

MO:  YOU NEED TO KNOW.  MT.  “So what are some of the most significant changes Missouri campaigns will need to consider as they ramp up fundraising efforts ahead of the 2018 election? Here are a few of the most basic rules that will go into effect June 20 in accordance with Smith’s ruling.”

NH:  LAW ENFORCEMENT QUESTIONED.   UL.  “Not only do we not have a robust enforcement of campaign finance laws, what little enforcement we have only occurs when a private citizen, or another campaign, complains to the attorney general.”

VA:  CASH EDGE.  WP.  “Perriello, who has drawn far more national attention and is backed by prominent out-of-state Democrats including U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, is heavily reliant on out-of-state super donors. Billionaire investors George Soros and Donald Sussman have given $500,000 and $300,000, respectively.”

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AUSTRAILIA:  FOREIGN FUNDS QUESTIONS.   NYT.  “As the United States investigates Russia’s efforts to sway last year’s presidential election, Australia is engaged in a heated debate over how vulnerable its own political system is to foreign influence — and whether China is already meddling in it.”

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HAVE A  GOOD DAY.

“TIME FOR WEINTRAUB TO STEP DOWN?”  CampaignFreedom.org.  “When Commissioner Weintraub engages in ad hominem public attacks on the lawyers representing parties before her agency, repeatedly criticizes the President on matters outside her jurisdiction — or worse, within it — speaks publicly about pending MURs, and announces in advance her views on issues she will have to vote on, it is a problem, not just for her and the Agency she represents, but for the American public.”

WH AND ETHICS.  WP.  “Is the White House claiming it is ‘beyond the reach of basic ethics requirements’?”

KY:  HOME ETHICS.   USN.  “Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin was hit with a second ethics complaint, this time from a Democratic lawmaker, over questions about the purchase of the Republican’s personal home.”

MT:  CANDIDACY FILED.   HELAIR.  “Republican Congressman-elect Greg Gianforte, who has not yet made a court appearance in his alleged assault on a reporter the day before his election, has filed paperwork indicating he will run next year to keep his seat.”

PA:  TEACHER DRAWS SCRUTINY FOR BILLBOARD.   PHIL.  “‘It seems like they’re trying to silence me, like an intimidation factor,’ Bezanis said of the Board of Ethics. ‘I’m fed up with it.'”

TN:  POTENTIAL ISSUES CITED.   TN.  “A prominent West Tennessee state senator who ran for congress in 2016 gave thousands of dollars from his state campaign fund to lawmakers who also personally donated to his federal campaign fund, according to state and federal records.”

TX:  TEC FINE.   DN.  “The Texas Ethics Commission has imposed a $3,400 fine on Dallas County Commissioner John Wiley Price for not properly documenting political contributions, among other violations of campaign finance disclosure rules.”

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FRA:  BANKS AND POLITICS.  WSJ.  “French politicians and the banking giants that have long funded them are heading for a divorce.”

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HAVE A GOOD DAY.

NEW TRIAL DENIED.  SDU.  “Federal prosecutors charged José Azano with orchestrating a scheme to funnel campaign contributions to two mayoral candidates, Democratic Rep. Bob Filner and Republican District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis. The money came in the form of straw donations and contributions made to independent committees via either a shell corporation of Azano’s or through businesses owned by a La Jolla luxury car dealer who was a friend and associate of Azano.”

ACTIVISM AFTER WORK AND THE LAW.   WP.  “There is also no federal law that explicitly protects private-sector employees for off-duty political activism, though the National Labor Relations Act gives protection for union-related political activity…”

CHARITIES AND POLITICS ALLEGED.   WP.  “Charities have been around since the nation’s beginning, as citizens sought to help schools, churches and the poor. Decades ago, Congress created a special section of the IRS code to define and regulate charities, which are known as 501(c)(3) groups under the code. They have a special allure for donors: They can deduct contributions from their taxes.”

AZ:  INDICTMENT OF LOBBYIST AND OTHERS.   USN.  “Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey is urging people not to jump to conclusions in the indictment of a lobbyist, who is his friend, and three other people.”

DC:  MINOR FINE.  WP.  “A D.C. Council member who assured the public last month that he had ‘completely accounted for and properly reported’ campaign contributions at the center of a city audit failed to meet the deadline and has been ordered to pay $5,100 in fines.”

MI:  SPOTLIGHT ON LOBBYING.   DFP.  “A court fight between the State of Michigan and electric car manufacturer Tesla could give Michigan taxpayers a rare glimpse at what goes on between powerful lobbyists, state lawmakers, and the governor’s office.”

MO:  APPEALING DECISION.   STL.  “Missouri Attorney General Josh Hawley is trying to keep the state’s limits on campaign contributions intact after a federal judge put parts of the new law on hold this month.”

NJ:  PAY TO PLAY PRISON SENTENCE.  APP.  “Two more former executives with the defunct Birdsall Services Group were sentenced to jail terms Friday for their roles in the pay-to-play scandal that toppled the Eatontown-based engineering giant.”

NY:  COUNTY REFORM.   HV1. “Flanked by good-government advocates County Executive Mike Hein on Wednesday, May 31 unveiled proposed legislation that would make Ulster the first upstate county to offer public matching funds for elections.”

PA:  SENTENCING DELAY.   MC.  “Sentencing hearings scheduled Wednesday were delayed for a former Allentown elected official and for the president of an engineering firm who pleaded guilty in the ongoing pay-to-play investigation focused on City Hall.”

TX:  WHAT HAPPENED ON ETHICS?   TT.  “Elected officials who commit felonies while abusing their office will lose their public pensions. State officers and politicians who make money from government contracts will finally have to reveal their relationships. And lawmakers who leave the Legislature with fat campaign accounts will be restricted from using the cash to prop themselves up as lobbyists.”

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FRA:  ETHICS OVERHAUL.  NYT.  “President Emmanuel Macron’s justice minister François Bayrou presented legislation on Thursday that would drastically rein in abuses in French politics, and would amount to a vigorous reinforcement of the existing ethics apparatus.”

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HAVE A GOOD DAY.