[Political Activity Law]

BLOOMBERG MOVE. FB. “Michael Bloomberg announced he will transfer $18 million from his failed presidential campaign to the Democratic National Committee—a move experts say exploits a loophole in campaign finance laws.”

REVERSAL CLAIM. NYT. “Michael R. Bloomberg on Friday abandoned plans to form a new super PAC for the presidential race and employ his campaign organizers through November, instead opting to give $18 million to the Democratic National Committee for the party’s battleground states program and disband the army of field workers he had assembled across the country.”

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN FUND USE. BN. “TIME reports that Congress could transfer money from the campaign fund to combat the effects of the novel coronavirus.”

WATCHDOG UPDATE. POL. “Critics increasingly worry about a political world far outpacing its legal watchdog – a problem only growing more acute as a huge slice of American politics quickly shifts digital.”

VIRAL CAMPAIGNING. RCP. “A dark-money network of liberal groups, including a political action committee tied to one of former President Obama’s aides, plans to spend millions of dollars on attack ads tarring Trump’s response to the unprecedented global health crisis.”

JUDGE ON DISCRETION. LAW. “A senior judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit sharply criticized the Federal Election Commission for arguing that a legal challenge to the commission’s decision to not prosecute certain campaign finance violations cannot be reviewed by the court.”

PAC REVEALED. HILL. “The overwhelming majority of funds donated to a super PAC supporting Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s (D-Mass.) presidential bid came from a sole donor, according to new Federal Election Commission filings.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

NEW FEC FACT SHEET ON COVID-19 MEASURES. FEC. “The FEC does not have statutory authority to extend filing deadlines, but it may choose not to pursue administrative fines against filers prevented from filing by reasonably unforeseen circumstances beyond their control. See 11 CFR 111.35.”

WHAT MEMO SHOWS. WE. “Federal prosecutors detailed the alleged foreign lobbying schemes carried out by Imaad Zuberi in a lengthy memo on Tuesday, alleging the Southern California campaign fundraiser who donated to Democrats and Republicans concealed work for shadowy interests around the world.”

CAMPAIGNS ADAPTING. HILL. “Senate and House candidates across the country are transforming their campaigns into digital spaces as the threat of coronavirus throws the art of retail politics into uncharted territory.”

SENTENCE IN CASE. LAT. “Former U.S. Rep. Duncan Hunter was sentenced to 11months in federal prison Monday for conspiring to illegally use more than $150,000 of his campaign money for personal benefit.”

USE OF LIST. HILL. “Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) will use the email list for his Senate campaign to raise funds to help those impacted by the coronavirus outbreak, according to an email sent to his supporters on Monday.”

RENEWED SCRUTINY. WP. “Rep. Ilhan Omar’s marriage to a political consultant has drawn renewed focus on her campaign’s payments to her now-husband and his firm, which are at the center of a pending complaint with the Federal Election Commission.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

PAC DONE. CNBC. “Joe Biden’s recent string of primary victories appears to have satisfied wealthy donors who were discussing the creation of a super PAC aimed at pushing Sen. Bernie Sanders out of the race.”

PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN FUND BALANCE. FEC. The latest balance in the fund is $361,356,430.

GLOBAL PANDEMIC, REPORTS DUE. FEC. “Monthly filers have a report due, Friday, March 20, covering the month of February.”

STATES MAKE COVID-19 MOVES. NCSL. “NCSL is monitoring the evolving situation with COVID-19 and the anticipated effect on elections.“

AZ: VIRUS IMPACT. AZC. “Outlaw Dirty Money has until July 2 to collect 356,467 signatures of registered Arizona voters to make the November ballot.”

IN: NEW LAW. INT. “A Northwest Indiana legislator’s plan to improve transparency by allowing county election boards to accept electronic campaign finance filings has been signed into law by Republican Gov. Eric Holcomb.”

NY: UPENDED. NYDN. “Congratulations to WFP lawyer Richard Brodsky and Conservative Party lawyer William Savino for convincing Niagara County state Supreme Court Justice Ralph Boniello that the Public Campaign Financing and Election Commission is a dead letter, along with all of its binding recommendations that became law in December.”

OH: DELAY AFTER ALL. CINN. “It’s not Election Day after all in Ohio, where a chaotic night gave way to closed polls and more uncertainty Tuesday morning.”

WA: STATEMENT ISSUED. IFO. “Grant County Prosecutor Garth Dano, the subject of a 2014 political mailer that led to a former Grant County Judge to be fined $230,000 for violating state campaign finance laws, has issued a statement criticizing a response from Moberg’s attorney.”