[Political Activity Law]

PLEDGE STATUS.   WE.  “At least three former Trump administration officials have reportedly said they never signed the president’s ethics pledge.”

LEGO BATMAN UPDATE.  RC.  “Mnuchin’s comments last week urging people to send their children to ‘The LEGO Batman Movie’ prompted Sen. Ron Wyden, the ranking Democrat on the Finance Committee, to inquire this week on the Treasury secretary’s progress of divesting his financial assets.”

IL:  RAHM MUM.  CT.  “Mayor Rahm Emanuel had little to say Wednesday about the dozens of potential lobbying violations found in his personal emails, declining to offer an explanation for why some individuals who contacted him on his nongovernment email seeking favorable action from City Hall did not register as lobbyists.”

MO:  NEW RULES.  NL.  “The contribution, from one candidate committee to another, is prohibited under new rules that took effect in December.”

MS:  REFORM VICTORY.   NS.  “Still, the campaign-finance reform bill that Mississippi lawmakers have sent to Gov. Phil Bryant for his signature will be a marked improvement over the corrupting arrangement under which the state has been operating.”

NY:  DISMISSAL SOUGHT.   CH7. “State Sen. Rob Ortt, a North Tonawanda Republican who was indicted last week on campaign finance charges, has filed court papers asking a judge to dismiss the case.”

TX:  LOBBYIST BAN CONTROVERSY.   Chron.  “There are two groups of people who can’t run for public office in Texas – felons and the mentally incapacitated. Some legislators want to add a third category – lobbyists.”

TX:  COMMISSIONER FINED.   DRN.  “The Texas Ethics Commission fined a Val Verde County Commissioner for failure to file his financial reports in 2015 and 2016.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

FEDERAL INDICTMENT.   Chron.  “Former U.S. Rep. Steve Stockman and a former congressional aide were indicted Tuesday by a federal grand jury on charges they stole hundreds of thousands of dollars from charitable foundations to fund campaigns and pay personal expenses.”

INFORMANT IN OFFICE.   FN.  “A staffer working for former U.S. Rep. Aaron Schock secretly provided the government with a trove of emails, credit card receipts and other documents that violated the now-indicted congressman’s constitutional right against unreasonable search and seizure, his lawyers argue in new court filings.”

IA:  AFP ADMONISHED.  DMR.  “The Iowa House Ethics Committee voted unanimously Wednesday to issue a letter admonishing Americans for Prosperity lobbyist Drew Klein for failing to register his position on a controversial bill scaling back collective bargaining rights.”

MT:  COMPLAINT SETTLED.  MSLN.  “A Missoula attorney has agreed to pay a fine and help support a legal course on elections to settle a complaint that he and a political action committee supporting County Attorney Kirsten Pabst during the 2014 election filed finance reports that were either late, incomplete or both.”

NJ:  BACK IN BUSINESS.  NJ1015.  “ELEC is supposed to have four commissioners but had been relegated to just one, as Christie and Democrats who run the Senate and must confirm nominations disagreed on the appointments.”

C:  PANEL TAKES SHAPE.   TS.  “As a State House corruption probe continues, a new watchdog panel charged with policing the state’s ethics laws is taking shape.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

LIMITS WILL BE EASED, HOLMES.   CLC. “On Wednesday, the full panel of judges at the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals will hear oral argument in Holmes v. FEC. This is a seemingly minor case that could have major implications for campaign finance regulation.”

ETHICS REFERENCE SHEET.  NPR.  “Who oversees the ethics of the president and other high-ranking officials? Who has the power to investigate or enforce ethics rules and laws?”

CT:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE CLASH.  CTP.  “The Government Administration & Elections Committee was preparing Monday to push through legislation that would require corporations to disclose the votes of their boards of directors when they make political contributions; and limit so-called independent expenditures to $70,000 a year.”

IL:  LIMITS LIFTED.  NWH.  “Democratic businessman Chris Kennedy’s roughly $250,000 donation to his own campaign has lifted spending caps in what’s expected to be another big money race for Illinois governor.”

IL:  WIN FOR INDUSTRY.  CLB.  “In a 22-page decision issued late last week, Lee wrote that Section 9-45 of the Illinois Election Code, which prohibited cultivation centers and dispensaries from giving any amount to political candidates, was not ‘closely drawn’ to advance the government’s interest in preventing quid pro quo corruption or its appearance.”

NY:  VENDOR MOVES.  ND.  “In the first year of a new law requiring Nassau vendors to disclose their political contributions, very few have done so, even as they’ve continued to pour nearly $200,000 into the campaigns of county leaders and the political committees with ties to them.”

VT:  AG REACTION.   WD.  “Vermont Republicans are outraged after Democrat Attorney General TJ Donovan on Friday dismissed the local GOP’s complaint of an alleged campaign finance law violation by House Majority Leader Jill Krowinski.”

WV:  OVERHAUL PASSED.   CGM.  “Key provisions of the legislation, Senate Bill 539, increase the maximum amounts that citizens can donate to individual campaigns, political action committees (PACs), caucus committees, state parties and ballot issue committees.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.