Mon., 12/5/16 political law links

SUPER PAC FILES.  Politico.  “A pro-Donald Trump super PAC filed a federal lawsuit on Friday to halt Green Party presidential candidate Jill Stein’s recount effort in Wisconsin.”

TRIP ISSUES.  NWT.  “The Federal Election Commission, House ethics rules and federal law prohibit the use of campaign funds for personal matters. Still, Stutzman is unlikely to face any punishment because the House ethics panel will lose jurisdiction once his term is over in January.”

ALLEGATIONS AGAINST DOJ.  DS.  “Vanita Gupta, the acting head of the U.S. Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, apparently has been working in violation of federal law for more than a year and a half.”

AZ:  DISCLOSURE NIXED.  AZDS.  “A state utility regulator is rejecting an offer by Arizona Public Service for new financial disclosure rules as both too little and chock full of loopholes.”

NY:  WEINER FINED.  NYT.  “Mr. Weiner, the disgraced former congressman whose lewd text message exchanges with a teenager spurred new federal scrutiny of Hillary Clinton’s emails in the final days of the presidential campaign, was fined $65,000 on Thursday by New York City’s Campaign Finance Board for violations during his failed bid for mayor in 2013.”

TX:  ETHICS RULES ISSUE.  PP. “An official close to Pasadena Mayor Johnny Isbell admitted in court this week to violating state ethics rules by actively campaigning for Isbell’s 2013 re-election[], as well as in support of a charter amendment to change the city’s election system.”

WI:  MAYOR TO BE SENTENCED.  WBAY. “Jim Schmitt will appear before Judge Mitchell Metropulos in a Brown County Court room and plead guilty to three misdemeanors, including a charge of election fraud.”

WY:  ENFORCEMENT STATUS.  WN.  “In all, 44 candidates and 27 candidate committees statewide missed the deadline, though many have since filed, according to information from the Wyoming Secretary of State’s Office.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Cruz and Meadows propose no limits, OGE tweets, and other political law links

SUPER PAC ELIMINATION LEGISLATION.  Cruz.  “U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Rep. Mark Meadows (R-N.C.) today introduced the SuperPAC Elimination Act of 2017, which champions free speech in the election process and effectively eliminates SuperPACs by allowing unlimited individual contributions to candidates with immediate disclosure.”  WSJ coverage is here.

TRANSITION UPDATE.  WP.  “Michael Toner, who served as general counsel to the Bush-Cheney transition in 2000, recalled the 10-week post-election period as a time for setting broad ethical policy — and considering specific safeguards for the incoming president — that would set the tone for the incoming administration.”

AMENDED FARA FORMS.  WT.  “The Podesta Group, run by chairman Tony Podesta and his brother, filed two amended disclosure forms earlier this month in response to reporting by The Washington Free Beacon.”

WHAT’S ABOUT THOSE OGE TWEETS?  CNN.  “The Office of Government Ethics normally uses its Twitter account to send bland updates about rules and regulations, barely noticed and sometimes weeks apart.  So it was a little unusual on Wednesday when the office issued a burst of enthusiastic tweets to cheer on President-elect Donald Trump.”

OGE TROLLS.  HP.  “The Office of Government Ethics released a stream of odd tweets on Wednesday that praise President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to hand control of his real estate empire to his three eldest children.”

BI SAYS BIZARRE.  BI.  “In a statement after the tweetstorm, an OGE spokesman said the organization was ‘excited’ to read Trump’s early-morning tweets.”

LOSING MONEY ON PAY TO PLAY.  DB.  “It seems that back in 2013, Ackman’s (now formerly?) favorite former analyst gave $500 to a friend’s sister’s hopeless campaign for governor of Massachusetts.”

TODAY AT THE FEDERAL ELECTION COMMISSION.  The meeting agenda is here.

CA:  TICKET PROBE.  MN.  “Calling it a ‘bankrupt’ policy, the Public Ethics Commission at a hearing Wednesday offered strong criticism of the city’s use of free tickets to Golden State Warriors games and other events at Oracle Arena and the Coliseum.”

CA:  FORMAL INVESTIGATION.  EBT.  “A state agency on Wednesday launched an investigation into allegations that BART illegally used public funds to campaign for its $3.5 billion bond after it aired a video featuring Warriors’ star Draymond Green.”

GA:  FOCUS ON LOBBYIST RULES.  AJC.  “State law requires lobbyists to register and report their spending on public officials, but many believe there is a hidden army of lawyers, business executives, issue advocates, and state government employees who work feverishly to pass, alter or kill bills but do so without registering as lobbyists.”

TX:  TEC DEATH WARRANT.  WCN.  “‘The TEC signed its own death warrant today,’ said Trey Trainor, an attorney representing Empower Texans in litigation with the TEC. ‘In order to avoid giving depositions and paying twenty to thirty thousand dollars in attorneys’ fees, the agency has agreed to an order that will soon unravel all of its power.'”

WI:  LIMITS URGED.  BH.  “This bill, which state Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, and other Democratic legislators will introduce next year, would limit the coordination political candidates can have with outside, independent groups.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SEC pay to play exemption sought and other political law links

EXEMPTION SOUGHT.  Reuters.  “Pershing Square Capital Management, the hedge fund firm run by billionaire William Ackman, wants to be exempted from possibly having to return millions of dollars in fees after a former employee donated $500 to a family friend’s political campaign.”

DEREGISTRATION.  WP.  “At least four lobbyists who are involved in the Donald Trump transition or who are being considered for a Cabinet-level position have filed paperwork in the past week and a half to terminate their status as federal lobbyists — an apparent move to comply with the president-elect’s new ban on lobbyists in the administration and transition.”

RIDER REJECTION URGED.  Hill.  “In a letter sent Tuesday to current House and Senate members, nine representative-elects said they did not want two riders that were part of last year’s spending package to be included in appropriations legislation for fiscal 2017.”

READY FOR….  Hill.  “Three new political committees have formed in the last month urging first lady Michelle Obama to run for president in 2020.”

MAYER ON “DARK MONEY.”  NPR.  “New Yorker magazine reporter Jane Mayer discusses the political influence of billionaires like the Koch brothers.”

BEFORE PANEL.  Politico.  “In mid-August 2015, Stutzman, his wife, and children visited Los Angeles. Stutzman met with and called potential supporters over two days, but billed his Senate campaign for the full costs from the trip, a potential violation of House rules and federal campaign law, according to OCE. Candidates are not allowed to use campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.”

IL:  CITY RULES MAY NOT APPLY.  JO.  “The further restriction of who can make political donations to city of Des Plaines candidates running for election and the amount of those contributions were approved by aldermen last week. But whether the new requirements will apply to candidates running for office in next April’s election is unclear.”

NY:  PACKAGE PRESENTED.  GG.  “The City Council heard testimony Monday on a broad package of bills that would prevent conflicts of interest between elected officials and political nonprofits, limit the electoral influence of those who do business with the city, and make it easier for first-time candidates to navigate the city’s campaign finance system.”

PA:  JUDGES AND CONTRIBUTIONS. LI.  “On Nov. 4, Pennsylvania’s Judicial Conduct Board (JCB) issued guidance to the state’s judges and justices on the ethics of dealing with campaign donors in the courtroom, specifically on when a judge should be disqualified or recuse herself because of a campaign contribution from a litigant, lawyer or law firm before her.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.