8-2 p.l.l.

LAST MINUTE COMPLAINT.  STL.  “One day before voters head to the polls, the campaign working to reelect U.S. Congressman William Lacy Clay has filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission accusing his opponent state Sen. Maria Chappelle-Nadal of violating campaign finance law.”

TRUMP AND CFR.  N.  “It’s almost enough to make a cynic suspect that the left’s support for campaign finance ‘reform’ of this sort isn’t really about ‘encouraging competition’ at all, but more about providing a kind of welfare subsidy for candidates that the left favors.”

HEDGE FUND INDUSTRY GIVING.  B.  “According to the review of donations by hedge fund owners and employees, Hillary Clinton has been the recipient of up to $122.7 million in political donations this election cycle. Donald Trump, however, has gotten a paltry $19,000 from that same segment of donors.”

MT:  LATEST REPORTS.  GFT.  “Candidates filed their latest campaign reports Monday, with Republican gubernatorial challenger Greg Gianforte reporting bringing in $148,000 to his campaign coffers for the Nov. 8 election and incumbent Democratic Gov. Steve Bullock reported raising $133,179.”

OH:  MAYOR CLEARED.  W10.  “Mayor Andrew Ginther and two other council members will pay $446.53 for a controversial trip received from a now-convicted lobbyist to a championship football game.”

NY:  SUIT OVER FINE.  BN.   “In a civil lawsuit filed in Buffalo federal court, Morton accuses Erie County and the chairman of its ethics board of defaming him when the board found him in violation of financial disclosure rules.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Lazy, hazy days of political law links

SUPER PAC QUIET.  CNN.  “A super PAC that intended to spend millions on behalf of the Republican nominee has quietly gone dormant now that Donald Trump is leading the GOP another sign that the Republican ticket is being deprived of the cash that it needs to compete.”

SUPER PAC LAUNCH.  P.  “Guy Cecil, the chief strategist of the main pro-Clinton super PAC Priorities USA, said the group is on the brink of launching a $10 million campaign to ‘make sure we are doing everything we can to turn folks out.'”

“DARK MONEY” MYTH.  TheStreet.  “Some $12 billion will be spent this election cycle on political advertising to influence your vote. Much of the money will go to broadcast TV, internet companies and radio — but where does it come from?”

REID CONCESSION.  WE.  “The Federal Election Commission, which considered legal action against former Republican presidential candidate Mike Huckabee for joking about fundraising, won’t punish Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid for admitting to violating an election law.”

KOCH BUYS.  BF.  “As the political network affiliated with Charles and David Koch highlighted its focus on Senate races at a retreat, its super PAC released three separate seven-figure ad buys in three Senate races.”

LOBBYIST THAW.  RC.  “Registered lobbyists and lobbying groups must file semi-annual reports under the Lobbying Disclosure Act detailing their campaign contributions. Many reports have already been submitted for the Jan. 1 to June 30 period, ahead of the Monday deadline.”

LIPINSKI UPDATE.  CST.  “Former U.S. Rep. Bill Lipinski has dropped his federal lobbying practice after the Chicago Sun-Times and the Better Government Association reported the longtime Chicago congressman was paid $4 million since 2007 by clients with issues before the U.S. House transportation committee on which his son, U.S. Rep. Dan Lipinski, D-Illinois, serves.”

VIGILANCE ON FRAUD.  AT.  “Now that Hillary Rodham Clinton is the Democrats’ candidate for President of the United States, prepare for the most fraudulent, corrupt and dishonest if not outright criminal election process in the history of this country.”

COMPLIANCE NOW HIGHLIGHTS DREAM TEAM.  State & Federal.  Elizabeth Bartz “will join Brad Smith from the Center for Competitive Politics and Capital OH Law School and Nick Penniman from Issue One to speak about Campaign Finance: What It All Means.”

AL:  BENTLEY LOOPHOLE.  AL.  “Alabama law allows elected officials to spend leftover campaign funds on duties related to the office, but if he used those funds for personal expenses — say, to facilitate an affair — that’s a crime.”

CT:  HEADACHES.  G.  ” Federal prosecutors are convening a grand jury to look into allegations that Malloy’s 2014 campaign was illegally helped by the state Democratic Party.”

FL:  FLORIDA MAN AND CAMPAIGN FINANCE.  AOL.  “A Florida man pleaded guilty on Monday to working with another man to illegally funnel $80,000 in foreign contributions to U.S. President Barack Obama’s joint fundraising committee in 2012 so that a foreign national could attend a campaign event.”

MA:  REVOLVING DOOR.    BG.  “Time and again, consultants who help candidates win elections then go on to represent corporate clients with interests before the new officeholder — even, in some cases, as they continue to advise the officials they helped elect.”

OH:  CASH LOW.  C.  “The national group pushing a medical marijuana ballot measure in Ohio never came close to raising enough money to run a statewide campaign.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Putin super PAC and the other political law links of this day

CONTRIBUTIONS TRIAL STARTS.  NBC.  “According to unsealed documents, Azano is one of several accused of hiding the source of campaign donations or concealing a donation altogether in records with the San Diego City Clerk, the Federal Election Commission, or the California Secretary of State.”

CHARGES SOUGHT.  OS.  “A Massachusetts lawyer who previously filed state ethics and elections complaints against Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi has asked federal prosecutors to level bribery charges against her and Donald Trump.”

VLAD PAC.  Hill.  “Despite the blanket prohibition on foreign nationals contributing to American political campaigns, the mischief caused by the Supreme Court’s decisions in Citizens United and subsequent cases has created an opportunity for foreign nationals to discretely fund Super PACs supporting candidates of their choice.”  I remember when, in the early 1990’s, the Federal Election Commission had a complaint involving Gus Hall and the Communist Party alleging Soviet financial support.  The file is online here.

SOROS RAMP UP.  N.  “Billionaire political donor George Soros has lowered his activities in recent years, but, reportedly concerned his progressive ideas are at stake, has raised his activities this year to rival the $27 million he spent trying to defeat President George W. Bush in 2004, Politico reports.”

FACT COMPLAINT.  OL.  “The Foundation for Accountability & Civic Trust (FACT), a political watchdog group out of Washington DC, has filed a complaint with the Federal Elections Commission requesting an investigation into 10th District congressional democrat candidate Michael Eggman and his campaign for what appears to be a ‘straw donation’ made within his campaign.

SOLDIERS, SOCIAL MEDIA, AND POLITICS.  DN.  “So what do Sailors and Department of the Navy civilians need to know before they post, tweet and snap their political” views?

RULE G-37 CASE UPDATE.  Bond Buyer.  “The Securities and Exchange Commission was legally required by fiscal 2016 appropriation act provisions to reject changes to Rule G-37 that extended political contribution restrictions to municipal advisors, three state Republican groups told federal appeals court

MA:  CFR LANGUISHING.  BG.  “Left languishing is a Senate bill aimed at cracking down on a unique Republican fundraising technique.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.