Problematic DOJ tweet, for sure, and today’s political law links

DOJ TWEET IN THE NEWS.  Hill.  “A staffer at the Department of Justice is in hot water after sending a tweet about Melania Trump from the agency’s Twitter account.”

RNC PLATFORM ON CFR.  TI.  “The GOP platform is a pre-emptive strike against bills like the 2010 DISCLOSE Act, which would have required nonprofit corporations to disclose their larger contributions.”

PENCE IMPACT.  LAT.  “As Indiana governor, Pence is deemed to have influence over the selection of investment advisors to Indiana public pension funds such as the Indiana Public Retirement System, which had about $29.9 billion in assets at the end of 2015.”

CO:  CFR PULLED.  DP.  “A proposed Denver ballot initiative that would reign in big-donor campaign contributions and set up a public financing system for city elections has been withdrawn by its backers.”

MO:  RECORD CONTRIBUTION.  STL.  “A federally registered campaign committee called “SEALs for Truth” this week donated $1.975 million to Missouri gubernatorial candidate Eric Greitens, a former SEAL. It is, by far, the single largest political contribution in Missouri history to an individual candidate.”

MT:  HOUCK SETTLEMENT.  GFT.  “City Commissioner Tracy Houck settled with the commissioner of political practices and has paid a $1,200 fine as a result of a 2015 election complaint from Don Petrini.”

RI:  ETHICS BOARD AND ELECTIONS SEASON.  CH10.  “‘The idea is we don’t want to use the Ethics Commission, that is an independent non-partisan body, as some type of tool to influence elections,’ said Jason Gramitt, lawyer for the Ethics Commission.”

TX:  AUSTIN CITY LIMITS.  UT.  “Austin City Council candidates scouting for new or incumbent leadership filed their first campaign finance reports Friday. Sure, it’s still early going, but the fundraising cycle has ramped up in the five Council districts with races on the ballot in November.”

EU:  GOOGLE SOFT LOBBYING.  NYT.  “Google’s soft lobbying efforts are by no means unique, and have filled a funding gap that governments and European rivals are unwilling, or incapable, of matching.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Shadow donor? No jail. That and more political law links here

THOMPSON CASE UPDATE.  WP.  “The funder and mastermind behind the illegal financing of Vincent C. Gray’s successful 2010 D.C. mayoral campaign and scores of other local and federal political campaigns fully cooperated with prosecutors and should serve no jail time, the U.S. attorney’s office said Friday.”

FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR CASTRO.  KSAT.  “The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) announced Monday that an investigation found Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Julian Castro violated the Hatch Act on April 4 during a Yahoo News interview.”

END CU SPENDS.  WT.  “A group that wants to reform campaign finance law is buying $1.5 million in airtime for commercials supporting Democratic Senate hopeful Catherine Cortez Masto.”

SUPER PAC COH.  LAT.  “A well-connected pro-Donald Trump super PAC has failed to raise big money to support the Republican’s presidential bid, leaving him without outside resources to fight the well-stocked super PAC backing Democrat Hillary Clinton.”

LA:  SUPER PAC CLOSED.  TA.  “A Louisiana-based Super PAC supporting the candidacy of John N. Kennedy disbanded and donated its leftovers to an influential national group while the candidate himself kicked in ‘a substantial amount’ more to ESAfund, which is backing his bid for the U.S. Senate.”

MT:  CASE HEATING UP.  BD.  “After winning a lawsuit against a Republican lawmaker earlier this year, Montana’s campaign regulator is starting to pursue his case against a conservative nonprofit with connections to that same lawmaker.”

NJ: DONOR DISCLOSED.  NJ.  “A nonpartisan ethics watchdog is taking credit for Friday’s revelation that a $1 million donation to a super PAC linked to Jersey City Mayor Steve Fulop came from a co-founder and co-owner of local hospital system CarePoint Health.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Constitutional amendment proposed and more political law links

CONVENTION PARTY TIME.  NJ.  “But a prominent ethics group says the national parties have gotten so good at disregarding a law that prohibited corporations from funding conventions that it was news this year when some companies said they wouldn’t give.”

CLINTON PROPOSES CFR.  WSJ.  “Hillary Clinton on Saturday will pledge to make an overhaul of the campaign-finance system an urgent priority, as she announces plans to introduce a constitutional amendment overturning the Supreme Court’s Citizens United ruling during the first 30 days of her administration.”

COST OF PENCE.  NPR.  “Presidential nominees choose vice presidential running mates for what they add to the ticket, whether it be experience or the capacity to draw votes. Here’s what Mike Pence might subtract from this fall’s Republican ticket with Donald Trump: an unknowable amount of campaign cash from the financial services industry.”

PENCE AND PERSONAL USE.  WP.  “According to FEC documents, Pence spent a total of $12,867 from his 1990 campaign account for personal expenses, including seven installments of his $992 monthly mortgage and his wife’s $222 a month car payment.”

AK:  ETHICS COMPLAINT.  NM.  “A North Pole legislator has filed an ethics complaint against Gov. Bill Walker for issuing a statement suggesting he would campaign for lawmakers who support him in the ongoing budget battles.”

AZ:  CONTRIBUTIONS RETURNED.  AZDS.  “Note to local business owners: If you want to donate to a candidate, don’t write the check on your business account.”

ME:  VIEW ON INDEPENDENT MONEY.  PH.  “While most of the discussion about the dangers of dark money has focused on the federal level, the real impact may be in state races, where relatively small amounts of money, spent at the last minute, can make a big difference in a race where voters know much less about the candidates than they know about the people running for president.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.