Trump number reactions and other political law links

TRUMP FUNDRAISING NUMBERS.  WP.  “Donald Trump raised more than $26 million through online and mail solicitations in June and another $25 million at events with the Republican National Committee, his campaign announced Wednesday, a hefty haul that his allies hope will put to rest anxieties in the party about his fundraising prowess.”

TWITTER REACTIONS:

PAUSING EXPERTS.  CNBC.  “A series of filing anomalies point to a Donald Trump camp that is either unaware of campaign finance law, or is actively funneling donors’ cash to insiders, according to several experts interviewed by CNBC.”

SUPER PAC ATTACK.  WP.  “A powerhouse legal team representing a bipartisan group of congressional members and candidates is unleashing a new effort to overturn the case that birthed super PACs, part of a novel strategy to rein in the big money that has poured into campaigns since 2010.”

SUPER PAC DRAWS COMPLAINT.  WFB.  “A pro-Clinton Super PAC was hit with a Federal Election Commission complaint on Wednesday for accepting $200,000 in contributions from a government-contracting firm, a potential violation of campaign finance laws.”

ROBOCALLS IN THE NEWS.  WP.  “Government employees, and any contractors working on their behalf, are now officially exempt from regulations on robo-calls designed to protect consumers from annoying phone spam under a new, federal clarification on who is and isn’t allowed to place auto-dialed phone calls and text messages.”

OCE AND PAYMENTS.  CT.  “The House Ethics Committee is investigating Rep. Mark Meadows as a result of complaints that he violated House rules by giving severance pay to a former staffer.”

AZ:  HACK ATTACK.  AFN.  “A computer problem — possibly a hack — has resulted in more than a dozen candidates for statewide and legislative office facing an unexpected hurdle in their bid to get public financing.”

MN:  GOLDSMITH STEPS DOWN.  MNS.  “Campaign Finance Board Executive Director Gary Goldsmith is stepping down from his post this summer, a position he’s held for nearly nine years.”

NY:  DEBLASIO UPDATE.  NYT.  “The New York City Campaign Finance Board on Wednesday issued a blunt critique of a nonprofit closely linked to Mayor Bill de Blasio that has used unlimited donations to advance his political agenda, denouncing the group’s behavior while clearing it and the mayor of any campaign finance violations.”

RI:  REFORM LAW SIGNED.  PRI.  “The 2016 Lobby Reform Act is designed, Gorbea’s office said, to define who must register to lobby lawmakers, provide a clear process to investigate possible lobbying violations, and clarify penalties for violations. The law goes into effect January 1, 2017.”

EU:  LOBBYING IMPACT.  TTV.  “The European Union’s Transparency Registry, which monitors the lobbying activities of think tanks, NGO’s, trade unions and corporations, lacks credibility due to widespread under-reporting on lobbying expenditures by powerful interest groups.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Did you see — today’s political law links

USE OF SEAL.  Hill.  “Presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton received one perk on Tuesday campaigning with the sitting president: the opportunity to campaign behind the presidential seal.”

DAVID MARTIN, 52.  BG.  “In the world of campaign finance compliance – a phrase that can make a candidate’s palms sweat – Mr. [David] Martin’s expertise was particularly valued when what’s known simply as ‘the report’ had to be filed with state or federal regulatory offices.”

REPORT IN THE NEWS.  SL.  “On June 16, as required by the FEC, Donovan’s campaign filed a pre-primary report covering its campaign finances for the period of April 1 through June 8.”

SIT-IN PROBE. Bloomberg.  “U.S. House Democrats stuck with their demands for votes on gun-related measures as Republicans began maneuvering to investigate potential wrongdoing during last month’s 25-hour sit-in.”

DELEGATE COSTS I.  TG.  “Democrats will be gathering in Philadelphia during the last week of the month, and Republicans are only two weeks away from their convention in Cleveland. Delegates on both sides of the aisle are scrambling to gather between $3,000 and $8,000 per person, with Democrats bearing a larger cost burden this year.”

DELEGATE COSTS II.  NBC.  “They have raised some $570,000 through this week on sites like GoFundMe. That is out of a collective $1.6 million they are asking for, according to a tally by Fund Bernie Delegates, an umbrella site started by a Tennessee woman to promote delegates’ efforts.”

GOOGLE LOBBYING.  Observer.  “What does the company discuss in its many meetings with the White House? Why exactly are so many people bouncing between Google and government jobs? How much power does Google really have? Ultimately, these questions do need answers, and tech powerhouses like Google should embrace transparency in the race to innovate.”

HI:  NEW ED.  MT.  “The civil liberties good guys scored a rare win in the government appointments game last week. The five-member Hawaii State Ethics has selected Daniel M. Gluck, the legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union’s (ACLU) Hawaii office, to be its new executive director, the commission announced on July 1.”

MI:  SCAM ALERT.  WSAU.  “The West Michigan Better Business Bureau says it’s noticing an increase in over-the-phone political donation scams.”

MT:  NO SPECIAL SESSION.  MPR. “Montana lawmakers have rejected a call for a special legislative session by a group of Republicans who want to raise campaign contribution limits.”

NY:  NONPROFIT SCRUTINY.  NYP.  “The city’s Campaign Finance Board is expected Wednesday to take up the question of whether nonprofits aligned with Mayor de Blasio have circumvented campaign fund-raising and spending rules.”

SC:  HANDLING COMPLAINTS.  WLTX.  “When this law goes into effect in April 2017, the Senate, House and governor will appoint a total of 8 members to the new state ethics commission.”

TX:  PAXTON LEGAL DEFENSE.  TT.  “Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, facing federal and state securities fraud charges, is getting more than a little help from his friends to foot his growing legal bill.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Good morning — here are the day’s political law links

USE OF AF1 QUESTIONED.  Politico.  “Donald Trump on Tuesday ratcheted up his criticism of President Barack Obama’s travel aboard Air Force One to help Hillary Clinton, ripping into the president for his campaign trip to North Carolina at taxpayers’ expense.”

FOREIGN FUNDS.  NJ.  “A Bergen County limousine driver has admitted to illegally funneling $80,000 from the Socialist Party leader in Albania to President Barack Obama’s re-election campaign.”  The DOJ release is here.

LOBBYING REFORM RESULTS.  Politico.  “Not only did the lobbying reform bill fail to slow the revolving door, it created an entire class of professional influencers who operate in the shadows, out of the public eye and unaccountable.”

LOBBYISTS:  WHEN TO REGISTER?  Politico.  “The top government affairs official at Lockheed Martin, the world’s largest defense contractor, holds a unique distinction among his main rivals at firms like Boeing, General Dynamics and Northrop Grumman: He hasn’t registered as a lobbyist.”

LOBBYISTS SKIP.    WSJ.  “This year, many of them are opting out of the Cleveland event later this month, both because they haven’t been tapped to raise money for the campaign and because some of their clients have expressed concern about funding a convention with Mr. Trump at the top of the ticket.”

END CU FOCUS.  SF.   “Yet even as the political polar opposites Trump and Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont spent the past year railing on about a ‘rigged’ political system that allows wealthy donors outsize influence, campaign finance reform isn’t the kind of sexy issue that drives voters to the polls.”

FMV PAYMENT.  Breitbart.  “Mitchell responded to Trump’s statement by saying, ‘Trump is 100% correct,’ and blasting the reporters in the media trying to turn this into a controversy.”

ID:  FELL SHORT.  WT.  “Supporters of sweeping changes to Idaho’s campaign finance laws have failed to collect enough valid signatures to get their initiative on the November ballot.”

MI:  CASE ON CHECKOFF.  MR.  “A federal judge says a Michigan law that takes aim at political fundraising by unions violates the constitution.”

WA:  ETHICS SETTLEMENT.  ST.  “Seattle Department of Transportation Director Scott Kubly has agreed to a settlement resolving a monthslong ethics investigation into his involvement with the city’s Pronto bike-share system.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.