[Political Activity Law]

REGULATING THE INTERNET.  Slate.  “According to Ann Ravel, an FEC commissioner as well as its former chairwoman, the commission has largely declined to update its pre-smartphone era rules to keep up with changing times, and this has allowed savvy political actors to exploit gaps in the regulations.”

APPLE AND GOP.  Politico.  “Apple CEO Tim Cook will host a fundraiser with House Speaker Paul Ryan next week as the iPhone maker tries to strengthen its relationships with key Republicans — despite its decision to pull support for the GOP convention because of its distaste for Donald Trump.”

CASE SETTLES.  Cincinnati.com.  “Former Republican Congresswoman Jean Schmidt faces a $2,500 fine for not reporting legal fees paid by a pro-Turkish group.”

T EMERGENCY.  VF. “Donald Trump’s boasts in the primary season that he would largely fund his own presidential campaign have slowly given way to more traditional methods of campaign finance as he’s pivoted to the general election.”

T REPORT$:

• MJ.  “He raised a grand total of $5.6 million from May 1 to May 31, $2.2 million of which was in the form of loans from Trump personally.”
• WP.  “Trump’s small haul came as presumptive Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton continued to stockpile money: she raised more than $28 million in May and started June with $42 million in cash.”
• NPR.  “As of the end of May, Trump’s campaign account held just $1.3 million compared to Clinton’s $42 million. Ben Carson, whose bid for the GOP nomination ended in early March, had $1.8 million in his campaign fund.”

SUPER PROBLEM.  MJ.  “Trump and his advisers went into the race with no super-PAC game plan (which was in keeping with most other aspects of his unconventional campaign).”

NH:  UNION LEADER ON REFORM.  NHUL.  “Updating and streamlining the New Hampshire campaign finance system would provide a clear and level playing field for all candidates. And that would lower the incentive for candidates to avoid the labyrinth entirely by outsourcing their campaigns to Super PACs and other independent expenditures.”

NJ:  MOVE TO SIMPLIFY.  PNJ.  “Even as Super PACs and other independent groups have emerged as a serious concern to voters in the presidential election, both sides of the political aisle in New Jersey’s legislature are showing renewed interest in improving state campaign finance laws.”

NJ:  ELEC INVESTIGATES.  PT.  “The New Jersey Election Law Enforcement Commission (ELEC) is investigating councilman Andre Sayegh’s campaign finance reports from the past three elections, according to a letter provided by a source to the Paterson Times.”

WI:  GAB ENDS.  Madison.com. “Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board, the election and campaign agency that supporters laud as a pioneering success and critics call a failed experiment, ends this month after nearly a decade in existence.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

PHONY THREAT.  Hill.  “Those opposed to free speech are once again threatening to use the Internal Revenue Code and the IRS to chill First Amendment freedoms. This time they raise the imaginary specter of election involvement by ‘foreigners.’ The battleground is a little-known, burdensome and unnecessary IRS form, Schedule B of Form 990, filed by nonprofits.”

COMPLAINTS FILED WITH DOJ AND IRS.  GovExec.  “A Washington ethics advocacy group has filed a complaint alleging campaign finance abuses by 10 organizations it calls ‘dark money groups,’ taking the unusual step of filing with both the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department, including the FBI.”

CT:  STANDING FIRM.  Dentons.  “In announcing a $325,000 settlement with the Connecticut Democratic State Central Committee, the State Elections Enforcement Commission (“SEEC”) has made clear that it will not tolerate efforts to circumvent the state’s pay-to-play laws.”

MT:  CAN STAY IN OFFICE.  BDC.  “A Montana legislator can stay in office after a jury found he took illegal corporate contributions from an anti-union organization during his 2010 primary election campaign, a judge ruled Friday.”

NJ:  THREE YEAR SENTENCE.  NJ.com.  “A former executive at what was once among the state’s most politically connected engineering firms was sentenced to state prison Friday for his role in a scheme to skirt New Jersey’s campaign contribution laws.”

NY:  REFORM DUE.  TU.  “The Legislature’s call for Citizens United to be overturned is a step in the right direction, but its immediate impact is nothing more than an acknowledgement of what the people of New York already know.”

SD:  KREBS PLANS REVIEW.  RJC.  “Jason Williams said Krebs intends to convene a summer subcommittee with representatives from the Legislature, the state Board of Elections and the business community.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE NEWS.  WP.  “The scheme involved Sanjay Valvani, a 44-year-old New York hedge fund manager, and Gordon Johnston, 64, of Olney, Md., who spent more than a decade working at the Food and Drug Administration, according to allegations filed in a complaint by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the U.S. Attorney of Manhattan. Johnston served as a ‘political intelligence’ consultant to Valvani, making as much as $5,000 a month for bringing the hedge fund manager confidential information mined from his relationships with former FDA colleagues, the complaints alleged.”

EPIC ACT TARGETS FOREIGN FUNDS.  IO.  “The EPIC Act makes two changes to the forms that 501(c) organizations must fill out. The IRS form 990 would include a check box for the organizations to certify they did not use foreign donations for campaign activities. They also must certify the same information on Federal Election Commission filing forms. Lastly, the Government Accountability Office would be directed to conduct a study to examine if foreign donations are used in campaign activities by corporations.”

SCHOCK ON THE FLOOR.  ABC.  “The answer to how Schock managed a ringside seat is that ‘former members of congress retain their floor privileges,’ according to house officials and the spokesman for Schock’s attorneys.”

CANTOR NOT A LOBBYIST.  WP.  “He opened the bank’s Washington office in early 2015 but says he’s not a lobbyist: ‘I certainly know a lot of people, but I operate at the intersection of political risk, where public policy meets business-making decisions.'”

CHARITY ISSUE.  DB.  “The Trump Foundation, Donald Trump’s nonprofit organization, is under fire for allegedly operating as more of a political slush fund than a charity. The foundation is accused of violating rules prohibiting it from engaging in politics—prompting ethics watchdogs to call for public investigations.”

PEOPLE’S PLEDGE IN THE NEWS.  KUOW.  “Independent expenditures are ads that advocate for or against a candidate that weren’t made in direct cooperation with a campaign. The pledge would require candidates to donate money to charity if they benefit from one of those ads.”

RT AT THE FEC.  WashExam.  “An influential Federal Election Commission Democrat who has eyed regulations on conservative internet sites like the Drudge Report tweeted cheers for a Monday court decision supporting the administration-backed net neutrality rules for the internet.”

CO:  VIOLATIONS ALLEGED.  CT.  “On the day petition signatures were filed asking for an end to commercial marijuana in Pueblo County, members of Growing Pueblo’s Future filed paperwork of their own.”

GA:  POSITION REFUSED.  AJC.  “Rick Thompson said he was ‘honored’ Gov. Nathan Deal appointed him to the state ethics commission last month, but in a letter to the governor Thompson said he must refuse the position before ever being sworn in.”

ME:  TACTICS SCRUTINY.  PPH.  “In the coming weeks, the Maine Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices is scheduled to take up complaints against Reps. Ben Chipman and Diane Russell. And questions remain about a last-minute attempt by an out-of-state group to attack Chipman by delivering supposedly handwritten letters to some of his female supporters.”

RI:  TWEAKS TO BILL.   WPRI.  “The legislation seeks voter approval of a constitutional amendment that would allow the state’s Ethics Commission to investigate and sanction lawmakers for conflicts of interest.”

SC:  ETHICS UPDATE.  PANDC.  “After a slow, four-year march toward ethics reform, the General Assembly late Wednesday adopted two bills requiring lawmakers to disclose sources of independent income and also creating an independent investigation commission to oversee lawmaker conduct.”

BRAZIL:  ALLEGATIONS REFUTED.  B.  “Brazil’s Acting President Michel Temer denied allegations he sought inappropriate campaign donations for his party and pledged to remain undeterred in his efforts to pull the country out of crisis.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.