Gov. O’Malley signed a number of bills yesterday, including
a bill requiring campaign finance reports from people who spend more than $10,000 for campaign materials regarding the referendum on whether to legalize slot-machine gambling.
Defense Rests in Fieger Case
WRAL.com has the report:
Questioned by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lynn Helland, Fieger insisted the payments he gave his employees were bonuses – “extra income” from which he was careful to deduct taxes – and denied they were coerced into donating to the Edwards campaign.
“Of course it was their money. I can’t get it back,” Fieger said, adding that people can choose to donate to political campaigns at any level.
“And if you do it for the president, you get appointed ambassador,” he said as chuckles rippled through Judge Paul Borman’s courtroom.
Campaign officials for Edwards weren’t aware of the alleged actions, according to the indictment. The Justice Department has said the former North Carolina senator and his campaign staff cooperated fully with the investigation.
Fieger concluded almost 2 1/2 days of testimony by describing a Nov. 30, 2005 raid on his office in which FBI and Internal Revenue Service agents took payroll and other financial documents, as well as ticket stubs for an Edwards fundraiser and other campaign materials.
Trenchcoat-clad agents “terrorized” his staffers and alerted local television stations to the raid, which he termed politically motivated “thuggery.”
“It’s called shock and awe,” he told Helland. “And I knew you were doing it to get me.”
Additional FEC Nominee Named
The President intends to nominate Matthew S. Petersen of Utah, to be a Member of the Federal Election Commission, for the remainder of a six-year term expiring 04/30/11. Mr. Petersen currently serves as Minority Chief Counsel on the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration. Prior to this, he served as Counsel on the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on House Administration. Mr. Petersen received his bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University and his JD from the University of Virginia.