Good morning, today’s political law links

TRUMP SERIOUS.  WP.  “The billionaire real-estate mogul, who has long amounted to a one-man sideshow in GOP presidential politics, said in an interview Wednesday that he is ‘more serious’ than ever about pursuing a run for the White House in 2016.”

“LIKELY VIOLATIONS” OUTLINED.  CLC.  “Today, the Campaign Legal Center released a white paper examining prospective 2016 presidential candidates raising millions of dollars, while denying that they are even ‘testing the waters’ for a potential run for their Party’s nomination.”

REVOLVING DOOR VIEW.  Palm Beach Post.  “What we need to recognize is that a prospective job offer is the moral equivalent of a blank check.”

BISHOP SIGNS.  Newsday.  “Former Rep. Tim Bishop has signed on with a new Washington government affairs agency, Envision Strategy, joining a bipartisan group of four longtime Capitol Hill operatives.”

HI:  DISCLOSURE BILL.  N&O.  “A bill in the Hawaii Legislature would make it easier for voters to understand who is supporting and funding political action committees.”

MT:  SENATE ENDORSES BILL.  Missoulian.  “A bipartisan coalition in the Montana Senate voted Thursday to pass a major campaign finance overhaul aimed at requiring so-called “dark money” groups to disclose their donors and how they spend money.”

NV:  DENIALS.   ReviewJournal.com.  “Republican activist and political consultant Tony Dane’s attorney is sharply denying that Dane illegally funneled conduit contributions to his political action committee through his political consulting company.”

NM:  LOBBYIST COMPENSATION.  NMindepth.com.  “New Mexico’s lobbyists already publicly say how they spend money, although it varies lobbyist by lobbyist how detailed those reports are.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links, 2.26

FUN-DRAINING FUNDRAISING.   NYT.  “The price of discouraging challengers and deterring speculation is near-constant fund-raising.”

READY FOR CARLY.  WT.  “Looking toward the 2016 White House race, supporters of former Hewlett-Packard CEO Carly Fiorina announced Tuesday that they were rolling out a Super PAC on her behalf, as they look to strengthen her likely bid for the GOP presidential nomination.”

ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST REID.  WFB.  “A reported meeting between Reid and his caucus in which the Nevada Democrat promoted his 2016 reelection campaign violated Senate ethics rules, the complaint alleges.”

AL:  NEW DIRECTOR.  AL.com.  “The Alabama Ethics Commission today named Andalusia-based attorney Tom Albritton its new director.”

CA:  INVESTIGATION CONFIRMED.  TheCalifornian.com.  “The state’s political watchdog agency has confirmed it has launched a formal investigation into former Superior Court Judge John Phillips’ successful campaign for the District 2 seat on the Monterey County Board of Supervisors.”

IL:  CHICAGO VOTES. Aljazeera.com. Chicago voters endorsed public financing and limits on some political activity.

MT:  GOV. TALKS REFORM.  NBC.  “Senate Bill 289 would monitor election spending. In the Montana Disclose Act, every dollar spent during the election process would have to be reported – including large amounts from corporate donors.”

NY:  ETHICS QUESTIONS.  CAP.  “Governor Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday he has not spoken to federal prosecutors investigating the demise of his anti-corruption commission, but declined to say with authority whether any members of his administration had.”

TX:  ETHICS COMPLAINTS.  Dallas Morning News.  “If there has been a single ethics complaint filed against a Dallas City Council member that has actually led to anything, I can’t name it.”

WV:  BILL MOVES.  Charleston Daily Mail.  “Legislation that would eliminate all campaign contribution limitations and allow for unlimited donations to candidates running for public office in West Virginia was sent to a Senate subcommittee late Tuesday evening after several Democrats questioned the merits of the bill.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links 2-25

SCHOCK TRAVEL UPDATE.  AP.  “Illinois Rep. Aaron Schock, a rising Republican star already facing an ethics inquiry, has spent taxpayer and campaign funds on flights aboard private planes owned by some of his key donors, The Associated Press has found. There also have been other expensive travel and entertainment charges, including for a massage company and music concerts.”

COORDINATION CONCLUSION.  NLR (R. Lenhard).  “It is hard to escape the conclusion from reading the FEC’s decision that until the prospective candidate crosses the statutory line and becomes a ‘candidate’ under the law, the coordination rules do not yet apply to that individual.”

COORDINATION GUILTY PLEA.  JDSupra.com.  “The DOJ – through its Public Integrity Section and that section’s Election Crimes Branch – announced its first successful criminal prosecution for campaign finance coordination between an independent expenditures PAC and a candidate’s political committee.”

WAXMAN LANDS.  The Hill.  “Recently retired Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.) is headed to K Street.”

CPAC PANELS.  The latest agenda features a number of interesting panels related to political law topics.

EYE ON HOLLYWOOD DONATIONS.  CNN.  “Analysts from Crowdpac, a group that compiles campaign finance data, examined records of actors, producers, directors and crew members who worked on this year’s Oscar-nominated films in search of a correlation between the message of their film and the political views of their creators.”

LA:  PERALTA EXPENSES.  New Orleans Advocate.  “As he gears up for what’s expected to be a hard-fought re-election campaign, embattled St. Bernard Parish President David Peralta will likely have to start raising more cash — and fast.”

NM:  LOBBYING ON LOBBYING.  LCSun.  “The lobbyist spending report showing the highest amount of expenses so far in the 2015 legislative session is from a group that is pushing for more lobbyist disclosure requirements.”

UK:  RIFKIND TO QUIT.  Telegraph.  “Sir Malcolm Rifkind, the Conservative MP embroiled in cash for access allegations, is to step down as an MP at the General Election and has also resigned as chairman of the Parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.