Wed. political law links

IRS TO PAY.  NOM.  “In response to a lawsuit brought by the National Organization for Marriage (NOM), the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) has admitted wrongdoing in releasing the organization’s confidential tax return and donor list which was obtained by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), NOM’s chief political rival. The IRS has agreed to pay NOM $50,000 to settle the lawsuit.”

SUPER PARENTS PAC.  Mediaite.  “27-year-old Oklahoma native Mike Turner fits every terrible media definition of an Entitled Millenial: he lives in his childhood home, he has a large trust fund, and his parents are funding his career ambitions. Namely, they opened a super PAC, poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into it, and used the money to buy television ads supporting their son.”

DISCLOSE ACT ]I[.  Politico.  “Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) resubmitted a version of the DISCLOSE Act that would require all organizations that spend $10,000 or more on election ads to publicly identify all their donors.”

TOMORROW AT THE FEC.  The agenda for tomorrow’s Federal Election Commission meeting is online here.

VOGEL ON C-SPAN.  C-SPAN.  “Kenneth Vogel talked about campaign spending, including the launch of new super political action committees (superPACs)…”

CT:  SENTENCING POSTPONED.  Rep-Am.  “Sentencing hearings did not go forward today for a former congressional candidate and her husband who have admitted to conspiring with former Gov. John G. Rowland to hide his role as a paid consultant to her campaign.”

LA:  JINDAL SIGNS REFORMS.  Bayou Buzz.  “Governor Bobby Jindal has signed into law several pieces of campaign finance legislation, some of them prompted by a FOX 8/NOLA.com joint investigation of campaign finance practices in Louisiana.”

MT:  CASE ARGUED.  Independent Record.  “Charges that state Senate Majority Leader Art Wittich broke campaign-reporting laws were filed improperly and should be dismissed, an attorney for Wittich told a state judge Monday.”

WI:  WALKER AND CFR.  New Republic.  “Under the law, donors to political campaigns must be disclosed, but the identity of donors to independent advocacy groups can be kept secret, so long as these groups do not expressly advocate an election result or coordinate with candidates.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Tues. political law links

SEC SETTLES.  WSJ.  “The SEC’s so-called pay-to-play rule prohibits investment advisers from providing paid advisory services to pension funds within two years of a political contribution to an official with power to influence the funds.”  The SEC release is here.  This is huge news and is sure to generate a flood of urgent memos on the facts of the case and the terms of the settlement.  The Times has a report here and the Inquirer’s story is here.

DARK MONEY ALLIANCE.  WFB.  “Members of a major left-wing dark money outfit are providing large chunks of cash for, and serving as top advisers and officers of, President Barack Obama’s personal advocacy group.”

SUPER PAC V. SUPER PAC.  Newsweek.  “The goal, according to Lessig, is to raise a total of $12 million by the 2014 midterm elections.”

SUPER PAC DONOR.  Bloomberg.  “Billionaire hedge-fund manager Paul Singer donated $1 million to a super-political action committee advised by Republican strategist Karl Rove.”

SUPER PAC REGISTRATIONS.  NY Post.  “One New Yorker has registered a dozen political action committees, called super PACs — none of which appear to do anything but solicit money.”

PRO-RAHM SUPER PAC.  Crain’s.  “A longtime associate of Mayor Rahm Emanuel is forming a super PAC that intends to raise millions of dollars to support him and aldermanic allies in the upcoming city elections.”

GOOGLE AND THE STATES. Politico. “Google is a Washington powerhouse that shapes federal law, rewards congressional allies and boasts a new 54,000-square-foot office, just down the road from the U.S. Capitol. But the Internet giant quietly has planted its political roots in places far beyond the Beltway — in state legislatures and city councils that have become hotbeds for tech policy fights.”

DC: GUILTY PLEA. WP. “A former D.C. Council candidate pleaded guilty Monday to making a false financial statement to the D.C. Office of Campaign Finance during his 2010 campaign.”

IL:  PAY TO PLAY ISSUES.  WT.  “A lobbying firm with close ties to a key subcontractor hired to promote the nation’s health care law in Illinois is hosting a fundraiser for one of Gov. Pat Quinn’s top political donors, raising questions about ‘pay to play’ politics amid the state’s highly competitive governor’s race.”

VA: MORE GIFTS ALLEGED. WP. “Federal prosecutors have alleged that former Virginia governor Robert F. McDonnell (R) and his family accepted an expensive island vacation from a Henrico hotelier with University of Virginia ties and intentionally omitted the gift on his annual state disclosure forms, according to new court filings.”

WI:  LIMITS TARGETED.  State Journal.  “A conservative group has filed a federal lawsuit against the state seeking to strike down campaign finance limits on the total aggregate amount candidates can receive from political action committees.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Mon. political law links

HOUSE ETHICS AND YOUNG.  WP.  “The House Ethics Committee ordered Rep. Don Young (R-Alaska) to pay a nearly $60,000 fine for taking 15 inappropriate trips, using campaign funds for personal use and accepting other unethical gifts.”

IT’S A WONDERFUL DAY IN THE VOGELHOOD.  WSJ.  “Alex Vogel spent the last decade building a Washington lobbying business with a successful practice feeding investors information about potentially market-moving changes in policy.  But with federal investigators scrutinizing Washington’s interactions with hedge funds and other traders, Mr. Vogel is quitting his firm. His new venture, VogelHood Research, will make all its predictions based on computer algorithms using publicly available information—without ever talking to members of Congress or other policy makers.”  Look for another entry on this and more at PoliticalIntelligenceLaw.com soon.

AK:  APOC ACTS ON MAYOR.  ADN.  “A report by the state agency that regulates campaign finance laws says Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan broke state law by issuing a campaign-related press release through his city spokeswoman last month.”

CA:  CANDIDATE FINED.  Desert Sun.  “The state’s Fair Political Practices Commission on Thursday fined former council candidate Haddon Libby $3,500 for not properly disclosing that he was behind mailers that targeted his 2012 political opponents.”

CA:  CONFLICT CASE.  Daily Journal.  “The Fair Political Practices Commission agreed Thursday to let Redwood City Councilwoman Rosanne Foust pay a $3,000 fine for violating its conflict of interest rules over the now-shelved Cargill Saltworks development by heading an economic group that endorsed the mixed-use plan.”

CA:  MONTEREY CFR.  Herald.  “The City Council voted 3-2 this week to formally consider a suggestion by Councilman Alan Haffa that the city look at local campaign finance reform.”

CT:  DGA CASE UPDATE.  Mirror.  “The Democratic Governors Association has withdrawn its remaining legal challenge of state campaign finance law. The withdrawal was filed without comment or explanation.”

NJ:  CASE FOR DISCLOSURE.  Brindle.  “Campaign finance law is in turmoil after a series of U.S. Supreme Court cases that have stripped away many government restraints over political fundraising.”

VA:  PUCKETT GETS A LAWYER.  WP.  “Former Virginia state senator Phillip P. Puckett (D-Russell) has hired a veteran former federal prosecutor to represent him as investigators probe the circumstances of his abrupt departure from the state legislature, the attorney said Friday.”

VA:  MCDONNELL UPDATE.  WP.  “All five of Robert and Maureen McDonnell’s adult children might testify at their parents’ federal corruption trial in July, and prosecutors want to treat them as ‘adverse’ witnesses and ask them leading questions.”

VA:  GOV. VETOES ETHICS.  WP.  “Amid a furor over his veto of budget language related to Medicaid reform, Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe also moved Friday to defund a major component of the bipartisan ethics legislation passed during this year’s session.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.