Fri. political law links

JP MORGAN EX-CEO ARRESTED.  Sundiatapost.com.  “Fang, a 12-year veteran of JPMorgan, resigned from the New York-based firm in March, according to an internal memo obtained by Bloomberg News at the time. His departure came amid a U.S. investigation into whether the firm employed people in Asia so that their relatives in government would steer business to the bank, people with knowledge of the probes have said.”

COURT DEFINES FCPA TERM BROADLY.  Lexology.  “On May 16, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit became the first federal appellate court to define an important element of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (‘FCPA’) – what constitutes an ‘instrumentality’ of a foreign government and, thus, who is a foreign official.”

BOXER SUPER PAC SUPPORT. The Hill. “Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) will headline a fundraiser next month for the super-PAC focused on helping Hillary Clinton win the White House in 2016, according to an invitation obtained by the Los Angeles Times.”

STEYER’S BILLIONS.  WP.  “Billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer plans to finance full-fledged political campaigns in at least seven states key to Democratic fortunes in the 2014 midterms and the 2016 presidential race, further cementing his rapid rise as one of the party’s most influential patrons.”

STATE LAWS IN DANGER.  Will.  “The Supreme Court’s rulings against federal restrictions of political speech are now scythes for mowing down states’ restrictions.”

SUPER PAC SPENDS. Montana Standard. “A Montana super PAC has spent an additional $75,000 on advertising that supports Republican U.S. House candidate Ryan Zinke.”

VOLOKH FREE SPEECH TWEETS. Volokh. If you’re interested in Volokh’s “posts about free speech — which often report on little-covered cases or disputes, as well as commenting on other free speech disputes that already in the news”‘ there’s now a special Twitter handle to follow.

HAVE A GOOD DAY.  I’ll send the next set of links on Tuesday.  Have a wonderful and safe Memorial Day weekend.

Thurs. political law links

SUPPORTER OF REFORM.  The Chattanoogan.  “With the Supreme Court rulings over the last five years, the time has come for the American people to seriously consider real campaign finance reform. This will take a Constitutional Amendment.”

GUILTY PLEA.  Ohio.com.  “Michael R. Giorgio, the chief financial officer of Suarez Corp. Industries, pleaded guilty Monday to seven charges of violating federal campaign finance laws.”

SUPER PACS OUT OF THE GATE.  Roll Call.

FEC HIRING.  FEC.  “Are you interested in helping to protect the integrity of America’s federal elections? Would you like to work with talented colleagues and a management team that respects a healthy work-life balance and seeks to create one of the best places to work in the federal government?”

CA:  NEWSOM TAKES BITCOIN.  KCBA.  “He is among the first big name politicians to begin accepting campaign donations in Bitcoins.”

CA:  ISSUE ADVOCACY COMPLAINT.  Sacramento Bee.  “Marshall Tuck, one of two challengers in this year’s race for state superintendent of public instruction, has filed an ethics complaint against the California Teachers Association for a series of television ads supporting incumbent Tom Torlakson.”

CA:  PROTECTMARRIAGE.COM DECISION.  CA Appellate Report.  “The question is whether it’s unconstitutional for the state to make public donors to that Proposition.”  More at the Metropolitan News-Enterprise:  “The Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals yesterday rejected a challenge to California campaign-finance disclosure laws by supporters of Proposition 8.”

CA:  EXEMPTION SOUGHT.  SanJoseInside.com.  “A lobbyist is once again trying to get around San Jose’s ‘Revolving Door’ policy, which is designed to prevent former city workers and elected officials from holding undue influence on public projects.”

MI: ATTORNEY CLEARED.  MLive.com.  “Accusations that have haunted Timothy Stoepker for eight years may finally be over.”

NY: CU V. NY. Politico. “The conservative group Citizens United says it is suing New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman over his interpretation of how much information the organization is legally obliged to disclose about its donors.”

PA:  PAY TO PLAY.  Triblive.com.  “Republican governors and their appointees on the Turnpike Commission for decades solicited campaign money from engineering firms doing business with the agency, but only Democrats from the past administration were charged with crimes, a defense lawyer argues.”

WI:  LOBBYIST DONATION TIMING.  JSOnline.com.  “State election officials cleared the way Wednesday for lobbyists to deliver campaign checks from their clients and political action committees at any time, including while lawmakers deliberate the state budget and other major legislation.”

CAN:  REGISTRY APPROVED.  CBC News.  “New Brunswick MLAs voted for a bill today that will establish a lobbyist registry in the province after seven years of debate.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Wed. political law links

LAWYERS MULL PASO.  WP.  “Beyer, who owns a chain of auto-dealerships, also gets airtime from public radio sponsorship messages purchased by his business. But local public radio station WAMU-FM suspended those ads Monday while its lawyers investigate whether they ‘promote, support, attack or oppose’ other candidates, which would be prohibited byFederal Election Commission rules.”

GUILTY PLEA.  Reuters.  “Conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza pleaded guilty on Tuesday to a campaign finance law violation, avoiding a trial that had been expected to begin the same day in a Manhattan federal court.”

ROBOCALL FINE.  FCC.  “In March 2013, Dialing Services received a citation from the Enforcement Bureau for making more than 4.7 million robocalls to mobile phones without consumers’ permission during the 2012 election cycle.”

POLITICIANS USING BITCOIN. Cointelegraph.com. “Much like your Dad whipping out the phrase ‘YOLO’ in front of your friends to prove how hip he is to the kids these days, American politicians are jumping on the Bitcoin bandwagon to show the young-and-cryptocurrency-minded how in touch they are with technology (while, of course, making money at the same time).”

SUPER PAC SENATE SUPPORTER. Politico. “Durbin will be one of three special guests to appear at a June 5 reception in support of Ready for Hillary, a political action committee created to muster national support for Clinton’s potential 2016 presidential race.”

SUPER PAC DISCLOSURE.  Roll Call.  “New federal financial reports from Super PACs continue to show the use of hundreds of thousands of dollars from individuals for impacting on the 2014 elections. However, the big exception is $250,000 from an unknown source that a Super PAC has not identified.”

CA:  SUPER PAC FILINGS.  SF Chronicle.  “This month, an employee at the unaccredited Mountain View school, which is dedicated to ‘solving humanity’s grand challenges,’ completed the paperwork to form four federal super political action committees, or super PACs.”

MT:  ANOTHER BLOW.  Missoulian.  “A federal judge Wednesday struck down Montana’s dollar limits on campaign contributions to state candidates, dealing another blow to long-standing state laws that attempt to limit money in politics.”

NY:  SUPER PAC MYSTERY.  NYDN.  “Prominent Republicans in New York have formed a new SuperPAC to aid Republican House candidates in the state.”

VA: TRIED TOGETHER. Politico. “The corruption trial against former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell and his wife, Maureen, is set to go to trial this summer after a judge tossed out a motion to dismiss most of the charges against the couple.”

WI:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE CONFUSION.  Urban Milwaukee.  “Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board (GAB) is supposed to be the cop on the campaign-finance beat. But, when they meet this week, GAB members should ask: Does our squad car’s siren still work? Any bullets left in our gun?”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.