Tues., 4-29-14 political law links

GRIMM INDICTMENT.  CNN.  “U.S. Rep. Michael Grimm failed to report more than $1 million in sales and wages at a Manhattan restaurant he once ran, using unreported cash to pay workers ‘off the books’ to ‘evade taxes and keep more money for himself,’ a federal prosecutor said.”

DISCLOSE ACT CHALLENGE.  ABC.  “The House Budget Committee’s top democrat picked a political fight with Sen. Minority Leader Mitch McConnell over campaign finance reforms during a speech Monday.”

LERNER LAWYER SEEKS HOUSE ADDRESS.  ABC.  “The lawyer for a former Internal Revenue Service official at the heart of the agency’s tea party controversy asked Monday to address the House ahead of a vote to hold his client in contempt of Congress.”

SENATE HEARING.  The agenda for tomorrow’s hearing is online here.

ACCEPTING BITCOINS.  Cryptocoins News.  “The official decision from the FEC is expected in the coming weeks; in the meantime, donors can in fact use Bitcoin for contributions.  Many Bitcoiners from across the country have been doing so for years now, in support of various candidates running for various positions that have reached out to the Bitcoin community.”

MCCUTCHEON UPDATES.  K&L Gates.  “The entire 192-page Guide to Political and Lobbying Activities has been updated to reflect the McCutcheon decision.”

MCCUTCHEON IMPACT.  AZ Capitol Times.  “The questions raised by the court’s decision will undoubtedly affect judicial and legislative decisions in the coming years. The most direct impact of the decision will be on aggregate contribution limits in several states.”

LEVY ON CAMPAIGN FINANCE. Appeal-Democrat.  “Misuse of a government office — such as awarding federal contracts as quid pro quo for donations — and payoffs secretly contributed to a candidate, then spent on personal pleasures like a new car, are plainly illegal. But when a candidate discloses a donation and puts the money in a segregated fund that can be used only for constitutionally favored political expression, that’s not corruption; it’s free speech.”

CA:  FPPC FINE.  Fox40.  “Investigators say that Berryhill of Twain Harte hit a one-source contribution limit before the November elections in 2008 and shifted cash into his brother’s account to get around the rules.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, Mon. political law links

GRIMM REPORT.  CSM.  “US Rep. Michael Grimm, a New York Republican and former FBI agent who came to Congress on the tea party wave of 2010, is facing indictment on political corruption charges involving his campaign financing.”

GRIMM REPORT II. WP. “The charges stem from his ownership of a Manhattan health-food restaurant that has ties to an Israeli fundraiser who served as a liaison between Grimm and a mystic, celebrity rabbi whose followers donated more than $500,000 to Grimm’s campaign in 2010.”

ETHICS COMM.  UPDATE.  Roll Call.  “Rep. Steve Stockman, who has faced a number of questions surrounding his financial disclosures and campaign finances is, according to the Houston Chronicle, the member at the heart of a new investigation from the House Ethics Committee.”

CA:  COMPLAINT FILED.  LAT.  “The duel between Republican gubernatorial candidates Tim Donnelly and Neel Kashkari has spawned a campaign finance complaint.”

CA:  ETHICS ABCS.  LA Daily News.  “The arrest of state Sen. Leland Yee on money laundering and gunrunning charges was the cherry on top of a sundae made of sordid Sacramento scandals starting with Sen. Roderick Wright, convicted of election fraud and perjury. Sandwiched in between Yee and Wright is state Sen. Ron Calderon who is awaiting trial on bribery and a host of other charges. All three continue to cash paychecks as state senators.”

MD:  ONLINE SYSTEM, IN-PERSON SIGN UP.  Baltimore Sun.  “Want to see what gifts Baltimore’s elected officials and government workers have received? You can check out the details online, but you first have to make a stop at City Hall to sign up.”

MO:  DEBATING GIFTS.  St. Louis Post-Dispatch.  “A bill approved by the House Rules Committee on Thursday would set a cap on the unlimited gifts, meals and ballgame tickets that legislators currently receive from lobbyists.”

MO:  REVOLVING DOOR $100K FINE.  KMOV.com.  “A former director of the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services has been fined $100,000 for violating the ethics act for state employees.”

NJ:  WAWA GIVES.  NJ.com.  “As the Pennsylvania-based Wawa expands its footprint into North Jersey after dominating the southern half of the state for decades, it has also expanded its campaign giving.”

TX:  DISCLOSURES AMENDED.  Texas Tribine.  “Sen. Ken Paxton, R-McKinney, has amended nine of his personal financial statements to correct omissions in his disclosures, all of them related to his service on nonprofit boards, newly obtained filings show.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 4-25-14

SUPER PAC SUGGESTIONS.  NJ.  “Candidates can’t legally talk strategy with a super PAC. But can they write a super PAC’s ad copy?  That’s the question raised by a new page on Sen. Jeanne Shaheen’s website, in which the New Hampshire Democrat is shopping what appears to be a 30-second ad script for an outside group. The script comes complete with a document backing up the attacks on her opponent, former Sen. Scott Brown, and high-resolution images of the smiling candidate that could populate a potential future ad.”

ETHICS COMPLAINT AGAINST REID.  HuffPo.  “The Louisiana Republican Party filed a complaint with the Senate Ethics Committee on Wednesday, accusing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) of improperly using his official Senate website and Twitter account for partisan attacks on billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch.”

CA:  ETHICS 101.  News10.  “The California Senate is trying to repair its public image after three senators were accused of bribery, gun-running or other charges.”

CA:  NEW CHAIR.  LAT.  “With ethics scandals rocking the Capitol, Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday appointed as the new head of California’s ethics watchdog agency a judge who has overseen the discipline of attorneys.”

GA:  ETHICS HACK ATTACK.  AJC.  “The state ethics commission’s website was hacked Thursday and its home page was briefly replaced by an image of Iran.”

IN:  VOTE POSTPONED.  Courier-Journal.  “House Speaker Brian Bosma, R-Indianapolis, sent the issue to the committee after Democratic Party Chairman John Zody asked the leader to look into accusations that Turner allegedly lobbied for a proposal that could have helped his children’s nursing home construction business.”

MT:  LATE FILING.  KBZK.com.  “Campaign fundraising reports for the first three months of the year were due April 15. But two of Montana’s Senate candidates don’t have theirs in yet.”

NY:  SUPER PAC LIMITS STRUCK.  Time.  “A federal judge in New York struck down the state’s limits on donations to independent political action committees, or super PACs, citing prior Supreme Court decisions with which he himself disagreed.”

NY:  JUDGE LIFTS LIMITS.  CapitalNewYork.com.  “District Judge Paul Crotty said he had misgivings about his ruling, but that New York’s laws would not be constitutional in the wake of the Court’s recent decisions.”

GER:  DAIMLER GIVES.  Xinhuanet.com.  “A spokesman of Daimler said in the announcement that the company will spend a total of 320,000 euros (441,660 U.S. dollars) for donations to parties, the same amount as last year.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.