[Political Activity Law]

FEC WEEKLY DIGEST. Last week’s Digest is here.

DARK MONEY 101. TRIB. “With the 2020 campaign season upon us, ‘dark money’ is again in the news.”

MA: PAC TIES. BBJ. “Local elections tend to draw less intensity and a smaller crowd than presidential and statewide contests, despite the ground-level impact of municipal officials. But this year’s elections have also attracted a super PAC with ties to Gov. Charlie Baker and donations from top Massachusetts executives.”

NY: COMMISSION WEIGHS. NYDN. “Gov. Cuomo insisted Friday he’s a fan of fusion voting after repeatedly saying he has no opinion on whether the state commission created to craft a plan for publicly-financed elections does away with state election rules that let candidates run on multiple ballot lines.”

NY: KEEP IT LOCAL. TU. “The saying goes that all politics is local, but under current laws, campaign finance is anything but.”

VA: PAC PUMP. LT. “The Democratic-leaning Justice and Public Safety Political Action Committee, a Super PAC based in Washington, DC, and funded by billionaire investor George Soros, has spent almost $659,000 supporting Leesburg attorney Buta Biberaj’s campaign for Loudoun Commonwealth’s Attorney, according to the latest campaign finance disclosure reports.

WA: AMAZON HIT. TS. “Jayapal told reporters Friday morning that she was “extremely disturbed” by Amazon’s donation of $1.5 million to a local Super PAC that is supporting seven Amazon-approved candidates.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

OUT OF THE SHADOWS. POL. “The super PAC supporting Joe Biden’s campaign for president emerged into public view on Wednesday, announcing its senior leadership and launching a website as it begins a drive to back Biden with millions of dollars in spending.”

TWITTER BAN. CNN. “Twitter will stop accepting political ads, the company’s CEO, Jack Dorsey, announced Wednesday.”

FB RESPONDS. CNBC. “On the call, Zuckerberg said the company estimates ads from politicians will be less than 0.5% of its revenue next year.”

GA: PUSH BACK. WTOC. “Savannah Mayor Eddie DeLoach pushed back against claims he broke campaign finance laws in the run-up to the election.”

MA: GRAY AREA LOAN. BOS. “Rep. Lori Trahan is trying to put to rest questions about how she won her 3rd District congressional seat.”

ME: PAC FINE. PH. “The Maine Ethics Commission voted 3-0 Wednesday to levy a $500 penalty against a political action committee run by Speaker of the House Sara Gideon, D-Freeport, for contributions it made in her name in 2016.”

SC: BAN DEMAND. PC. “After another round of dark money-funded flyers hit mailboxes over the weekend, Charleston Mayor John Tecklenburg’s reelection campaign is calling on the group’s leader to stop the attack ads, disclose its donors and refund any contributions of more than $1,000.”

WA: AMAZON RISING. MW. “Many in Seattle aren’t happy with the council, but they also may not like a company headed by the world’s richest man, Jeff Bezos, trying to influence their vote. As historic income inequality fuels homelessness and soaring housing prices, some progressives elsewhere don’t like it either.”

GUILTY PLEA. USAT. “A venture capitalist who donated $900,000 to President Donald Trump’s inaugural committee is admitting to several charges, including hiding his work as foreign agent while lobbying U.S. government officials and making illegal campaign contributions, federal prosecutors announced Tuesday.”

HANDS-OFF SUPER PAC. BLM. “Joe Biden said Sunday that he would keep his distance from a super-PAC that a group of allies is preparing to launch as his campaign fundraising has fallen behind other leading Democratic presidential hopefuls.”

PAC COMPLAINT. ABC. “According to the complaint, America First Action, during the 2018 cycle, spent nearly $6.6 million on an ad blitz supporting former Rep. Pete Sessions, R-Texas, Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Montana Senate candidate Matt Rosendale, using multiple vendors linked to a political consulting firm called OnMessage, while the candidates were, at the same time, placing ads using a firm named National Media.”

CLEAN HOUSE. WE. “Thus, the president should consult with the Senate leadership of both parties and nominate six new commissioners, three Democrats and three Republicans — a clean sweep. There is no need for this to be a partisan exercise: Both Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Minority Leader Chuck Schumer surely know good campaign finance experts with unimpeachable credentials.”

AJS UPDATE. FORBES. “A nonprofit group with a bland name, Americans for Job Security, spent $5 million supporting Republicans in the 2010 midterms and $15 million denouncing former President Obama in the 2012 election, but until this week, the group never had to file disclosures showing where its money was coming from.”

NY: REVERSAL. NNPR. “A commission formed to create a public campaign financing system for New York elections reversed course this week, during a vote on how to structure a matching donor system.”

NY: GUIDE RIPPED. NYP. “A bipartisan quartet of City Council members ripped the Campaign Finance Board Friday for sending out voter guides that directed more than 100,000 residents to head to the wrong polls on Election Day. “

HAVE A GOOD DAY.