Thurs. political law links, 4-10-14

MOON PIE DISCLAIMERS.  Thanks to Aristotle’s Dave Mason (and my excellent former boss) for remembering my Moon Pie post in his recent In the Know blog post.   There are a number of other interesting recent posts at In the Know, including this McCutcheon analysis.

PURSUING LERNER.  Roll Call.  “The House Ways and Means Committee voted Wednesday in support of launching a criminal investigation into the woman at the center of the IRS scandal — just one day before the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform is set to vote on holding Lois Lerner in contempt of Congress.”

MCCUTCHEON ANALYSIS.  ReedSmith.  “With the last two remaining (and attractive) campaign finance restrictions being the ban on direct contributions from corporations and the individual limit on campaign donations, we do not expect the decision in McCutcheon to be the last word.”

SUPER PAC DONATIONS.  Roll Call.  “Super PACs continue to be fueled during the first quarter of the election year by extremely large contributions, including million-dollar contributions.”

DC:  QUESTIONING MACHEN.  Roll Call.  “To hear some members of Congress say it, the timing of the Justice Department’s plea bargain with D.C. businessman Jeffrey Thompson — a.k.a. ‘Uncle Earl’ — influenced the outcome of the April 1 mayoral primary.”

DC:  HOLDER DEFENDS MACHEN.  WP.  “Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. on Tuesday defended the federal investigation of D.C. Mayor Vincent C. Gray, but acknowledged the ‘awkward’ timing of new allegations about the mayor in the weeks before this month’s election.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

The top political law links for Wed., 4-9-14

THE PASSION OF MCCUTCHEON.  Forbes.  “Mr. McCutcheon is not a corporation. He is not an oligarch. He is a successful engineer but his pockets aren’t deep enough to awaken anything like the ghosts of Citizens United v. FEC.”

WHO CFR PROTECTS. The Columbian (Sowell).  “It is fascinating to see how some people — in both politics and the media — can depict their own narrow self-interest as a holy crusade for the greater good of society. The ability of the human mind to rationalize is one of the wonders of the world.”

SCHUMER HEARTS KOCH.  Here.  “It now turns out that Schumer’s uneasiness with calling the Koch brothers ‘un-American’ didn’t have as much to do with casting aspersions upon their character as it had to do with something in his past that he probably knew would expose him as a hypocrite. And that something was a 2009  letter from Schumer thanking the Koch brothers political organization, KOCHPAC, for a contribution to his campaign.”

SUPER PACS TARGET.  Anchorage Daily News.  “In addition to common themes, those Senate contests are experiencing an unprecedented explosion of early TV ads — funded by the same group of super-political action committees and nonprofits that can raise money in unlimited amounts to influence elections.”

CA:  NOT GUILTY PLEA.   ABC.  “Suspended California state Sen. Leland Yee has pleaded not guilty to all charges for his alleged role in a San Francisco political corruption and organized crime case.”

CA:  DELAY IN HEARING.  UTSanDiego.com.  “Much of an anticipated discussion about photos, wiretap recordings and other items related to a federal campaign finance probe was postponed Monday, when a judge pushed the hearing to June.”

DE:  FEES TO FUND OFFICE?  Delawareonline.com.  “Lobbyists would be required to pay an annual registration fee to help fund the state’s starved Public Integrity Commission under a legislative proposal that Democratic lawmakers are circulating in Dover.”

DE:  BILL EYED.  WT.  “The bill to be voted on Tuesday establishes June 30 as the end of a new mandatory reporting period for political campaign committees. Currently, committees have to file year-end reports and reports 30 days and eight days before an election.”

MN:  MCUTCHEON IMPLICATIONS.  Star Tribune.  “In campaigns for the statehouse, Minnesota law allows only the first 12 citizens to donate $1,000 to the candidate of their choice. Everyone afterward may donate only $500.”

VA:  MCAULIFFE AMENDS.  WP.  “McAuliffe’s proposed changes would require lobbyists to report what they spend on gifts and entertainment for both lawmakers and their families.”

VA:  JUDGE DENIES BRIEF.  WP.  “Five former Virginia attorneys general won’t be allowed to file court papers arguing that public corruption charges against ex-Gov. Bob McDonnell should be dismissed.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Here are today’s political law links

CONTEMPT FOR LERNER?  DC.  “The House Committee on Ways and Means will vote Wednesday on whether to refer ex-IRS official Lois Lerner to the Department of Justice (DOJ) on criminal charges, The Daily Caller has learned.”

GOING GLOBAL.  Roll Call.  “A top national law firm, which provides legal assistance to Democrats, has helped register the Global Democratic PAC with the Federal Election Commission.”

SUPREME COURT WON’T HEAR CASE.  TR.  “Ducking a new case on the divisive issue of campaign finance, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday rejected a challenge to an Iowa law that bans corporate contributions in state elections.”

SUPER PACS AND UNIONS.  Forbes.  “Union leaders have already declared their plans to spend an unprecedented amount of money in state races in 2014.”

COMMISSIONER HARI-KARI.  GovExec.  “Seldom does a high-level agency official state baldly in a public venue that her taxpayer-supported regulatory authority is utterly failing to do its job.”

FIRST AMENDMENT AFFIRMED.  BostonGlobe.com.  “The fulminating against Mammon and its wicked influence on American democracy might be more persuasive if the fulminators themselves were careful to shun financial support from well-to-do donors with strong political interests.”

RETHINKING LIMITS.  Bangor Daily News.  “”Twelve other states — Alaska, Connecticut, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, New York, Rhode Island, Washington, Wisconsin and Wyoming — have at least some kind of aggregate limit on the books, according to data compiled by the Center for Competitive Politics, a campaign finance organization that filed an amicus brief in support of overturning the federal aggregation limits.”

BYE, BYE, BIENNIAL LIMITS.  New FEC Chart.

CA:  A COMPLETE OVER-REACH.  Sacramento Bee.  “Sean Noble, the man who operated an Arizona nonprofit group that channeled millions of dollars in anonymous donations to two California ballot measures in 2012, said in a television interview Sunday that the investigation he faced by California’s political watchdog was ‘a complete over-reach.'”

CA:  BROWN SIGNS LAW.  Orange County Breeze.  “The act requires the Franchise Tax Board to conduct audits and field investigations of various financial statements required to be submitted by lobbying firms, lobbyist employers, candidates, and specified committees.”

CA:  TARGETING DONORS.  WSJ.  “The new law, which amends the state’s Political Reform Act, will allow the Fair Political Practices Commission to shake down groups before elections.”

WI:  LOBBYIST BILL REACTIONS.  Post Crescent.  “Wittenwyler, who advises lobbyists and interest groups, argues that the donation date change merely reflects that the state has moved up its fall primary from mid-September to mid-August.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.