[Political Activity Law]

DAMAGE DONE. POLITICO. “While Weintraub is free to speak about any issue she likes in her personal capacity, we commissioners must be circumspect when acting in our official capacities. Instead, Weintraub is using her official position to drag the FEC into political debates in which it does not belong, to promote herself and her personal views of what the law should be, and to mislead the public. In light of her activity, Congress and the president should take a hard look at replacing all three remaining members of the FEC, myself included, and starting fresh with a slate of six new commissioners. No one would blame them if they did.”

CONTRIBUTION RETURNED. BCT. “Several other Democrats who pledged to boycott corporate money have accepted money from law firms, including large firms like Nelson Mullins Riley & Scarborough.”

CA: RECUSAL PLAN. LBP. “A member of the statewide government ethics commission that is investigating Long Beach Councilwoman Jeannine Pearce over conflict-of-interest allegations indicated on Friday that he plans to recuse himself from the case.”

NY: EFFORT FLAWED. CL. “The state’s Public Finance Reform Commission has the power to transform the way candidates conduct elections in New York State, but some advocates are bracing for a watered-down set of recommendations out of the body, which many say has been flawed from the start.”

WA: FACING COMPLAINT. KIRO. “Wills’ initial financial report shows only a $500 in-kind contribution for the space and a $500 in-kind contribution for the food.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

FOREIGN NATIONAL BAN. HILL. “The federal courts left no doubt in 2012, the last time the current law was challenged, that Congress has a compelling interest to minimize the participation of foreign citizens in American elections, and that such sentiment goes back to the nation’s founding.”

SUPER PAC LAUNCH. VOX. “A new super PAC is planning to spend over $1 million to back Andrew Yang’s campaign for the presidency, a surprising effort that could give Yang needed support but will also test his commitment to disempower these big-money groups.”

FL: RULE SOUGHT. FP. “The Sarasota state Senator filed legislation (SB 516) aiming to stop dark money from impacting Florida campaigns.”

NC: DIGITAL DISCLAIMERS. NO. “House Bill 700 narrowly defined qualified digital ads as those placed with a fee and would require most campaign entities, supporting or opposing candidates or those mentioning a candidate 30 days prior to an election, to place a disclaimer on their qualified digital ad and file qualified digital communications disclosure report.”

OK: PAC ACCUSED. OK. “A little-known PAC secretly and illegally funneled thousands of dollars from a wealthy Missouri businessman’s companies to Oklahoma politicians, the Oklahoma Ethics Commission alleged Friday after an investigation.”

TX: DEEP FAKE ALLEGED. HC. “Mayor Sylvester Turner has called for the district attorney to open a criminal investigation into Tony Buzbee’s campaign over a television ad that appears to show edited photos of Turner and an allegedly fake text between the mayor and a 31-year-old intern who works at the airport.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SELF-FUNDING NEWS. LAT. “Presidential candidates Ross Perot in 1992 and Steve Forbes in 2000 spent the equivalent of a little over $110 million in today’s dollars, modern-day records Steyer could easily break if he keeps spending at the same pace, said Douglas Weber, a senior researcher with the Center for Responsive Politics.”

FOURTH SURRENDERS. USAT. “The fourth suspect still at large in an alleged conspiracy scheme involving associates of President Donald Trump’s personal attorney Rudolph Giuliani surrendered to the FBI on Wednesday.”

CASH SQUEEZE. CNBC. “Former Vice President Joe Biden’s top donors have mixed feelings about the campaign’s path forward now that it has only $8.9 million on hand going into a pivotal fourth quarter.”

PURPOSE UNKNOWN. CLE. “A campaign finance report that Chabot filed at the Federal Election Commission on Tuesday lists the purpose of the expenses as ‘unknown.'”

AZ: ESCAPING FINE. YV. “Attorneys for the Legacy Foundation Action Fund contend that the Citizens Clean Elections Commission lacked the power to impose a $96,000 fine for the commercials targeting former Mesa Mayor Scott Smith. They say there was no proof that the ad was done to advance the political fortunes of anyone else in the Republican gubernatorial primary.”

CO: MONEY BATTLE. CS. “Big money is pouring into the Proposition CC campaign – and Colorado voters may never find out where much of it is coming from.”

MN: WHAT WE LEARN. ST. “More than a year remains until the 2020 election. But campaign cash is already flowing to Minnesota’s congressional delegation — and their potential rivals.”

TX: TAPE DISCLOSED. TT. “During a June conversation at the Texas Capitol, Republican House Speaker Dennis Bonnen urged hardline conservative activist Michael Quinn Sullivan to target members of their own party in the 2020 primaries and suggested he could get Sullivan’s group media access to the House floor, according to a secret recording of the conversation released Tuesday.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.