[Political Activity Law]

BULLOCK QUESTIONS. WFB. “Presidential candidate Steve Bullock’s (D., Mont.) campaign finance plan would prevent members of Congress from fundraising before completing half their term—a rule his gubernatorial campaign broke, state election records indicate.”

ONE IDEA. USAT. “In a plan Bullock unveiled last week, the president and members of the House and Senate would have to close their campaign fundraising accounts after each election, and they would be prohibited from raising campaign money for half of their terms.”

LOBBYING SPENDING. BI. “Even though Apple has spent less on lobbying than the other tech giants, CEO Tim Cook has forged close ties with President Donald Trump, the Wall Street Journal‘s Tripp Mickle reports.”

MD: LAWMAKER RESIGNS. WTOP. “A senior member of the Maryland House of Delegates has abruptly resigned amid rumors and a published report that a federal probe of her campaign finances is underway.”

MI: RECALL EFFORT. ABC. “Work has started on gathering petition signatures toward possibly recalling a Michigan lawmaker facing federal charges of trading votes for campaign money.”

TX: PROBE TRACK. HC. “If recent history is any indication, House Speaker Dennis Bonnen has little to fear from a Texas Rangers investigation into allegations he offered a bribe to a conservative activist.”

WA: FACEBOOK HIT. TS. “Election regulators in Washington state filed administrative charges against Facebook on Friday, saying the tech giant has ‘repeatedly violated’ a Washington state campaign finance law that requires transparency in local election ads.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

LAST WEEK AT THE FEC. Last week’s Weekly Digest.

DONOR LIST TARGETED. WWW. “According to a high-ranking FEC official, Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub ‘loved’ Cooper’s ruling. Although the agency would normally comply with an order, the official said that more could be done by not complying.”

SANDERS PLAN. NYP. “Bernie Sanders is unveiling a major campaign finance plan, continuing his 2020 presidential bid even as he’s at home recuperating from a heart attack.”

CONVENTION FUNDING PLAN. CNN. “If Sen. Bernie Sanders wins the Democratic Party’s nomination in 2020, he plans to halt all corporate donations to the party’s convention next summer. This as party leaders actively court donors for millions of dollars to pay for the event scheduled to take place next July.”

FL: CLEARED. MH. “The Miami-Dade Commission on Ethics & Public Trust concluded on June 12 that there was insufficient evidence Rosen Gonzalez, a former Miami Beach commissioner, had lobbied senior city staff on behalf of three businesses contracted to do flooding-related work for the city, according to the report.”

NJ: LAW ON HOLD. NJ. “New Jerseyans won’t know the names of the big spenders trying to influence state politics, after a federal judge on Wednesday halted the state’s ‘dark money’ law.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

LIBERAL MELTDOWN. WSJ. “Ms. Weintraub appears more interested in grandstanding than in the substance of the law.”

HOUSE ETHICS ON THE FEC BEAT. HILL. “The House Ethics Committee revealed Monday that it is reviewing allegations of campaign finance violations against two GOP lawmakers.”

COMPLAINT FILED. FN. “The Democratic National Committee has been hit with a Federal Election Commission complaint that accuses a former DNC contractor of acting improperly to gather information on Paul Manafort and Donald Trump in the 2016 election, according to a copy of the complaint given to Fox News.”

GA: TRANSPARENCY URGED. TE. “This week, the state ethics commission released complaints against 13 Georgia legislators alleging they have not disclosed, fully disclosed or met disclosure deadlines in accordance with campaign finance disclosure requirements.”

OR: STEP IT UP. OL. “The elections division, like others on the West Coast, should initiate investigations on their own, rather than wait for a complaint.”

WA: $1 MILLION ORDER. WAAG. “A Thurston County Superior Court judge late yesterday ordered for-profit signature gathering firm Citizen Solutions and its principal, William Agazarm, to collectively pay more than $1 million for their role in deceiving Washingtonians by funneling campaign donations to Tim Eyman.”

---

FRA: TRIAL SET. YAH. “A French court on Tuesday ordered Nicolas Sarkozy to stand trial for illicit campaign financing, adding to the ex-president’s legal woes as he also prepares to answer charges of exerting pressure on a judge.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.