Political law links, Wed., 10-2-13

FREEBIES.  Roll Call.  “That government ID card might be useless around the Capitol today, but plenty of local businesses are rolling out the red carpet to furloughees in need of gastrotherapy…”

EYEING K ST.  Here.  “If you’re a Capitol Hill staffer eyeing a K Street gig — and let’s face it, who isn’t? — you might want to avoid Rep. Phil Gingrey’s advice when it comes to salary expectations.”

SHUTDOWN AND DISCLOSURE.  Here.  “The federal agencies regulating campaign financing, lobbying reports and Section 527 political organizations, are continuing to receive new electronic filings during the government shutdown.”

RING CASE.  I didn’t see the Ring case on the list of cases referred to in yesterday’s Supreme Court order.

SHUTDOWN AND LOBBYING.  Hollywood Reporter.  “More than 30 theater owners had planned to travel to Washington, D.C, to hold at least 75 meetings with their respective members of Congress to discuss a variety of issues, including the impact of the Affordable Care Act (i.e., Obamacare) and a proposed Justice Department rule requiring exhibitors to provide closed captioning and video descriptions for the deaf and blind.”

CAN’T STOP, WON’T STOP. Politico. “One of the biggest problems for lobbyists on Capitol Hill on day one of the shutdown was simply getting into the congressional office buildings for the access they need with lobbyists and staff.”

LOBBYIST SENTENCED.  USAT.  “Calling the case ‘an incredibly criminal, intentional act,’ a federal judge sentenced fallen Nevada power broker Harvey Whittemore to two years in prison and fined the former multimillionaire $100,000 for using family and employees to make illegal campaign contributions to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.”

MS:  JUDGE BLOCKS.  Story here.  “A federal judge in north Mississippi has declared that part of the state’s campaign finance law is unconstitutional because it creates burdens for people or groups that spend at least $200 to support or oppose a ballot initiative.”

OH:  KASICH FUNDS.  Here.  “The money Gov. John Kasich received from a man who allegedly funneled campaign cash illegally to Republicans will be donated to the National Alliance on Mental Illness Ohio.”

OH:  MONEY TO CHARITY.  Story here.  “Ohio charities are benefitting financially from the fallout of a swirling political scandal.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are Tues. political law links, 10/1/13

FEC SHUTDOWN.  Here.  “Like many federal agencies, the FEC will be unable to provide any services during the government shutdown. Agency staff will not report to work, some computer systems will be powered down and the agency’s headquarters will be closed. While the FEC’s website will remain on-line, its content will not be updated.”

SHUTDOWN FUNDRAISING.  Here.  “Court decisions and changes in election laws have wiped out limits on how much groups can spend, dramatically increasing the influence of outside organizations on political campaigns and legislative priorities.”

LOBBYISTS BRACE.  Politico.  “Lobbyists from both sides of the aisle have one message for Congress: We’d rather be talking about anything but a shutdown.”

TOP DONORS.  Reuters.  “The country’s top political donors in the 2012 election cycle represent a wealthy slice of the United States, with most of them being men, according to a study released Tuesday that analyzes campaign finance data.”

AD QUESTIONED.  Roll Call.  “Former state Rep. Tom Emmer, a Republican running in a crowded primary to replace retiring Rep. Michele Bachmann in Minnesota, may have violated campaign finance rules by appearing in a local contracting company’s television advertisement.”

DEBATE UPDATE.  The Hill.  “NBC on Monday announced it was canceling plans to air a miniseries on Hillary Clinton.”

SMITH ON MCCUTCHEON.  WSJ.  “Shaun McCutcheon wants to join with others to speak about candidates and elections. The First Amendment means little if it does not protect that right.”

HASEN ON MCCUTCHEON.  Slate.  “Roberts could write an opinion that didn’t reach the ‘strict scrutiny’ question, or how to define corruption as applied to contributions. He could say that even under the pre-Citizens United rules, the government should lose.”

SENTENCING UPDATE.  Here.  “A federal judge in Reno today has the task of examining divergent portraits of Harvey Whittemore as he prepares to sentence the former power broker in a high-profile campaign contribution scheme.”

SENTENCE.  Here.  “One-time high-profile lobbyist Harvey Whittemore was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison on Monday for making illegal campaign contributions to U.S. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.”

COMPLAINT FILED.  Story here.  “The Massachusetts Republican Party has filed an ethics complaint against Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s chief of staff Mindy Myers.”

GA:  ETHICS CASE.  Story here.  “Ethics reformers are applauding the indictment of State Senator Don Balfour on allegations he illegally claimed travel expenses. But experts say it won’t be easy proving Balfour knowingly misappropriated state funds.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Monday’s political law links, 9-30-13

SPECIAL AIDES.  Story here.  “A longtime adviser and confidante of Hillary Clinton had ‘special government status’ while the former Secretary of State was at Foggy Bottom, allowing her to work on a targeted project about women’s issues while she maintained her own business, officials told POLITICO.”

DONORS DISCLOSED.  IBT.  “The 2003 form, labeled ‘Not Open For Public Inspection,’ was apparently uploaded in error on a publicly accessible state attorney general’s website.”

TRENDS FOR SEC SETTLEMENTS.  Here.  “In a speech to the Council of Institutional Investors fall conference in Chicago, [SEC Chair] White identified four triggering factors that might require admissions by corporate or individual defendants — cases where a large number of investors have been harmed or the conduct was otherwise egregious, cases where the conduct posed a significant risk to the market or investors, cases where admissions would aid investors deciding whether to deal with a particular party in the future, and cases where reciting unambiguous facts would send an important message to the market about a particular case.”

RING CASE LATEST.  LAT.  “Ring’s last-chance appeal comes before the Supreme Court justices as they meet Monday for an annual fall ritual.”

SHUTTING DOWN DOJ.  MainJustice.  The agency released plans for a government shutdown.

AZ:  CAMPAIGN FINANCE STIR.  Story here.  “The secretary of state’s suggestions for compliance with Arizona’s campaign finance laws now that the increased campaign contribution limits of Chapter 98 (HB2593) are in effect have caused quite a stir.”

KY:  FORMER REP. UPDATE.  Here.  “Former U.S. Rep. Ben Chandler will work as a lobbyist for a newly formed firm in Kentucky called Omni Advocacy Group.”

NJ:  BILLBOARD COMPANY DONATES.  Here.  “The company that built a controversial Margate Causeway billboard and its law firm gave more than $14,000 to the political campaigns of Egg Harbor Township officials around the time of the billboard’s initial 2011 approval, state election records show.”

NY:  CLEAN UP.  NY Post.  “In case you missed it, Eric Schneiderman just sided with the billionaires and the vested interests against the Constitution and competitive elections. The attorney general did so by persuading a judge to delay until Oct. 8 a hearing on a lawsuit that has a bearing on this year’s city elections.”

NY:  LHOTA LAWSUIT.  Here.  “The New York Progress and Protection PAC sued in Manhattan federal court Wednesday, arguing for the right to exceed the state’s $150,000 per-person yearly limit on donations to independent expenditure groups.”

VA:  MCDONNELL UPDATE.  The Post.  “Federal prosecutors investigating Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell’s ties to a wealthy donor are unlikely to file charges or resolve the case before the November election, as they conduct new witness interviews and continue to review evidence, people familiar with the investigation said.”

VT:  SUPREME COURT UPHOLDS.  Story here.  “The Court affirmed the lower court’s findings that GMF committed campaign finance law violations during the 2010 gubernatorial race.”  The opinion is online here and students of “express advocacy” will want to study it carefully.

WV:  LOBBYIST SPENDING.  Story here.  “Expensive meals, hotels and cocktails were among the freebies that West Virginia lawmakers and state employees got from lobbyists over the past four months, according to recently filed financial disclosure reports.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.