Political law links, 9/18/13

FEC UPDATE. The Post. “McGahn will leave to become a partner at Patton Boggs, which has one of Washington’s leading election law practices.”

JACKSON AUCTION. Roll Call. “There’s still a full week to go before any of the prospective buyers will be able to decisively claim a piece of disgraced Illinois Democrat Jesse L. Jackson Jr.’s life, but early bidding bodes well for federal authorities hoping to recoup $750,000 in grossly mismanaged campaign funds.”

WH VISITS. Fox. “The analysis found that 200 lobbyists met 344 times with White House officials at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. between March and May.”

OFF YEAR DISCLOSURE. Roll Call. “Many PACs and parties (with the exception of national party committees) have the option to file only two FEC reports during nonelection years. Nonelection years are years in which there are no regularly scheduled federal elections. The other option is to file on the 20th of every month, disclosing the previous month’s activity.”

WHEAT LANDS. News here. “The national law firm Polsinelli is continuing to expand by adding former Rep. Alan Wheat (D-Mo.) to its staff.

NFIB RECEIVED CONTRIBUTION. HuffPo. “The National Federation of Independent Business received a $500,000 contribution from a group funded by the daisy chain of conservative nonprofits linked to the billionaire industrialist Koch brothers.”

CA: CFR FAIL. LAT. “Just one bill was sent to Gov. Jerry Brown‘s desk, SB 3, by Sen. Leland Yee (D-San Francisco). It would require new training for campaign treasurers and mandate that officials study the possibility of replacing the state’s outdated website for tracking campaign finance information.”

DC: BARRY CENSURED. The Post. “Marion Barry, the city’s most well-known and polarizing politician, was censured Tuesday by his colleagues on the DC City Council for taking thousands of dollars in cash payments from contractors with business before the city.”

IA: NEW COMPLAINT FILED. Story here. “A former aide to Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann has filed a second ethics complaint against an Iowa state senator, alleging the lawmaker broke Senate rules by seeking payment for political work.”

WA: ETHICS UPGRADE. Story here. “Spokane Mayor David Condon proposed Monday an overhaul of the city’s ethics committee, saying the decade-old body needs an ‘upgrade’ to give citizens ‘the assurance of transparency.'”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links, 9/17/13

BACHMANN ETHICS. Roll Call. “An exhaustive 430-page report from the Office of Congressional Ethics portrays a campaign that was not only chaotic but also supervised hardly at all by the candidate.”

CIA WON’T DISCLOSE. Politico. “The Central Intelligence Agency won’t make public lobbying disclosures by its contractors, claiming that release could compromise classified information or intelligence sources and methods.”

IRS WORKERS’ DEFENSE. Story here. “Next up for the heavy hitters of Washington’s legal community: embattled Internal Revenue Service workers.”

ERIC PAC NEWS. Here. “John Murray, who left the majority leader’s office in 2011 to create a Cantor-branded super PAC, is rejoining the Virginia Republican’s operation as a communications adviser to ERIC PAC, sources tell POLITICO.”

$1 MILLION ASKS. Politico. “Speaking to reporters on Monday, attorneys and representatives from the campaign finance watchdog groups Democracy, Public Citizen and Demos all raised the specter of candidates hosting $1 million-a-plate fundraisers in the near future if the Supreme Court strikes down a key provision of campaign finance law.”

REVOLVING DOOR SPINS. Story here. “The departures could have a big impact on GOP leaders as they deal with upcoming fights on government funding and the debt ceiling, as well as other hot-button policy issues.”

ATR ON BITCOIN REQUEST. ATR. “Despite the uncertain future of Bitcoin, political organizations are looking to cash in now before it’s regulated out of existence.”

CA: LAT SUPPORTS FPPC. Here. “Citizens and corporations have a fundamental First Amendment right petition their government. But as the FPPC made clear by its action, the public has a right to know who tries to sway policymakers, and the amount that moneyed interests spend trying to get their way.”

MD: MAJORITY LEADER TO FIRM. Story here. “Former state Senate Majority Leader Robert Garagiola has joined the Annapolis lobbying firm Alexander & Cleaver and will take on clients in Montgomery County, the firm announced Monday morning.”

NY: LLC LOOPHOLE. Newsday. “In theory, state law says companies are limited to donating $5,000 per year to candidates in New York.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 9/16

PALIN SUED. ABC. She’s being sued for use of a photograph relating to September 11th.

COLD, HARD BITCOIN. The Verge. “The Federal Election Commission is deliberating whether political contributions may be made in Bitcoin, and if so, how.”

BYE, BYE BIENNIAL LIMITS? Wertheimer. “On Oct. 8, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral argument in the case of McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission, a challenge to the constitutionality of the federal overall limit on contributions by an individual to candidates and political parties.”

SHERMAN ON MCCUTCHEON. Forbes. “It’s time to end our nation’s failed, decades-long experiment with campaign finance laws. Over the past seven years the Supreme Court has done an admirable job of trimming back these unconstitutional laws, but it’s time to move past this piecemeal approach. McCutcheon v. FEC gives the Supreme Court the opportunity to do just that.”

VITTER SEEKS ETHICS INVESTIGATION. Politico. “The Louisiana Republican is demanding a formal ethics investigation into Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) and Sen. Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) following a POLITICO story that said Democrats have drafted a proposal that would deny federal health care contributions to lawmakers if there is ‘probable cause’ that they have solicited prostitutes.”

PRIMARY INVOLVEMENT. Story here. “Business groups are vowing to ramp up their involvement in next year’s primaries in an effort to get candidates elected who support their views.”

AL: REVOLVING DOOR VIEW. Story here. “[Senator] Marsh, an Anniston Republican, is fed up with lawmakers quitting their elected jobs to cash in as lobbyists.”

AZ: NEW LIMITS IN EFFECT. Story here. “Campaign donors can begin writing checks for thousands of dollars to Arizona candidates.”

DC: BARRY FACES CENSURE. The Post. “A special D.C. Council panel is expected to vote Monday on a proposal to censure council member Marion Barry and take away his committee chairmanship in response to his recent disclosure that he accepted cash payments from city contractors.”

DE: SPECIAL PROSECUTOR. Story here. “A special state prosecutor investigating campaign finance practices in Delaware is looking into whether Gov. Jack Markell or anyone on his 2008 campaign helped donors contribute illegally or knew about the schemes.”

AUSTRIA: JAIL FOR LOBBYIST. Here. “The court ruled that the party had received a total of EUR 960 000 through fake invoices through advertising and PR agencies.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.