ROBERTS KEY. USAT. “Limits on federal election campaign contributions that have stood for nearly 40 years appear ready to fall unless Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts rescues them, as he did President Obama’s health care law.”
NEW TREASURER. Roll Call. “Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minn., has brought in a new treasurer for her congressional campaign and leadership political action committee in the wake of a federal grand jury probe, a potential House Ethics investigation and a possible inquiry from the Federal Election Commission.”
REID FUNDRAISING. The Hill. “Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is hosting a fundraiser for Alison Lundergan Grimes, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell’s (R-Ky.) Democratic opponent.”
SMALL SHOP BIZ. Story here. “The era of the K Street mega-firm could be drawing to a close.”
ROSKAM REVIEW. Story here. “The crux of the ethics review is who paid for an official, eight-day trip taken by Roskam and his wife, Elizabeth, at a time when their daughter, Gracey, was teaching in Taiwan.”
DGA OPINION. Baltimore Sun. “The Federal Election Commission deadlocked Thursday over a proposal by the Democratic Governors Association to set up an organization that could engage in federal elections — a result that effectively permits the new group to go forward.”
DISCLAIMER OPINION SOUGHT. WT. “A D.C.-based media firm is petitioning the Federal Election Commission to exempt political advertisements on mobile and smartphones from standard ad sponsor disclaimers as campaign messaging adapts to ever-changing technologies.”
FORMER FBI OFFICIAL CHARGED. Story here. “A former assistant FBI director was charged Thursday with violating federal ethics law that prohibits former government executives from contacting their government agencies in their new private business roles for one year after leaving federal service.”
AK: FORMER REP. ORDER. Story here. “Former state Rep. Alan Dick is being order to pay nearly $18,000 related to a series of ethical violations, including temporarily living with his wife and son in his Fairbanks office, using public money for campaign travel and using his staff to prep him for a candidate debate, under a decision issued Wednesday by a legislative ethics panel.”
NM: ELMER FUDD UNAVAILABLE FOR COMMENT. News here. “While perusing the state’s list of registered lobbyists, New Mexico Watchdog found Donald Duck among the 771 names of people paid to, uh, waddle around the Roundhouse, hitting lawmakers up on behalf of their clients.”
NY: FIRM SETTLES. Story here. “New York’s ethics board is settling a case for $20,000 with a major public relations and lobbying firm that first reported its problems to the board.”
NYC: RUNOFF CASH? Story here. “The second-place finisher in the Democratic mayoral primary is decidedly not OK with the CFB’s decision to hang on to funds raised for a potential runoff on the grounds that unofficial results show frontrunner Bill de Blasio over the 40% hurdle and so a two-person faceoff is no longer ‘reasonably anticipated.'”
VA: MCAULIFFE: NO REFUND. The Post. “Terry McAuliffe’s gubernatorial campaign said Thursday that he would not return a 2009 campaign donation from a businessman at the center of a corruption investigation.”