Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 7.31.13

CAMPAIGN DONATES TO CHARITY.  The Post.  “The donations were a way to get rid of tainted political donations from a shady donor (candidates may return illegal donations either by giving them to the U.S. Treasury or to a charity).”

PAC LEGAL FEES.  Politico.  “House Majority Leader Eric Cantor’s political action committee doled out more than $14,000 to a D.C. law firm in June, thousands of dollars more than it usually spends on legal fees.”

TUMBLR AND CFR.  Here.  “How our nation’s founding fathers would feel about Tumblr is as impossible for the Supreme Court to know as how James Madison would have felt about violent video games. But fortunately there’s a new Tumblr blog available to help the justices understand how the framers of the Constitution felt about ‘corruption’ in politics.”

DEAN BACKLASH.  Time.  “Howard Dean is annoyed. He wants his own arguments to be evaluated on their merits, regardless of where he works these days.”

SUPER PAC HAUL.  USAT.  “The super PAC is missing an official candidate, but the political action committee encouraging Hillary Rodham Clinton to seek the presidency in 2016 has raised $1.25 million.”

BRIBING FOREIGN OFFICIALS ALLEGED.  Justice.gov.  “A former senior executive of a French power and transportation company has been charged in a second superseding indictment for his alleged participation in a scheme to pay bribes to foreign government officials.”

IL:  FOCUS ON RULES.  Story here.  “Madigan, a Chicago Democrat and arguably the most powerful politician in Springfield, has asked the Legislative Ethics Commission to review whether he violated any rules when he asked the Metra rail agency for a raise for an associate who had raised campaign money for him, and a separate accusation that he sought a job for another associate.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.  I’ll send around the next set of links next week.  Posting will be light until after Labor Day.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 7.30.13

NOTICE ON SPOUSE ASSETS.  House Ethics.

PROBE EXPANDS.  The Hill.  “The IRS subjected conservative groups already granted tax-exempt status to additional scrutiny during the 2012 election cycle, House Oversight Committee Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) charged on Monday.”

ENROLL AMERICA PROBE SOUGHT.  Story here.  “A watchdog group is asking the IRS to review the tax-exempt status of a organization crucial in helping to promote ObamaCare.”

FEC:  MANUAL UPDATE.  The Post.  “The House Administration committee’s top Republican last week scolded the Federal Election Commission for failing to approve an enforcement manual two years after lawmakers asked the panel to complete the task.”

CA:  PROBE POSSIBLE FOR NONFILER.  Here.  “State officials are considering whether to open an investigation into the failure of a Compton councilman to file required campaign finance reports.”

CA:  PROBE REQUEST REJECTED.  Story here.  “The California Fair Political Practices Commission (FPPC) has decided not to investigate Two Countries One Voice (TCOV), a self-described  grass- roots Latino movement that has been campaigning against Mexican billionaire Carlos Slim’s alleged “monopolistic practices,” for possible violation of lobbying regulations.”

NY:  COMMISSIONER RESIGNS.  Here.  “One of the most respected members of New York’s ethics board is resigning after serving during the board’s rocky two-year start.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY. 

Today’s political law links, 7.29.13

HOUSE ETHICS UPDATE. Politico. “The House Ethics Committee is reviewing cases against four members of Congress, including Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) and one member of GOP leadership, the panel announced Friday.”

COORDINATION ISSUES IN THE NEWS. The Post. “A senior aide to Rep. Colleen W. Hanabusa (D-Hawaii) told his colleagues late last month that the nation’s top drug lobby had agreed to run a campaign supporting the congresswoman’s challenge to Democratic Sen. Brian Schatz and wanted to coordinate it with her strategists.”

ABEDIN ARRANGEMENT QUESTIONS. Daily Mail. “Huma Abedin has sparked further controversy with the revelation that she was employed by private companies at the same time as working for the State Department.”

KING ON THOMPSON. Here. “He’s tooling around town, free as a bird, facing city lawsuits up the wazoo but uncharged with any crime. Thompson has, however, left in his wake a string of financially stressed health-care providers and a compromised campaign finance system, both of which the city will have to rescue.”

ELECTRONIC FILING NEAR. Missoulian. “U.S. Sen. Jon Tester says his proposal to require electronic filing of Senate campaign finance reports is moving forward.”

DC: AIDE SENTENCED. NBC4. “A former campaign aide to District of Columbia Mayor Vincent Gray was sentenced to six months in prison plus 180 days of home detention Friday for committing campaign finance violations and destroying evidence.”

FL: VOLUSIA CUTS TIES. Here. “Volusia, citing a lack of local-impact issues to influence at the federal level, is cutting short its lobbyists’ contract — at least temporarily ending a 17-year custom that has cost the county about $75,000 a year.”

NYC: $72K FINE. Here. “Former Queens Councilman Eric Gioia on Thursday got slammed with a wallet-busting $72,402 fine by the city Campaign Finance Board for violations related to his 2009 run for public advocate.”

VA: PAC USED FOR CLOTHES. The Post. “Virginia first lady Maureen McDonnell bought nearly $9,800 in clothing with money from her husband’s political action committee and tapped into his campaign and inaugural funds to buy $7,600 in mostly unspecified items, according to records and a representative for the PAC.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.