7.23.13 political law links

16 PACE. The Post. “‘We are going to continue to see the outsourcing of core functions of the DNC and RNC to outside groups,’ said election law attorney Robert Kelner, referring to the Democratic and Republican national committees.”

FARA LOBBYING #’S. BLT. “Patton Boggs received payments totaling $1.9 million for lobbying work performed on behalf of overseas governments during the first half of 2013, according to a report filed with the U.S. Department of Justice last week.”

FL: NEW LAW. Story here. “A new law going into effect just in time for the 2014 election will allow politicians in Florida to raise more money per individual donor than they’ve been able to in more than 20 years.”

IL: FBI QUESTIONS. Story here. “Ald. Joe Moore (49th) said Monday he’s been questioned by the FBI about allegations by a ‘disgruntled employee’ he called ‘completely false’: that he used his taxpayer-funded ward office to do political work and paid the employee to try and cover it up.”

NY: POST ON CUOMO. Here. “When it comes to campaign-finance reform, Andrew Cuomo is sounding a lot like St. Augustine before he changed: ‘Lord, make me chaste — but not yet.'”

PA: NO CFR APPETITE. Story here. “Hey everybody, it’s time for another story about campaign finance reform in Pennsylvania!”

TX: LEFTOVER USES. Story here. “Over the past two decades, 16 former members of the Texas congressional delegation left office with money remaining in their campaign accounts.”

VA: RGA LAUNCH. Politico. “A GOP strategist tracking the gubernatorial air war said that the heavily-funded committee has begun booking airtime statewide starting Wednesday.”

VA: FIRST LADY FOCUS. The Post. “A Rolex, cruising in a Ferrari, a shopping spree at Bergdorf Goodman, wedding catering, flying in a private jet, a lake-house vacation.”

WI: WALKER REPORT DUE. Story here. “The campaign finance report due to the Government Accountability Board will show all activity through June 30.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, today’s political law links, Mon., 7.22

CONVICTION TOSSED.  BLT.  “The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit vacated the wire fraud conviction of a former Capitol Hill staffer on Friday, in a ruling that addresses when a defendant can erase convictions after reaching a plea deal with prosecutors.”

FINRA LOBBYING.  Story here.  “The Wall Street regulator of broker-dealers has decreased its spending on lobbying federal lawmakers substantially over the past year, in part because it’s not pushing for legislation that would allow it to expand its reach to investment advisers.”

AK:  MILLER ISSUE.  Story here.  “Even before tea party candidate Joe Miller gets his campaign going for a possible U.S. Senate run in 2014, his campaign spending may already be under the lens.”

AZ: LAWSUIT ON LIMITS.  Story here.  “Members of the Citizens Clean Elections Commission asked the Arizona Supreme Court Wednesday to void a new state law that sharply raises — and in some cases blows the cap off — how much candidates can collect in campaign donations from individuals and political action committees.”

LA:  CAR CURIOUS.  Story here.  “Harahan Police Chief Mac Dickinson drives a police car, owned by the city, and a personal vehicle that he bought with his own money. In June he asked the Louisiana Board of Ethics whether he may use $3,000 from his campaign coffer to buy a new ride that he might use for both political and personal use.”

SC:  REFUND ISSUE.  Story here.  “Politicians typically don’t like to return donations, but Democratic S.C. Senate 42 candidate Emanuel Ferguson is trying to do just that.  With a $1 donation.”

VA:  DENTAL ALLEGATION.  WJLA.  “Federal investigators are looking into whether Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell’s wife received free dental care from a dentist who the governor appointed to the Virginia Commonwealth University board of visitors, The Washington Post reports.”

VA:  IS IT CORRUPT?  Lithwick.  “If you’re looking for indoor fun in 100-degree weather, go ahead and Google Virginia’s ethics laws for elected officials.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning – here are today’s political law links

RETIREMENT HINTS. Roll Call. “Recently filed fundraising reports give some clues this week about which House members are gearing up for re-election fights — and who might be ready to call it quits after this term.”

VRA MOVE URGED. Here. “A liberal civil rights hero and a conservative Wisconsin Republican joined forces Wednesday in an uphill fight to restore the voting protections shot down last month by the Supreme Court.”

COUNSEL’S OFFICE IMPLICATED.  The Hill.  “House Republicans charged Wednesday that the Internal Revenue Service’s chief counsel’s office and an agency official at the center of the targeting controversy helped delay applications for tax-exempt status from Tea Party groups.”

VOICE OF RUSSIA ON FEC WITH VON SPAKOVSKY INTERVIEW. Here.

KIRK CASE. Story here. “The Federal Election Commission has determined that U.S. Sen. Mark Kirk’s campaign did not violate election law when his then-girlfriend received more than $143,000 for campaign work not listed in financial disclosure forms.”

SUPER PAC AIMS. Story here. “A super PAC set up to support Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is poised to launch a new round of ads against Democratic challenger Alison Lundergan Grimes, according to two strategists tracking the Kentucky air war.”

SUPER PAC RISING. Here. “The former high command of Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign plans to gather in Washington next week to boost the new GOP super PAC America Rising, according to an invitation obtained by POLITICO.”

CA: GRAND JURY NEWS. Story here. “A grand jury is now involved in a high-stakes California probe that is looking into whether a PAC and three so-called dark-money groups—including one with ties to the billionaire brothers Charles and David Koch—broke a campaign disclosure law by funneling $11 million from secret sources to influence ballot initiatives in the state’s 2012 election, The Daily Beast has learned.”

GA: GIFT LIMIT APPLICABILITY. Here. “Several issues complicate the rule limiting gifts.”

IN: PRISON IN FRAUD CASE. Story here. “The plot successfully faked names and signatures on both the Obama and Clinton presidential petitions that were used to place the candidates on the ballot. So many names were forged — an estimated 200 or more — that prosecutor Stanley Levco said that had the fraud been caught during the primary, ‘the worst that would have happened, is maybe Barack Obama wouldn’t have been on the ballot for the primary.'”

NY: FUNDRAISING ISSUES. Daily News. “Loopholes? What loopholes?”

VA: NEW LEGAL TEAM. BLT. “Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell has tapped attorneys from Jones Day and Holland & Knight to replace the legal team handling state and federal investigations over his alleged acceptance of improper gifts.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY. I’ll send around the next set of links on Monday. Have a great weekend. Here in DC we’ll be trying to stay cool…