Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 5/29

READY FOR 16. Politico. “The ‘Ready For Hillary’ super PAC, which seems to have particularly close ties to the Clinton universe, has in recent weeks been beefing up its operation, attracting some major figures in Democratic fundraising before there’s even a candidate.”

REID SORRY. Story here. “U.S. Sen. Harry Reid said Tuesday he was surprised he wasn’t called to testify in the trial of former lobbyist and real estate mogul Harvey Whittemore, who is accused of illegally funneling $133,000 in contributions to Reid’s 2010 campaign.”

IRS MANAGING. Politico. “The new head of the IRS is moving quickly to reshape the scandal-plagued agency.”

NJ: BRINDLE BENDS. Story here. “A Washington-based group that intends to take part in this year’s elections will be able to raise unlimited funds from New Jersey donors under an agreement reached with the state’s campaign finance watchdog agency.”

NY: CFR UNLIKELY. News here. “A key member of the state Senate’s Independent Democratic Conference says the group does not foresee joining with the rest of the Democrats to overcome Republican resistance to a number of end of session issues, including public financing of campaigns.”

NYC: THERE’S AN APP FOR THAT. Story here. “The city’s campaign finance board is set to release a new app that puts election transparency in the palm of New Yorkers hands.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links, 5/28

OBAMA ADMINISTRATION AND POLITICAL INTELLIGENCE. The Post. “Wall Street investors hungry for advance information on upcoming federal health-care decisions repeatedly held private discussions with Obama administration officials, including a top White House adviser helping to implement the Affordable Care Act.”

WORST WEEK. The Post. ”Lois Lerner, this will go down on your permanent record.”

FOCUS ON (C)(4) RULES. The Times. “The stakes are high for both the I.R.S. and lawmakers in Congress, whose election fortunes next year will hinge in no small part on a flood of political spending by such advocacy groups. They are often favored by strategists and donors not for the tax benefits — they typically do not have significant income subject to tax — but because they do not have to reveal their donors, allowing them to pour hundreds of millions of dollars into elections without disclosing where the money came from.”

FAMILY TIES. Story here. “Buck McKeon’s family is getting into the defense lobbying game.”

VON SPAKOVSKY ON WAIVER ISSUE. Here. “Lerner’s short statement is open to interpretation on that issue, and there does not seem to be any clear-cut answer, which is all too often the case in the law.”

SUPER PAC SPECIAL GUEST. CPI. “During his time at an upcoming “Louisiana Bayou Weekend” super PAC fundraiser, Sen. David Vitter, R-La., will be able to ask attendees how they like the Cajun cooking. And he’s free to inquire whether they bagged a gator during the weekend’s planned alligator hunt.”

CT: BILL ON CONTRIBUTIONS. Story here. “State Representative Michael D’Agostino (D-Hamden) recently led passage of a bill in the House of Representatives that simplifies the ability of families with joint-checking accounts to make political contributions.”

MD: VEGAS OFF-HOURS. Story here. “One thing that happened in Vegas last week certainly won’t stay in Vegas: The lobbyists Lisa Harris Jones and Sean Malone were married there before about 100 well-wishers, who included some of Maryland’s top government officials — including the wedding officiant, Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake.”

TX: TEC TEN. Story here. ”The House just approved 137-8 sunset legislation authorizing the Texas Ethics Commission to keep operation for another decade.”

TX: PERRY VETOES. Story here. “Gov. Rick Perry vetoed two bills Saturday, the first for the current session that ends today, and one — known as the dark money disclosure bill — was filed by Sen. Kel Seliger.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

5-23 political law links

SEN. MCCONNELL ON IRS AND CFR. Here. “The First Amendment was not written to protect popular speech. It was written to protect speech that was not popular. The moment we lose sight of that, we betray the principle of equal justice that lies at the heart of our system. We can hope the president and all who do the work of government have relearned that lesson in recent days, but we can’t count on that. The American people need to remain vigilant against any effort by the powerful to stifle speech — and do everything they can to prevent it.”

POST RESPONDS. Here. “The road to passage for any legislation this year is going to be uphill, but the push for greater openness deserves support. In a political system saturated with cash, transparency is the last, best hope for accountability.”

WHAT’S IN A (SUPER PAC) NAME? HuffPo. “Federal law, in most cases, only permits political committees authorized by a candidate to use that candidate’s name — which super PACs, by definition, are not.”

LERNER AND THE FIFTH. The Post. “While Internal Revenue Service official Lois G. Lerner invoked the Fifth Amendment in her refusal to testify before Congress Wednesday, the fact that she gave a lengthy opening statement defending her innocence infuriated some lawmakers and prompted them to suggest she had inadvertently waived her right against self-incrimination.”

LERNER AT THE FEC. BuzzFeed. “In 1998, while heading the Federal Election Commission’s enforcement office, she was accused by the House Committee On Oversight and Government Reform of failing to investigate a fundraiser who had connections to then-Vice President Al Gore.”

AL: VOTE ON CAP. News here. “Alabama lawmakers have agreed to a litany of changes to state election law, including eliminating the cap on corporate political contributions and making it easier for regulated utilities to influence campaigns.”

CO: SELF-AUDIT. Story here. “Colorado Secretary of State Scott Gessler appears to have had himself audited.”

NJ: EASY ETHICS FIXES. Here. “In a state where the media is obsessed with the relationship between government officials and campaign contributions, so many more obvious ethics issues with much easier fixes are ignored.”

SC: SENATOR FIGHTS CHARGES. Here. “Sen. Robert Ford’s attorney said Wednesday that ethics allegations against the Charleston Democrat should be thrown out because he didn’t realize he was under investigation.”

VA: GIFT DISCLOSURE ISSUE. The Post. “A Richmond prosecutor is investigating whether Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell violated state gift and disclosure laws — a probe that was initiated by state Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli II.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY. I’ll send around the next set of links on Tuesday. Have a nice weekend and I’ll see you then.