[Political Activity Law]

DROP OUT FUNDS. LH. “But what exactly happens with your campaign contributions when a presidential candidate drops out of the race? Can they use your funds on fancy trips or private jets? According to rules set forth by the Federal Election Committee, any excess campaign funds are not allowed for personal use, but it’s entirely possible, and the world of campaign finance is needlessly complicated.”

LAST WEEK AT THE FEC. Last week’s Weekly Digest.

DAVID KOCH, 79. RC. “Republican mega-donor David Koch, who helped pioneer a network of often surreptitious organizations aimed at influencing elections and public policy, leaves behind a legacy of dark-money groups and a volatile political landscape.”

SUPER PAC LAUNCH. POL. “Democratic megadonor George Soros is creating a super PAC, called Democracy PAC, to serve as a hub for his 2020 election spending.”

CT: FINE LEVIED. GFP. “The State Elections Enforcement Commission (SEEC) has fined the former Democratic Town Committee Chair and BET member Tony Turner $52,000 following an investigation into a complaint by Joseph R Romano, Jr, Chair of the CT Republican party.”

VA: ACCUSATION. LN. “The Loudoun County Republican Committee has accused Algonkian District Board of Supervisors candidate Juli Briskman of a variety of campaign finance and disclosure violations, and called for an investigation.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

WHAT AUDIT FOUND. JS. “Newly revealed draft audit findings for the years 2015-2016 show that the South Dakota Democratic Party understated disbursements by $2.5 million, received $67,182 worth of contributions from unregistered organizations and failed to disclose $46,097 worth of debts and obligations.”

TOP TIP. FEC. “House candidates, individuals traveling on behalf of House candidates, their authorized committees, or the leadership PACs of House candidates are generally prohibited from making campaign-related trips aboard non-commercial aircraft. This prohibition cannot be avoided by paying the service provider, even if the payments come from the personal funds of a House candidate.”

TODAY AT THE FEC. The agenda for today’s Federal Election Commission meeting is here.

CA: ACCUSATION. CNS. “A San Diego voter has sued Assemblyman Todd Gloria, accusing him of illegally using donations from his Assembly re-election campaign to pay for his run for the mayor’s office.”

GA: USE OF FUNDS. AJC. “State ethics commission staffers say former Georgia Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, a one-time frontrunner for governor, illegally spent campaign donations on luxury car leases, child care bills, an athletic club membership and a down payment on a $965,000 house.”

NY: PERSONAL USE. DG. “U.S. Attorney Grant C. Jaquith and James N. Hendricks, FBI special agent in charge in Albany, said Morse used campaign contributions for his personal benefit.”

RI: FACING INVESTIGATION. FB. “Democratic Governors Association chairwoman Gina Raimondo is being investigated after her administration awarded a no-bid $1 billion contract to a gambling company connected to the DGA’s treasurer.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

DONOR DISCLOSURE. NYT. “At a time when Americans increasingly view members of the opposing political party as enemies, we should rethink campaign finance disclosure laws — especially for small donations.”

PERSONAL USE NEWS. RC. “An ex-congressman who diverted leftover campaign money towards dinners and dues at a private club outside of the Capitol just as he began to lobby his former congressional colleagues will only have to pay back a fraction of the campaign funds he misused.”

DARK PINOCCHIO. FB. ” The Washington Post fact-checker gave a new Democratic dark money ad targeting Sen. Susan Collins (R., Maine), who is up for reelection next year, three Pinocchios for claiming Collins put Social Security and Medicare ‘in jeopardy.'”

CA: BREED DONATION. SFC. “San Francisco Ethics Commission investigators are probing London Breed’s 2018 mayoral bid for possible campaign finance violations, according to documents obtained by The Chronicle.”

FL: MYSTERY ABOUNDS. TBT. “A secretive organization with the goal of thwarting amendments approved by voters after the 2020 election cycle has spent more than $800,000 on paid petition gatherers in the last four months, using funds from undisclosed sources and raising the specter of another high stakes fight over the future of energy regulation in Florida.”

NJ: GROUP CLOSED. NJG. “The General Growth Fund, a 501 (c)4 non-profit with ties to Democratic powerbroker George Norcross was dissolved earlier this year, the New Jersey Globe has learned.”

NY: BREAKFAST ON ME. GTH. “The Federal Election Commission (FEC) gives former members of Congress six months to wind down their campaign affairs after their last day in office. Leftover funds are to be refunded to donors, transferred to other political committees, or donated to charity.”

UT: WILD WEST. SLT. “Salt Lake City elections are the wild, Wild West when it comes to campaign finance.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.