Good morning, here are today’s political law links (9/27)

ETHICS COMPLAINT. The Hill. “The ethics complaint filed by the Missouri Democratic Party alleges that Akin violated House ethics rules by changing his position on an issue, in this case earmarks, to receive campaign contributions.”

HONG KONG FUNDRAISER. SF Chron. “The Hong Kong event is not Romney’s first effort to glean campaign cash there. Two of his sons headlined a fundraiser in Hong Kong last May. And Obama supporters have also been busy in China, gathering in the mainland China city of Shanghai in July for a $10,000 Obama Victory Fund event benefiting both the campaign and Democratic party coffers. Only American citizens and green card holders can donate to U.S. candidates.”

$4 BILLION AND COUNTING. Story here. “More than $4bn was spent on the presidential and congressional candidates and campaigns in the first 18 months of the election cycle, according to the Federal Election Commission.”

TXT ISSUE IN VA. The Post. “With tweets, texts and the rise of social media, the political campaign industry is racing to adapt to new technologies. And the dirty tricks industry is adapting right along with it.”

NEW ON TWITTER. @HVJLaw.

AL: PROBATION. Story here. “The first person to plead guilty in Alabama’s gambling corruption investigation was sentenced to probation Tuesday for helping bring down two bigger players in a bribery scheme designed to keep electronic bingo casinos operating.”

DC: BROWN CAMPAIGN ISSUES UPDATE. The Post. “The discrepancy seems to lend support to Sutton’s claims that some of the more than $100,000 that Brown claims Sutton stole from the campaign over the past year was actually paid to him as salary with Brown’s blessing.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Political law links for Wed., 9/26

VOTER FRAUD BRAIN TRUST.  Roll Call.  “Call them the voter fraud brain trust. A cadre of influential Washington, D.C., election lawyers has mobilized a sophisticated anti-fraud campaign built around lawsuits, white papers, Congressional testimony, speeches and even best-selling books.”

WATERS MATTER AND PROPOSED RULE CHANGES. The Times. “Saying that public trust is at stake, a special House ethics panel on Tuesday called for new rules to prevent lawmakers and their staffs from violating conflict of interest standards and proposed other new measures designed to keep partisan squabbles from undermining future investigations of such wrongdoing.”

POLITICO ON WATERS CASE.  Here.  “The long saga of the Maxine Waters ethics investigation is a chronicle of mistakes, partisan and intraparty squabbles, allegations of racism, bitter personal rivalries and failed attempts to bring the investigation to a close months and even years before it ended.”

ANDREWS HOUSE ETHICS ISSUES. Story here. “Andrews was responding to a piece published by the Gloucester County Times editorial board in the Sept. 16 edition of the paper, which has a circulation of about 24,000 households, that called on the 11-term lawmaker to resign in the face of a House Ethics Committee investigation into allegations against him.”

SUPER PAC IMPACT. WSJ. “So far, these super PACs are looking less than super.”

SUPER PAC LOBBYING ANGLE. Politico. “From autism research to dentists, a growing number of issue-based organizations are preparing to use these powerful political committees not for their prescribed purpose — advocating for the election or defeat of candidates — but as de facto lobbying arms on Capitol Hill.”

SHAREHOLDERS AND CORPORATE POLITICAL ACTIVITY. Corporate Counsel. “Two years after the U.S. Supreme Court vastly expanded the scope of permissible corporate political spending with Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, evidence is mounting that this new freedom may come with perils for public companies and their shareholders.”

NEW CPA-ZICKLIN INDEX UPDATE. Center for Public Accountability. “Although secret political money is surging, many large American companies have voluntarily strengthened their political disclosure and accountability policies and practices, according to an annual benchmarking study released today.”

GA: FEES SOUGHT. Story here. “Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal’s lawyer is seeking legal fees from a northwest Georgia man whose complaints against the governor were eventually dismissed.”

Tuesday’s political law links (9/25)

GOOGLE VOTING API. News here. “The Google Civic Information API allows developers to build applications that display civic information including polling place, early vote location, candidate data, and election official information to users.”

SUPER PAC SYNC. The Times. “Though campaigns and outside groups are prohibited from collaborating, they are free to amplify and emulate each other.”

CAMPAIGN MERCHANDISE. USAT. “The campaigns are reluctant to discuss their merchandising secrets on the record. But Obama for America revealed part of its strategy in a June court filing in its lawsuit against Demstore.com, which had been selling bumper stickers and pins with the campaign’s trademarked ‘Rising Sun’ logo.”

CA: PROP. 32 IN THE NEWS. Story here. “In summary, while Proposition 32 limits how corporations and unions could spend money on campaigns, it limits only one side’s ability to raise money — unions.”

NC: RELATIONSHIP GUIDANCE. Story here. “The Joint Legislative Ethics Committee just issued Principle and Guidance stemming from an episode in House Speaker Thom Tillis’ office this summer.”

VT: COORDINATION ALLEGED. Story here. “The chairman of the Vermont Republican Party wants Gov. Peter Shumlin to appoint an independent counsel to probe whether Democratic Attorney General William Sorrell violated the state’s campaign finance law on the way to winning a close primary election last month.”

WA: OFFICEHOLDER-NONPROFIT LINKS. Story here. “For years, Lt. Gov. Brad Owen made the nonprofit Strategies for Youth an extension of his official government duties, even as it paid his wife a salary.”

MEMBERS NOT ON TWITTER.  The Hill.  “Fifty-six members of Congress have not joined Twitter, the social media platform that has become a force in politics.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.