Good morning, here are political law links for 7-30

BROADCASTER BID DENIED. Story here. “A federal appellate court on Friday denied a request by broadcasters to immediately block new Federal Communications Commission rules requiring stations to make political ad information available online.”

NONPROFIT RULES. The Post. “The Federal Election Commission told political advocacy groups Friday that it would enforce new disclosure rules for some nonprofits under a recent court ruling, but many key groups have taken steps to evade the requirements.”

SUPER PAC RULES.  WFB.  “During a fundraiser for the pro-Obama Priorities USA Super PAC in March, senior White House adviser David Plouffe gave a speech to two-dozen major Democratic donors. When it came time to ask donors to open up their wallets, however, Plouffe left the room.”

FUNDRAISING RULES.  Roll Call.  “Fueling Mitt Romney’s fundraising surge has been a widely used but less understood tool enabling supporters to direct more money to his presidential effort than federal limits would suggest possible.”

SUPER PAC PULLS AD.  Story here.  “The super PAC backing President Barack Obama will not air a television ad using archival footage of the Olympic Games after the U.S. Olympic Committee registered a complaint because of copyright concerns.”

TIMES PIECE ON DONOR JAMES ROBERT WILLIAMS. The Times. “It is hard to say where the big sums are coming from.”

OVERLOOKING UNIONS? Here. “It’s become such a popular theme that some accept this on faith, and some politicians wear claims, true or not, of being outspent like a badge of honor. But an analysis by The Wall Street Journal this month showed that corporate money is nearly evenly split between the two major parties — with slightly more going to Democrats — while political spending by labor unions, which goes almost exclusively to Democrats, has been greatly underestimated.”

REP. SENSENBRENNER ON VOTING RIGHTS.  Here.  “The fundamental goals and bipartisan legacy of the Voting Rights Act are imperiled by Attorney General Eric Holder’s Justice Department and the administration he serves.”

FUNDRAISING ABROAD.  The Times.  “Mitt Romney came to Jerusalem to publicly lock arms with Israel. But privately, he also used the opportunity to raise money and offer top donors an unofficial mini- retreat abroad.”

DC’S NEW ETHICS CHIEF SPEAKS. Story here. “The chairman of D.C.’s new ethics board said his three-member panel will work aggressively to restore public confidence.”

TRUST RULES IN INDIANA. Story here. “The trusts and the PAC appear to have relied on a 2002 advisory opinion from the ethics board that Tooker said misconstrued the rule and essentially OK’d the manner in which the trust donations have been recorded ever since.”

GOV. CUOMO AND TRANSPARENCY. The Times. “The governor, who promised to bring sunlight to the dim workings in Albany, wants to control everything about him that could make its way to the press or the public. ”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Friday’s political law links (7/27/12)

OCE PROBES.  Story here.  “The Office of Congressional Ethics began nine preliminary probes during the second quarter of the year, launched more in-depth reviews of five cases and referred one matter to the House Ethics Committee for further investigation, according to a report released today.”

CHAMBER ON AIR.  Story here.  “The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has hit the airwaves in Florida, Montana, New Mexico, Ohio and Wisconsin with television ads targeting Democratic Senate candidates.”

TWEETING CHEATING?  Politico.  “A primary challenger in a tight Rhode Island congressional race has nearly 1 million Twitter followers — more than Mitt Romney — but he’s not talking about how he amassed such a staggering social media fan base in a short span of time.”

FUNDRAISER VIDEO: WHAT YOU GET FOR $35K.  Adjust your volume, get your popcorn, and click here.

BILLIONAIRE PLEDGES SUPPORT.  The Times.  “Jeff Bezos, the billionaire founder of Amazon.com, and his wife, MacKenzie, have agreed to donate $2.5 million to help pass a same-sex marriage referendum in Washington State, instantly becoming among the largest financial backers of gay marriage rights in the country.”

ROMNEY UK EVENT.  Story here.  “Mr. Romney held a fund-raising reception and a more exclusive dinner here on Thursday that included some of the top American financiers working in London.”

AM LAW LAWYERS AND 12.  Story here.  “Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney is keeping more than a few Am Law attorneys busy in his quest to find a running mate.”

OBAMA AND THE BELTWAY.  The Post.  “Money moves through Washington like blood through arteries, and never more so than during election season.”

STOCK ACT UNDER FIRE.  Here.  “Some heavy hitters have joined the opposition to potentially harmful public disclosure provisions of the Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act, better known as the Stock Act.”

CONTRIBUTIONS DIVIDE.  Wash Times. “Husbands and wives may share checking accounts, but they don’t always share political preferences. So what happens when one-half of the marriage wants to donate to a candidate?”

CT:  MORE ARRESTS.  Story here.  “Federal agents arrested the former manager of Connecticut House Speaker Chris Donovan’s congressional campaign and several other people Thursday in an alleged scheme to hide the source of some campaign contributions.”

SECOND PAC LAUNCH.  Story here.  “The leader of a super PAC that says it wants to hold entrenched House incumbents accountable by targeting them in primary elections has launched a separate political action committee that’s attacking a Tennessee Republican who has served in Congress for less than two years.”

O’MALLEY PAC.  Story here.  “Gov. Martin O’Malley has set up a political action committee with the Federal Elections Commission to help raise money to support measures that will be on the ballot in Maryland in November and to continue supporting President Barack Obama, an aide said Thursday.”

PA COUNTY LOBBYING.  Story here.  “Westmoreland County commissioners said Thursday that a new contract with a Harrisburg-based lobbying firm is a classic case of addition by subtraction.”

CAMPAIGN SEEKS PROBE.  The Post.  “Dogs and cats have been invited to vote in the swing state of Virginia, and Mitt Romney smells a rat.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

Good morning, here are Thursday’s political law links (7/26/12)

PAC WINDS DOWN.  Politico.  “A controversial super PAC with an explicit mission of unseating House members in primaries — and that played a role in the defeat of four incumbents — is scaling back if not ending its efforts for the rest of the election year.”

12 NEGATIVE ADS.  The Times.  “Using attack ads in heavy rotation across battleground states like Virginia, along with carefully worded campaign speeches and barbed sound bites on cable television, Mr. Obama, Mr. Romney and their supporters are pushing these competing story lines as polls show negative views of both men are on the rise.”

IRS LOOKING AT NONPROFITS?  The Post.  “Campaign watchdog groups see a glimmer of hope in a new letter from the Internal Revenue Service, which suggests that the agency might consider changes to the rules governing tax exemptions for politically active groups.”  The HoltzmanVogelJosefiak Blog discusses the letter here and asks if the letter is “anything more than a courtesy response.”

ADELSON IN THE NEWS.  The Times.  “When Mitt Romney arrives in Jerusalem this weekend for a round of government meetings with Israeli and Palestinian officials, a key group of American supporters will be waiting nearby, including the billionaire Sheldon Adelson and other top Jewish supporters traveling from the United States.”

ABC NEWS ON PAC NAMES.  Here.  “Here’s a look at some of the most awesomely unusual Super PAC names and what these quirky groups are up to during the 2012 election.”

RETURNED MONEY IN OH.  Story here.

NIKE AND DISCLOSURE.  Story here.  “North Carolina State Treasurer Janet Cowell wants Nike Inc. to more fully disclose its political contributions.”

CHALLENGE TO LIMITS.  Story here.  “Liberty Justice Center – through its client, Illinois Liberty PAC – filed the suit challenging the constitutionality of the limits Tuesday in federal court. Dan Proft, chairman of Illinois Liberty PAC, said the law violates the equal protection clause of the 14th Amendment and the First Amendment.”

RGA IN INDIANA.  Story here.  “The RGA Right Direction PAC is a Washington, D.C.-based super PAC, registered with federal regulators to make independent expenditures supporting or opposing candidates. So what is it doing giving $1 million directly to the Republican running for governor of Indiana?”

PA ID CASE OPEN.  Story here.  “The first round of the 2012 presidential campaign is being waged in courtrooms nationwide, and one of the most important battles got underway Wednesday in the swing state of Pennsylvania, where challengers told a judge that a new voter-identification law violates the commonwealth’s constitution.”

GA ETHICS EXPRESS.  Story here.  “While touring 14 cities in four days, the Ethics Express pulled into Albany Wednesday afternoon.  Those aboard the bus say now is the time for voters to demand honesty from the government and they say a good start is by limiting the amount of money a lobbyist can spend on those in the general assembly.”  Question 2 is on the July 31st ballot in Georgia.

NY:  INVESTING CAMPAIGN FUNDS.  Story here.  “Two of New York’s most powerful lawmakers have bolstered their massive campaign accounts by investing millions of those dollars in municipal bonds and companies, some of which have business before the state and have made campaign donations to the legislative leaders.”

RECALL COST.  Story here.  “The recall race for governor cost a record-busting $80.9 million, with Republican Gov. Scott Walker and his supporters enjoying a more than two-to-one advantage over his Democratic rivals, according to a new report.”

CHICAGO ETHICS REFORM.  Story here.  “The approved amendments strengthen the gift ban and rules for financial disclosures, eliminate honoraria, add a ‘reverse revolving door’ restriction, add a whistleblower protection for reporting misconduct, penalize Political Action Committees (PACs) for knowingly accepting improper campaign contributions and increase penalties for violations of the ethics ordinance.”

VT ALERT.  Story here.  “Vermont Attorney General Bill Sorrell has determined that there’s no limit to the size of contributions that can be made to so-called independent expenditure PACs — groups that try to influence elections but aren’t working with a specific candidate.”  The source of this breaking news is online here.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.