Here are the political law links for Wed., June 13, 2012

CRAIG SUED.  Story here.  “Former Republican U.S. Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho was sued Monday by federal election regulators who contend he misused some $217,000 in campaign funds for his legal defense after his arrest in a 2007 airport bathroom sex sting.”

TEA PARTY PLATFORM MOVES.  Roll Call.  “James Bopp Jr., a prominent conservative lawyer and high-ranking Republican national committeeman, is helping tea partyers influence the official GOP 2012 platform.”

12 MIONEY CHA$E.  The Times.  “With the primary season over, the presidential campaign has entered a new phase, one dictated by the competitive realities of the deregulated campaign finance system.”

AXELROD ON CFR.  Here.  “On David Axelrod’s New York City itinerary for Monday: to meet privately with potential donors to a ‘super PAC’ supporting President Obama’s re-election, then publicly declare that if that re-election happens, Mr. Obama will stop at almost nothing to undo the ruling that made super PACs possible.”

RTAA DECIDED.  CLC Release.  “The suit specifically challenged the ‘subpart (b)’ definition of ‘expressly advocating’ (11 C.F.R. § 100.22(b)), as well as the FEC’s methodology for determining when a group has campaign activity as its ‘major purpose,’ an important step in the larger determination of political committee status.”

TRIPS AND HLOGA.  Story here.  “Now the number of trips funded by outside groups is soaring back to record levels, fueled by big-spending education and charity organizations that sometimes are just an arm of lobbying groups.”

EDWARDS MYSTERY.  Story here.  “From the start there were allegations from the Edwards camp that he was a victim of political score settling.”

CARLSBAD CITY INKS DEAL.  Story here.  “It’s official. Eddy County and the city of Carlsbad have a Washington-based lobbying firm on the payroll.The Carlsbad City Council, in a 6-2 vote Tuesday night, approved a bid from the C2 Group for lobbyist services.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Political law links for Tues., June 12, 2012

FL SUIT.  The Hill.  “Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) said he will sue the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to move forward with his controversial attempt to purge the voter rolls in his state of ineligible voters.”

WWW.POLITICALLAWBRIEFING.COM.  Congratulations to Venable on the launch of its new site for “timely updates, insights, and commentary on campaign finance, lobbying disclosure, gift and ethics, pay-to-play, and all the other laws that impact how you interact with the government.”

K ST. AND TXT MSGS.  Politico.  “As they attempt to communicate, deliberate and share information, Congress and K Street are often wildly disconnected, with technology and age exacerbating matters, according to the results of the largest survey of its kind in U.S. history. POLITICO has an exclusive first look at the survey slated to be released Tuesday morning.”

FEC OK TO TXT $.  Politico.  “The Federal Election Commission on Monday night unanimously voted to allow Americans to make political donations via text message, making Androids, iPhones and Blackberries the newest weapon in the battle to raise unprecedented amounts of money.”

DRIP AND ETHICS.  Story here.  “Citizens for Responsibility for Ethics and Washington wants the Army inspector general’s office and Office of Congressional Ethics to look into Rogers’ relationship with Phoenix Products, a small Kentucky firm that makes transmission drip pans for the Blackhawk helicopter.”

MT CASE AND CU.  Story here.  “The main question on Thursday, then, will be how the court will reverse the Montana decision. It could call for briefs, set the case down for argument in the fall and issue a decision months later. Or it could use a favorite tool of the court led by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. — the summary reversal.”

SUPER PAC IN NY.  Story here.   “The upstate New York blog State of Politics has a nice catch on the latest installment of coverage, going on a second week now, of an outside group supporting New York governor and likely 2016 hopeful Andrew Cuomo, a gambling company looking for state business, and the governor’s own push to legalize casinos.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links (6/11/12)

POST URGES MORE BUNDLER DISCLOSURE. Here. “Both President George W. Bush, during his two campaigns, and Arizona Sen. John McCain, during his 2008 presidential race, released lists of their key fundraisers and, at least within general parameters, some indication of their hauls. But Mr. Romney’s campaign has repeatedly dismissed suggestions that he follow suit. The campaign has said that it has complied with campaign finance laws, which do not mandate such information except in the case of registered federal lobbyists.”

PRO-ROMNEY SUPER PAC. Story here. “No candidate in the 2012 race adapted more swiftly and effectively to the rise of the super PACs in the wake of US Supreme Court and other rulings that effectively removed any barriers to individual and corporate donations to such so-called independent groups.”

(C)(4) STATUS DENIED. TaxProf Blog.

HOUSE MOVE ON FCC RULE.  The Hill.  “When a House Appropriations subcommittee voted this week to block funding for a new Federal Communications Commission program that would require broadcasters to post campaign ad data online, watchdogs quickly blamed the National Association of Broadcasters.”

SUPER PAC FRIENDS.  The Post.  “Amid the hundreds of super PACs created to help favored candidates and causes, [Marc] Nathanson’s group is part of an even more specific class — highly customized, highly personalized political action committees, often created overnight when a relative or friend writes a check.”

APOC AND CU. Story here. “An opinion from the board that administers campaign finance laws in Alaska opens the door for a new independent group to raise and spend unlimited cash in this year’s elections, a decision that could have farther-reaching implications.” The opinion is here.

SHADOWS OF K ST.  Roll Call.  “Washington’s big business of lobbying has long been shrouded in an aura of mystery and intrigue. That’s largely because so much of it takes place in the shadows.”

CA SPENDING ON CFR BALLOT MEASURE. Story here. “Labor unions and business interests have been quietly raising millions of dollars and testing campaign messages in California for months, girding for a brawl over a November ballot measure that could fundamentally shift political power in Sacramento.”

KWAME BROWN ON CHARGES. The Post. “Moments after he pleaded guilty to fraudulently obtaining a home equity line of credit and a loan to purchase a power boat, Kwame R. Brown walked to the front steps of the U.S. District Court building to apologize Friday for his crime.”

NY’S BIGGEST LOBBYING FORCE. WSJ. “The sum of what the public knows about the biggest lobbying force in New York politics is a few pages of overall spending figures, generalities about purpose, and blocked-out names on a few state and federal documents.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.