Good morning, here are Friday’s political law links (5/25/12)

DOJ ATTORNEYS AND THE STEVENS CASE.  Roll Call.  “Two Justice Department prosecutors who engaged in ‘reckless professional misconduct’ that derailed the prosecution of the late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) will be suspended without pay, a disciplinary unit within the agency announced this week.”  ADN has coverage here:  “The 600-page report by the Justice Department’s Office of Professional Responsibility, made public Thursday, said the two prosecutors ‘engaged in professional misconduct by acting in reckless disregard,’ by not disclosing evidence that would have helped Stevens’ defense. But the report concluded that the misconduct was not intentional.”

TRUMP SUPER PAC?  Story here.  “Billionaire businessman Donald Trump tells Newsmax he is seriously considering launching his own super PAC to produce anti-Obama ads showing how Washington is allowing outsiders to ‘absolutely suck the blood out of this country.'”

RAPID FIRE SUPER PACS.  Story here.  “Millions of dollars in political ads are flooding Florida TV, including two spots Wednesday by President Barack Obama’s campaign and an anti-Obama ad from a super PAC, the new breed of political action committee powered by unrestricted donations.”

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE FEC YESTERDAY.  The agency’s press release is here.

EDWARDS UPDATE.  The Times.  “After five days, the jurors in the federal corruption case against former Senator John Edwards continue to grapple with the six charges against him.”

CAIN INC.  Politico.  “Now, the Atlanta businessman is applying the same relentless promotional skills he displayed on the campaign trail to building a sprawling political-business machine to rebuild his tarnished brand and keep his voice — and his trademark 9-9-9 tax plan — in the national conversation.”

SUPER PAC CREATED.  Story here.  “The college senior spent $1.3 million of his own money to create the Liberty for All Super PAC, which backs candidates who endorse what Ramsey calls ‘freedom philosophy.'”

WV CHALLENGE.  Story here.  “A political group formed to aid West Virginia incumbents this November won a partial victory Thursday after suing over the state’s limits on campaign contributions and a policy addressing corporate spending.”

LOBBYIST ISSUES IN MURDOCH CASE.  Story here.  “News Corp. lobbyist Frédéric Michel told the Leveson Inquiry into U.K. media ethics he got updates on the timings and progress on Rupert Murdoch’s $12 billion bid to buy U.K. satcaster BSkyB.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.  The next set of links will be prepared on Tuesday, May 29, 2012.  Have a safe and enjoyable weekend!

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Here are Thursday’s political law links (May 24,2012)

THE JUDGE AND THE EDWARDS TRIAL.  The Times. “In her instructions to the jury, the judge, Catherine C. Eagles of Federal District Court, said, ‘The government does not have to prove that the sole or only purpose of the money was to influence the election.'”

ODDS TO EDWARDS.  The Post.  “‘The judge seems to think it’s fairly straightforward,’ Hasen said, ‘but it seems to me as someone who has studied the law that it’s pretty murky.'”

COSTS AND FEES AND THE FEC.  Plaintiffs won costs and fees that will likely total over $100,000 in their suit against the FEC.  The opinion is here.  “FEC also erroneously contends that two of its commissioners were reasonable in believing the Circuit opinion in EMILY’s List was not binding on the agency. . . .Because the Commission has failed to show that its position was substantially justified in the face of this directly-applicable and binding decision, Plaintiffs are entitled to attorneys’ fees under EAJA.”  More here (as of the time of this writing the fees opinion doesn’t appear).

LOBBYIST HIRES.  The Hill.  “The revolving door between Congress and K Street is beginning to turn again.”

ELECTAD.COM.  If you’re partially addicted to political advertising, you may enjoy Electad.com, a compilation site of political ads, among other items.

TODAY AT THE FEC.  Today’s FEC agenda is online here.

DOCUMENT RELEASE.  The FEC released documents in response to a November 2011 House hearing on its enforcement, audit, and review processes.  The material is online here.

MAYOR GRAY AND THE LATEST.  The Post.  “Surely the public is owed an explanation, and an apology, for the events that now taint the 2010 election.”

WA AND LOBBYING DATA.  The Washington Public Disclosure Commission recently issued a press release on its lobbying data here.  “The Washington State Public Disclosure Commission today added lobbying data to its online searchable database.”

NEW AND UPDATES LINKS.  I’ve added a link to what looks like an interesting site, ElectionCampaignLaw.com.  It looks like the new site is anonymous.  I’ve also updated my links (look to your right and that the growing list of bullets) to PoLawTics and Legally Political.

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Political law links for Wed., May 23, 2012

INDEPENDENT $ IN CA.  Story here.  “Rather than excavate wealth from the Golden State, third-party groups are dousing California with dollars ahead of its June 5 primaries.”

GP$ ADS.  Story here.  “The spot is backed by $9.7 million over three weeks on broadcast television in Colorado, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Virginia.”

LOBBYISTS AND LIGHTSQUARED.  The Hill.  “In a speech on the Senate floor on Tuesday, Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) accused the White House and the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) of catering to the lobbyists of the now-bankrupt wireless company LightSquared and of stonewalling his investigation into the case.”

SUPER PAC DUEL.  The Times.

DSCC AND SUPER PACS.  HuffPo.  “‘The money,’ [DSCC ED Guy] Cecil told The Huffington Post, when asked what kept him up at night. ‘Our allies need to wake up. Our allies need to understand that the majority in the Senate is in danger and that everything from jobs and the economy and women’s health and Supreme Court justices, Wall Street reform — all the things that they have worked so hard for — will be for naught if we lose the Senate.'”

HELP TO LOBBYING FIRM.  Story here.  “A senior Senate committee staffer is headed to Washington’s premier nonprofit lobbying firm.”

EDWARDS JURY UPDATE.  LA Times.  “The documents requested Tuesday were letters to or about Rachel ‘Bunny’ Mellon, now 101, a billionaire heiress and Edwards supporter who gave $725,000 that was used to help hide the candidate’s mistress during his failed campaign for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination.”

DC PLEA DEAL. The Post.  “A key finance official on Mayor Vincent C. Gray’s 2010 campaign admitted in federal court Tuesday that he helped to secretly finance the campaign of a minor candidate to bolster his boss’s prospects and then destroyed a ledger detailing the payoffs.”

ETHICS EXEMPTION IN MD.  Story here.  “Crisfield officials who sought an exemption from a new state ethics law had ‘a partially successful day’ before the Maryland State Ethics Commission on Thursday.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.