[Political Activity Law]

AD PULLED. WP. “The Trump campaign took down a video late Thursday trumpeting NASA’s return to human spaceflight, after harsh criticism that it was politicizing the event and violating NASA advertising rules.”

AFFILIATE SUED. NYP. “President Trump’s campaign on Monday filed a lawsuit against an NBC affiliate in Wisconsin for running an anti-Trump ad the campaign called “false and defamatory,” including the claim that he referred to the coronavirus as ‘a hoax.'”

CONVENTION UPDATE. HILL. “President Trump’s threat to move this year’s Republican National Convention out of Charlotte in the midst of a global pandemic has those who organized previous conventions scratching their heads over just how the GOP would overcome the almost insurmountable logistical hurdles of throwing together one of the biggest events on the quadrennial calendar in just two months.”

PAC ATTACK. NW. “A group of former officials of the George W. Bush administration have come together to do what they once would have considered unthinkable—endorsing a Democratic candidate for president—and in a stinging rebuke to the president, are raising money for Joe Biden.”

FEC FOUR. FEC. “James E. Trainor III was sworn in today as a member of the Federal Election Commission.”

COMMISSION SLAMMED. The Federal Election Commission was hit last week with a $200,000 award against it for legal fees and costs in Pursuing America’s Greatness. v. FEC. Opinion. The agency’s legal position was “not substantially justified.”

ME: FOLLOW MAINE MONEY. PBP. “It’s an even-numbered year, and in Maine that means state legislature elections — and a possible changeover of power — are imminent.”

NH: REFORM SOUGHT. WMUR. “To reform campaign finance, [Democratic candidate for governor] Feltes would prohibit limited liability corporation contributions to political campaigns and prohibit owners of more than one LLC from making multiple contributions in the name of each LLC – essentially closing the so-called ‘LLC loophole.'”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

NUMBERS RACE. CNN. “Former Vice President Joe Biden and the Democratic National Committee came close to matching the fundraising performance of President Donald Trump and the Republican Party in April, but the presumptive Democratic nominee remains in a deep financial hole as the general election shifts into full gear, new figures show.”

NEW REGISTRANT. POL. “Former Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has registered as a lobbyist for the first time.”

ID: QUESTIONS ON REPORT. IP. “The Ada County Republican Central Committee may have made an illegal payment to its chairman without a permanent treasurer to sign off on the party’s campaign finance records.”

MO: GIFT UPDATE. STL. “Although Missouri lawmakers are banned from accepting all but the smallest gifts from lobbyists, local officials continue to rake in freebies from companies doing business with cities and counties.”

NJ: FAMILY TIES. NJG. “Amy Kennedy wants a shadowy super PAC financed only by her husband to stay out of her campaign for the Democratic congressional nomination in New Jersey’s 2nd district.”

SD: REPORTING ERROR. DP. “A large donation found in a Mitchell lawmaker’s campaign finance report would have been in violation of state law, but is merely a documentation error his campaign says.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

SPENDING RULES. OS. “Political groups that don’t fully disclose their sources of funding have already spent more than $100 million to influence 2020 races, a figure that is sure to rise as ‘dark money’ backed super PACs unload their unprecedented cash reserves.”

MOTION TO DISMISS GRANTED. FEC. “On May 26, 2020, the U. S. District Court for the District of Columbia granted the Commission’s motion to dismiss the Campaign Legal Center’s suit challenging the agency’s alleged failure to act on its administrative complaint.”

COMMISSIONER TWEETS. HILL. “Federal Election Commission (FEC) Commissioner Ellen Weintraub on Wednesday strongly hit back at claims from President Trump that mail-in voting leads to high levels of fraud, asserting that there is ‘no basis’ for such allegations and that the falsehoods ‘may well undermine the American people’s faith in our democracy.'”

MONEY DODGE. POL. “The Treasury Department and IRS on Tuesday finalized regulations that will excuse some politically active tax-exempt groups from having to disclose their high-dollar donors to the IRS.”

SUPER PAC UP. FN. “The largest super PAC supporting President Trump’s reelection  tells Fox News it will spend $7.5 million to run TV commercials in three crucial general election battleground states that take aim at former Vice President Joe Biden over his record on the economy.”

K STREET FLEX. HILL. “K Street is under intense pressure from clients to secure COVID-19 government assistance in an environment where lobbyists are struggling to make new contacts as they work from home.”

NV: ALLEGATIONS REVIEWED. N3. “The Nevada secretary of state’s office is reviewing allegations made by a former executive of the cannabis company MedMen Enterprises Inc. that the company’s co-founders made illegal campaign donations to Democratic Gov. Steve Sioslak.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.