12.6 political law links.

MORE MONEY. RC. “Democratic Senate candidate Doug Jones has financially overwhelmed his Republican opponent Roy Moore but all his money may not make a difference in the Alabama Senate special election.”

NO MATTER. USAT. “Payday lenders gave $31,700 in 2015-16 federal campaign cycle contributions to Mulvaney, ranking him ninth among all congressional recipients from the sector, according to data analyzed by the Center for Responsive Politics.”

ETHICS UPDATE. LAW. “In a continuing effort to burnish its image after a string of scandals, Wells Fargo & Co. has made public a revised code of ethics for employee conduct that requires its workforce to act with honesty and to honor legal obligations.”

CA: MEETING ON LAW. OR. “Orange County lawmakers will hold a special meeting next week to consider a proposal requiring limited liability companies to abide by the county’s limit on campaign donations if they hold or are seeking a county contract.”

MA: ETHICS INQUIRY. BG. “The Massachusetts Senate Committee on Ethics convened Tuesday, formally beginning the investigation into whether Stanley C. Rosenberg, who has stepped aside as Senate president, broke chamber rules.”

WI: STAFF SOUGHT. BH. “The Wisconsin Elections Commission is searching for three additional staff members after experiencing a 28 percent decrease in staff over the last two budget cycles.”

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12.5 political law links

FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.   WT.  “The FEC spokesman noted that the act outlaws four types of donations from foreign nationals to U.S. campaigns and related political action committees, as opposed to payments from those entities to foreigners. Foreigners may not donate money for federal or state elections, advertising or a presidential inaugural committee.”

SENTENCING IN CHARITY CASE.   NYT.  “Corrine Brown, a former longtime United States representative from Florida, was sentenced to five years in prison on Monday for operating a fraudulent charity that she used for more than $300,000 in personal expenses, including tickets for N.F.L. games and a Beyoncé concert.”

IL:  CASE SETTLED.   BNA.  “The former mayor of Markham, Ill., Dec. 1 settled SEC allegations that he accepted a $75,000 bribe related to the city’s $5.5 million municipal bond offering in 2012.”

MI:  MONEY FEARS.   CN.  “The GOP said the bills would lock federal court rulings into state law and provide clarity seven years after a major U.S. Supreme Court decision, but Democrats countered the measure would go further and swell the flow of ‘dark money’ into politics.”

NY:  PUBLIC FUNDING USE.   TU.  “A publicly funded campaign for New York City Council, launched by a longtime staffer for Brooklyn state Sen. Marty Golden, spent $13,000 on a business in which Golden has a substantial financial interest.”

OH:  CLEARING UP DISCLOSURE.   OSU.  “As various groups push for a change in how Columbus City Council elects candidates, the Council will consider a measure to clarify campaign finance disclosure requirements for candidates running for any city office.”

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12.4 political law links

AWAITING FATE. TB. “A federal judge is expected to sentence former U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown on Monday for fraud and other charges related to a purported charity for poor students that she used as a personal slush fund.”

INVESTMENT FUNDS. CJ. “John Thune has so much campaign money socked away that he now makes more from interest and dividends than some other politicians collect from donors.”

DONOR DISCLOSURE. AL. “But in a state where out-of-state interference is seen as poisonous by many voters, the true identity of the donors to Highway 31, which exists to support Democratic candidate Doug Jones, has been carefully shielded from Alabama voters by legally evading Federal Election Commission disclosure rules.”

CORPORATE MEDIA LOBBYING GAME. PC. “While both the Times and the Obama administration believed in sweeping government censorship during elections — or at least when most voters pay attention (i.e., right before Election Day) — they thought one group should be exempt from these prohibitions: newspapers and other media outlets.”

CA: COUNCILWOMAN CLEARED. OCR. “Costa Mesa Councilwoman Katrina Foley was cleared of any wrongdoing by the California Fair Political Practices Commission following a complaint that she solicited campaign donations under the pretext of charitable giving.”

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