FORMER AIDE SENTENCED. Story here. “Charged in Washington federal district court with filing a false tax return, [Trevor] Blackann, 37, was sentenced today to about five hours in a cell block. U.S. District Judge Richard Roberts also ordered Blackann to serve two years of probation and to perform 50 hours of community service. He pleadedRead… Read more »
LOCKING DOWN DOMAINS. The Post. ”A Washington Post analysis of federal campaign spending reports shows that President Obama and Romney spent thousands of dollars this summer at GoDaddy.com.” ON THE BUS. The Post. ”Obama ditched Air Force One after landing in Asheville and climbed aboard a specially equipped black bus to wind his way 106Read… Read more »
CA APPROVES TEXT DONATIONS. Politico. “California became the first state Thursday to allow people to make political campaign contributions via text messages.” The FPPC staff memo is here. The proposed regulation is here. GETTING SUPER PAC ADS ON THE AIR (AND KEEPING THEM THERE). Here’s an interesting legal memo from Michael Berg for interested partiesRead… Read more »
WILEY REIN’S ELECTION LAW NEWS. This month’s Election Law News has interesting items on proposed rules from the Office of Government Ethics and Hawaii guidance on gifts, among other topics. MORE ON OGE PROPOSAL. The Hill. “A new regulation proposed this week by the Office of Government Ethics (OGE) would prohibit all government employees fromRead… Read more »
CA CAMPAIGN FINANCE SCANDAL. Politico. “Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) said she was ‘wiped out’ by Kinde Durkee, a well-connected California Democratic political operative who served as treasurer for hundreds of state, local and federal campaign committees.” BOTTOM OF THE 9TH. Roll Call. “One way or the other, the spin will start in a New YorkRead… Read more »
PRISON FOR CAMPAIGN TREASURER. The DOJ press release is here. “The former campaign treasurer for Representative Frank LoBiondo of New Jersey was sentenced today to 30 months in prison for embezzling more than $450,000 from the congressman’s election and re-election campaign accounts, announced Assistant Attorney General Lanny A. Breuer of the Criminal Division, U.S. AttorneyRead… Read more »
VENTI PUBLICITY FOR STARBUCKS CEO. Politico. “Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz continued his rhetorical war against Washington gridlock Tuesday during a conference call and webcast castigating the White House and Congress for the nation’s deficit and unemployment rate.” IS THE EDWARDS CASE POLITICAL? That’s the question posed in this report. “Edwards, who ran for president twiceRead… Read more »
TODAY’S FEC MEETING. The Federal Election Commission meets today and the meeting agenda is here. UNION SUPER PAC PURPOSE. The Hill. “AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Wednesday that the super PAC being set up by the labor federation will help unions earn their independence from political parties.” KEVIN RING IN THE NEWS. Commentary here. “IRead… Read more »
FEC MEETING. The Federal Election Commission is scheduled to meet Thursday and the meeting agenda is online here. BACHMANN BOOK. Roll Call. “Several of Bachmann’s opponents for the GOP presidential nomination — including Texas Gov. Rick Perry, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, former Sen. Rick Santorum (Pa.), former Georgia Gov. Newt Gingrich and Rep. RonRead… Read more »
SUPER PAC VIEW. Charlie Spies addresses Restore Our Future in this USAT editorial. “The activities of Super PACs, such as Restore Our Future, are not only constitutionally protected, but also are important for our democracy because they add voices to the political discourse. Restore Our Future will continue to fully comply with the law andRead… Read more »