Good morning, here are Friday’s political law links (June 1, 2012)

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AND THE VERDICT IS…  N&O.  “The jury in the John Edwards trial on Thursday found the former presidential candidate not guilty on one of six counts in his campaign finance trial and announced it could not agree on the five remaining counts.”

ANOTHER TRIAL?  LA Times.  “Several legal experts said a retrial seemed unlikely.”

DON’T RETRY.  The Post.  “The Federal Election Commission (FEC), auditing the Edwards campaign after the revelation of nearly $1 million in payments from heiress Rachel ‘Bunny’ Mellon and the late trial lawyer Fred Baron, did not determine that the payments should have been reported on Mr. Edwards’s campaign filings.”

PLENTY THERE.  Althouse.  “It seems that there’s plenty there for a retrial.”

EDWARDS AND THE FUTURE OF CAMPAIGN FINANCE.  CSM.  “More broadly, though, the prosecution’s loss – combined with the Supreme Court’s 2010 Citizens United decision, which allowed freer flow of campaign funds in the political system – appears to set a high bar for what constitutes illegal behavior in the realm of campaign funding.”

ADVISORY OPINION COVERAGE.  Tulsa World.  “The Federal Election Commission cannot agree on whether television ads for Republican 2nd Congressional District candidate Markwayne Mullin’s plumbing company violate campaign laws, his advisers said Wednesday.”

MULLIN MULLING.  More here.

LATEST PRESIDENTIAL DISCLOSURE TODAY.  Story here.  “The financial statement, which last year ran to 28 pages, is expected to show that Romney sold ‘nearly all’ his holdings in individual stocks since last year.”

MATCHING FUNDS NEWS.  Here.  “The Federal Election Commission has approved Gary Johnson’s request for primary season matching funds.”

DRUGMAKERS AND HEALTHCARE LAW.  Story here.  “Drugmakers led by Pfizer [(PFE)] Inc. agreed to run a ‘very significant public campaign’ bankrolling political support for the 2010 health-care law, including TV ads, while the Obama administration promised to block provisions opposed by drugmakers, documents released by Republicans show.”

CT ARREST.  Story here.  “Federal authorities have charged the finance director for state House Speaker Christopher Donovan’s congressional campaign with trying to hide campaign contributions following an FBI undercover investigation of alleged influence-buying at the state Capitol.”

FL VOTER LAW IN COURT.  Story here.  “A federal judge on Thursday blocked key provisions of a ­Florida law regulating groups that organize voter-registration drives, escalating a debate over newly restrictive voter-access laws that have become a major issue in the presidential campaign.”

IL SUPER PAC UPDATE.  Story here.  “State limits on campaign donations to candidates would be lifted if wealthy super political action committees pour money into legislative or statewide political races under a measure the Senate put on the governor’s desk today.”

REZKO ON PAY TO PLAY.  Story here.  “Tony Rezko, the consummate political fixer who helped launch the careers of Barack Obama and Rod Blagojevich, is finally talking.”

RECORD KY LOBBYING.  Story here.  “Business interests and advocacy groups spent $8.8 million lobbying the Kentucky legislature in 2012, a new record.”

HAVE A GREAT WEEKEND.

I’ve collected these political law links today (May 31, 2012)

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SPOTLIGHT ON NH POLLING.  C&E.  “Given the state’s new push polling law, is it better for business to take work in the battleground state and risk getting hit with a fine, or is it best to boycott the state and pressure lawmakers to reform the statute?”

REVISIT CU?  Roll Call.  “As the Supreme Court mulls the first direct challenge to its 2010 Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, reform advocates have lobbied the court to revisit and fully debate the constitutionality of corporate political spending.”

STEVENS ON CU AND SECOND THOUGHTS.  Here.  “Former U.S. Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens says he expects the court has had second thoughts about parts of its controversial Citizens United ruling that eased restrictions on corporate spending in political campaigns.”  More here.

WILL ON CU.  Here.  “The collapse of liberals’ confidence in their ability to persuade is apparent in their concentration on rigging the rules of political persuasion. Their problem is that the First Amendment is the rule.”

MESSAGE TO DONORS.  The Hill.  “President Obama’s campaign team and top supporters are telling donors they need to get off the sidelines now so they can compete with GOP super-PACS waging an expected $1 billion campaign against them.”

DONORS SPEAK.  Politico.  “All they wanted was to get involved.”

HAYWARD ON EDWARDS.  Politico.  “If Edwards is successfully prosecuted, we may be entering an ‘Alice in Wonderland’ world, where conduct that would not draw the ire of civil law enforcement can lead to prison. Because Edwards could be convicted for taking a contribution that the Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaign finance, wouldn’t even regard as a political donation.”

EDWARDS TRIAL UPDATE.  Story here.  “On Wednesday, Judge Catherine Eagles — a seasoned state court judge who has been on the federal bench for less than two years — sent the alternates home.”

CAR USE ISSUE.  Story here.  “The New York Daily News reported that Gwen Towns uses the vehicle to drive the dry cleaners, the car wash, and to her job at the Interfaith Hospital in Brooklyn.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

Good morning, here are political law links for Wed., May 30, 2012

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KIRK PAYMENTS IN THE NEWS.  Chicago Trib.  “At the heart of the matter is Vertolli’s assertion that the Kirk campaign may have improperly hidden money to McCracken by paying her through another company working for the campaign.”

ROLLING STONE ON SUPER PAC DONORS.  Here.  “Even more money from megadonors is flowing into newly created Super PACs, which, unlike advocacy groups, can spend every cent they raise on direct attacks on an opponent.”

MARK RENAUD ON PAY TO PLAY.  Wiley Rein’s Mark Renaud discusses pay to play rules and presidential giving here.  “In the end, it is important that potential contributors and their compliance departments have the facts and law straight so that, with a speech and associational right as important as political contributions, they are not deterred by the pay-to-play rules where the rules do not apply.”  A few weeks ago Politico shared an example of what a presidential campaign invitation looks like these days.

INDEPENDENT GROUP PLANS.  Politico.  “Republican super PACs and other outside groups shaped by a loose network of prominent conservatives – including Karl Rove, the Koch brothers and Tom Donohue of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce – plan to spend roughly $1 billion on November’s elections for the White House and control of Congress, according to officials familiar with the groups’ internal operations.”

JURY WARNING.  Politico.  “On Day Seven of jury deliberations over campaign finance-related charges against former Sen. John Edwards, the judge overseeing the case showed her first public sign of impatience with the pace of the jurors’ deliberations.”

MORE ON EDWARDS JURY.  N&O.  “‘The jury sent me a note saying they’ve reached,’ [Judge] Eagles said, letting a dramatic pause linger in the air.  Then with a smile and a bit of a heave of her shoulders, she finished the sentence with ‘a good stopping point.’”

TIMES ON CHAMBER.  Here.  “Any company that helps pay for the ads run by the chamber ought to step up and disclose its contributions.”

DAVIS SWITCH.  Story here.  “It’s official: Former Democratic Alabama House member and gubernatorial candidate Artur Davis is becoming a Republican and laying the groundwork for a potential political future in Virginia.”

FOUR YEARS SINCE DAVIS.  Next month will mark four years since the Supreme Court decided FEC v. Davis, striking most of the Millionaire’s Amendment.

REVISING DE LOBBYING RULES?  Story here.  “Critics of the way Markell and lawmakers have approached lobbying reform say it’s imperative that the state close loopholes that, for example, allow lobbyists to avoid identifying the lawmakers and bureaucrats whom they are spending money on, and let lawmakers leave their elective post and return the next day as a lobbyist.”

LARGE ROBOCALL PENALTY.  Story here.  “If criminal convictions were not enough, add $1 million in civil penalties to the list of reasons Maryland politicos may think twice about ordering another election-night robo-call that could be viewed as trying to suppress voter turnout.”

ALEC AND MN.  Story here.  “The Campaign Finance and Public Disclosure Board says it will investigate the American Legislative Exchange Council’s lobbying status in Minnesota.”

HAVE A GOOD DAY.

Good morning, here are today’s political law links

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STATE LAWS AND CU. The Times. “The Supreme Court is expected to respond in June to a Montana Supreme Court decision upholding the state’s Corrupt Practices Act, which bans corporations from making political expenditures from their general treasuries.”

K ST. AND THE CONVENTIONS.  Politico.  “The combination of tight corporate budgets, ethics rules and unappealing weather — the average high for Tampa in August is 90 degrees — and it’s a recipe for trade groups and lobbyists to spend time anywhere but Florida.”

UNIVERSITIES LOBBYING.  Story here.  “Since Congress last year suspended earmarks — which allowed members to add funds for specific projects — the lobbying industry has shifted much of its energy away from Congress and toward the executive branch.”

INDEPENDENT SPENDING IN THE NEWS. The Times. “The episode involving the proposed Wright advertisement put new attention on the ability of wealthy donors, working with groups independent of the candidates, to shape the presidential race, and stoked further debate about whether outside groups were driving politics to become increasingly negative.”

EDWARDS AND THE ALTERNATE. The Post. “There’s flirting going on in the courtroom, and it revolves around an alternate juror and the defendant.”

ASKIN ON SUPER PACS AND NONPROFITS. Here. “As we enter the final stages of the 2012 presidential election, the campaign finance landscape has changed considerably from past elections.”

SEN. COBURN AND SENATE ETHICS.  LA Times.  “The Senate Ethics Committee publicly admonished Sen. Tom Coburn (R-Okla.) for improperly meeting with a lobbyist and former aide to Sen. John Ensign, the Nevada Republican who resigned from the Senate after having an affair with the aide’s wife.”  The letters and guidance are online here.

DEADLOCK IN NC?  Story here.  “With the jury at the John Edwards trial set to begin deliberations for a seventh day on Tuesday, speculation grows that the 12 people charged with deciding the fate of the former presidential candidate may be deadlocked.”

GIFTS AND TICKETS IN GA. Story here. “State Republican Party leaders agreed to put a question on the July 31 primary ballot to find out if voters want to limit how much lobbyists spend on lawmakers.”

WI RECALL VIEW.  The Times.  “The eye-popping donation was made possible by a quirk in the state law for recall campaigns.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

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

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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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