REP. WEINER AND HOUSE ETHICS. Slate. “One place that any ethics investigation may begin: Weiner’s reported offer of his public relations team to a porn star who he was emailing with.” The Hill has a story here. WHAT TO DO WITH REP. WEINER’S DONATIONS. The Times. “On Tuesday, the National Republican Congressional Committee began callingRead… Read more »
NICE TO BE BACK AND THANKS FOR READING. I had to take a few days off from the site, so thanks for your patience. What happened while I was away from the grid? A big campaign finance story, wouldn’t you know. EDWARDS INDICTED. Most assuredly you have already read almost all there was to readRead… Read more »
DOJ AND ENSIGN. The Hill. “The Justice Department will likely renew its investigation of former Sen. John Ensign (R-Nev.) in light of the more than 1,000 emails the Senate Ethics Committee received at the tail end of its investigation, according to Reuters.” The Reuters story is here. Sen. Coburn says part of the Senate ReportRead… Read more »
IRS MOVE ON (C)(4)‘S PART OF A TREND? Michael Barone discusses recent news on (c)(4) donations here. “Punishing enemies and rewarding friends — politics Chicago style — seems to be the unifying principle that helps explain the Obamacare waivers, the NLRB action against Boeing and the IRS’ gift-tax assault on 501(c)(4) donors.” Huffington Post featuresRead… Read more »
RAHM-TIME IN BLAGO TRIAL? Story here. “Earlier this month, former Blagojevich aide-turned-government-informant John Wyma testified that Emanuel called him after being chosen to serve as White House chief-of-staff to relay Obama’s support for presidential adviser Valerie Jarrett as Obama’s Senate replacement.” D’S MOVE TO SUPPORT DRAFT EO. Roll Call. “Congressional Democrats are gathering signatures thisRead… Read more »
FEC MEETING. The agenda for next Thursday’s meeting of the Federal Election Commission is available here. SUPER PAC TEST. Roll Call reports that a new advisory opinion request has been filed. “Less than a week after Republicans said they would use federal lawmakers, candidates and party officials to raise unlimited money for an election advertisementRead… Read more »
“WE KNOW WHERE YOU LIVE. LOVE, THE IRS.” WSJ editorial. “A tax probe of donations given by a specific class of political donors is a boldfaced attempt to punish and discourage political speech.” NEW SUPER PAC NEWS. LA Times. “Indiana attorney James Bopp Jr., one of the lawyers who brought the watershed Citizens United caseRead… Read more »
BLAGO TRIAL UPDATE. The Times. “Disgraced former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich did not want to mix fundraising and governing, a former aide said on Monday, but other witnesses said political donations and government favors were linked.” COALITION AGAINST DRAFT EO. Story here. “In a letter sent Monday to Obama, groups such as the U.S. ChamberRead… Read more »
DRAFT EXECUTIVE ORDER HEARING. GovExec covers yesterday’s hearing here. “Many lawmakers say the draft order is politically motivated and requires businesses to submit unneeded information that could negatively affect the awarding of contracts. ‘It is not necessary for you to do your job, and your office will not look at it,’ said House Oversight andRead… Read more »
GIFT TAX AND (C)(4)’S. Politico reports. “The Internal Revenue Service appears to have begun to enforce a tax on gifts to the non-profit organizations that were a key vehicle for anonymous politics in the last five years and had promised to play a large role in the presidential cycle, a move which could reshape theRead… Read more »