Election law news, McCain on super PACs, no Bluman foreign money, and political law links

NO BLUMAN FOREIGN MONEY. Politico. “The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday upheld a federal law that bars foreign nationals from spending to influence U.S. elections.”

WILEY REIN NEWS. The January 2012 edition of Wiley Rein’s Election Law News is online here.

MCCAIN ON SUPER PACS. The Hill. “McCain blamed the Supreme Court for the campaign season’s nasty turn. ‘I think part of it is symptomatic of primaries, which are always tough, and sometimes even more personal in the attacks than the general elections are,’ he said. ‘But it’s also the result of the worst decision, I think, in at least the last 50 years or so, of the United States Supreme Court called Citizens United, where they basically unleashed without transparency, without accountability, huge amounts of money from these so-called independent campaigns, which you and I know are not independent.’”

GETTING AND STAYING ON THE AIR. The air battle begins. Politico. “A pro-Mitt Romney super PAC is demanding that Florida television stations keep airing its television ads critical of Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich after Gingrich’s lawyers asked they be removed for inaccuracies.”

ADELSON CHECK. The Times. “By Monday morning, [Winning Our Future] had reserved more than $3.4 million in advertising time in South Carolina, a huge sum in a state where the airwaves come cheap and the primary is 11 days away.”

ROF IN SC. The Times. “The ‘super PAC’ supporting Mitt Romney is placing a huge chunk of money on advertising in South Carolina — $2.3 million worth — as it prepares to wage what is expected to be a far more intense race after the New Hampshire primary on Tuesday.”

SUPER PAC OPINION. The Post. “Corporations and labor unions, as well as wealthy individuals, are now free to spend unlimited amounts, and these contributions can be bundled by a political action committee.”

FILING FREQUENCY IN THE NEWS. Story here. “Yet another super PAC — this one supporting presidential candidate Ron Paul — has used a federal campaign finance loophole to avoid disclosing its donors until the month’s end, when several caucuses and primaries will already have concluded.” Just yesterday the FEC released a “tip for treasurers” on the topic and it’s online here (Jan. 9, 2012 entry).

BAIN CAPITAL: THE MOVIE. Politico. “Before Newt Gingrich’s super PAC paid $40,000 for the stinging anti-Mitt Romney documentary that’s roiling the GOP presidential campaign, Jon Huntsman’s allies expressed interest in it.”

WEIGHING CORPORATE POLITICAL ACTIVITY. Story here. “Should companies use funds from the corporate treasury to advocate directly for or against political candidates in contested elections?”

WHITE HOUSE LOGS. Story here. “The White House is under fire for reportedly trying to downplay the role that two Hollywood stars played at a 2009 Halloween party, with press secretary Jay Carney today calling the media’s reporting on the incident ‘rresponsible’ and denying reports of an attempted cover-up. But no record of the two stars, Johnny Depp and Tim Burton, appears in the official White House visitors logs.”

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM IN OR. Story here. “Justices of the Oregon Supreme Court are pondering whether the state should enforce campaign-finance regulations that Oregon voters approved in 2006 despite their rejection of a companion constitutional change in the same election.”

HAVE A GREAT DAY.

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