Independent Groups
Wall Street Journal: Cover the IRS, Don’t Cover for It
By Peggy Noonan‘Documents Show Liberals in I.R.S. Dragnet,” read the New York Times headline. “Dem: ‘Progressive’ Groups Were Also Targeted by IRS,” said U.S. News. The scandal has “evaporated into thin air,” bayed the excitable Andrew Sullivan. A breathlessly exonerative narrative swept the news media this week: that liberal groups had been singled out and, by implication, abused by the IRS, just as conservative groups had been. Therefore, the scandal wasn’t a scandal but a mere bungle—a nonpolitical series of unhelpful but innocent mistakes.The problem with this story is that liberals were not caught in the IRS dragnet. Progressive groups were not targeted.
Soft Money Hard Law: Petitioning Speech
By Bob BauerThe Court did not see that political parties, or other organized political movements, are not just speaking: they are engaged in political activity—they are “doing politics.” The wider lens through which the Court might have viewed the operation of parties could only have enriched its analysis, regardless of the effect of the outcome. Instead the Court could find these restrictions to be “minor”; it would not agree that they merited “strict scrutiny.” Id. at 202.
Disclosure
Venable: Nonprofits Operating in New York Must Disclose Donors, Itemize Spending for Election Advocacy and Issue Ads
The new disclosure obligations apply to nonprofits that raise funds from New York residents and thus were already required to register and file annual reports with the New York Attorney General’s Charities Bureau. According to New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, the rules principally target 501(c)(4) organizations that use so-called “dark money,” a term that describes political spending that is not publicly disclosed under federal or state election laws, or federal tax laws.
Candidates, Politicians and Parties
Washington Post: House committee says Lois Lerner waived Fifth Amendment right
By Josh HicksRepublican lawmakers on Friday passed a resolution declaring that an Internal Revenue Service official waived her Fifth Amendment right last month when she proclaimed her innocence at a congressional hearing, but legal experts said the vote is all but meaningless.
Lobbying and Ethics
The Hill: Prominent Republican lobbyist lands job at Chamber of Commerce
By Kevin BorgadusHoward will work as senior vice president for congressional and public affairs, starting on July 15, for Washington’s biggest lobbying force. He will report to Bruce Josten, the Chamber’s executive vice president of government affairs.“The Chamber is the premier voice of the business community here in Washington,” Howard said in a statement. “I’m honored and humbled to have been selected for this position. I’m excited to take on this next adventure in my career, and am eager to put my years of experience and lessons learned in the White House and Congress to help advance the Chamber’s mission.”
Politico: Tax lobbyists spring into action
By KELSEY SNELL, LAUREN FRENCH and STEVEN SLOANGet ready for the tax lobbying bonanza.The proposal by Senate Finance Committee leaders to move on a foundation for tax reform with a “blank slate” — leaving thousands of provisions on the chopping block — will spark a furious lobbying spree that’s bound to exhaust both K Street and Capitol Hill.
FEC
Perkins Coie: FEC Reinforces Reporting Requirements for Political Committees
By Nicholas BauerAs a result of yesterday’s vote, political committees will now be formally required to report the “ultimate payees” of campaign expenditures. The Commission’s Reports and Analysis Divison has already made a practice of sending Requests for Additional Information to political committees who fail to report this information; the new rule formally sets forth this reporting requirement. According to the draft interpretive rule, reports of itemized disbursements by political committees on Schedule B will now have to include “memo items” indicating the name and address of the recipient of certain expenditures, as well as the date, amount and purpose of the payment.
State and Local
New Jersey –– Courier News: NJ leaders want to keep campaign finance loopholes
For six years, through early 2012, Birdsall made more than 1,000 under-the-radar contributions worth more than $1 million to politicians from all over the state, Republicans and Democrats alike, according to an analysis by The Star-Ledger. During that same period, Birdsall received more than $84 million in public contracts.Birdsall evaded pay-to-play restrictions by asking employees to write personal checks for $300 or less, which do not have to be disclosed publicly, and then reimbursing them through bonuses.
Texas –– Lex Politico: Conservative Groups File Appeal in Fifth Circuit Challenging Texas PAC “Waiting Period”
All three groups planned to communicate with voters before Texas’ primary runoff elections on July 31, 2012. They all registered with the Texas Ethics Commission (“TEC”) and filed campaign finance reports prior to the elections, disclosing all contributions and expenditures in strict compliance with the reporting requirements. Yet they were still silenced because they had not formed more than 60 days before Election Day. The lawsuit, which names the TEC and the Bexar County District Attorney as defendants, challenges section 253.037(a) as a facially unconstitutional prior restraint on core political speech.
