CCP
The FEC, LLCs, and Political Contribution Disclosure
Brad Smith
Lawyers are known for being too clever by half, and that no doubt is why some commissioners are so apoplectic at allowing these past actions by LLCs to slide past. To them, the law was pretty clear, even if tricky lawyers can conjure up an argument around it. But one can’t also help but be bothered by the FEC’s recurring game of “heads I win, tails you lose,” as Chief Justice Roberts has called it. A small, individually owned corporation and an individual will be treated as separate persons when that is advantageous to the regulatory project; but they will be treated as one and the same when that is advantageous to the regulatory project.
Too often “the law” simply means “whatever advances the regulatory project.” And that can’t be right.
Supreme Court
Los Angeles Times: No sane judge would pass Bernie Sanders’ Supreme Court litmus test
Michael McGough
A Supreme Court nominee who promised to vote a certain way would almost certainly be unconfirmable and probably would be rated unqualified by the American Bar Assn. In the unlikely event that such a nominee were confirmed, he or she would (rightly) be pressed not to participate in any case that might put Citizens United in jeopardy…
Sanders’ defenders will say that he is just being honest about having a litmus test for Supreme Court nominees, whereas other candidates (and presidents) are just as determined to apply such a test but dissemble about doing so.
Sorry, but there’s a big difference between choosing a nominee you suspect might share your views about Roe vs. Wade or Citizens United and demanding a promise that the nominee would vote to reverse a ruling. The latter approach is not just politically stupid; it undermines the independence of the judiciary.
Campaign Finance Enforcement
Pillars of Law: I Disagree With What You Say, So I Will File a Campaign Finance Complaint
Stephen Klein
Although the mailer itself included most of the information required for this 24-hour report, Mass Values PAC’s report was not filed until a few days later. So, Rizzo filed a complaint with the commonwealth’s Office of Campaign and Political Finance. If Mass Values is charged with violating the law, the prosecution can seek up to $5,000 for this violation or “imprisonment in a house of correction for not more than 1 year.”…
It is far more upsetting that state campaign finance law may be so easily used to punish political participation. Wrapping itself in platitudes similar to those echoed around the National Mall for the last week, the Rizzo campaign’s complaint is sure to find support from the campaign finance “reform” community. Though Mass Values PAC was transparent on the mailer—that is, the document voters actually read—it was expected to file a report online, too (a source seldom utilized by anyone except enterprising journalists and political opponents). And now someone could go to jail for not doing so.
Joint Fundraising Committees
ABC News: Sanders Campaign Accuses Clinton and DNC of Violating Campaign Finance Rules
Veronica Stracqualursi and Paola Chavez
In a statement released Monday, the Sanders’ campaign wrote that the joint fundraising committee Hillary Victory Fund (HVF) is being “exploited” to solely benefit Clinton’s campaign for president…
“It is of grave concern that the Clinton joint fundraising committee appears to be using funds raised by ‘big dollar’ donors to fund activities that yield contributions and support that only provide benefit only to HFA,” Brad Deutsch, the attorney for Sanders’ campaign, wrote in a letter addressed to DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz and mailed Monday.
“The letter questioned whether the Clinton presidential campaign violated legal limits on donations by improperly subsidizing Clinton’s campaign bid by paying Clinton staffers with funds from the joint DNC-Clinton committee,” the statement declares regarding the letter sent by Deutsch.
Wall Street Journal: Sanders Campaign Accuses Clinton Fund of ‘Apparent Violations’
Rebecca Ballhaus
While the committee can’t transfer individual donations that are higher than that $2,700 cap to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign, it allows donors to write larger checks that are meant to benefit the campaign, the DNC and 32 state parties.
The joint committee reported on Friday that it had raised a total of $33.6 million in the first three months of the year. The bulk of its funds—$21.3 million—came from donations of more than $200, with 14 donors each giving more than $350,000.
The joint committee transferred $10.5 million to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign in the first quarter of the year, as well as $3.5 million to the DNC. In that same period, it spent $6.7 million on online advertising and another $5.4 million on direct marketing—tactics traditionally aimed at driving up small-dollar donations.
CRP: Liberal megadonors outspending conservatives on joint fundraising committees
Will Tucker
A Center for Responsive Politics analysis of the top donors to JFCs — which allow candidates, party committees, and PACs to band together and take one big check apiece from contributors — shows that liberal megadonors, led by those loyal to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, have given $12.3 million compared to conservatives’ $10.3 million.
Among the top 20 biggest donors to JFCs, just three have given predominantly to Republican committees. The biggest JFC donor so far? Tech billionaire Sean Parker, who’s shelled out more than $725,000, much of it to Clinton’s JFC.
Activism
The Hill: Capitol Hill arrests in pro-democracy protest hit 1,240
Cristina Marcos
Protest organizers pegged a higher estimate of at least 1,300 arrests.
Most of the arrested protesters have been charged with unlawful crowding and obstruction.
People arrested during the protests include actress Rosario Dawson, multiple top staffers for the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Lawrence Lessig, a campaign finance reform advocate and Harvard professor who briefly ran for president in this cycle.
Also among those arrested on Monday were the two founders of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream, Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, as well as top officials with the Sierra Club, Greenpeace, the AFL-CIO and NAACP.
BillMoyers.com: Why Conservatives Are Marching for Campaign Finance Reform
Kathy Kiely
But earlier this week, as marchers from Black Lives Matter joined Democracy Spring sit-ins on the steps of the US Capitol, one of the volunteers making sure they had plenty of water and back-up was Rob Schaaf, the son of a veteran Republican state legislator from Missouri. Schaaf wore a bright red T-shirt from “Take Back Our Republic,” a Republican campaign finance reform group, and a white armband showing that he’d already been arrested for the cause of getting big money out of politics. He said he was considering a second arrest.
“Seeing my dad’s experience with the political system,” Schaaf said, when asked why he’d taken a week off work to hang out with protesters from the left. The elder Schaaf has introduced a campaign finance transparency bill in the Missouri Senate that has won praise from the Brennan Center for Justice. His son said the senator also working to end the revolving door that allows lawmakers to head straight into lobbying after they leave office. The influx of money in politics “affects issues both the right and left care about,” said Schaaf. “We have to have a left-right coalition.”
Influence
Politico: Trump staffers face threat of blacklist
Kenneth P. Vogel and Shane Goldmacher
But according to interviews with more than a dozen operatives — including several who oppose Trump, some who support him, and the leaders of some prominent D.C. political shops — some of those who go to work for Trump face an implicit, and occasionally overt, threat: Help Trump, and you’ll never work in this town again.
It may be unenforceable, but the push to stigmatize Trump’s aides, advisers and vendors is among the last remaining pieces of ammunition available to a Republican establishment that has tried just about everything else to block the billionaire from taking over of the GOP. And, critically, it has complicated Trump’s efforts in recent weeks to hire top-tier operatives, according to sources familiar with Trump’s campaign.
Candidates and Campaigns
Associated Press: Meet Trump’s maxed-out donors, believers in the cause
Julie Bykowicz
Because it’s such a relatively small sample — a tiny sliver compared with Hillary Clinton’s nearly 29,000 maxed-out donors — it’s impossible to reach broad conclusions about Trump’s benefactors. Still, these are arguably the most loyal of Trump fans, and their interviews with The Associated Press reveal unexpected layers of the political newcomer’s appeal.
They’re both attracted and repelled by Trump’s inflammatory comments. Just like the thousands who attend Trump’s massive rallies, these well-off fans want dramatic change and see Trump as the only person capable of making it happen. And far from being embarrassed by their candidate, the donors seem to love converting their friends and associates to the cause.
The States
Washington Post: Voters angry about big money in politics take their complaints to City Hall
Matea Gold
The focus of the community efforts varies. Some are pursuing resolutions condemning Citizens United, hoping to amass enough opposition in the states to be able to eventually secure a constitutional amendment. Others in states including Arizona and Arkansas are pushing for fuller disclosure of campaign contributions and stricter ethics rules for lobbyists.
The growing number of local efforts means that politicians at every level of government are contending with voters who believe that their voices are being drowned out by those with more resources.
Kentucky Courier-Journal: Higher political contribution limit dies
Joseph Gerth
A bill that would have doubled contribution limits in Kentucky state elections died in the Kentucky Senate on the last night of the 2016 legislative session after Senate leaders learned the measure was at risk of being overturned as the result of an ongoing federal lawsuit.
Arizona Republic: Can voters block Arizona’s new dark money law?
Laurie Roberts
Rep. Ken Clark, the Phoenix Democrat who led opposition to Senate Bill 1516, says petitions will hit the streets as soon as the Legislature adjourns.
Hundreds of voters – Republican, Democrat and independent – have volunteered to carry petitions and put the word out on social media, he said.
“I think you’re going to see a groundswell on this because it’s that kind of year,” he said.
In addition, referendum organizers plan to have paid circulators – a must, given the tight timeframe.
They’ll have 90 days to collect 75,321 valid signatures in order to freeze the new law.
