CCP
Murkowski and the Myth of “Dark” Money
By Sarah LeeThe tone of this piece on the Murkowski-Wyden Campaign Finance Disclosure Proposal (something we think may be the newest incarnation of the DISCLOSE Act) is rather admiring of Senator Lisa Murkowski’s (R-Alaska) “apparent redirection on campaign disclosure” (she was part of last year’s abstention on the DISCLOSE Act). We do not share in the admiration.
Independent Groups
Helena Independent Record: Judge throws book at ATP again; finds that it violated multiple state laws on disclosure
By Mike DennisonSherlock ruled that members and officers of ATP used its corporate, nonprofit status “as a subterfuge to avoid compliance with state disclosure and disclaimer laws during the 2008 Montana election cycle.”
Politico: Outside, secret money likely to flow in 2013
By Tarini PartiSuper PACs, once widely thought to be limited to federal campaigns, are now expected to play on the state level after a series of court decisions effectively rendered state laws restricting independent groups moot. Tax-exempt nonprofits that don’t have to disclose donors — including big names like Americans for Prosperity and American Bridge 21st Century — are also considering directing their flood of money down to the state level for these races, while a secretive nonprofit supporting New Jersey GOP Gov. Chris Christie has already run ads praising his work.
Disclosure
Roll Call ATR: DISCLOSE Advocates Renew Fight
By Eliza Newlin CarneyThe Democrat-authored campaign finance transparency bill known as the DISCLOSE Act failed to win approval in either the 111th or the 112th Congresses, but its backers have set out to try again in this session.
Candidates, Politicians and Parties
Washington Post: Obama campaign to pay $375,000 fine for omitting some donor’s names in 2008
By TW FarnamThe fine was imposed after an audit of the campaign’s books showed that it failed to report the identities of donors who gave large checks in the weeks before the 2008 election, according to a copy of the agreement between the FEC and the president’s campaign.
Politico: Obama facing pressure on election reform
By Jennifer EpsteinPresident Barack Obama is already taking heat over the first promise he made after winning reelection — and he may not be able to deliver on it at all.
Washington Post: Microsoft, AT&T among corporate donors to inauguration
By TW FarnamPresident Obama will have some major corporations such as Microsoft and AT&T to thank for the festivities surrounding his inauguration later this month, according to a list of event donors released Friday evening.
Politico: Obama 2008 campaign fined $375,000
By Maggie HabermanThe fine — laid out in detail in FEC documents that have yet to be made public — arose from an audit of the campaign, which was published in April. POLITICO obtained a copy of the conciliation agreement detailing the fine, which was sent to Sean Cairncross, the chief lawyer for the Republican National Committee, one of the groups that filed complaints about the campaign’s FEC reporting from 2008.
Washington Post: 5 reasons gridlock will seize Congress again
By Sean Sullivan and Aaron BlakeAs the 113th Congress was sworn in Thursday, the page was officially turned on a divided, historically unproductive 112th Congress that was defined by gridlock and viewed overwhelmingly negatively by the American people.
FEC
Huffington Post: Cynthia Bauerly, FEC Commissioner, To Resign On February 1
By Paul Blumenthal“It has been my honor and privilege to serve on the Federal Election Commission since 2008,” Bauerly, one of the three Democrats on the commission, wrote in the resignation letter obtained by The Huffington Post. “I am grateful to have had the opportunity to serve the country in this role and I will step down on February 1, 2013.”
