Independent Groups
Political Law Briefing: A Super PAC for thee but not for me? Some states don’t allow for unlimited contributions to independent expenditure committees.
Independent expenditure committees (“Super PACs”) have become commonplace at the federal level and in a number of states as well. The legal reasoning behind Super PACs, as explained in the Speechnow case (and several other federal and state cases), is that since the Supreme Court has recognized the right of individuals and corporations to spend unlimited sums on their own independent expenditures, then those same individuals and corporations should be able to come together to form a committee that can accept unlimited contributions and make independent expenditures.
Politico: Pro-Hillary Clinton super PACs: Not so super
By Byron TauThree pro-Hillary super PACs have formed in recent months — none with the formal blessing of Clinton or anyone in her inner circle. For good measure, a Virginia lobbyist last week formed the first specific anti-Clinton super PAC.
Disclosure
NPR: IRS To ‘Social Welfare’ Groups: Show Me The Political Ad Money
By PETER OVERBYNow, in a bid at fuller disclosure, the IRS wants 1,300 501(c)(4) social welfare groups, 501(c)(5) labor unions and 501(c)(6) business associations to complete a nine-page form. The questionnaire is a public document, but we’ll never get to see the answers. This is, after all, the IRS.
Candidates, Politicians and Parties
NY Times: A Clinton in ‘Transition’ Keeps Opponents and Donors Frozen
By JIM RUTENBERGHillary Clinton left the State Department nearly two months ago, but she still needs a staff to keep up with the considerable business of being Hillary Clinton. A half-dozen people now work for the former secretary of state and Democratic presidential candidate in a tiny corporate space on Connecticut Avenue in Washington, in what is called her “transition office.”
CPI: The anatomy of a misleading fundraising email
By Dave LevinthalWhile Republican and Democratic committees both love larding such cash come-ons with hyperbole, puffery and overstatement, the DCCC’s latest missive is notably rife, containing a demonstrable error or unsubstantiated assertion in almost every sentence.
Bloomberg: DNC in Money Pit, Obama Heading West: Gold on That Bay
By JULIE BYKOWICZIt could be a $1 million day for the DNC, which needs the cash influx. In its March 20 report to the Federal Election Commission, it reported almost $22 million in debts and obligations and about $4 million cash on hand as of the end of February.
State and Local
Colorado –– Colorado Statesman: Gessler announces for reelection as secretary of state
By Ernest Luning“If I win this reelection, what it’s going to show is that Coloradans care about election integrity,” Gessler told the roughly 50 supporters who gathered for supper and speeches at the rustic May Farms event center. “We’re going to prove to them that election integrity matters, that it is the foundation of our representative government, and Coloradans are going to support it — that’s what’s at issue.”
New York –– NY Times: New Ads to Press Albany on Campaign Financing
By THOMAS KAPLANALBANY — In an effort to build public support for reining in the flood of money in politics, advocates of overhauling New York State’s political fund-raising laws will spend over $800,000 on a new advertising campaign to begin on Monday.
