IRS
National Review: The IRS’s God Complex: The tax agency signs a secret pact with atheists, promising it will investigate 99 churches
By Quin HillyerAs the IRS continues to come under well-aimed fire for harassing conservative groups, on Friday it secured a final court order formalizing what amounts to a secret agreement to monitor the pulpits of ill-favored churches. The serious danger, as former Justice Department attorney J. Christian Adams told Fox News, is that the IRS will start treating “theology as politics,” and regulate it accordingly.Lovers of liberty should be very concerned.According to a June 27 IRS letter to the Justice Department, 99 churches merit “high priority examination” for allegedly illegal electioneering activities. The letter was sent in reference to a now-dismissed lawsuit filed by the atheist group known as the Freedom from Religion Foundation (FFRF). The suit originally was a rather broad one, demanding not only that the IRS enforce prohibitions against churches’ endorsing candidates specifically, but also that churches should be “required to file” what it described as “detailed annual information” that would force them (if they are like other nonprofits) to “expend substantial time and resources.”
Independent Groups
The Heritage Foundation (Event): Putting Your Money Where Your Mouth Is: The New Assaults on Campaign Speech
Money had long been an issue in American politics, going back at least to the time of President Andrew Jackson when Congress considered a bill relating to campaign funding. Congress passed the first campaign finance law in 1867 and then another in 1883. Then, the Tillman Act in 1907 prohibited corporations and national banks from making monetary contributions to federal candidates, and it was followed by the Federal Corrupt Practices Act in 1910. More recently, the trend continued with the Taft Hartley Act, the Federal Election Campaign Act, and the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in 2002. On the judicial front, litigation in this area has attracted Supreme Court attention from 1921 until today. Starting in the mid-1970s, conservatives often defended and enforced such laws, while the ACLU led the charge to contest them and often prevailed as it did in the landmark case of Buckley v. Valeo (1976). By 2014, when the Court decided McCutcheon v. FEC, the liberal mindset changed as more and more liberal groups not only railed against rulings such as McCutcheon and Citizens United, but also launched a campaign to amend the First Amendment. How much speech are we as a people willing to tolerate during elections? Should some speech be prohibited during elections? Who can speak and how much can they speak when it comes to elections? Join us as a distinguished panel of First Amendment law experts discuss these questions and more.
Watchdog.org: In John Doe Land, the left doesn’t illegally coordinate
By M.D. KittleAs conservative activist Eric O’Keefe and his Wisconsin Club for Growth point out in the lawsuit, Chisholm and crew haven’t gone after liberal organizations with the kind of prosecutorial vigor they unleashed in two overlapping John Doe campaigns — disparate treatmentpainstakingly outlined in the 76-page complaint, filed in February in federal court. The plaintiffs say they can point to “numerous other activities materially identical to the activities giving rise to the manifold branches of this massive investigation … within Democratic campaigns and among left-wing issue advocacy and independent expenditure groups.”A few years after the recall campaigns began, the same liberal groups and plenty of new ones are working to promote left-led causes and candidates. The question is, have they coordinated, and if so, have they done so illegally — at least under the John Doe prosecutors’ interpretation of illegal coordination?
Washington Post: Conservative benefactor Art Pope stepping down as North Carolina’s budget chief
By Matea GoldCHARLOTTE, N.C. — Art Pope, a prominent financier of conservative think tanks who served as North Carolina’s state budget director for the last 19 months, is stepping down from his post at the end of the summer.Republican Gov. Pat McCrory announced Wednesday that Pope was leaving to resume his work in the private sector. He is the chief executive of Variety Wholesalers, a private retail company that operates hundreds of discount stores across the southeast. Pope had stepped back from his daily duties when McCrory tapped him in January 2013 to join his administration, a job for which he was paid $1 a year.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
Wyoming Liberty: WyLiberty Wins Free Speech Case for Minor Party and Independent Candidates
“This is an excellent result,” said Steve Klein, WyLiberty staff attorney and co-counsel to Wills and Young. “Minor party and independent candidates may now raise money for their races and contributors may donate to their campaigns. It’s a great day for free speech.”The lawsuit was filed in late June by Wyoming Liberty Group attorneys on behalf of Jennifer Young, Constitution Party candidate for Wyoming Secretary of State, and Don Wills, who would like to contribute to Young. The suit challenged state campaign finance provisions as violating the constitutional rights of free speech and equal protection. State law restricts minor party and independent candidates from raising almost any campaign money until after the August 19 primary and allows major party candidates to raise up to twice the amount of money per contributor, but the settlement eliminates these disparities.“As the consent order is written, minor party and independent candidates and contributors are now on equal footing with major party candidates and contributors,” said Benjamin Barr, counsel to WyLiberty and co-counsel to Wills and Young. “It’s hard enough to compete outside of the major parties, but state campaign finance laws can no longer protect the Republican and Democrat monopoly.”
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Politico: Justin Amash beats Brian Ellis, demands apology
By Kendall Breitman“I’m an Arab-American, and he has the audacity to say I’m Al Qaeda’s best friend in Congress. That’s pretty disgusting,” Amash said in a post-speech interview with Fox 17.During his speech, Amash claimed that he “ran for office to stop people like [Ellis].”“I ran for office … to stop people who are more interested in themselves than doing what is best for their districts,” Amash said. “Everyday Americans are taking back their government from the crooks and the cronies.”
State and Local
Maryland –– Washington Post: Despite 2012 law, casino interests and Md. candidates remain intertwined
By John WagnerMaryland lawmakers made it illegal in 2012 for casino owners to make donations to political candidates, a move intended to curb the influence of a deep-pocketed industry new to the state.The ban, however, is limited and has done little to stop the flow of funds associated with one prolific donor: William M. Rickman Jr., a Montgomery County developer and owner of the Casino at Ocean Downs on Maryland’s Eastern Shore.
Massachusetts –– MassLive: Gov. Deval Patrick signs super PAC disclosure law
By Shira SchoenbergWith no fanfare on Friday, Gov. Deval Patrick signed a law increasing individual campaign contribution limits for state candidates and requiring additional disclosures for super political action committees.The bill passed the House and Senate by wide margins and was part of a raft of major legislation that the legislature sent to the governor’s desk during the final days of the legislative session, which ended Thursday.
New York –– NY Times: Cuomo Aides Use Allies to Shore Up the Governor’s Image
By Thomas KaplanSome commissioners were asked by people with ties to the governor to release supportive statements, according to people familiar with the matter who insisted on anonymity for fear of reprisal.The Times Union of Albany reported last week that Joseph Percoco, a longtime Cuomo aide who is now managing the governor’s re-election campaign, offered to provide drafts of statements to some commissioners.But the flurry of statements from commissioners backing Mr. Cuomo prompted federal prosecutors to warn of the possibility of criminal witness tampering or obstruction of justice charges, given the ongoing investigation.
Missouri –– The Missouri Times: Judge approves temporary restraining order in Peters/Carter primary
By Collin ReischmanThe Peters campaign told The Missouri Times that a different Joshua Peters was accused of the crime — something Judge Heagney confirms in his ruing — and that they anticipated legal action regardless of the outcome of the race. Rep. Jeremy LaFaver, a Kansas City Democrat, called the flyer “disgusting.”“Whoever put out that disgusting, illegal, anonymous attack is a true scumbag,” LaFaver said.
