CCP
Melania Trump controversy shows the silliness of campaign finance laws
Luke Wachob
To worry that Donald Trump the politician will do the bidding of Donald Trump the businessman is nonsensical. It’s the same person. To say the Trump campaign is now indebted to McIver is even more ridiculous. Of all the reasons to fear that a future Trump White House might favor the Trump Organization in its actions and policy, the need to payback an uncredited speechwriter has to be among the most absurd.
That “reformers” see this as scandalous is further indication that to them, regulation is an end in itself. For the rest of us, whether a technical violation of the law occurred should be secondary to whether the conduct in question is corrupting. In our heavily regulated, overly complex campaign finance regime, the two are not interchangeable.
FEC
Washington Times: Group files campaign finance violation over Melania Trump speechwriter
Stephen Dinan
Meredith McIver, who wrote Melania Trump’s convention speech, is an employee for the Trump Organization — the billionaire businessman’s main corporation. The campaign said she volunteered her time to help the campaign and to write the speech, so there was no need to report her as a paid employee on official campaign filings.
Ms. McIver released a public apology for cribbing parts of Mrs. Trump’s speech from first lady Michelle Obama, and said she offered to resign, but Mr. Trump refused to accept it.
The Democratic Coalition Against Trump said since Ms. McIver’s resignation offer was to the Trump Organization rather than to the campaign, that shows she wasn’t volunteering her time and was instead acting as a paid employee of the corporation, on behalf of Mr. Trump. That, the group said, should have been reported on monthly FEC reports.
Bloomberg BNA: FEC Clears Adelson of Foreign-Money Allegations
Kenneth P. Doyle
The Federal Election Commission found “no reason to believe” allegations that billionaire Sheldon Adelson, chairman of Las Vegas Sands Corp. and a major Republican donor, funneled illegal foreign contributions into U.S. election campaigns.
FEC documents posted on the commission’s website July 19 showed the commissioners voted 5-0 last month for the finding. The vote followed recommendations in a staff report from the FEC general counsel’s office.
The FEC counsel’s report said a complaint filed with the FEC last year generally alleged that Adelson used funds derived from foreign sources through his company’s casinos in Macau to make political contributions relating to federal elections.
“The available information, however, does not support drawing such a conclusion,” the report said.
Independent Groups
American Prospect: Plotting the End of Super PACs
Justin Miller
That explains step two, a local ordinance scheduled to be introduced July 21 by a council member in the beachfront city of St. Petersburg, Florida.
The ordinance would establish contribution limits for independent-expenditure committees, essentially abolishing super PACs in the city. The law would also require that corporations that contribute money to local elections certify that they are not wholly or significantly influenced by foreign entities. Supporters of this ordinance see it as model legislation that could be emulated across the country and as a potential vehicle for a legal challenge that could invite the Supreme Court to reconsider the constitutionality of super PACs.
Free Speech
Foreign Policy: Europe’s Freedom of Speech Fail
Jacob Mchangama
Freedom of expression has always been unevenly protected in Europe. This is because of a philosophical divide that cuts across the continent: Some European countries can be classified as militant democracies. In these countries, the state limits freedom of speech and association when it is deemed to threaten other values outlined in the constitution, such as democracy and the freedom of others. Germany, which regularly bans or has banned various Communist, National Socialist, and Islamist organizations, is a classic example…
There seems to be little evidence suggesting that suppressing speech leads to higher levels of tolerance in liberal democracies. A new report from Germany’s domestic intelligence agency shows not only that there were 500 more extreme-right entities in 2015 than in 2014, but also that there has been a 42 percent increase in violent acts by right-wing extremists over that same period. American NGO Human Rights First also documented a doubling of anti-Semitic hate crimes in France from 2014-2015. A recent report by two Norwegian researchers suggests that an environment where controversial expressions are filtered out may increase the risk of extremist violence.
Lobbying
New York Times: G.O.P.’s Moneyed Class Finds Its Place in New Trump World
Nicholas Confessore
“It is the business of Washington,” said Michael J. Anderson, a Democratic lobbyist who represents American Indian tribes, after watching Mr. Gingrich speak. “Mr. Trump is talking about changing the paradigm. It’s not changing one bit. The political and influence class is going on as before.”
Political Parties
Washington Examiner: DNC replaces two Vermont delegates — because they’re men
Ashe Schow
State Sen. Tim Ashe and party insider Ken Dean were ordered to be replaced by the DNC so that the party could achieve a gender balance. Dean and Ashe have filed a formal complaint with the DNC’s credentials committee, according to the Associated Press.
Dean and Ashe were elected by the people of Vermont to serve as delegates on June 11. Everything was fine until July 5, when the DNC ordered the state party to replace the two men with women…
And, as Dean pointed out to the AP, superdelegates aren’t being subjected to this same kind of forced balance. Eight out of 10 superdelegates from Vermont are men, and there don’t appear to be any plans to swap three of them out with women.
That’s because superdelegates are elected officials (in higher offices than state senator) and party leaders, not those selected by the people to represent the state. It is more difficult to kick them out.
Influence
Washington Post: Airbnb hires Eric Holder to help company fight discrimination
Abha Bhattarai
Former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has been hired by Airbnb to help craft an anti-discrimination policy for the home-sharing company, which has come under fire in recent months following complaints of racial bias by its hosts….
Last week, three U.S. senators, including Elizabeth Warren of Massachussetts, wrote a letter urging the government to investigate Airbnb and other short-term rental sites for creating housing shortages and driving up rental costs.
Candidates and Campaigns
Politico: ‘Republican source’ leaks Trump speech to Dems
Kenneth P. Vogel and Julia Ioffe
A super PAC backing Hillary Clinton on Thursday night mysteriously obtained and leaked drafts of Donald Trump’s nomination speech — and those of several other convention speakers — hours before the night’s proceedings were set to kick off, sending the Trump campaign scrambling on the final night of what has been a chaotic convention.
The super PAC, Correct the Record, obtained a document containing the drafts from “a Republican source who had access to it and they sent it to us,” said Correct the Record founder David Brock, a close Clinton ally.
WHAS Louisville: Rand Paul volunteers lure voters with Pokemon Go
Chris Williams
The unsuspecting players had no idea they were also on the campaign trail, lured to the Highlands neighborhood of Louisville by volunteers for Republican US Senator Rand Paul.
A young campaign volunteer hatched a plan to create the so-called Pokestop. She used her own funds to set game lures that would lead Pokemon players to the area. Once the competitors stumbled up the sidewalk, supporters recruited them to support Kentucky’s Junior Senator whose running for re-election against Lexington Mayor Jim Gray.
The States
KUT Austin: Judge Strikes Down Two Austin Campaign Finance Rules
Audrey McGlinchy
The first rule – the city’s “blackout” period, limits candidates to a six-month fundraising window prior to an election. According to Judge Lee Yeakel’s ruling, lawyers for the city failed to prove that allowing candidates to fundraise seven or eight months in advance would disproportionately sway the votes of current council members running for re-election.
The judgment reads: “…the Austin City Council is in session and voting on matters year-round, so the danger that contributions would influence votes is no less a concern in the six-month window in which fundraising is allowed than during any other time of the election cycle.”
WMNF St. Petersburg: St. Pete to consider banning Super PAC money in local elections
Sean Kinane
And if St. Pete does pass something, it’s likely to be challenged. Maybe people will see it as violating the First Amendment or violating the spirit of the Citizens United ruling. How would that proceed, if it gets challenged?
“There is a likelihood it would be challenged. I am working with some of the best legal minds in the country, who are working on overturning Citizens United.
“It will be a process, Sean, to work with our local attorneys and our local elected officials to figure out how to take those steps forward, when we take them forward. I’m hoping that this will encourage other communities to follow suit. They can’t sue all of us.”
