Independent Groups
The Hill: Issa broadens IRS probe with request for personal emails
By Peter SchroederThe House Oversight Committee is demanding that the Internal Revenue Service official at the center of the Tea Party targeting probe turn over any emails from her personal account she might have used to conduct official business.In a letter sent Tuesday, Chairman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) said the ongoing investigation indicated that Lois Lerner sent some official documents to her personal email address, which “raises concerns” about whether the committee can fully understand her role in the improper targeting from official emails alone.
Washington Post: Santorum accused of illegally steering $1 million donation to super PAC
By Aaron BlakeA campaign finance watchdog has filed a complaint against former GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum, referring to reports that Santorum or his campaign may have illegally urged a donor to donate $1 million to a super PAC supporting Santorum.The donor, energy executive William Dore, in a recent interview said he approached Santorum about giving his campaign $1 million. He initially said Santorum urged him to instead give the money to the super PAC, Red White and Blue Fund, which can accept unlimited donations. Santorum’s campaign is subject to much lower contribution limits and could not accept such a donation.
Politico: AFL-CIO aiming at GOP governors in 2014
By Alexander BurnsThe nation’s most prominent labor organization plans to throw its political weight most heavily into a half-dozen governors’ races in the 2014 cycle, focusing on states where the outcome of gubernatorial elections will be most “consequential” for union members and working-class voters, the AFL-CIO’s top strategist said Tuesday.Meeting with a small group of reporters, AFL-CIO political director Michael Podhorzer said that the unrelenting state of gridlock in Washington means that state elections will likely have a greater impact on real people’s lives than federal elections.
Politico: Mitch McConnell gets boost from chemistry group
By JAMES HOHMANN and MANU RAJUThe American Chemistry Council is spending $400,000 on commercials boosting Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell in Kentucky, a source tells POLITICO.
SCOTUS/Judiciary
SCOTUSBlog: Burning the house to roast the pig: Can elections be saved by banning political speech?
By Bob Corn-RevereThe central paradox of most campaign finance reform measures is that they are premised on the odd notion that political speech is far too important to be free. That paradox presents itself to the Justices yet again in McCutcheon v. Federal Election Commission as they prepare to rule on another First Amendment challenge to a campaign finance restriction on political spending.Of course, the proponents of such regulations rarely frame the issue that way. Rather, they generally argue that the First Amendment was never intended to allow unfettered political participation in the form of campaign contributions or expenditures and that the activity they seek to regulate is not really protected expression. They also argue that the subjects of their intended regulation are not entitled to constitutional privileges.This has generated two great bumper sticker themes that have dominated the “tastes great-less filling” shouting match over political campaign regulation since Buckley v. Valeo (1976), and Citizens United v. FEC (2010): (1) Is money speech?, and (2) Are corporations people? These aren’t the actual legal questions at issue of course, but are merely the caricatures of the underlying questions as translated in the political realm.
Corporate Governance
Wall Street Journal (Video): Opinion: First the IRS, Then the FEC, Now the SEC?
WSJ assistant editorial page editor James Freeman on Democrats targeting the Securities and Exchange Commission in an attempt to limit business political donations.
Disclosure
CPI: Investors, companies fuel super PAC tied to Boehner
By Michael BeckelHamburger chain White Castle, the for-profit education provider Apollo Group and a firm connected to a controversial high-stakes gambler and golf course developer were among the largest donors to a super PAC dedicated to keeping Republicans in control of the U.S. House of Representatives.These three corporate contributions amounted to about 30 percent of the $557,000 raised by the Congressional Leadership Fund in the first six months of the year, according to a Center for Public Integrity review of campaign finance records.
Roll Call: Uneven Political Contributions by Publicly Traded Companies
By Kent CooperThe recent disclosure of large corporate checks from publicly traded companies to political groups shows there can be a significant difference in the amount a company gives to Republicans and Democrats.
Candidates, Politicians, Campaigns, and Parties
Reuters: Ex-U.S. congressman Jesse Jackson Jr. sentenced to 30 months in prison
By Lacey Johnson(Reuters) – Former Illinois congressman Jesse Jackson Jr., once one of the most promising black politicians in the United States, was sentenced on Wednesday to 2-1/2 years in prison for misuse of campaign funds.
FEC
Roll Call: Complaint Filed Over Campaign Directing $1M Donation to Super PAC
By Kent CooperA compliant has been filed against former Sen. Rick Santorum, R-Pa., and his 2012 presidential campaign for allegedly directing a $1 million donor to a super PAC that supported Santorum.
State and Local
Kansas –– Kansas City Star: Campaign finance lawsuit pits mega-donor Rex Sinquefield against Missouri pro-life group
By Jason HancockBut it wasn’t Democrats or a liberal advocacy group that filed the initiative. If Sinquefield’s lawsuit is successful, the conservative mega-donor would have helped kill a measure being pushed by the anti-abortion, anti-stem-cell research organization Missouri Roundtable for Life.A spokeswoman for Sinquefield declined to comment. Travis Brown, a longtime lobbyist for Sinquefield and a co-plaintiff in the lawsuit, said their purpose was to “defend the freedom of speech.”
