Latest Developments:
- The California Fair Political Practices Commission’s transparency portal displays a graph showing an extraordinary spike in charitable contributions made at the behest of public officials in 2020. The spike is due to contributions made at the behest of one person: The Governor. The Los Angeles Times reports that the Governor raised $226 million for various charities last year; his own office received $43 million of the largesse. Payments made at the behest of the Governor are permissible, although the Times notes that the practice “creates the appearance of a pay-to-play system.”
- The New York City Conflict of Interest Board [COIB] reviews activity of city officials and requires public disclosure of their financial activity, including the Brooklyn Borough President. Politico reports that this official used a charity to enhance his profile in advance of a likely bid for Mayor. The official “has steered hundreds of thousands of [nonprofit] dollars into an ethical gray area where charity and self-aggrandizement intermingle — with fundraising practices that have drawn the scrutiny of investigators and government watchdog groups.” But the article points out that “all of the organization’s activities are legal and have been authorized by the city’s ethics agency [COIB].”
- The New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics met and adopted revisions to its resolution delegating authority to its Executive Director and staff to provide informal advice upon which a person may rely.
Reminders:
The Practising Law Institute presents Advanced Topics in Ethics and Compliance 2021: State and Local Government Contracts on Thursday, May 6 at 1:30 p.m. Eastern (10:30 a.m. Pacific). The half-day program covers eligibility requirements, compliance obligations, and perils and pitfalls of state and local contracts. Topics include pay-to-play laws, lobbying restrictions, blackout periods, and scrutiny from ethics agencies. The Chair of the program is Nielsen Merksamer’s Elli Abdoli. Panelists include Jason Kaune of Nielsen Merksamer. Register here.
In Case You Missed It:
- Strange Bedfellows in Supreme Court Case: Time Magazine analyzes the Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Rodriquez case, which is being heard this week before the Supreme Court. Time notes that action to block the California Attorney General from requiring disclosure of contributors to political nonprofit organizations was brought by the “conservative nonprofit Americans for Prosperity Foundation—which has the backing of Republican mega-donor Charles Koch,” but its position is supported by briefs filed by the “American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), the NAACP Legal Defense and Education Fund, The Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, the Human Rights Campaign and PEN America.” The League of Women Voters and the Campaign Legal Center are “urging the court to uphold the policy.”
- FARA in Play: A CNN opinion piece asserts that the crimes being investigated that led to the recent raid on Rudy Giuliani’s home and office “relate to whether Giuliani acted as an unregistered foreign agent.” The inference is that the former Mayor violated the Foreign Agents Registration Act. The article points out that, “Pursuant to the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA), trying to influence US policy at the direction of a foreign actor without registering as an ‘agent of a foreign principal’ is illegal.”
- Ohio Campaign Treasurer Charged: WCPO Cincinnati reports that a U.S. Congressman’s “de facto treasurer” was charged with embezzling $1.4 million from the congressman’s campaign. The “political consultant and longtime campaign aide to Rep. Steve Chabot faces federal wire fraud and falsification of records charges…”
- Pension Pay-to-Play: A Philadelphia Inquirer investigation reveals that “Pennsylvania’s largest pension fund made a hush-hush investment. It secretly sunk $100 million into a business backed by Pittsburgh tycoon Thomas Tull, a co-owner of the Steelers …. Two days later, campaign records show, Tull showered money on politicians — making nearly $1.5 million in donations spread among national Democrats and Republican alike.” The article notes that “For 25 years, reformers have been trying to stamp out pay to-play in pension-fund investments and the bond business. But critics say the problem has only grown worse.”
- Pay-to Play Plea: The Los Angeles Times reports that the former Mayor of Palmdale, California “ pleaded guilty to a single count of perjury Thursday, ending a years-long probe of a pay-to-play scandal where he was accused of raking in $500,000 from consultants who he then helped attain lucrative contracts.” Under the agreement, he will serve a period of probation and “pay roughly $189,000 in restitution.”