- The Federal Bureau of Investigation confiscated the digital records of retired Marine General John R. Allen, “who authorities say made false statements and withheld ‘incriminating’ documents about his role in an illegal foreign lobbying campaign on behalf of the wealthy Persian Gulf nation of Qatar.” NPR reports on the details of potential FARA violations. Notably, Qatar was a prominent donor to the Brookings Institute, which Allen headed, until being placed on administrative leave this week
- The Governor of Illinois approved HB 716, which limits the amount of outside contributions to a self-funded committee to elect a judicial candidate. The measure also limits the amount that organizations that are not required to disclose their donors may contribute to judicial candidates. The bill takes effect immediately and applies to elections beginning this year.
- The Way to San Jose: San Jose Spotlight reports on a complaint claiming that San Jose’s current Mayor may have violated campaign finance regulations by forming a political action committee (PAC) and raising money from the regulated community to support candidates, other than himself, running in local elections. It further alleges that the PAC and sponsoring nonprofit exceeded local limits and skirted local disclosure requirements. Contributors apparently were not directly targeted in the complaint. The mayor’s representatives called the complaint “frivolous” and the City Attorney responded that “the municipal code ‘does not prohibit’ [a sitting mayor not running for reelection] from opening and personally fundraising for a PAC—even ahead of the fundraising period. The mayor is also not subject to the contribution limits in San Jose.” The PAC was operated in reliance on a 2014 trial court decision trial court decision, involving the last mayor, finding that a state law prohibiting independent expenditures by candidate-controlled PACs is unconstitutional. Even so, the current mayor stepped down as head of the PAC after an opinion from the Fair Political Practices Commission earlier this year.
In Case You Missed It:
- Buckeye PAC Coordination: We previously reported on committees formed to support specific candidates posting information and research on their websites advantageous to their preferred candidate and which could be made use of by that candidate’s campaign. Now, local Ohio Media is reporting on a lawsuit filed against a United States Senate Candidate from Ohio, alleging that “a covert website…where [a] super PAC posted numerous campaign research, polling and strategy documents.” constituted a prohibited in-kind contribution. As an example, the lawsuit points to an ad the campaign ran that is nearly identical to a script posted on the PAC’s website. The complaint also argues that “although the website was technically publicly available, it couldn’t easily be found through search engines [and] that once the super PAC’s leaders found a different campaign using data they’d posted to the site, they treated it as a data leak.”
- SoCal’s Soul Searching: The multi-layered scandal in Anaheim, California, and in Southern California generally, has many officials “reexamining the influence of special interest groups – [what the FBI alleges is] a special interest ‘cadre.’” Voice of OC contends that, at the very least, there will be increased scrutiny for PACs funded by major corporations with interests before the City and renewed pressure for local campaign finance restrictions. In fact, “Council members voted 5-0 to bring back the campaign finance discussion at its next meeting and to put out bids for an outside investigative firm to examine all contracts voted on by city council members that benefit some of the entities wrapped up in the FBI corruption probe.”
WEEK OF June 3rd, 2022
- The Governor of Tennessee signed a pair of bills affecting lobbyists and campaign finance enforcement. SB 884 eliminates the privilege tax that the state imposes on lobbyists, effective May 31, 2022. This annual occupation tax previously applied only to persons registered to lobby the state government. SB 1005 concerns settlement procedure, disallowing the state Registry of Election Finance to settle civil penalties outside of regular meetings or a special meeting called for that purpose if the penalties exceed $25,000.
- The State of Maryland enacted SB 15, which focuses on campaign finance enforcement. Among its noteworthy provisions are restricting those with unpaid election related penalties or fines from candidacy or as a treasurer for “campaign finance entities.” The bill also requires specific proactive procedures for enforcing the payment of fines and referrals for additional civil and even criminal action.
- The Governor of Oklahoma signed HB 3056, which “authorizes municipalities…to enact a comprehensive code of campaign finance and personal disclosure ordinances.” While the bill permits these cities to create provisions for “hearing and enforcement,” it also caps civil fines at $500.
In Case You Missed It:
- Southern California’s Small World: The growing political corruption scandals in Anaheim shed light on a larger issue of political corruption more broadly in Southern California. The Los Angeles Times laments that the “FBI’s Los Angeles office has been extraordinarily busy at City Hall, launching probes into councilmembers, lobbyists, city lawyers, political aides and executives at the Department of Water and Power — some of whom have pleaded guilty.” Similarly, Cal Matters situates the multi-layered Anaheim scandals and the implicated actors within a larger setting of “an unsavory history of local government corruption in Southern California…The common denominator…is that local government decisions can have enormous economic consequences, ranging from trash hauling franchises to real estate developments…[and] [t]hose who may benefit from municipal actions have an obvious motive to influence decision makers and often hire those with inside connections, such as campaign consultants.”
- Windy City Blows Over Ethics Reform: Local media reports on stalled efforts to reform Chicago’s ethics code and the mayor’s role in the diminishing prospects that these reforms will pass before the 2023 municipal elections. The proposal, “which has failed to advance in the two months since its introduction…would hike the maximum fine for violating the city’s ethics ordinance from $5,000 to $20,000 as part of an effort to grapple with Chicago’s seemingly intractable legacy of graft and mismanagement.” The mayor, who was elected on an anti-corruption platform in 2019, has apparently conveyed mixed signals about her position on the proposal and even “instructed her allies on the City Council to use a parliamentary maneuver during the May 25 City Council meeting to prevent… holding a hearing on the proposal this month.” The proposal would also include stricter conflict of interest, pay-to-play, and revolving door provisions.
- Staff Literally Handle Congressman’s Dirty Laundry: Roll Call reports on the ethics imbroglio surrounding West Virginia Alex Mooney as detailed in a report from the Congressional Ethics Office. Mooney apparently violated Congressional ethics rules when he and his family vacationed last year at the Ritz-Carlton in Aruba, paid for by HSP Direct, a company with which Mr. Mooney has significant financial and personal ties, “to the tune of over $10,800 for travel, lodging, meals, amenities, entertainment and activities.” Mooney and his family apparently also required Congressional and campaign staff to perform personal errands, including mechanic work on their cars, tutoring their children, dog-sitting, and other “tasks that had no connection to official duties.” The New York Times reports that “former staff members also were expected to gather Mr. Mooney’s dirty clothes from various places in the official office and have them taken to the dry cleaner… Mr. Mooney also asked an aide to take a shirt and a towel home with her to wash in her washing machine.”