Latest Developments:
- Washington State settled, for the second time since 2018, with a major tech giant for not complying with the record retention requirements under state campaign finance laws. According to the settlement, the company will pay $400,000 plus attorney fees for selling political ads to candidates on its “hosted networks… and the tech company did not, as required, retain information about the ads and the candidates.” While other media have been subject to the law, the state alleged certain tech companies have not complied.
- The Federal Elections Commission dismissed a complaint contending that Democratic National Committee cooperated with Ukraine during the 2016 campaign to bolster the campaign of Hillary Clinton and damage the campaign of former president Trump. “The accusation, filed by a Trump ally, claims that a former DNC consultant sought harmful information about then Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort, a potential violation of campaign finance laws.” The commission voted 4-2 that there was not probable cause.
- The San Francisco Ethics Commission imposed fines on two former City employees for not disclosing their consulting services for an entire year. In settling, the two former employees, who work for the same firm, acknowledge that they “failed to disclose their permit consulting activity for a full year…[and] failed to timely report 80 contacts with City employees or officials on behalf of multiple clients for which they were collectively paid more than $50,000 for their services.” The duo was fined $12,670 for a combined 8 counts of not filing quarterly reports for their permit consulting services.
In Case You Missed It:
- A Rhode Island Judge sentenced former Rep-Elect Laufton Ascencao for using funds for his 2018 campaign for the state House from the local Sierra Club chapter of which he was treasurer during his run for office. The Boston Globe reports that “Ascencao pleaded no contest to a charge of felony embezzlement” among other four campaign finance violations. His prison sentence was suspended and he is ordered to pay restitution to the club.
- Governor Can Pay Daughter for Hair and Makeup: The New Mexico state election chief has deemed as a legal campaign finance expenditure Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s “use of campaign funds on hair and makeup services” paid to her daughter’s beauty business. The Albuquerque Journal reports that the governor’s reelection campaign made the expenditure in advance of Lujan Grisham’s media appearances during last year’s Democratic National Convention.
- Campaign Funds to Fight Charge of Improperly Using Campaign Funds: Congressman Steven Palazzo, under investigation for misappropriation of campaign funds since last year, has confirmed that his campaign then made $61,000 in legal expenditures for his defense in the matter. The (Mississippi) Clarion Ledger details that “there is substantial evidence Palazzo misused campaign funds for his own personal benefit…spend[ing]$20,000 renovating a riverfront home he owned …[and paying] himself $60,000 in rent. An analysis by Forbes indicates Palazzo’s legal expenses “do not appear to violate federal election law.”
- Sarkozy ne sait pas quoi: Examining campaign finance issues on the Continent, Nicolas Sarkozy, the embattled former president of France, has denied responsibility for alleged illegal expenditures his 2012 campaign made. Sarkozy has faced numerous ethics charges relating to his tenure, but this issue concerns whether his campaign “splurged nearly double the 22.5 million euros ($27.28 million) allowed under electoral law on extravagant campaign rallies, then hired a friendly public relations agency to hide the cost.” Prosecutors argue that the former president personally benefited from the expenditures while Sarkozy argues that he is “known for delegating.”