Latest Developments:
- The 2019 CPA-Zicklin Index of Corporate Political Disclosure and Accountability was published this week by the Center for Political Accountability and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. According to the report, “(d)ata from the 2019 Index reflect large U.S. public companies increasing overall their acceptance and practice of disclosure and accountability with regard to their election-related spending… In addition, the number of core companies fully disclosing or prohibiting election-related spending has increased since last year for each of the five categories of spending evaluated by the Index.”
- The United States Department of Justice issued an announcement that it “filed a criminal case charging Imaad Shah Zuberi, a Southern California campaign fundraiser, with falsifying records to conceal his work as a foreign agent while lobbying high-level U.S. government officials.” According to the Assistant Attorney General in charge of the prosecution, “The Department of Justice treats these crimes with the gravity that they deserve and will continue to aggressively identify, investigate and prosecute FARA violations.” Zuberi agreed to plead guilty to three charges: the FARA violation, tax evasion, and campaign finance violations. The campaign finance violation stems from “making conduit contributions in the names of other people, reimbursing contributions made by others, and being reimbursed for contributions he made.” He faces up to 15 years in federal prison on those three charges. According to Politico, his clients included “citizens of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Venezuela, (and)… Sri Lankan government officials.
- The Auditor of Portland, Oregon has revised and re-posted proposed changes to the city’s lobbyist regulations. The revisions include changes to proposed grassroots lobbying provisions.
- The Los Angeles City Council approved an ordinance that revises the city’s ticket distribution policy to conform to changes mandated by the California Fair Political Practices Commission. The ordinance prohibits disproportionate distribution of tickets to a single city officer. The measure is expected to be signed by the Mayor.
Reminder:
The American Bar Association’s webinar, International Political Influence and Corruption in Elections: Will Recent Events Lead to Stricter U.S. Regulation? is available online. The webinar is a timely overview of the laws regulating foreign influence and corruption, and possible changes to come, was the topic of a well-received American Bar Association panel discussion moderated by Nielsen Merksamer Of Counsel Mike Columbo and featuring a presentation by Federal Elections Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub. The one-hour online CLE is available to ABA members free of charge and to the public for a fee, and may be accessed here: International Political Influence and Corruption in Elections.
In Case You Missed It:
- Pennsylvania Campaign Spending Raises Eyebrows: The Philadelphia Inquirer has probed into spending by state lawmakers and found a wide range of uses for campaign funds. The paper notes that “campaign accounts must be used for ‘influencing the outcome of an election.’ But what qualifies is largely open to interpretation.” While some of the spending may be questionable, the paper found that Pennsylvania is the only state with “neither contribution limits nor an explicit ban on spending campaign cash for personal use.” The investigation found “more than 4,800 instances of obscured spending by nearly 300 campaigns.” The paper also found spending that it called “downright bizarre,” including a “$146 promotional photo with `70s trio Tony Orlando and Dawn and (a) $10 ultraviolet dog urine detector.”
- Lobby Business is Good: Bloomberg reports, despite a perception of “partisan gridlock” in Congress, the federal lobbying business is booming. “Health care, … battles in the tech sector, spending and authorization bills, the U.S. trade deal with Mexico and Canada and the Trump administration’s regulatory actions are among the areas that have kept lobbyists busy.”
- New York Times not the Source of Biden Contributions: In an article from Politico (Item 2), we learn that the Biden Campaign reported a contribution from a journalist for the New York Times. The contribution, in fact, came from a Maryland rare books dealer with the same name as the Times journalist who made his contribution without an address or contact information.” Committee staff apparently filled in the occupation and employer information, but guessed wrong. Although commentary suggested that the error complied with a rule for federal committees to engage in “best efforts,” it is not clear that, in our view, a blind search would be legally compliant without obtaining confirmation from the contributor.
- House Continues to Pass Election Reforms: The House of Representatives passed its third bill aimed at preventing foreign interference in U.S. elections, according to The Hill. The bill “would require campaigns to report any illicit offers of assistance by foreign governments or agents and would take steps to ensure that online political advertisements are subject to the same rules as TV and radio ads.” Nevertheless, the article points out that both the ACLU and the Senate Majority leader remain opposed.
- Glendale moves to Regulate: The Glendale, California City Council directed the City Attorney to draft a lobbyist ordinance. The Glendale News-Press reports that the Mayor has “taken meetings with individuals he thought were simply concerned residents expressing their thoughts on a local development project or city contract, only to find out down the line that they were paid industry or company representatives. ‘You feel bad. You feel fooled,’” he told the News-Press. A senior assistant city attorney told the council that the ordinance would include a registration fee and quarterly reports.
- Doing Time for Fundraising Fraud: According to the Center for Public Integrity, a Washington, D.C. political fundraiser pleaded guilty this week to making a false statement, which included “‘materially false, fictitious and fraudulent statements and representations’ to the FEC.” Although we’ve previously reported on this story, we note one new important observation: “The Department of Justice, which may criminally prosecute people who run PACs, is becoming somewhat more aggressive, especially when it comes to investigating political action committees that allegedly mislead donors,” according to the article.