Latest Developments:
- A United States District Court judge in Georgia issued a preliminary injunction barring the incumbent Governor from spending leadership committee funds on his reelection campaign. Leadership committees are not subject to the same contribution limits as candidate committees.KTAR News reports the judge wrote “that the U.S. Supreme Court has said imposing different contribution limits on candidates competing for the same office violates the First Amendment.” The challenger’s campaign asserted the extra committee “gives [incumbent Governor] Kemp a significant and unfair fundraising and spending advantage in the primary.”
- The Oregon Secretary of State rejected three ballot measures to limit campaign contributions in Oregon because the “constitution requires initiative petitions include the full text of the proposed measure.” Oregon Public Broadcasting reports that the proposals “would create new limits on how much money individuals, advocacy groups, labor organizations, corporations and political parties can contribute to candidates and causes.”
- A Montana Judge struck down portions of the recently enacted SB 319. Those portions (1) required judges to recuse themselves in cases in which the received certain campaign contributions and (2) prohibited certain political activities on college campuses. The Billings Gazette explains that the late amendments “violated the state Constitution when they added sections unrelated to the original intent of the bill.” The provisions of the bill that established joint fundraising committees were not challenged.
- The United States Department of Justice posted several new advisory opinions regarding the Foreign Agents Registration Act. Many of these recent opinions focus on the activities of foreign nonprofit organizations operating in the United States.
- The US DOJ also issued a press release this week concerning the indictment of “[t]hree Hawaii-based executives of a government contractor…for allegedly making unlawful campaign contributions to a candidate for Congress and a political action committee.” According to The Hill, these executives skirted Federal rules prohibiting contractors from making campaign contributions by establishing shell companies and reimbursing family members for donations to a pro-Sen. Susan Collins super PAC during her 2020 election. These charges carry “up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine on each count.”
In Case You Missed It:
- Flip-flopping on Personal Use: VPM Politfact reports on several Virginia state delegates who, in recent years, “support[ed] a bill that would have prohibited candidates from using campaign funds for personal expenses,” but which ultimately died in the state Senate. However, now in a legislative majority, these same delegates voted to kill an identical bill in subcommittee. Critics contend that the lawmakers “in the past had a ‘free pass’ in supporting the ban because they knew it would die in the Senate…[now] there’s growing momentum in the Senate for the ban this year and if the[y] supported the bill it might actually become law.”
- Gifts of Legal Services Questioned: The Associated Press reports that groups are pressuring the New York Joint Commission on Public Ethics to “investigate whether former Gov. Andrew Cuomo broke the law by accepting free help from a group of former aides who worked to defend him against sexual harassment allegations.” The former Governor reportedly “turned to a team of outside advisers — former members of his administration — who provided the Democrat with strategic advice and public relations help. Several of those ex-aides worked for companies that lobby the state or have had state contracts.” But his attorney noted that “New York’s gift ban doesn’t apply to family members or friends…”