|
|
Posts Tagged ‘Rep. Maxine Waters’
Friday, November 12th, 2010 by Vbhotla
This week was full of developments, in the wake of several ethic investigations and a massive effort on K Street to prepare for the new Congress. Among the top stories we followed:
- Congresswoman in deep “Waters” over contributions – Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.) has recently been accused of penning legislation in favor of a firm whose lobbying arm paid her husband $15,000 in consulting fees. Waters was already knee-deep in an ethics scandal regarding her attempts to steer money into her husband’s bank.
- Jurors in the Kevin Ring ethics trial are having difficulty deciding whether or not Ring violated lobbying laws, specifically whether or not he intended corruption. The judge in the case has assisted with definitions, instructing jurors to further deliberations.
- Legislators in New Jersey are discussing whether or not lobbyists should be eligible for pension plans and health insurance. The State Assembly is set to vote on a bill to deny these benefits later this month, citing a new belief that lobbyists are not “genuine state employees.” With jurisdictions nationwide looking to cut spending, there is speculation as to whether or not this could become a national trend.
- Monday, Lobbyists testified in the ongoing money laundering trial of former Rep. Tom DeLay. Lobbyists for Bacardi and Reliant Energy admitted to $70,000 in donations to DeLay during his 2002 election campaign, but his lawyer claims these donations were simply “politics as usual.“
Tags: corruption trials, Kevin Ring, Rep. Maxine Waters, Tom DeLay
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-up
Friday, September 3rd, 2010 by Vbhotla
The FEC’s two newest final rules were published on Aug. 27, along with two advisory opinions. See our post on that here, and the FEC’s press release here.
State and Federal Communications’ excellent blog LobbyComply has this interesting piece on the origin of the term “lobbyist.” See State and Fed’s always-useful Compliance Now newsletter for updates on state-level lobbying and compliance.
It seems like House Ethics is always in the news these days. The Office of Congressional Ethics voted to refer several lawmakers for potential violations of ethics rules. Reps. Crowley, Campbell (of California), and Price (of Georgia) were under scrutiny for their votes on financial services reform.
Speaking of House Ethics, Point of Order blog discusses the differences and similarities between Rep. Maxine Waters’ case and Rep. Sam Graves’ case (which was dismissed earlier this year).
The FEC’s RECORD newsletter is now available from their website, here. (PDF)
The Political Affairs Council has an interesting post on Corporate Social Responsibility and the role of CSR in today’s economy.
Open Secrets blog reports on the environment for campaign finance reformers. See post here, “Campaign Finance Reformers Facing Major Political, Legal Obstacles.”
Quote of the week:
“The next president of the United States on January 21, 2013 – – is going to start lobbying… He’s going to be lobbying Congress, he’s going to be lobbying other countries. He’s going to be lobbying the business community. He’s going to be lobbying the labor unions, the governors, because that’s what presidents do, and I feel like it’s an advantage for me to have the chance to do that.” – Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour (R), on whether his past as a lobbyist makes him a good potential candidate for president in 2012. (Politico, 9/1/2010)
Tags: ethics committee, FEC, Haley Barbour, Public Affairs Council, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Sam Graves, State and Federal Communications
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, August 13th, 2010 by Vbhotla
As Norm Eisen departs for Prague, the White House announces his replacement: nobody. Well, technically, Bob Bauer will take over Eisen’s “portfolio” at 1600 Pennsylvania Ave, and Steven Croley will also join the ethics team. Article at the Washington Post. Also: the Sunlight Foundation doesn’t take kindly to the announcement, listing several ethics promises on which they have yet to see follow-through from the Obama Administration. CREW (which Eisen co-founded) is also not enthused.
Some lawyers think Paul Magliocchetti’s indictment may truly mark the end of the PMA pay-to-play scandal.
Federal Judge Ellen Huvelle refused to throw out charges against accused Jack Abramoff associate Kevin Ring this week. Ring’s attorneys had asked Huvelle to vacate the charges after the Supreme Court’s decisions in three recent cases diminished the power of the honest services fraud statute, one of the statutes under which Ring was charged.
Rep. Maxine Waters‘ ethics charges were revealed – and she plans to fight back. Most of the charge appears to focus on the actions of Rep. Waters’ chief of staff, Mikael Moore, in trying to secure federal funding for OneUnited Bank, an entity in which Rep. Waters’ husband held financial stake. This case, in which Waters is being reprimanded for the actions of her staff, bears some resemblance to Rep. Charlie Rangel’s getting in trouble for his staff’s knowledge about the infamous trip to the Caribbean.
Speaking of Charlie Rangel, if you haven’t seen the rambling 30-minute House floor speech that he gave earlier this week, it’s time for a little Friday afternoon work-break.
Are you a corporation planning to use the Citizens United case to spend massive amounts of money in federal elections? Let what happened to Target Corp. in Minnesota be a lesson to you.
GOP Reps. Mike Castle (Dela.) and Bob Platts (Pa.) have teamed up to offer more power to the Office of Congressional Ethics. A new bill by the two Congressmen, titled the Accountability and Transparency in Ethics Act, would give subpoena powers to the mostly investigative body. Read more at Roll Call, “Castle, Platts Propose Tougher Ethics Measures.”
Interesting little tid-bit from K Street Cafe: How and why does Congress use Twitter (video).
Quote(s) of the Week:
“With Mr. Eisen headed to Europe as an ambassador, his move from the White House ‘is the biggest lobbying success we’ve had all year,'” – Tony Podesta, Washington Post, Aug. 6
“Violations of campaign finance laws are clear cut and lend themselves to easy proof beyond a reasonable doubt… It sounds like this is both the beginning and possibly the end of the PMA matter in terms of prosecution.” – Jan Baran, on the Paul Magliocchetti indictment, Roll Call, Aug. 9
Tags: Bob Bauer, Citizens United, Jan Baran, K St. Cafe, Kevin Ring, Norm Eisen, Paul Magliocchetti, pma group, Rep. Bob Platts, Rep. Charlie Rangel, Rep. Maxine Waters, Rep. Mike Castle, Target Corp., Tony Podesta
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
Friday, August 6th, 2010 by Vbhotla
The amendment to the Lobbying Disclosure Act catches the eyes of the fine folks over at OMB Watch. “Bill Would Create a Task Force for Enforcing the LDA.”
PMA Group President Paul Magliocchetti was indicted on 11 counts in a federal court on Thursday. According to Politico’s report on the indictment, Magliocchetti “sought to enrich both PMA and himself by increasing the firm’s influence, power and prestige — both among the firm’s base of current and potential clients as well as among the elected public officials to whom PMA and its lobbyists sought access.” A good round-up of stories on the charges is at Political Activity Law. The Department of Justice’s press release is here, “Lobbyist Indicted for Orchestrating Illegal Campaign Contribution Scheme.” Look for our story on the PMA Group in our free bi-weekly regulatory alert email, the Government Relations Alert, on Monday.
This spring’s Republican moratorium on earmarks leads to … wait for it … less earmarks! From The Hill,
“Self-imposed Republican moratorium leads to drop in 2011 earmark spending.”
Rep. Waters wants in on the ethics trial thing too! Well, more accurately, she at least wants her name cleared before November’s elections. Politico’s latest story is here, “Waters asks for release of allegations.”
State & Federal Communications’ Compliance Now newsletter is now available. State & Fed has also started an excellent blog, “Lobby Comply.”
Other political law and campaign finance newsletter updates:
Womble Carlyle’s Political GPS
Holtzman Vogel’s Political Law Update
Quote of the Week:
“The [anti-special interest] rhetoric is BS… Every time the president talks about it, we get a client.” – unnamed “lobbyist,” Roll Call, 8/1/2010
Tags: Earmarks, Holtzman Vogel, LDA amendments, OMB Watch, Paul Magliocchetti, pma group, Rep. Maxine Waters, State and Federal Communications, Womble Carlyle
Posted in Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up | Comments Off on Weekly Lobbying News Round-Up
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
