Enforcement

Just one week ago, a federal court in Colorado held that the state’s system for enforcing its campaign finance laws was unconstitutional.  Moving quickly, the Colorado Secretary of state has enacted temporary enforcement rules, effective immediately.

Under the new rules, any person may file a complaint, just like under…
Continue Reading Colorado Enacts Replacement Campaign Finance Enforcement System

In a case with interesting ramifications, a federal court this week struck down major parts of Colorado’s campaign finance enforcement system as unconstitutional.

The system at issue, which was created through a ballot initiative, generally allowed any person who believed there had been a violation of the state’s campaign finance…
Continue Reading Colorado Campaign Finance Enforcement System Found Unconstitutional

Covington today issued the third edition of its Chiefs of Staff manual on handling investigations of Members of Congress and Congressional staff.  The manual was originally published in 2014, but has been updated twice since then.  The new third edition includes some of the latest available statistics and examples.  This…
Continue Reading Covington Issues Updated Investigations Manual for House and Senate Chiefs of Staff

Covington today released an updated version of its manual for Chiefs of Staff to Members of Congress concerning best practices for responding to government investigations of Members and their staff.  Titled “A How-To Guide for Chiefs of Staff,” the manual describes how government investigations unfold and the steps that Chiefs…
Continue Reading Covington Updates Investigations Manual for House and Senate Chiefs of Staff

The Ferrari carrying former Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell appears to have made a U-turn this week on its way to the federal penitentiary.  Covington released today a Client Alert on the Supreme Court’s decision in McDonnell v. United States, a decision which vacated Governor McDonnell’s conviction and redraws the…
Continue Reading The Supreme Court Redraws the Lines for Corruption Prosecutions

A recent settlement between the Massachusetts Office of Campaign and Political Finance (OCPF) and Massachusetts Republican Party may highlight an emerging trend: state parties using federal preemption to avoid strict state campaign finance laws.  At issue was whether the Massachusetts Republican Party could use funds from its federal campaign account…
Continue Reading “When One Door Closes . . .”: McCain-Feingold Opens “Soft Money” Loophole In the States

The Securities and Exchange Commission announced Tuesday that it will allow further comment on a pay-to-play rule proposed by the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).

As we discussed previously, if the SEC approves FINRA’s pay-to-play rule, it would clarify that investment advisers are allowed to hire third party solicitors…
Continue Reading Enforcement, Clarity Delayed for FINRA Pay-to-Play and Third Party Solicitation Rules

On Friday, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) issued its ninth annual report on compliance with the federal Lobbying Disclosure Act (LDA), covering from mid-2014 through mid-2015.  As in the past, the report is based on random audits of lobbyists’ filings and analysis of enforcement by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for…
Continue Reading Annual GAO Report on Federal Lobbying Compliance Shows Mixed Enforcement Bag: Fewer Audits, More and Larger Enforcement Penalties

Yesterday, the FCC released an Enforcement Advisory to remind political campaigns about their obligations under the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”).  The Advisory did not set forth any new rules for calls and texts; rather, it confirmed existing rules and reminded political campaigns that they are subject to them.

The…
Continue Reading FCC Releases TCPA Enforcement Advisory Directed to Political Campaigns