Campaign Finance

National: Michael Cohen Sentenced to 3 Years After Implicating Trump in Hush-Money Scandal by Benjamin Weiser and William Rashbaum (New York Times) for MSN

National: A ‘Loud Gong’: National Enquirer’s surprise deal could imperil Trump by Darren Samuelsohn for Politico

Elections

North Carolina: Latest Plan to Overhaul Elections Board Heads to Cooper by Laura Leslie and Matthew Burns for WRAL

Ethics

National: Russian Maria Butina Pleads Guilty in Case to Forge Kremlin Bond with U.S. Conservatives by Spencer Hsu and Tom Jackman (Washington Post) for MSN

Florida: ‘He Got Screwed’: Gillum absent from indictment after DeSantis bashed him as corrupt by Marc Caputo for Politico

Lobbying

National: Targets of U.S. Sanctions Hire Lobbyists with Trump Ties to Seek Relief by Kenneth Vogel (New York Times) for MSN

Massachusetts: After Vow to Cap Inauguration Cash, Baker Took Lobbyist Donation by Matt Stout for Boston Globe

New York: Lawsuit Could Derail NY’s Pricey Lobbying Filing System by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Pennsylvania: Pennsylvania Ethics Commission Fines Workers Comp Law Firm’s Lobbying Wings for Late Disclosure of Influence Peddling by Steve Esack for Allentown Morning Call

Campaign Finance

National: “Democratic, GOP Super PACs Quadruple Fundraising as Big-Money Groups’ Influence Grows” by Maggie Severns for Politico

Elections

North Carolina: “Harris Campaign Owes $34K, in Part for Disputed Bladen Absentee Effort” by Travis Fain for WRAL

Ethics

National: “Billionaire GOP Donor Gave Scott Pruitt $50,000 for Legal Expenses” by Brady Dennis and Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) for MSN

Legislative Issues

New York: “Commission Recommends Pay Increases and Ethics Reforms for State Legislators” by Ben Brachfeld for Gotham Gazette

Lobbying

Kansas: “Lynn Jenkins Sets Up Lobbying Business — But She’s Still a Kansas Congresswoman” by Jonathan Shorman (Wichita Eagle) and Bryan Lowry for McClatchy DC

Missouri: “Missouri Lawmaker Quits in Last Moment Before Lobbying Limit” by David Lieb (Associated Press) for Columbia Missourian

Procurement

Tennessee: “Nashville Mayor David Briley Taps Former Judge as First-Ever Chief Compliance Officer” by Joey Garrison for The Tennessean

Campaign Finance

Arizona: “Watchdog Group: Ducey re-election PAC received illegal $500,000 contribution” by Maria Polletta for Arizona Republic

Massachusetts: “Massachusetts Campaign Finance Law on Union Donations Appealed to U.S. Supreme Court” by Shira Schoenberg for MassLive.com

Washington D.C.: “D.C. Council Approves Sweeping Changes to Campaign Finance, Bans ‘Pay to Play’” by Peter Jamison for Washington Post

Ethics

National: “Flynn Was Key Cooperator and Deserves Little Prison Time, Mueller Team Says” by Adam Goldman and Eileen Sullivan (New York Times) for WRAL

New Mexico: “Legislator Says Harassment Claim Dismissal Vindicates Him” by Dan Boyd for Albuquerque Journal

New York: “NYC Board of Elections Boss Didn’t Properly Report Lavish Trips Funded by Voting Machine Company” by Denis Slattery for New York Daily News

Texas: “Some Republicans Want to Oust a Muslim Doctor from His GOP Leadership Role – Because He’s Muslim” by Meagan Flynn (Washington Post) for San Jose Mercury News

West Virginia: “He Is West Virginia’s Speaker of the House – and a Lawyer for Natural Gas Companies” by Ken Ward Jr. and Kate Mishkin (Charleston Gazette-Mail) for ProPublica

Legislative Issues

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Republicans Pass Lame-Duck Bill to Curb Powers of Incoming Governor, Attorney General” by Jessie Opoien for Madsion.com

Lobbying

National: “Prosecutors Ramp Up Foreign Lobbying Probe In New York” by Eric Tucker, Desmond Butler, and Chad Day (Associated Press) for TPM

Missouri: “Missouri Lawmakers Resign Ahead of New Lobbyist Limits” by David Lieb (Associated Press) for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Campaign Finance

Florida: “Ross Spano Acknowledges Possible ‘Violation’ of Campaign Finance Law” by William March for Tampa Bay Times

Pennsylvania: “Bob Brady Aide Smukler Found Guilty on 9 of 11 Counts in Campaign Finance Case” by Jeremy Roebuck and Andrew Seidman for Philadelphia Inquirer

Elections

National: “Exclusive: Emails of top NRCC officials stolen in major 2018 hack” by Alex Isednstadt and John Bresnahan for Politico

North Carolina: “North Carolina Election-Fraud Investigation Centers on Operative with Criminal History Who Worked for GOP Congressional Candidate” by Amy Gardner and Kirk Ross (Washington Post) for Chicago Tribune

Ethics

National: “In the Age of Trump, Can Scandal Still Sink a Politician?” by Lisa Lerer (New York Times) for MSN

National: “Trump Entities in Maryland, D.C., Hit with Subpoenas” by Jonathan O’Connell, Ann Marimow, and David Fahrenthold (Washington Post) for San Jose Mercury News

Kansas: “Watchdog Groups, GOP Question Baker Serving as Prosecutor, Dem Party Chair” by Hunter Woodall for Kansas City Star

New Jersey: “FBI and IRS Raid Home of Atlantic City Mayor” by Amy Rosenberg (Philadelphia Inquirer) for Governing

New York: “Developer Sentenced to Prison for ‘Buffalo Billion’ Bid-Rigging” by Robert Gavin for Albany Times Union

Ethics

National: “Six White House Officials Reprimanded for Violating the Hatch Act” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee for Pittsburgh Tribune-Review

National: “Democrats Go Into 2019 With Ethics Blazing” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

National: “EPA IG: Pruitt’s resignation left ethics probes inconclusive” by Michael Biesecker (Associated Press) for Fresno Bee

Florida: “Appeals Court Dismisses Lawsuit Against Gov. Scott in Underreported Income Case” by John Kennedy (GateHouse Capital Bureau) for Florida Times Union

Illinois: “Federal Agents Raid Powerful Chicago Ald. Ed Burke’s City Hall and Ward Offices” by Bill Ruthhart, John Byrne, and Jason Meisner for Chicago Tribune

Pennsylvania: “Pa. State Lawmaker Sentenced in Bribery Case” by Charles Thompson for PennLive

Tennessee: “Bill Lee Prepares to ‘Step Away from Lee Company,’ Though Specifics of Transition Unclear” by Natalie Allison for The Tennessean

Legislative Issues

Minnesota: “You Know You Want to Read This Sexy Story about Legislative Process Reform” by Peter Callaghan for Minnesota Post

Campaign Finance

California: L.A. Councilman’s Wife Was a Paid Fundraiser. Ex-Aides Say He Assigned Them to Help by Adam Elmahrek, David Zahniser, and Emily Alpert-Reyes for the Los Angeles Times

Elections

National: Trump-Led GOP Grows Increasingly Tolerant of Racially Divisive Politics by Matt Viser and Michael Scherer (Washington Post) for The News-Times

North Carolina: Amid Fraud Allegations, North Carolina Election Board Won’t Certify House Race by Sasha Ingber for Maine Public

Ethics

National: The Swamp Builders by Manuel Roig-Franzia for The Washington Post

National: Supreme Court to Consider Case That Could Affect Potential Manafort Prosecutions by Robert Barnes for The Washington Post

New Mexico: New Mexico Lawmakers Debate Ethics Secrecy by Dan McKay for the Albuquerque Journal

Lobbying

National: Ex-Justice Official Helped 1MDB’s Jho Low Funnel Dirty Money by Greg Farrell, Tom Schoenberg, and David Voreacos for Bloomberg

Campaign Finance

National: “Unnamed Donors Gave Large Sums to Conservative Nonprofit That Funded Pro-Trump Allies” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee (Washington Post) for MSN

Alaska: “Judges Open Door Wider for Out-of-State Money in Alaska Elections” by James Brooks for Anchorage Daily News

Elections

National: “Roger Stone Sought WikiLeaks’ Plans Amid 2016 Campaign, Associate Says” by Sharon LaFraniere and Maggie Haberman New York Times) for WRAL

Michigan: “Ethics Committee: Brenda Jones can keep Detroit job while in Congress” by Todd Spangler and Kat Stafford for Detroit Free Press

Mississippi: “Cindy Hyde-Smith Holds Off Mike Espy to Keep Mississippi Senate Seat” by Alan Blinder (New York Times) for WRAL

Ethics

National: “Manafort’s Lawyer Said to Brief Trump Attorneys on What He Told Mueller” by Michael Schmidt, Sharon LaFraniere, and Maggie Haberman (New York Times) for MSN

National: “Republicans Block Mueller Protection Bill from Senate Floor Vote” by Caitlin Oprysko and Marianne Levine for Politico

New Mexico: “SIC Approves $5.65 Million ‘Pay-to-Play’ Settlement” by Dan Boyd for Albuquerque Journal

Pennsylvania: “Ex-Allentown Finance Director Sentenced to House Arrest for Pay-to-Play Scheme” by Peter Hall and Emily Opilo for Allentown Morning Call

Tennessee: “Mayor Briley Halts Public Works Contracts, Hires Compliance Officer Amid Questions Raised in Audit” by Joey Garrison for The Tennessean

Lobbying

Missouri: “Federal Appeals Court Decides Against Mid-Missouri Man, Ruling Unpaid Activists Are Lobbyists” by the Staff for Lake Expo

New York: “Lawsuit Seeks to Block New York’s Sweeping New Lobbying Rules” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Campaign Finance

National: “Jeb Bush Super-PAC Fined $200,000 for Campaign Finance Violation” by Ken Doyle for Bloomberg Government

New Jersey: “‘Dark Money’ Flows into NJ Politics and None of It Has to Be Accounted For” by Dustin Racioppi for Bergen Record

South Carolina: “Court Case Could Change How SC Statehouse Elections Are Funded” by Jamie Lovegrove for Charleston Post and Courier

Elections

National: “How to Influence Campaigns: Take inexperienced staffers, stir in a small amount of money, Democrats find” by Michael Scherer for Washington Post

Ethics

National: “Manafort Breached Plea Deal by Repeatedly Lying, Mueller Says” by Sharon LaFraniere (New York Times) for WRAL

National: “Trump Nominee Sunk by ‘Fat Leonard’ Corruption Scandal” by Craig Whitlock for Washington Post

New Jersey: “Bridgegate: Ex-Christie aides win appeal on one conviction, still guilty on two other counts” by Andrew Ford for Bergen Record

Lobbying

National: “Corporations Risking ‘Serious Corruption’ by Failing to Disclose Political Engagement, Researchers Say” by Chloe Taylor for CNBC

Redistricting

Maryland: “Hogan Names Panel to Redraw Maryland’s 6th District, Despite Frosh Appeal of Court Order to Fix Gerrymandering” by Michael Dresser for Baltimore Sun

Campaign Finance

National: “How FEC Babysitting Decision Could Pave Way for More Hill Diversity” by Stephanie Akin for Roll Call

Canada: “Province Limits Political Donations at Municipal Level” by Paul Clarke for Rocky Mountain Outlook

Massachusetts: “Agency Weighs Limit on Union Giving” by Christian Wade for Gloucester Times

Nevada: “We May Never Know Exactly Why Nevada Politicians Put $2 Million on Campaign Credit Cards” by James DeHaven for Reno Gazette-Journal

Elections

New Mexico: “ABQ Councilors Approve Moving City Elections” by Steve Knight for Albuquerque Journal

Ethics

National: “It’s Not Just Trump in House Democrats’ Cross Hairs. His Family Is, Too.” by Maggie Haberman and Nicholas Fandos (New York Times) for MSN

National: “Conservative Author and Roger Stone Associate Jerome Corsi Says He Is Rejecting Plea Deal from Special Counsel” by Rosalind Helderman for Washington Post

California: “Palo Alto Tech Chief Whose Junkets Triggered Ethics Complaint Says He’s Quitting” by Thy Vo for Santa Cruz Sentinel

Campaign Finance

New York: N.Y. Democrats Vowed to Get Big Money Out of Politics. Will Big Money Interfere?by Vivian Wang (New York Times) for WRAL

Washington D.C.: D.C. Council Approves Sweeping Reforms to Combat ‘Pay-to-Play’ Politics by Peter Jamison for The Washington Post

Ethics

National: Trump Wanted to Order Justice Dept. to Prosecute Comey and Clinton by Michael Schmidt and Maggie Haberman (New York Times) for MSN

National: Conservative Nonprofit with Obscure Roots, Undisclosed Funders Paid Whitaker $1.2 Million by Robert O’Harrow Jr., Shawn Boburg, and Aaron Davis (Washington Post) for The Seattle Times

Colorado: Hickenlooper Paid Own Way for Some Trips, Says He Followed Ethics Law on Others by David Migoya for The Denver Post

New York: New York State Judge Allows Suit Against Trump and His Personal Charity to Proceed by Jonathan O’Connell and David Fahrenthold (Washington Post) for The Chicago Tribune

Lobbying

Missouri: Parson Alters Lobbyist Gift Ban Rules Imposed by Greitens by Kurt Erickson for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Campaign Finance

National: “Democrats Plan ‘Aggressive’ Oversight of Federal Election Commission” by Dave Levinthal and Ashley Balcerzak for Center for Public Integrity

Louisiana: “Ethics Board: Campaign funds can’t cover candidates’ child care costs” by Elizabeth Crisp for New Orleans Advocate

Washington: “PDC Making More Progress on Case Work This Fiscal Year” by Sarah Gentzler for Washington State Wire

Elections

Mississippi: “In Mississippi, Issues of Race Complicate a Senate Election” by Astead Herndon and Alexander Burns (New York Times) for WRAL

Ethics

National: “CNN Drops Suit Against White House After Acosta’s Press Pass Is Fully Restored” by Paul Farhi and Meagan Flynn for Washington Post

National: “Zinke’s #2 Has So Many Potential Conflicts of Interest He Has to Carry a List of Them All” by Juliet Eilperin (Washington Post) for Everett Herald

National: “Cookie Ethics: Congresswoman-elect asks if she’s still allowed to sell Girl Scout cookies” by Nicole Gaudiano and Eliza Collins for USA Today

National: “Ivanka Trump Used a Personal Email Account to Send Hundreds of Emails About Government Business Last Year” by Carol Leonnig and Josh Dawsey (Washington Post) for MSN

Campaign Finance

National: “Golf Courses, Dallas Cowboys: Report questions how Congress spends campaign money” by Lesley Clark for McClatchy DC

South Dakota: “Rich Relatives Are Unlimited Source of Campaign Cash in South Dakota” by Seth Tupper for Rapid City Journal

Elections

National: “In a Year of Political Logos, Campaigns of All Stripes Preferred Blue” by Chris Alcantara for Washington Post

Ethics

National: “‘Nothing on This Page Is Real’: How lies become truth in online America” by Eli Saslow (Washington Post) for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

National: “House Ethics Committee Sanctions Two Members Over Sexual Harassment Allegations” by Michael Brice-Saddler for Chicago Tribune

National: “Supreme Court Will Weigh Trump’s Plan to Add Citizenship Question to 2020 Census” by Charles Savage for Los Angeles Times

National: “Senate Democrats Sue to Block Whitaker from Serving as Acting AG” by Cailtin Opresko for Politico

Connecticut: “State Ethics Board to Appeal Court Ruling in UConn Football Coach Randy Edsall’s Case” by Dave Altimeri for Hartford Courant

Kansas: “Leavenworth County Official: ‘Master race’ comment was misconstrued by public, media” by Katy Bergen for Kansas City Star

Oregon: “Former Oregon State Board Director Faces $20,000 Ethics Fine, but He’s Not Here” by Ben Botkin for Salem Statesman-Journal

Lobbying

Utah: “‘Killing Two Birds with One Stone’: Lobbyist, political news publisher and columnist asks for an interview and offers campaign cash in email to state senator” by Benjamin Wood for Salt Lake Tribune

Elections

Arizona: “Centrist Democrat Kyrsten Sinema Flips Arizona Senate Seat” by The Associated Press for MSN

Georgia: “Federal Judge Delays Certification of Georgia Election Results, Citing Concerns Over Provisional Ballots” by Vanessa Williams for Washington Post

Maine: “Facing Defeat, Maine Republican Sues to Block State’s Ranked-Choice Voting Law” by Scott Thistle for Maine Public

Ethics

Alabama: “Trump’s Southeast Regional EPA Administrator Indicted on Alabama Ethics Charges” by Kyle Whitmire for AL.com

Arkansas: “Health Firm’s Ex-Exec Pleads Guilty in Case Involving Former Arkansas Lawmakers” by Eric Besson for Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

Federal: “CNN Sues President Trump and Top White House Aides for Barring Jim Acosta” by Brian Stelter (CNN) for WRAL

Federal: “Whitaker’s Appointment as Acting Attorney General Faces Court Challenge” by Charlie Savage for New York Times

Pennsylvania: “Public Corruption Charges for Former City Rep Desiree Peterkin Bell” by Claudia Vargas and Chris Brennan for Philadelphia Inquirer

Campaign Finance

Federal: “Trump Involved in ‘Nearly Every Step’ of Hush-Money Payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal: WSJ” by Kevin Brueniger and Dan Mangan for CNBC

New Jersey: “Bankers’ Group Seeks End to Ban on Gifts to Local Candidates” by Charles Toutant (Law.com) for Yahoo! Finance

Elections

Mississippi: “A Senator from Mississippi Joked About ‘Public Hanging.’ Her Black Opponent Called It ‘Reprehensible.’” by Michael Brice-Saddler for Washington Post

National: “Democratic Socialists Rack Up Wins in States” by Graham Vyse for Governing

Ethics

Federal: “Whitaker May Have Violated Group’s Tax-Exempt Status” by Jeff Donn for Associated Press

Missouri: “Despite Election Night Victory, Fight Over Ethics Overhaul in Missouri May Not Be Over” by Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

North Dakota: “Victorious North Dakota Measure 1 Supporters Expect More Work, Lawsuits” by Tru-Uyen Tran (Forum News Service) for Bismarck Tribune

Lobbying

Illinois: “Ex-State Sen. Althoff Backed Bill That Her Lobbying Client Would Benefit From” by Robert Herguth for Chicago Sun-Times