Campaign Finance

Illinois: “15 Got Promotions from Court Clerk Dorothy Brown Within 6 Months of Donations” by Robert Herguth and Tanveer Ali for Chicago Sun-Times

New York: “JCOPE Continues Long-Running Probe of de Blasio Donors” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

South Dakota: “‘Pay to Play’ Questions Emerge in South Dakota Governor’s Race” by John Hult for Sioux Falls Argus Leader

Elections

National: “Facebook’s Role in Data Misuse Sets Off Storms on Two Continents” by Matthew Rosenberg and Sheera Frenkel for New York Times

Ethics

North Carolina: “Cooper Names 8 to North Carolina Elections and Ethics Board” by Gary Robertson (Associated Press) for Durham Herald-Sun

Lobbying

National: “Bye-Bye Box Seats? Tax Law May Curb Corporate Cash at Games” by Marcy Gordon (Associated Press) for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Arkansas: “Former Arkansas Legislator’s Name Surfaces in Graft Case” by Doug Thompson for Arkansas Online

Procurement

Florida: “In Miami, MCM Thrives on Big County Contracts. Now It Faces the FIU Bridge Catastrophe” by Douglas Hanks for Miami Herald

Campaign Finance

National: FEC Considers Expanding Political Ad Disclaimers to Mobile Apps by Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Tony Romm for Washington Post

Elections

National: Teachers Aren’t Just Striking, They’re Running for Office by Alan Greenblatt for Governing

Ethics

National: Trump Cabinet Members Accused of Living Large at Taxpayer Expense by Juliet Eilperin and Brady Dennis for Washington Post

National: Trump Company Lawyer Involved in Effort to Keep Stormy Daniels Silent, Document Shows by Emma Brown, Beth Reinhard, and Frances Stead Sellers for Washington Post

Alabama: Etowah Sheriff Pockets $750k in Jail Food Funds, Buys $740k Beach House by Connor Sheets for AL.com

California: Imperial County Is a Web of Friends and Family. Is It Too Small to Investigate Itself? by Sammy Roth for Palm Springs Desert Sun

New York: Trial Raises Questions About Many Cuomo Practices by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Lobbying

Missouri: Ex-Greitens’ Adviser Now Registered to Lobby in Missouri by Kurt Erickson for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Campaign Finance

National: “Despite Pledge to ‘Drain the Swamp,’ Trump Has Shown Little Interest in Beefing Up the Federal Election Commission” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee for Washington Post

District of Columbia: “D.C. Mayor, Reversing Course, Signs Law Creating Publicly Financed Campaigns” by Peter Jamison for Washington Post

Illinois: “Assessor Berrios Loses Court Fight to Overturn Cook County’s Limits on Campaign Donations” by Ray Long and Hal Dardick for Chicago Tribune

Missouri: “Heavyweight D.C. Law Firm Represented Hawley for Free in 2016” by Jason Hancock (Kansas City Star) and Lindsey Wise for McClatchy DC

Wyoming: “An Effort to Crackdown on ‘Dark Money’ in Wyoming Quietly Died at the Legislature. Nobody Is Quite Sure Why.” by Arno Rosenfeld for Casper Star-Tribune

Elections

National: “Strong Performance by Democrat Conor Lamb in Pennsylvania Shakes Trump and G.O.P.” by Peter Baker and Michael Shear for New York Times

Ethics

National: “Feds: Ex-aide to U.S. Rep. Bob Brady Targeted in Murder-for-Hire Plot” by Jeremy Roebuck for Philadelphia Inquirer

National: “Trump Jr. and Texas Donor Have Longtime Undisclosed Ties” by Jake Pearson (Associated Press) for Chicago Tribune

Missouri: “‘Potential for Corruption Here Is Unbelievable’: Who’s paying Greitens’ legal bills?” by Lindsey Wise (McClatchy DC) and Jason Hancock for Kansas City Star

North Carolina: “Duke Energy Threatens Advocacy Group with Legal Action Over Financial Claims” by John Murawski for Raleigh News and Observer

Legislative Issues

North Carolina: “Cooper Sues Again While Court Rejects Elections Board Motion” by Gary Robertson (Associated Press) for Raleigh News and Observer

Campaign Finance

National: “A Super PAC Has Raised Millions to Mobilize Black Voters. Does It Matter That Its Funders Are White?” by Lateshia Beachum for Center for Public Integrity

Arizona: “Tom Horne Takes on ‘Dark Money’ Despite Past Campaign Investigations” by Richard Ruelas for Arizona Republic

Oregon: “Multnomah County to Appeal Campaign Finance Ruling” by Nick Budnick for Portland Tribune

Elections

National: “Despite Mueller’s Push, House Republicans Declare No Evidence of Collusion” by Nicholas Fandos for New York Times

Ethics

National: “White House Aides Blur the Legal Lines Between Partisans and Public Servants” by Julie Hirschfeld Davis for New York Times

National: “Ivanka Trump Never Cut Ties with the Trump Organization. That’s Turned into a Problem.” by Anita Kumar for McClatchy DC

Maryland: “Security Video Shows Maryland Lobbyist Touching Lawmaker. He Says It Vindicates Him. She Says It Vindicates Her.” by Erin Cox for Baltimore Sun

Missouri: “Missouri Ethics Watchdog Will Be Unable to Meet after Greitens’ Inaction” by Jack Suntrup for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

New York: “Joseph Percoco, Ex-Cuomo Aide, Found Guilty in Corruption Trial” by Vivian Wang and Benjamin Weiser for New York Times

Pennsylvania: “Gov. Wolf Proposes Ethics Reforms for Pennsylvania Lawmakers” by Kate Giammarise for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Lobbying

National: “Companies Fretting Over ‘Foreign Agents’ Label” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

Campaign Finance

National: “Trump Company Email Was Used for Stormy Daniels Hush-Money Payment” by Michael Finnegan for Los Angeles Times

Ethics

National: “Out of Public View, Trumps and Kushners Are Talking Business” by Ben Protess, Steve Eder, and Jesse Drucker for New York Times

California: “‘Hamilton’ Tickets Without the Wait – or the Cost? It Helps to Be an L.A. Politician” by Emily Alpert Reyes for Los Angeles Times

Maryland: “Anne Arundel Prosecutor’s Campaign Paid $40,000 to Consulting Firm Owned by Top Aide’s Wife” by Phil Davis for Capital Gazette

New York: “Tackling Sexual Harassment With ‘Bipartisan Bad Behavior’ in Shadows” by Jesse McKinley for New York Times

Lobbying

Alabama: “Alabama Ethics Commission Director Says Bill Weakens Ethics Law” by Associated Press for AL.com

Iowa: “Bill Dix Resigns from Iowa Senate after Video with Lobbyist Is Posted” by William Petroski, Brianne Pfannensteil, and Jason Noble for Des Moines Register

Wisconsin: “Ethics Commission Won’t Fine Lobbyists After Audit” by Associated Press for Madison.com

Campaign Finance

National: “New Federal Rules on Facebook and Google Ads May Not Be in Place for 2018 Midterms” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee and Tony Romm for Washington Post

Canada: “Liberals Plan New Election Rules for Foreign, Domestic Pressure Groups” by Alex Boutilier for Toronto Star

Elections

National: “How Russian Trolls Crept into the Trump Campaign’s Facebook Message” by Kenneth Vogel for New York Times

Ethics

District of Columbia: “A D.C. Lawmaker Took on Mayor Muriel Bowser. Three Days Later, He Backed Down.” by Peter Jamison and Perry Stein for Washington Post

Florida: “State Ethics Board Sides with Watchdog Over Hagan, Hillsborough County” by Noah Pransky for WTSP

Illinois: “Berrios’ Assessor’s Office Gives Tax Break to Firm’s Lobbying Client” by Chuck Neubauer and Sandy Bergo (Better Government Association) for Chicago Daily Herald

Maryland: “Former Baltimore County Schools Leader Dallas Dance Pleads Guilty to Perjury” by Liz Bowie for Baltimore Sun

Lobbying

New Jersey: “Lobbying in New Jersey: Here is who’s spending millions to shape how you live” by Nicholas Pugliese for Bergen Record

Campaign Finance

National: “Adviser to Emirates with Ties to Trump Aides Is Cooperating with Special Counsel” by Mark Mazzetti, David Kirkpatrick, and Adam Goldman for New York Times

Massachusetts: “SJC May Be Option in ‘Union Loophole’ Case” by Andy Metzger (State House News Service) for Lowell Sun

New Mexico: “Steve Pearce, State Move to Settle Lawsuit Over Gubernatorial Campaign Funds” by Andrew Oxford (Santa Fe New Mexican) for Las Cruces Sun News

Oregon: “Multnomah County Political Spending Limits Unconstitutional, Judge Finds” by Gordon Friedman for Portland Oregonian

Elections

National: “It’s a Steep Hill to Climb for Women Running for State Office” by Kristian Hernandez for Center for Public Integrity

Ethics

National: “EPA Chief Pruitt’s Aide Given Permission to Work for Private Clients on the Side – but Their Identities Will Be Kept Secret” by Michael Biesecker (Associated Press) for Denver Post

National: “Ethics Office Finds Kellyanne Conway Broke Law in Alabama Race” by Jennifer Epstein for Bloomberg.com

Lobbying

Alabama: “Watchdog Accuses Key PAC in Alabama Race of Hiding Donors” by Brian Lyman for Montgomery Advertiser

South Carolina: “Gov. McMaster Suspects Santee Cooper Is Meddling with Effort to Sell the Utility” by Avery Wilks for The State

Campaign Finance

Alabama: “Watchdog Accuses Key PAC in Alabama Race of Hiding Donors” by Daniel Jackson for Courthouse News Service

New York: “Cuomo Changes Rationale for Accepting His Appointees’ Donations” by Shane Goldmacher and Brian Rosenthal for New York Times

Elections

National: “Senate Investigators Want Answers from Reddit and Tumblr on Russia Meddling” by Tony Romm for Washington Post

National: “State Dept. Was Granted $120 Million to Fight Russian Meddling. It Has Spent $0.” by Gardiner Harris for New York Times

Ethics

North Carolina: “GOP’s 8-Member Elections-Ethics Board Struck Down. Is a Third Lawsuit on the Horizon?” by Anne Blythe for Raleigh News and Observer

North Dakota: “Group Seeks to Force ND Legislature to Form Ethics Commission” by Wendy Reuer for West Fargo Pioneer

Tennessee: “Nashville Mayor Megan Barry Resigns from Office; ‘I love you, Nashville,’ she says” by Joey Garrison and Nate Rau for The Tennessean

Utah: “As the Number of Female Interns in the State Legislature Grows, Lawmakers and Coordinators Work to Ensure They’re Not Sexually Harassed” by Taylor Stevens for Salt Lake Tribune

Lobbying

National: “Trump’s Florida Fundraiser Flourishes as New Washington Lobbyist” by Bill Allison for Bloomberg

Campaign Finance

Texas: “Talk About Big Bucks: Deer semen donations are fueling South Texas campaign” by Jackie Wang for Dallas News

Ethics

Colorado: “Colorado Rep. Steve Lebsock Is Expelled Following Harassment Complaints from Five Women” by Brian Eason and Jesse Paul for Denver Post

Kentucky: “Company Tied to Gov. Matt Bevin Gets $400K Through State’s ‘Angel Investment’ Program” by Tom Loftus for Lousivelle Courier-Journal

Maryland: “Current, Former Md. Lawmakers Accused of Inappropriately Touching Women in Annapolis” by Ovetta Wiggins for Washington Post

Michigan: “Sen. Bert Johnson Pleads Guilty, Resigns” by Robert Snell for Detroit News

Lobbying

Federal: “Companies Court Lawmakers with Charitable Giving, but Don’t Always Disclose the Funds” by Carrie Levine for Center for Public Integrity

Florida: “Florida Democrat Demands Probe of NRA Lobbyist Marion Hammer’s Influence” by News Service of Florida for Orlando Sentinel

West Virginia: “Armstead: Investigation underway after lobbyist used access card to enter Capitol” by Jake Zuckerman for Charleston Gazette-Mail

Campaign Finance

National: “Provisions Attached to Budget Bills Could Reshape Campaign Finance Laws” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee for Washington Post

California: “Individual Campaign Contribution Limits Upped to $1,500 for Top Spots in City Elections, Per Annual Adjustment” by the Staff for Los Feliz Ledger

Missouri: “Missouri Attorney General Announces Probe into Greitens’ Former Charity” by Jack Suntrup for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ethics

Florida: “What Happened to Florida’s #MeToo Moment? As Spotlight Shifted, the Bills All but Died” by Mary Ellen Klas (Miami Herald) for Tampa Bay Times

Maryland: “Former Maryland Lawmaker Guilty of Taking Cash Bribes for His Vote on Liquor Law” by Lynh Bui for Washington Post

Pennsylvania: “Allentown Mayor Ed Pawlowski Guilty on Most Charges in Pay-to-Play Trial; Must Leave Office” by Peter Hall, Emily Opilo, and Daniel Patrick Sheehan for Allentown Morning Call

Lobbying

National: “The NRA Has a Secret Weapon to Fight Gun Control: A powerful app” by Joshua Green for Bloomberg.com

National: “Companies, Nonprofits Put Brakes on Foreign Lobbying Bills” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

Ethics

National: “Labor Board’s Do-Over Leaves an Obama-Era Rule Intact” by Noam Scheiber for New York Times

National: “‘I Do Like 3 Meetings a Day on That’: HUD official complained about effort to redecorate Carson’s office” by Jack Gillium and Juliet Eilperin for Washington Post

National: “White House Communications Director Hope Hicks to Resign” by Philip Parker and Ashley Parker for Washington Post

California: “A Tiny City with Huge Problems, Maywood Faces Its Biggest Scandal Yet” by Ruben Vives and Adam Elmahrek for Los Angeles Times

Colorado: “Colorado Rep. Steve Lebsock Faces Expulsion after 11 Sexual Harassment Allegations Against Him Are Deemed Credible” by John Frank and Jessie Paul for Denver Post

South Carolina: “In Angry Hearing, Special Prosecutor Asks Judge in Quinn Case to Quit” by John Monk for The State

Wisconsin: “State Elections Commission Chief Stepping Down Amid Criticism from Republicans” by Jason Stein for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Lobbying

National: “Exiting Trump Officials Get Tepid Response on Job Market” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

National: “Mercury Registers to Lobby for Turkish Group Linked to Flynn” by Theodoric Meyer for Politico

Virginia: “Female Lobbyist Calls Out Sexual Misconduct at Statehouse” by Marina Villeneuve (Associated Press) for Virginian-Pilot

Campaign Finance

National: “Behind a Key Anti-Labor Case, a Web of Conservative Donors” by Noam Scheiber and Kenneth Vogel for New York Times

Elections

National: “The True Source of the N.R.A.’s Clout: Mobilization, not donations” by Eric Lipton and Alexander Burns for New York Times

National: “Coal Country Divides Over an Unrepentant Boss’s Senate Bid” by Trip Gabriel for New York Times

Ethics

Alabama: “Senate Bill Backed by AG Would Revise Alabama Ethics Laws” by Brian Lyman for Montgomery Advertiser

Maryland: “Maryland Senate Leader Strips Baltimore Sen. Nathaniel Oaks of Committee Jobs” by Erin Cox for Baltimore Sun

Missouri: “Missouri House Leader Names Committee to Investigate Greitens” by Jason Hancock for Kansas City Star

Oregon: “Receiving a Blanket Posed Ethical Quandary for Oregon Senator” by Andrew Selsky (Associated Press) for Portland Oregonian

Rhode Island: “Facing Threat of Expulsion, Sen. Kettle Quits” by Katherine Gregg and Patrick Anderson for Providence Journal

Lobbying

National: “European Ex-Officials Deny Being Paid by Manafort to Lobby for Ukraine” by Steven Erlanger and Jason Horowitz for New York Times

Oklahoma: “Step Up Campaign Highlights Gap in State Disclosure Laws” by Paul Monies and Trevor Browen (Oklahoma Watch) for Ada News

Campaign Finance

California: “L.A. Developer Is Charged with Making Illegal Campaign Donations” by David Zahniser and Emily Alpert Reyes for Los Angeles Times

Nebraska: “Proposal Would Tighten How Candidates Spend Unused Campaign Donations” by Chris Dunker for Lincoln Journal Star

New York: “In Spite of Executive Order, Cuomo Takes Campaign Money from State Appointees” by Shane Goldmacher, Brian Rosenthal, and Augustin Armendariz for New York Times

Ethics

National: “Former Trump Campaign Official Rick Gates Pleads Guilty to 2 Charges” by Devlin Barrett and Spencer Hsu (Washington Post) for Denver Post

Maryland: “Baltimore County School Board Says Verletta White Violated Ethics Rules” by Liz Bowie for Baltimore Sun

Utah: “Critics Question Utah Lawmakers’ Changes to Ethics Panel” by Michelle Price (Associated Press) for KSL

Virginia: “Va. Lawmakers’ Conflict-of-Interest Forms Won’t Be Public Until They Leave Town” by Patrick Wilson for Richmond Times Dispatch

Lobbying

National: “How Skadden, the Giant Law Firm, Got Entangled in the Mueller Investigation” by Kenneth Vogel and Matthew Goldstein for New York Times

West Virginia: “Justice Company Rep Has Unique Access to Capitol Among Lobbyists” by Jake Zuckerman for Charleston Gazette-Mail

Campaign Finance

Arizona: Debbie Lesko Accused of Moving $50K from Campaign to a PAC That Backs … Lesko by Ronald Hanson for Arizona Republic

Tennessee: Complaints Question Harwell’s PAC Help, $3.1m Self-Loan by Jonathan Matisse (Associated Press) for Raleigh News and Observer

Elections

National: Citing Costs, Some GOP Governors Refuse to Hold Special Elections by Alan Greenblatt for Governing

Ethics

California: California Senator Resigns Amid Harassment Allegations by Taryn Luna for Sacramento Bee

Rhode Island: R.I. Senate President Introduces Resolution to Expel Member Accused of Extorting Sex, Video Voyeurism by Katherine Gregg and Patrick Anderson for Providence Journal

Texas: Prosecutors Reviewing Complaint Against Empower Texans Over Attack Ad Resembling Government Notice by Jay Root for Texas Tribune

Lobbying

Missouri: Gov. Greitens Indicted for Felony Invasion of Privacy Stemming from Affair by Jason Hancock, Bryan Lowry, and Lindsay Wise for Kansas City Star

Texas: Murphy’s Contract Raises Eyebrows, Questions: Is he lobbying? by Steve Miller for Texas Monitor