Ohio: “Feds Say Householder ‘Ripped Off’ Ohio with a Bribe; He Says They Were ‘Ordinary’ Contributions” by Jake Zuckerman (Cleveland Plain Dealer) for MSN

Upon Royal Assent from Alberta’s lieutenant-governor, the province will officially eliminate the office of the independent Alberta Election Commissioner. The move makes the commissioner a staff position under the Chief Electoral Officer.

Bill 22, Reform of Agencies, Boards and Commissions and Government Enterprises Act, 2019, passed on November 21. The bill also terminates the current election commissioner, Lorne Gibson, from his position.

Gibson, in his role as commissioner, has fined the members of the majority United Conservative Party government more than $200,000 for election violations.

The election commissioner’s staff will transfer to work for the office of the chief electoral officer, who will then hire a new commissioner.

The bill passed even though the province’s Ethics Commissioner, Margueritte Trussler, issued an opinion stating the individual MLAs who are in the process of being investigated by the Election Commissioner would be in breach of the Conflicts of Interest Act if they were to vote on the bill.

The breach would exist because those MLAs stand to materially benefit from the termination of the Office of the Election Commissioner.

On November 6, a bill to allow recall elections of Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs) was reported to the Legislative Assembly of Alberta.

Bill 204, the Election Recall Act, allows constituents to petition for the recall of an MLA if 40 percent of eligible voters sign the petition within a 60-day window.

A petition would not be permitted six months before or 18 months after a general election.

The legislation is a private bill introduced by MLA Mark Smith in October.

Campaign Finance

California: “That Political Mailer on Your Kitchen Counter Isn’t What It Seems” by Taryn Luna for Sacramento Bee

Massachusetts: “There’s a Bill That Would Rein in Charlie Baker’s Fundraising, but Democrats Aren’t Touching It” by Frank Phillips for Boston Globe

New Jersey: “Mayor’s Ex-Treasurer Helped Run Big Campaign. Now He’s Facing Jail Time.” by Thomas Moriarty and Karen Yi (NJ Advance Media) for Newark Star-Ledger

Elections

National: “Richard Painter Makes Unlikely Senate Bid in Minnesota” by Ben Kamisar for The Hill

Ethics

National: “‘Spygate’ Spotlights Trump’s Use of Conspiracy Theories to Erode Trust” by Julie Hirschfeld Davis and Maggie Haberman (*New York Times) for Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

National: “Concerned by Trump, Some Republicans Quietly Align with Democrats” by Kenneth Vogel for New York Times

National: “Trump Asked Sessions to Retain Control of Russia Inquiry After His Recusal” by Michael Schmidt and Julie Hirschfeld Davis (New York Times) for MSN

Missouri: “Greitens Offered to Resign as Part of Deal to Dismiss Computer-Tampering Charge” by Lindsay Wise and Joseph Bustos for Kansas City Star

Legislative Issues

Ohio: “Key Laws, Residents Vexed When Legislative Leaders Resign” by Julie Carr Smyth (Associated Press) for Morning Journal

Lobbying

Nova Scotia, Canada: “Chrétien Ignores Lobbyist Registrar’s Inquiry on Meeting with N.S. Premier” by Michael Tutton (Canadian Press) for CBC News

Procurement

Massachusetts: “Baker Adviser Helped Energy Firms Land Big Mass. Contracts” by Joshua Miller and Jon Chesto for Boston Globe

Campaign Finance

National: “Federal Election Commission Can’t Decide If Russian Interference Violated Law” by Peter Overby for WAMU

National: “Invitations Offer Wealthy Chinese Access to President Trump at Fundraiser” by Michelle Ye Hee Lee, Anu Narayanswamy, Emily Rauhala, and Simon Denyer (Washington Post) for San Antonio Express-News

California: “Chairwoman of California’s State Campaign Watchdog Agency Resigns Amid Power Struggle” by Patrick McGreevy for Los Angeles Times

Ethics

National: “Ivanka Trump Wins China Trademarks, Then Her Father Vows to Save ZTE” by Sui-Lee Weefor New York Times

National: “Garret to Quit Congress Amid Servant Scandal, Alcoholism” by Alex Isenstadt and John Bresnahan for Politico

Arizona: “Ex-Arizona Regulator Charged with Bribery Heads to Trial” by The Associated Press for KNAU

Missouri: “Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens Resigns, Ending Political Career Once Aimed at Presidency” by Jason Hancock and Bryan Lowry for Kansas City Star

Oklahoma: “Ethics Budget Dispute Continues with Senate Email Request” by Dale Denwat for The Oklahoman

Lobbying

National: “Former Drug Industry Lobbyist Helps Steer Trump Drug Plan” by David Pittman for Politico

Wisconsin: “Wisconsin Lawmakers Got $164,000 in Travel and Perks Last Year from Outside Groups” by Keegan Kyle and Patrick Marley for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Campaign Finance

National: “Who’s Behind Those Political Ads on Facebook? Now, You Can Find Out.” By Tony Romm (Washington Post) for San Antonio Express-News

Ethics

National: “Trump’s Lawyer and Chief of Staff Appear at Briefings on F.B.I.’s Russia Informant” by Nicholas Fandos and Katie Brenner (New York Times) for WRAL

National: “Ex-Aides Say Congressman and Wife Made Them His Servants” by Rachel Bade, Alex Isenstadt, and Kyle Cheney for Politico

Illinois: “Lawmaker Charging Retaliation Wants Complaint System Changes” by John O’Connor (Associated Press) for Virginian-Pilot

Michigan: “Feds: Ex-Detroit airport manager took bribes, ate evidence to cover up crime” by Tresa Baldas for Detroit Free Press

North Carolina: “She’s Charged with Stealing $926,000, but Gets a $89K Pension. A Bill May Change That” by Will Doran and Paul Specht for Raleigh News and Observer

Lobbying

National: “Why a Storied Lobbying Firm Gambled on Michael Cohen” by Theodoric Meyer for Politico

Ohio: “Payday Lenders Say Ex-Ohio House Speaker Cliff Rosenberger Threatened Them, Delayed Bill” by Jackie Borchardt for Cleveland Plain Dealer

Texas: “Farenthold to Keep $160K Job after Calhoun Port Board Deadlocks” by Jon Wilcox  for Victoria Advocate

Elections

Alabama: “Competition Sparse in Many Alabama Legislative Districts” by Mike Cason for AL.com

Georgia: “Stacey Abrams Wins Georgia Democratic Primary for Governor, Making History” by Jonathan Martin and Alexander Burns (New York Times) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Senate Anti-Harassment Bill Could See Fast Action” by Katherine Tull-McManus for Roll Call

National: “Michael Cohen’s Business Partner Agrees to Cooperate as Part of Plea Deal” by Danny Hakim, William Rashbaum, and Vivian Wang for MSN

Massachusetts: “Galvin Disciplines Employees for Performing Political Tasks on Government Time” by Matt Stout for Boston Globe

Ohio: “Cincinnati Councilman Jeff Pastor’s Campaign: Unusual donations, loans, gifts to churches” by Sharon Coolidge for Cincinnati Enquirer

Texas: “Democratic State Rep. Ron Reynolds Likely Headed to Jail after Texas Court of Criminal Appeals Refuses to Review His Case” by Jolie McCullough for Texas Tribune

Lobbying

National: “Lobbying Firm Shuttered, but Tony Podesta’s Fate in Mueller Probe Still a Mystery” by Trish Turner for ABC News

Campaign Finance

Florida: “Florida’s Porous Campaign Finance Laws: ‘You can do almost anything’” by Gary Fineout (Associated Press) for Tampa Bay Times

Oregon: “Legislative Typo Threatens to Undermine Clean Elections Campaigns” by Kevin Miller (Portland Press Herald) for Lewiston Sun Journal

Nevada: “Sen. Dean Heller Paid Son at Least $52,500 in Campaign Cash for Social Media Consulting” by James DeHaven for Reno Gazette Journal

Ethics

Colorado: “Denver Airport Provided $400,000 in Travel to City Officials for 4 Years” by Ben Marcus (Colorado Public Radio) for Denver Post

New York: “N.Y. Developer Pleads Guilty Ahead of ‘Buffalo Billion’ Corruption Trial” by Brendan Pierson for Reuters

Texas: “Disgraced Ex-Rep. Blake Farenthold Illegally Hired to New Lobbying Job, Lawsuit Claims” by William Cummings for USA Today

Lobbying

National: “Professor Convicted of Vandalizing NRA Lobbyist’s Home with Fake Blood” by Rachel Weiner (Washington Post) for Syracuse Post-Standard

National: “Washington Lobbyists Put on Notice Over Foreign Agent Law” by Chad Day and Eric Tucker for Associated Press

National: “The Princes, the President and the Fortune Seekers” by Desmond Butler and Tom LoBianco (Associated Press) for Seattle Times

Elections

National: “Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met with Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election” by Mark Mazzetti, Ronen Bergman, and David Kilpatrick (New York Times) for MSN

National: “Justice Department Calls for Inquiry after Trump Demands Probe into Whether FBI ‘Infiltrated or Surveilled’ His Campaign” by Matt Zapotosky, Robert Costa, and David Nakamura (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Blankenship to Run Third-Party Senate Campaign after Losing GOP Primary” by Ben Kamisar for The Hill

Ethics

National: “#MeToo Leader, also a California Lawmaker, Disciplined for Sexual Harassment” by John Myers (Tribune News Service) for Governing

Missouri: “Now What? Greitens Special Session Underway as House Intensifies Investigation” by Jack Suntrup for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Tennessee: “Diane Black Took Flight on Private Plane Linked to Company That Benefited from Her Politicking” by Joel Ebert and Dave Boucher for The Tennessean

Lobbying

Louisiana: “New Orleans City Council to Investigate Entergy for Paying Actors to Lobby for Power Plant” by Beau Evans for New Orleans Times-Picayune

Missouri: “Missouri Lawmakers Can Keep Accepting Lobbyist Gifts After Failing to Pass Amendment” by Allison Kite and Jason Hancock for Kansas City Star

Campaign Finance

Missouri: “Greitens Won’t Face Charges for Allegedly Lying to State Ethics Commission” by Jason Hancock for Kansas City Star

Ethics

National: “Ethics Panel Gives Menendez Wide Latitude for Repayment of Gifts from Melgen” by Matt Friedman for Politico

National: “Kushners Near Deal with Qatar-Linked Company for Troubled Tower” by Charles Bagli and Jesse Drucker (New York Times) for Seattle Times

Arizona: “Array of Arizona Politicians, Lobbyists Connected to Bribery Case” by Katie Campbell for Arizona Capitol Times

Kentucky: “In Two Years, Council Members Have Spent Over $20,000 on Gala Tickets for Themselves, Staff and Family” by Joe Sonka for Insider Louisville

Legislative Issues

Pennsylvania: “Pa. House GOP Leaders Planning to Impose Sanctions Against Rep. Nick Miccarelli” by Jan Murphy for PennLive.com

Lobbying

National: “Millions Flow to Fast-Growing Lobbying Firms with Ties to the Trump Administration” by Fredreka Schouten for USA Today

Alabama: “Reform Commission Begins Work on Alabama Ethics Law” by Mike Cason for AL.com

Oklahoma: “Many Felons Can’t Vote, But They Can Lobby at the Capitol” by Paul Monies for Oklahoma Watchdog

Campaign Finance

Missouri: “‘Shell Companies’ Gave Money to Gov. Eric Greitens’ Campaign: Memo released by lawmakers” by Will Schmidt for Springfield News-Leader

Elections

National: “A Secret Mission, a Code Name and Anxiety: Inside the early days of the F.B.I.’s Trump investigation” by Matt Apuzzo, Adam Goldman, and Nicholas Fandos (New York Times) for MSN

Ethics

National: “Thousands of Pages of Congressional Testimony Shed Light on 2016 Trump Tower Meeting” by Rosalind Helderman and Karoun Demirjian (Washington Post) for MSN

National: “Trump Discloses Payment to Cohen in Financial Report” by Steve Eder, Eric Lipton, and Ben Protess (New York Times) for Seattle Times

National: “Obama Ethics Chief Accuses Trump of Violating Emoluments Clause: ‘See you in court Mr. Trump’” by Avery Anapol for The Hill

National: “Top Novartis Lawyer Exits Over Trump Attorney Deal Error” by John Miller for Reuters

National: “Federal Judge Rejects Manafort’s Bid to Dismiss Mueller Indictment” by Josh Gerstein for Politico

Maryland: “Mayor Pugh Seeks Broad Ethics Exemption to Raise Private Money to Fund Baltimore Programs” by Ian Duncan for Baltimore Sun

Ohio: “Ex-Councilman Joe Cimperman on His Corruption Sentence: ‘This isn’t who I wanted to be’” by Cory Shaffer for Cleveland Plain Dealer

Lobbying

Florida: “Lobbyist Ron Book Tends to Get His Way in Miami-Dade, but This Time It’s a No.” by Douglas Hanks for Miami Herald

Campaign Finance

National: “Women Reaching New Levels in Political Donations” by Kate Ackley for Roll Call

National: “$1 Million Mystery Gift to Inauguration Traced to Conservative Legal Activists” by Robert Maguire for McClatchy DC

Idaho: “‘The Idahoan’ Ruled Exempt from Sunshine Law, Qualified as a ‘Newspaper’” by Betsy Russell for Idaho Press Tribune

New York: “U.S. Attorney Probing Major Donor to Gov. Andrew Cuomo” by Chris Bragg for Albany Times Union

Ethics

Missouri: “Case Against Greitens Is Dropped, for Now. Legislative Leaders Say Nothing’s Changed” by Bryan Lowry, Jason Hancock, Kelsey Landis, Allison Kite, and Steve Vockrodt for Kansas City Star

New York: “Energy Executive Admits Lying About ‘Low-Show Job’ for Percoco’s Wife” by Vivuian Wang and benjamin Weiser (New York Times) for WRAL

South Carolina: “S.C. Attorney General Candidate Voted for Medical Bills While Leading Physician Group” by Jamie Lovegrove for Charleston Post and Courier

Wisconsin: “Robin Vos, Other Wisconsin Lawmakers Billed Taxpayers $4,300 for One-Day Trip to Ohio” by Patrick Marley for Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Campaign Finance

National: “Politicos Beware: Court ruling could prompt more transparent campaign spending” by Carrie Levine for Center for Public Integrity

Missouri: “Critics Say Governor’s Race Shows Need for Campaign Finance Reform” by Sarah Zimmerman (Associated Press) for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ethics

National: “Trump, Schneiderman, Greitens and the Changing Shape of Sex Scandals” by Marc Fisher (Washington Post) for Chicago Tribune

Alaska: “Legislature Will Boot Ballot Measure If Governor Signs ‘Government Accountability’ Bill” by James Brooks for Juneau Empire

Maryland: “Baltimore Police Commissioner De Sousa Has Not Filed Some Mandatory Ethics Forms” by Ian Duncan for Baltimore Sun

New York: “Jury Finds Silver Guilty” by Benjamin Weiser (New York Times) for Albany Times Union

Oklahoma: “Oklahoma Ethics Commission Votes to Sue Over Budget” by Nolan Clay for The Oklahoman

Lobbying

National: “Cohen Referred Client with Kushner Ties to Lobbying Firm” by Megan Wilson for The Hill

Campaign Finance

National: “FEC Allows Candidate to Use Campaign Funds for Child Care” by Aris Folley for The Hill

Connecticut: “The Place Mat King: Sen. Tony Hwang spent $15K on restaurant ads” by Neil Vigdor for Hartford Courant

Missouri: “Donors Behind Political Cash Cannot Be Concealed, Ethics Watchdog Says” by Sky Chadde for St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Ethics

National: “These Women Mostly Ignored Politics. Now, Activism Is Their Job.” by Campbell Robertson (New York Times) for MSN

New York: “Special Prosecutor Appointed in Schneiderman Probe” by Rachel Silberstein for Albany Times Union

Lobbying

National: “AT&T Ousts Top Lobbyist After Payments to Trump Attorney” by Melissa Repko and Tom Benning for Dallas News

Arizona: “Tactics Scrutinized in Phoenix Medical-Marijuana Dispensary Cases” by Jessica Boehm for Arizona Republic

Florida: “It Was Supposed to Show Who Profited from Public Money. But the Rule Wasn’t Enforced” by Elizabeth Koh for Miami Herald