In a decision that is likely to be appealed, a federal district court judge in Los Angeles dismissed two counts of an indictment that charged Pierce O'Donnell, a prominent California trial attorney, with having violated Section 441f of the Federal Election Campaign Act by reimbursing his employees for contributions they made to the John Edwards Presidential Campaign. Judge S. James Otero found that Section 441f, which prohibits contributions made in the name of another, does not prohibit individuals from promising to and then reimbursing employees for contributions that the employees make. Judge Otero read Section 441f narrowly to cover only contributions made using a false name. Because the employees agreed to make the contributions, they were not falsely identified as the contributors. The fact that the money came from the defendant did not mean for the purposes of Section 441f that the individuals were wrongly identified as the contributors.
"Since Washington DC is largely run by lawyers, it should come as no surprise to anyone that lawyers and law firms find themselves the hired communicators of the politically active. The Top DC lobby firms reads like a who’s who of the Bar Association. If one truly seeks to stop all hired lobbying in Washington DC, one should begin by not sending any more lawyers to Washington DC."
JB Williams
Canada Free Press
July 23, 2008
Registration and Reporting Obligations under the Lobbying Disclosure Act
6.17.2009
White House Modifies Recovery Act Lobbying Restrictions
6.1.2009
On May 29, the White House announced that it will modify the restriction banning registered lobbyists from speaking with federal agency officials about requests for Recovery Act funds. The original restriction, issued in March, prohibited executive branch officials from considering the views of federally registered lobbyists about particular projects, applications, or applicants for Recovery Act funds unless those views were presented in writing.
Robert F. Bauer, Chair
Political Law Group
