Campaign Finance Laws

The true story of Sean Duffy's Cabinet nomination continues.

Stranger than fiction.

At this point only the thinnest rhetorical veneer separates us from corporations simply being able to give money outright to their favorite politicians -- to be able to legally bribe them.

Hillary Clinton adds another body to the count. Allegedly. Or, like, not that at all.

Grabbin' that sweet, sweet MAGA cash while they can.

How very dare you, sir!

Trump’s fundraising total is impressive, but when you add up what all the Democratic candidates are generating, they are outraising him.

It's a bold strategy, Cotton!

Do they allow vape pens in federal prison? Asking for a congressman.

* “I am managing partner Clifford Chance and I just need your help and bank account to move my book of business out of the country.” [Legal Cheek]

* Biglaw age discrimination suit moves forward. [New York Law Journal]

* Teddy Cruz sues to challenge law to prevent the kind of campaign from doing the entirely shady thing his campaign wants to do. [Courthouse News Service]

* Even GOP lawyers think killing Obamacare is a terrible idea. [Huffington Post]

* Law school deans stepping down all over the place. [Law.com]

* The Mueller investigation may be over, but we can still have fun playing “Guess the Mystery Subpoena!” [National Law Journal]

* Kasowitz losing real estate partners but insists there’s nothing to see here. [American Lawyer]

* Racist algorithms in the crosshairs. [Law360]

* President Donald Trump claims that Michael Cohen lied under oath when he testified that Trump told him to violate campaign finance laws and that the allegations are “totally false.” Cohen’s attorney, Lanny Davis, has some words Trump ought to be concerned about: “audio and tape.” [USA Today]

* “I can fire him whenever I want to fire him, but I haven’t said that I was going to.” In other Trump-related news, the president has confirmed that Pat Cipollone will serve as his next White House counsel, and also confirmed that he’s still really pissed off at AG Jeff Sessions about the Mueller probe. [Associated Press]

* In the wake of Justice Brett Kavanaugh’s highly political confirmation hearing where he brought up Clinton conspiracies during his testimony, Chief Justice John Roberts really wants the American public to know that the judiciary “requires independence from the political branches.” Really. He pinky promises. [CNN]

* If you’re interested in learning what junior partners are making at Williams and Connolly, look no further than Fourth Circuit nominee Allison Jones Rushing’s financial disclosure form. The 2007 Duke Law graduate pulled in more than $650K during her first year as a partner at the firm. [National Law Journal]

* This ex-Foley & Lardner partner “should have known better” than to backdate documents, paste his clients’ signatures onto them, and mislead the IRS during an audit, so he’s been suspended from practicing law for two years. [American Lawyer]

* Michael Cohen pleaded guilty to breaking campaign finance laws when he made payments to women “in coordination with and at the direction of a candidate for federal office … for the principal purpose of influencing the election.” In response, Rudy Giuliani, who apparently prefers to look at the bright side of things and because the truth isn’t the truth, said, “There is no allegation of any wrongdoing against the president in the government’s charges against Mr. Cohen.” [New York Times]

* Oopsie… Rep. Duncan Hunter and his wife were indicted by a federal grand jury on 60 counts on charges related to the misuse of more than $250,000 in campaign funds for personal expenses (like family vacations and school tuition) and then trying to conceal it by filing false campaign finance records. [USA Today]

* Venable is merging with New York IP firm Fitzpatrick Cella, and the deal is expected to close on November 1. The combined firm will have 800 lawyers, a major presence in the Big Apple, and revenue that’s expected to top $620 million. [American Lawyer]

* We know that law school enrollment is up, but at some law schools, it’s really up. Several schools have seen their first-year enrollments climb by double-digit percentages, which is a welcome change for some schools. [Law.com]

* Speaking of law schools, if you’re trying to get into an elite school, then your GPA obviously needs to be really high. But how high are we talking here? All of the top 10 schools have median GPAs of 3.7 or higher. Good luck out there! [U.S. News]