Transparency Review (5/23 - 5/27)

• Last week, a Nevada Senate committee approved a campaign finance reform bill that would "require on-line filing of campaign contribution and expense reports by most candidates and require earlier reporting of the information so voters could review the data before casting their ballots." A provision requiring a two-year cooling off period before former lawmakers could lobby the Legislature was dropped prior to the bill's approval. The bill now heads to the full Senate for a vote. If approved, it would have to be reconciled with the Assembly bill and voted on by both houses again. Governor Sandoval has previously expressed support for electronic campaign filings. The Las Vegas Sun also wrote an op-ed in support of the bill earlier this week.

• The Justice Department appears likely to re-open its case against John Ensign following revelations that he intended the $96,000 payment made by his parents to the Hamptons to be "severance pay." The decision to re-open the case was prompted after more than 1,000 previously unreleased emails were made public by Ensign as he was preparing to resign. In two draft statements he was preparing to release to the press, he referred to the payment as "severance pay." Ensign's attorney advised him against using the term, saying it "[raises] a host of potential criminal issues for the Senator." If the money was indeed intended as "severance pay," it would be classified as a campaign contribution. But because the amount greatly exceeded the $2,300 limit and was not reported on Ensign's campaign reports, it would certainly put him afoul of the FEC. You can be sure you haven't heard the end of this story.

• A judge has voided a law reforming Wisconsin's collective bargaining process over concerns that its passage violated the state's open-meeting law. The law gained national attention after state Senate Democrats fled the state for three weeks to prevent Senate Republicans from reaching quorum, temporarily preventing passage of the bill.

Former Senator, presidential candidate Edwards to be prosecuted

The Department of Justice is on pace to produce more blockbusters this summer than Hollywood.

Less than two weeks after it referred former Senator John Ensign's (R., NV) ethics violations to the DOJ, the department announced it's prosecuting former Presidential and Vice Presidential candidate John Edwards, D-NC, for using campaign money to cover up an affair during his 2008 presidential campaign.

According to ABC News, the DOJ claims Edwards used hundreds of thousands of campaign dollars to cover up an affair he had with campaign aide Rielle Hunter. The New York Times added Edwards is expected to plea bargain to avoid a "costly and embarrassing trial."

Edwards' prosecution has many similarities to Ensign's case — long-running affairs, costly cover-ups, alleged Federal Elections Committee violations — so Edwards' prosecution may foreshadow Ensign's fate. The difference could be the money: Ensign's parents paid for his cover-up whereas Edwards used money from political donors. Ensign's violations also include helping former aide Doug Hampton land a lobbying job in violation of the Senate's one-year "cooling off" rule.

Similar or not, there's no excuse for the shameful behavior of these two former politicians.

Sun editorial applauds "common-sense" campaign finance reform bill

The Las Vegas Sun ran an editorial this morning on AB452, the campaign finance reform bill slowly making it's way through the Legislature.

The editorial highlights how AB452 would increase political transparency.

The legislation would require candidates to file four days before early voting starts and four days before Election Day in both primary and general elections. Candidates, political action groups, independent campaigns, recall committees and legal defense funds would all be subject to the legislation’s requirements.

Ultimately, the Sun applauded the "common-sense" legislation and said voters "should know who is funding political campaigns, and this legislation would give people much better — and much more timely — information."

The bill is currently in the Senate and awaits a floor vote in the final two weeks of session.

Transparency Review (5/16 - 5/20)

• A Clark County firefighter was fired Wednesday and thirteen more remain under investigation following an internal probe of sick-leave abuse allegations in the Clark County fire department, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. Donald Munn, an 18-year veteran, coordinated his sick-leave and vacation days in an attempt to take most of the summer off according to emails obtained by investigators. Commissioner Steve Sisolak is calling on Munn and others to pay restitution for the money they received while gaming the system.

• Clark County Commissioner Chris Giunchigliani is claiming that a flyer sent out by the city of Las Vegas is nothing but a campaign ad designed to promote the candidacy of Mayor Oscar Goodman's wife, Carolyn. The flyer — "extolling the successes of Mayor Oscar Goodman’s administration" — boasts of the city's success at "cutting administrative bloat, winning union concessions, protecting emergency services." While Mayor Goodman argues the flyer is "good government" because it keeps citizens in the loop, Giunchigliani argues it's a taxpayer funded way to promote the "Goodman brand" that indirectly benefits Carolyn Goodman, her opponent in the mayoral race.

• Following Gov. Sandoval's veto of their previous plan, Legislative Democrats are back with a new set of maps. The new Congressional maps would create two solidly Democratic districts, one solidly Republican district and one Democratic-leaning district.

• Josh Gerstein of POLITICO reports that a battle is brewing between transparency activists and the Obama administration over FOIA requests for photos of Osama bin Laden's body. Transparency activists claim the public has a right to view the photos while the administration claims their release could incite violence in the Middle East that would put Americans in danger. Should the battle end up in court, legal experts appear split over which side would prevail. One lawyer says there is "better than [a] 50-50 chance" the government would be forced to release the photos while another puts the odds "between slim and none."

Final push for lobbyist and campaign reporting bills

While redistricting and budgeting are the big issues heading into the Legislative session's home stretch, two bills concerning lobbyist and campaign reforms will be heard in their respective committees today.

SB206, introduced by Sheila Leslie (D., Washoe), would require legislative lobbyists to report on lobbying activities when the Legislature is out of session, and SB125, introduced by Ben Kieckhefer (R., Washoe), would make candidates disclose campaign finance reports earlier to accommodate early voters.

Given the 14 to 1 lobbyist-to-legislator ratio dominating Carson City and the trend of lawmakers becoming lobbyists, SB206 would allow citizens to know who a lobbyist is trying to influence in the interim.

Both bills aim to improve legislative accountability. Citizens should hope lawmakers will take a close look at these bills in between the ongoing budget wars.

Ethics committee refers Ensign case to DOJ

So much for former Senator John Ensign (R) enjoying a peaceful retirement.

In a letter addressed to Attorney General Eric Holder, the Senate Ethics Committee referred their Ensign investigation to the Department of Justice, claiming "...Senator Ensign and others violated laws that fall within the Department of Justice's jurisdiction."

The letter listed the Committee's accusations of Ensign:

• aided and embedded violations of the one-year post-employment contract restriction,


• conspired to violate that restriction,


• made false statements to the Federal Elections Committee,


• violated campaign finance laws, and


• obstructed the committee's preliminary inquiry

Ouch. This story definitely isn't going away, and it looks like it could be a long summer for the former senator.

House Subcommittee holds hearings on White House (lack of) transparency

Today, the House Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations began hearings on the White Houses's transparency pledge. In his opening remarks, Subcommittee Chairman Cliff Stearns (R-FL) expressed concern that the American people "were made a lot of promises that quite frankly don't seem to have been kept" and took issue with several aspects of the White House's transparency program, including:

• White House visitor logs. According to Stearns, only 1 percent of the 500,000 meetings President Obama held in his first eight months in office were released.


• Allegations of White House staffers scheduling meetings at a Carribou Coffee to avoid listing meetings in the logs.


• Lack of response to FOIA requests, including the "secrecy" of work done by key administrative czars and political donations from prominent unions.

Ironically, the White House did not send a witness to testify at the hearing. Given the White House's indifference to the hearing, they probably won't take the Subcommittee's findings seriously, even if they do suggest improvements.