[EL] "Illegal contributions" from Ami Bera's father

[David A. Holtzman]

Ok, money laundering and fraud were /the instruments used for/ the 
illegality.

My (least) favorite case of this is described here 
<http://articles.latimes.com/1996-05-09/local/me-2091_1_l-a-marathon> 
(in the "Money Laundering" collection 
<http://articles.latimes.com/keyword/money-laundering> of the LA Times) 
and here 
<http://articles.latimes.com/1994-10-05/local/me-46637_1_ethics-commission>.
There, a prominent company's staffer was "willing to say he was fully 
responsible,"
shielding his political player boss, like the father in the Bera story 
has shielded the son.

Main characters in the story 
<https://books.google.com/books?id=tF0EAAAAMBAJ&pg=PA40#v=onepage&q=Nate%20Holden&f=false> 
just booted me 
<http://www.citywatchla.com/index.php/the-la-beat/11053-machine-politics-burke-crony-nate-holden-about-to-get-a-payday> 
from my administrative law judgeship.  - dah


On 5/11/2016 6:58 AM, Steve Klein wrote:
>
>     The illegality was money laundering and fraud.
>
>
> I will only emerge for a moment from the legal nerdery 
> <https://www.getyarn.io/yarn-clip/479cdd21-336e-4350-a993-5ab37ad9665b> to 
> note that, in fact, the illegality was knowing and willfully making 
> excessive campaign finance contributions and knowingly and willfully 
> making contributions in the name of another. (Bera’s plea agreement 
> attached.)
>
> Money laundering is this wholly other thing 
> <https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/1956> that gets a lot of 
> play in campaign finance rhetoric but has a rightfully unsuccessful 
> <http://www.wyliberty.com/blog-tags/wyliberty-arguments-prevail-in-important-free-speech-case> 
> history in campaign finance law.
>
> On Wed, May 11, 2016 at 12:05 AM, David A. Holtzman 
> <David at holtzmanlaw.com <mailto:David at holtzmanlaw.com>> wrote:
>
>     Thomas, you may have seen an earlier version of the article.  Note:
>     "UPDATES
>      . . .
>     2:37 p.m.: This article was updated with a quote and additional
>     information from the U.S. attorney."
>     Without that I might have been baffled too.
>     The illegality was money laundering and fraud.
>       - dah
>
>
>
>     On 5/10/2016 7:05 PM, Thomas J. Cares wrote:
>>     'I have, in fact, done the crime': Rep. Ami Bera's father admits
>>     illegal campaign contributions
>>     http://lat.ms/1sbbYts
>>
>>     I really would have thought constitutional rights to self fund
>>     would include the right of a very close relative, like a parent,
>>     to fund a campaign without restrictions. This feels very wrong. I
>>     don't see why such a restriction would survive any scrutiny - a
>>     large contribution from a parent is highly unlikely to create any
>>     conflict of interest that wouldn't already be there by virtue of
>>     them being your parent (especially if they are the kind of parent
>>     who would have made a large contribution, but for a law
>>     prohibiting it - (a parent who has surely otherwise been a
>>     supportive figure to the candidate)).
>>
>>     I am incredibly baffled by the contents of that LA Times story.
>>
>>     Also, I think it's kind of great if a candidate is so lucky to
>>     have a parent to fund them (I was a candidate once, but don't
>>     have parents with those kinds of resources). Much better for
>>     society to have candidates funded by parents than candidates
>>     funded by executives whose companies have business before
>>     Congress, albeit in smaller aggregated amounts. (Baffled).
>>
>>     Tom Cares
>>
>>
>>     -- 
>>
>>
>>
>>     _______________________________________________
>>     Law-election mailing list
>>     Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
>>     <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
>>     http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>
>
>     -- 
>     David A. Holtzman, M.P.H., J.D.
>     david at holtzmanlaw.com <mailto:david at holtzmanlaw.com>
>
>     Notice: This email (including any files transmitted with it) may
>     be confidential, for use only by intended recipients.  If you are
>     not an intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering
>     this email to an intended recipient, be advised that you have
>     received this email in error and that any use, dissemination,
>     forwarding, printing or copying of this email is strictly
>     prohibited.  If you have received this email in error, please
>     immediately notify the sender and discard all copies.
>
>
>     _______________________________________________
>     Law-election mailing list
>     Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu
>     <mailto:Law-election at department-lists.uci.edu>
>     http://department-lists.uci.edu/mailman/listinfo/law-election
>
>
>
>
> -- 
> Steve Klein
> Attorney*
> Pillar of Law Institute
> www.pillaroflaw.org <http://www.pillaroflaw.org>
>
> /*Licensed to practice law in Illinois and Michigan/


-- 
David A. Holtzman, M.P.H., J.D.
david at holtzmanlaw.com

Notice: This email (including any files transmitted with it) may be 
confidential, for use only by intended recipients.  If you are not an 
intended recipient or a person responsible for delivering this email to 
an intended recipient, be advised that you have received this email in 
error and that any use, dissemination, forwarding, printing or copying 
of this email is strictly prohibited.  If you have received this email 
in error, please immediately notify the sender and discard all copies.

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20160511/91f1d1a6/attachment.html>