The Tap: Friday, April 1, 2016
The Tap covered election news, public policy, and other noteworthy events from February 2016 to February 2022.
Review of the day
The excerpts below were compiled from issue #10 of The Tap, which was published on April 4, 2016. READ THE FULL VERSION HERE.
Federal
- After touting a “YUGE” endorsement coming, Rand Paul announced he would not endorse anyone in the Republican primary. However, he announced that he would support Donald Trump if he becomes the Republican nominee. “Think about it from this perspective. I'm from Kentucky, and Hillary Clinton recently said she would put coal miners out of business, and she would put coal companies out of business.”
State
- A jury found Nebraska Sen. Art Wittich guilty of violating campaign finance law in the 2010 primary, which could result in his removal from office. At the conclusion of the trial in a civil suit dating back to May 2014, ten of 12 jurors found that Wittich coordinated with groups affiliated with National Right to Work, used their services at below the typical value, and did not keep proper records or report all contributions. Special prosecutor Jonathan Motl argued that this had the effect of in-kind corporate donations, which are illegal under state law. Motl stated, “A jury of peers is saying that they understand that one candidate’s election has an impact on all of the people of this state, and on all the other candidates that are running. And they want fair elections. They want fair elections for the people of Montana and they want fair elections for all candidates.” Wittich has maintained that Motl targeted him for political reasons. A separate “quid pro quo” charge remains to be decided by Judge Ray Dayton.
- Gov. Paul LePage (R) cancelled the swearing-in ceremony of Susan Deschambault (D), who won a special election on March 29 for Senate District 32, because of an unrelated dispute with Democrats over LePage’s nominee to the Unemployment Insurance Commission. LePage refused to swear-in Deschambault after the Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development Committee voted 7-6 on Thursday to reject his nominee, Steven Webster. Maine’s Secretary of State Matthew Dunlap (D) and Attorney General Janet T. Mills (D) are exploring alternative options for Deschambault to join the Senate.
Preview of the day
There were no items for this day in issue #9 of The Tap, which was published on March 28, 2016. See the "Review of the day" tab for more information.
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