Election Laws

"Hillary: The Movie" had little effect on last year's election campaign, but it could have a profound impact on a century of election laws that restrict corporations from promoting or attacking candidates for public office. The Supreme Court took up a case Tuesday involving the 90-minute documentary that attacked Hillary Rodham Clinton when she was running for president. The dispute focused on whether the government can limit the use of corporate money in political campaigns.

The absence of Sen. Barack Obama's name from today's Michigan Democratic primary ballot has angered a large swath of African American voters here, exacerbating a racial political divide and threatening party unity heading into the November general election. Many black voters are already unhappy about the state's new voter identification law and a 2006 voter-approved referendum barring affirmative action in public hiring.

A complaint filed with state ethics officials Tuesday accused Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez of using a charity to illegally funnel donations into political activities. The complaint cites more than $270,000 that Nunez solicited in 2005 and 2006 from corporations, utilities and other interests with a stake in legislation to pay for toy giveaways, scholarships, youth summits and other events that featured Nunez and were arranged by his staff.

Television ads promoting movies are not the normal business of politics or the courts, but they are this month because conservative activists are seeking a wide audience for "Hillary: The Movie." David N. Bossie, who made a name for himself as a relentless investigator of the Clintons during the 1990s, has released a 90-minute documentary on the New York senator.

Southern California businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah has agreed to plead guilty to funneling tens of thousands of dollars in illegal campaign contributions to Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barbara Boxer, prosecutors said Wednesday. Jinnah is expected to formally enter his plea next week in Los Angeles federal district court. He could face more than a year in prison.

Southern California businessman Abdul Rehman Jinnah pleaded guilty this week in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles to directing illegal campaign contributions to Democratic Sens. Hillary Rodham Clinton of New York and Barbara Boxer of California. Jinnah is scheduled to be sentenced in June. He could face more than a year in prison for reimbursing employees and associates for political donations made in their names.

State Sen. Carole Migden has agreed to pay a record $350,000 in fines for 89 violations of state campaign finance laws that include using political funds for personal benefit and failing to disclose what her political committees purchased with credit cards, according to documents released Tuesday.

Puerto Rico Gov. Anibal Acevedo Vila denied wrongdoing Thursday and gave no sign he would abandon his reelection effort after being charged with campaign finance violations that carry a penalty of 20 years in prison. Acevedo said that U.S. prosecutors' indictment -- which alleges that the governor and a dozen other people conspired to pay off his campaign debts illegally -- was politically motivated.

Michael Blumenfield thinks his son Bob would do a fine job representing the San Fernando Valley in the state Legislature. So he poured $120,000 into campaign advertising and, he said, never discussed it with his son, who lives in the same Woodland Hills neighborhood. By law, such "independent expenditures" cannot be coordinated with candidates. They are most often used by business and union interests to mail brochures and air TV ads for or against candidates in the weeks before an election.

A heated clash between two candidates amid claims of illegal fundraising is defining a state Assembly primary race in the San Fernando Valley. Although four candidates are on the June 3 ballot for the Democratic nomination in the 40th Assembly District, which includes Northridge, West Hills and Van Nuys, much of the focus has been on Bob Blumenfield and Stuart Waldman. The latter claims his chief rival is illegally collecting campaign contributions from family members.