Free Republic

New documents disclosed in a complaint from the watchdog group Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) appear to show California Democrat Rep. Laura Richardson and her staff clearly violating congressional ethics rules and potentially federal law. The documents show Richardson using official taxpayer resources for political events, including fundraisers. “Rep. Richardson didn’t just violate House rules, she likely committed crimes,” said Melanie Sloan, CREW’s executive director. In one instance, Richardson’s chief of staff, Shirley Cooks, told all of Richardson’s aides in an email from her official House account, “All staff are required to attend” a fundraiser held Sept....

California Governor Jerry Brown and Democratic lawmakers have struck a deal to close their estimated $15 billion budget deficit, including provisions to force online retailers like Amazon.com to collect sales tax from customers. The bill also includes two other bills that were also passed by the CA State Legislature that would require online retailers that have corporate subsidiaries & distribution centers in a state to collect sales tax from customers, along with another bill that clarifies when other kinds of physical presence require a sales tax to be collected. The three bills were combined into one and sent to Brown's...