Sunlight Foundation

NEWS ROUNDUP:

• The NRSC took advantage of Rand Paul's filibuster to raise some money last week. As of Thursday afternoon they had pulled in $75,000 via the #standwithrand hashtag that was trending. (Politico)
• The latest list of bundler's to President Obama's reelection campaign might not include any registered lobbyists, but it is loaded with top executives from companies and firms that lobby the federal government. (Public Integrity)
• The epic tale of President Obama's ties to Organizing for Action continued last week as Jim Messina, the group's chairman, suggested that the President could meet with top donors as early as this week. (Politico)
• Rep. Greg Meeks (D-NY), the only current U.S. lawmaker to attend the funeral of recently deceased Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez, was accused of not-so-sunny ties to a major donor with interests in the Chavez regime. (The Washington Times)
• (Ethics.Harvard.Edu)
• A group of Republican members of Congress are asking the Justice department to investigate the EPA's FOIA practices after an internal email circulated that appears to direct agency officials to delay or obstruct inconvenient requests for information. (The Examiner)
• A new report from the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction suggests that at least $8 billion has been lost to waste, fraud, and abuse during the reconstruction process. (POGO)
• The Obama administration filed a brief supporting a Maryland photo journalists who was arrested and beaten after taking photographs of police arresting two other men. The Justice department argues that the constitution protects the photographer's right to photograph police in public places. (Ars Technica)
• a requirement buried in an appropriations bill passed by the House last week would push the Defense Department to disclose information about domestic drone use. (CNET)

NEWS ROUNDUP:

• The Spanish ruling party is facing a second major corruption investigation. Courts are investigating allegations that a former party treasurer took cash from construction magnates that was funneled to high level officials. (Trust Law)
• The fight over the future of the internet continues to rage as countries decide how open they will be and maneuver to exert control. U.S. officials predict that countries like China and Russia will work to monitor communications and take control. (Yahoo/Reuters)
• Cybersecurity continues to be a hot topic as policy makers struggle to decide the best way to protect against cyber attacks. K street appears to be taking advantage of the ongoing debate. (The Hill)
• The Congressional Sportsmen's Caucus, which has more than 250 members in the House and Senate, is closely tied with the Congressional Sportsmen's Foundation which provides large donors opportunities to wine and dine members of Congress. (New York Times)
• Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an order that will launch The Russian Public Initiative, an e-petitions portal for the federal government. The portal was initially supposed to be developed by Prime Minister Dmitri Medvedev but was never implemented. (Tech President)
• The former Mexican ambassador to the United States is set to lead a new operation being launched by the Podesta Group, one of the top firms on K street. Arturo Sarukhan will head up Global Solutions a "global strategies and risk management company." (The Hill)