Florida Democrat indicted on federal fraud charges
From POLITICO: Rep. Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick, a Democrat from Florida, has been indicted on federal charges for allegedly using federal disaster relief funds to fund her congressional campaign. The Department of Justice claims that Cherfilus-McCormick and her brother funneled funds from a $5 million FEMA contract through straw donors into her 2021 campaign, and that a “substantial portion” of that contract was ultimately used to support her campaign.
AI industry-backed super PAC targets New York Democrat in opening shot of midterms
From CNBC: “Leading the Future,” a super PAC backed by major figures in the AI industry, including VC firm Andreessen Horowitz, AI search engine Perplexity, and the co-founder of Palantir, is targeting a New York State Assembly member who is running for Congress in NY’s 12th district. Alex Bores, a Democrat, co-sponsored the RAISE Act, a bill that would impose safety regulations for AI products to guard against serious misuse. The PAC claims that the bill would stifle growth in the AI industry.
Fears of A.I. Prompt Talks of Super PACs to Rein In the Industry
From The New York Times: On the other side of the AI debate, a group of donors is planning to assemble $50 million for new super PACs to support candidates who promote AI regulation, and to oppose Leading the Future. Supporters of this effort include employees at Anthropic, an AI company that supports more regulation for its industry, and Brad Carson, a former Democratic congressman from Oklahoma. The plan for the Super PAC is to fund them through a 501(c)4 nonprofit that does not have to disclose its donors (giving such groups the name “dark money groups”), and then split the funds between a pro-Democrat and a pro-Republican PAC.
Pras of the Fugees Gets 14 Years for Illegal Foreign Influence Scheme
From The New York Times:
The rapper Prakazrel Michel, also known as Pras, of the hip-hop group the Fugees, was sentenced to 14 years in prison for accepting $120 million from a Malaysian financier which he funneled through 20 straw donors to Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign. Mr. Michel also attempted to get President Trump’s Justice Department to drop charges against that Malaysian financier in 2018. His lawyer claimed that the financier merely wanted a photo with President Obama.
