Stan in Roll Call re: PMA
“One thing I think is pretty clear is the internal deliberations about the earmarks inside the Congress, between the staff and the Member or the committee and the Member, I think are clearly protected,” said Stan Brand, a former House general counsel who is now a white-collar defense attorney.
and:
“I think the general lines would be that something done outside the legislative process, in the electoral arena, generally would not be covered: fundraisers, donations, solicitations to donors, all this stuff that would occur as a part of a campaign,” Brand explained.
“The problem here, in my mind, is what about that gets them any closer to proving anything vis-à-vis a Congressman than they already have available to them,” he added.
and
“The fact that it turns up in another place doesn’t deny it protection. You still have to go through the analysis and determine, ‘What is it?’” Brand said.
and:
“I think the general lines would be that something done outside the legislative process, in the electoral arena, generally would not be covered: fundraisers, donations, solicitations to donors, all this stuff that would occur as a part of a campaign,” Brand explained.
“The problem here, in my mind, is what about that gets them any closer to proving anything vis-à-vis a Congressman than they already have available to them,” he added.
and
“The fact that it turns up in another place doesn’t deny it protection. You still have to go through the analysis and determine, ‘What is it?’” Brand said.
