Judge Strikes Down Ohio's False Statement Campaign Law As Unconstitutional

A federal judge has ruled that Ohio's ban on false statements against candidates seeking office is unconstitutional.

The Susan B. Anthony List, a national anti-abortion group, challenged the campaign law when they attempted to put up billboards accusing then-U.S. Rep. Steve Driehaus (D-Ohio) of supporting taxpayer-funded abortion by voting in favor of the Affordable Care Act. The billboard owner chose not to post the ads for fear of legal action after Driehaus filed a formal complaint against the ads' message with the Ohio Elections Commission.

Driehaus dropped the case after he lost his re-election bid, so a federal judge ruled the anti-abortion group could no longer challenge the law's constitutionality. An appeals court agreed, and the Supreme Court sent the case back to the lower court.

his time around, the anti-abortion group found success. U.S. District Judge Timothy S. Black ruled Thursday that the Ohio Elections Commission can no longer enforce political false statement laws.

Black clarified that his denouncement of false statement laws does not translate to approval of deceit on the campaign trail.

"Lies have no place in the political arena and serve no purpose other than to undermine the integrity of the democratic process," Black wrote in the ruling. "The problem is that, at times, there is no clear way to determine whether a political statement is a lie or the truth. What is certain, however, is that we do not want the Government (i.e., the Ohio Elections Commission) deciding what is political truth -- for fear that the Government might persecute those who criticize it."

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Supreme Court Adds Gay Marriage To Agenda

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court has formally added gay marriage cases to the justices' agenda for their closed-door conference on Sept. 29.

The action Wednesday does not mean that the court will decide that day to hear state appeals of lower court rulings that struck down bans on same-sex marriage. But the late September conference will be the first time the justices have the issue before them. The meeting will be the justices' first since late June.

Appeals have been filed from Indiana, Oklahoma, Utah, Virginia and Wisconsin. The gay couples who won in each case in the lower courts also favor Supreme Court review.

The justices could put off deciding whether to take up gay marriage until January and still be able to issue a decision by late June.

White House reportedly planning years-long campaign to destroy ISIS

The Obama administration is reportedly preparing a campaign to destroy the Islamic State militant group that could outlast the president's remaining time in office, according to a published report. 

The New York Times, citing U.S. officials, reported late Sunday that the White House plan involves three phases that some Pentagon officials believe will require at least three years of sustained effort.

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The first phase, airstrikes against Islamic State, also known as ISIS, is already underway in Iraq, where U.S. aircraft have launched 143 attacks since August 8. The second phase involves an intensified effort to train, advise, and equip the Iraqi army, Kurdish Peshmerga fighters, and any Sunni tribesmen willing to fight their ISIS co-religionists. The Times reports that this second phase will begin sometime after Iraq forms a new government, which could happen sometime this week. 

The third, and most politically fraught phase of the campaign, according to The Times, would require airstrikes against ISIS inside Syria. Last month, the government of Bashar al-Assad in Damascus warned the Obama administration not to launch airstrikes against ISIS in Syria without its permission. 

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Senate Polls Show Edge For GOP

Two sets of polls released Sunday find an edge for the GOP in a closely contested Senate midterm environment, although they differ on the size of that advantage.

A set of online CBS/New York Times/YouGov polls conducted in every Senate racefinds an electoral landscape that has remained both competitive and largely stable throughout the year, with changes of less than 4 points in nine of the 10 most competitive races. Republicans "hold at least a nominal lead in eight states held by Democrats, more than the six they need to retake the chamber," writes the New York Times' Nate Cohn. The Times' Senate model gives Republicans a 61 percent chance, or a "slight edge," of retaking the Senate.

The most notable change from the last wave of YouGov polling is in Alaska, where the survey shows Republican Dan Sullivan pulling ahead of Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska). Polling this year in the state has been both sparse and inconsistent.

A separate trio of Senate polls by NBC/Marist focusing on three of the most competitive states finds Republicans leading in Arkansas and Kentucky, while in Colorado the Democratic incumbent remains ahead.

The leading candidate's margins in all three NBC/Marist surveys -- 8 points in Kentucky and 5 points in Arkansas for the Republican candidates, and 6 points in Colorado for the Democrat -- are wider than those seen in HuffPost Pollster's poll-tracking model, which shows all three races remaining extremely competitive.
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Obama: Waiting will make immigration executive action 'more sustainable'

(CNN) -- President Barack Obama says he's postponing executive action on immigration until after November's elections because it would be "more sustainable" then.

Speaking to NBC's Chuck Todd, Obama said the immigration debate was affected by concerns over the large number of unaccompanied children from Latin America flocking to the U.S. border.

"The truth of the matter is that the politics did shift mid-summer because of that problem," he said.

"What I'm saying is that I'm going to act because it's the right thing for the country," Obama said. "But it's going to be more sustainable and more effective if the public understands what the facts are on immigration, what we've done on unaccompanied children and why it's necessary."

The decision to postpone means any political repercussions for trying to reform the immigration system by himself would come after the congressional midterm contests.

Obama still "will do something before the end of the year" on the issue, a White House official told CNN on Saturday.

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D.C. Circuit Court Agrees To Re-hear Obamacare Case

The full D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals has agreed to re-hear the case of Halbig v. Burwell.

In July, a three-judge panel from the D.C. Circuit Court ruled that people in the 36 states that use the federal health insurance exchange as part of the Affordable Care Act are ineligible for subsidized insurance. HuffPost's Ryan Grim and Jeffrey Young have more on that earlier decision here.

The same July day the D.C. Circuit Court panel ruled on Halbig, a Virginia federal appeals panel ruled the opposite way on an identical case. The plaintiffs in the D.C. case requested the Supreme Court to take on the case in August. according to the Wall Street Journal's Brent Kendall, oral arguments will be heard in December.

The U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia granted an Obama administration request to have its full complement of judges re-hear a challenge to regulations that allow health insurance tax credits under the Affordable Care Act for consumers in all 50 states.

The announcement diminishes the prospect of Supreme Court review of the issue in the near term. The initial 2-1 appeals court ruling in Washington came out the same day that a panel of appellate judges in Richmond, Virginia, unanimously sided with the administration on the same issue.

The health law's opponents had hoped that the split rulings would lead the high court to take up the issue soon.

Now, the argument in the federal courthouse just a few blocks from the Supreme Court will take place on December 17.

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Former Virginia governor found guilty in influence-peddling case

CNN) -- A former rising star in the Republican Party, former Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell was red-faced and sobbing Thursday after a jury convicted him and his wife on multiple counts related to influence-peddling while he was in office.

After more than a month of sometimes soul-baring testimony, the federal jury issued guilty verdicts on 11 counts against McDonnell, while clearing him on two others. His wife, Maureen, was convicted on nine while cleared on four.

The charges involved gifts the couple received from a businessman, including a Rolex watch, a $15,000 check for their daughter's wedding and other items that are legal under Virginia law. Prosecutors had to prove such gifts were accepted with corrupt intent.

Conspiracy, wire fraud, influence peddling

Both McDonnells were convicted of conspiracy to defraud the citizens of Virginia, wire fraud, conspiracy and influence-peddling. Mrs. McDonnell also was convicted on one count of obstruction.

The jury cleared them both of false statement charges, and cleared Mrs. McDonnell on one of the wire fraud counts and two of the influence-peddling counts.

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