On October 19, three individuals filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., seeking to overturn a 1940 federal law that makes it illegal for anyone who holds a contract with the federal government from contributing any money whatsoever to any party or any candidate for federal office. Here is the 10-page complaint in Wagner v Federal Election Commission, 11-cv-1841.

One of the plaintiffs, Wendy Wagner, is a law professor who currently has a contract to prepare a report on potential improvements in the use of science by administrative agencies. Another plaintiff, Lawrence M. E. Brown, has a contract to perform personal services as a human resources advisor to the U.S. Agency for International Development. The third plaintiff, Jan W. Miller, has a contract to provide personal services consulting to the same agency, USAID. They each would like to make contributions to candidates for federal office, or to political committees or political parties. The D.C. branch of the American Civil Liberties Union represents the plaintiffs. The complaint points out that federal employees are permitted to make contributions. The case was assigned to Judge James E. Boasberg, an Obama appointee. Thanks to Rick Hasen for the link.