•  Paul Singer, one of the nation’s richest hedge fund managers, cut a $500,000 check to the Republican Governors Association as part of a gubernatorial spending spree that stretched back to 2013 and saw some $7 million flow from Singer to the campaign arm for GOP governors only.

• The Securities and Exchange Commission enforces what’s known as a “pay-to-play rule,” which forbids investment managers from contributing to politicians who have a say in doling out public pension fund money to those investment managers. The SEC also bans indirect contributions, to prevent funneling through opaque entities.

• Singer’s flagship hedge fund, Elliott Management, has been badly underperforming the market over the past decade, leading some institutional investors to look elsewhere to park their money. That’s how the free market is supposed to work so that it doesn’t become distorted by kickbacks or bribery.

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