Facebook spent a record amount on lobbying expenses — dropping close to $1 million — during the second quarter of 2012 in yet another sign of the social network’s growing focus on Beltway politics. Meanwhile, Google maintained its lobbying march in Washington, having spent $9 million in the first half of the year — almost as much as the $9.7 million the company spent on lobbying in all of 2011. Other big tech firms also kept up strong spending on their federal influence operations, according to lobby disclosures filed with the House and Senate on Friday and Saturday. Read the full story at Politico.