A Donald Trump-nominated Federal Election Commission leader wants to make it easier for political donors to hide their identities — a major impediment to post-Watergate interpretations of political transparency that allow anyone to see where politicians are getting their money.
The proposed directive, titled “Requests to Withhold, Redact, or Modify Identifying Information,” was submitted today by Commissioner Allen J. Dickerson for possible consideration at the commission’s public May 16 meeting. Raw Story obtained a copy.
Dickerson’s memorandum says that the Federal Election Campaign Act’s disclosure requirements “are not absolute” and subject to exceptions.
“Where a person or group can show ‘a reasonable probability’ that compelled disclosure ‘will subject them to threats, harassment, or reprisals from either Government officials or private parties,’ they must be excused from disclosing the information that will put them at risk,“ Dickerson’s memorandum says.
“The Justice Department has filed 18 statements of interest and amicus briefs in federal district courts and courts of appeals since January 2021 supporting the right of private parties to file suits under the Voting Rights Act and the Civil Rights Act to protect the right to vote.”
So notes this DOJ press release.
“Local Election Officials Survey — May 2024”
“False ad depicting Dade Phelan with Nancy Pelosi could inspire new anti-deepfake legislation”
A recent “deepfaked” ad targeting House Speaker Dade Phelan could inspire further legislation to crack down on doctored imagery in political ads.
At the end of Monday’s hearing of the House Select Committee on Artificial Intelligence and Emerging Technologies, political attorney Andrew Cates suggested the committee should recommend an update to Senate Bill 751 from 2019, which created a Class A misdemeanor offense for distributing a “deep fake video” created with the intent to deceive voters.
“Not to bring up sensitive stuff, but the speaker got hit a couple days ago with a fake image, or a deceptively altered image,” Cates said. “It’s not against the law here.”
That mailer, paid for by the Jeff Yass-bankrolled Club for Growth Action PAC, depicted Phelan in an intimate hug with former U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, apparently a remake of Pelosi hugging new House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries.
Less publicized was the flip side of the mailer, which falsely depicted Phelan at a lectern speaking at a Texas House Democratic Caucus news conference.
Jerry Goldfeder Column on “Saving Our Republic”
“Third parties will affect the 2024 campaigns, but election laws written by Democrats and Republicans will prevent them from winning”
Barry Burden for The Conversation.
I Spoke to Jessica Levinson’s “Passing Judgment” Podcast About My New Book, “A Real Right to Vote”
We also talked a bit about the Trump trials and my Cheap Speech book. It was a great conversation with my former star student. Listen.
“The Roadmap for Fair Reports in 2030: A Summary of the 2023 National Citizen Redistricting Commissioners Conference”
“How a post falsely claiming migrants are registering to vote spread to millions in four weeks”
NBC News:
The rumor started as a post on X.
The post published in early April misrepresented federal data from the Social Security Administration to falsely suggest that hundreds of thousands of migrants may have registered to vote in Pennsylvania,… Continue reading
“Trump, Repeating 2020 Election Lies, Will Not Commit to Accepting 2024 Results”
NYT:
Former President Donald J. Trump told The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that he would not commit to accepting the results of the 2024 election, as he again repeated his lies that the 2020 election was stolen from him.… Continue reading
“Opinion: The many campaign finance violations divulged in Trump’s hush-money criminal trial”
Ciara Torres Spelliscy at Law and Crime.
“Political Reforms to Combat Extremism”
Rick Pildes here. A month after Jan. 6, 2021, I wrote an essay in the New York Times asserting that “every political reform proposal must [now] be judged by its ability to fuel or weaken extremist candidates.” I’ve now posted… Continue reading
Idaho Voters Likely to Vote This Fall on Shifting to Top 5 Primaries, with Instant Runoff Voting in the General Election
This story reports that proponents of this ballot measure appear to have gained enough signatures to get the measured qualified for the ballot this fall. This is “the Alaska model” of primary reform, a reform that both Ned Foley and… Continue reading
May 3 Conference: “The Future of Press Freedom: Democracy, Law, and the News in Changing Times”
I’m looking forward to attending and speaking at this Knight First Amendment Institute conference on Friday (live and online).
I’ll be presenting my paper, From Bloggers in Pajamas to The Gateway Pundit: How Government Entities Do and Should Identify … Continue reading