“The California Democrat is surrounded by a large retinue of aides at all times, who tell her how and when to vote, explain what is going on when she is confused, and shield her from the press and public.” Story in the New York Times.
All posts by Guy Charles
The University of Minnesota Hubert H. Humphrey School of Public Policy is hosting a CEA webinar
Registration is free and here. Here’s the description:
The Elections & Voting Information Center (EVIC) at Reed College has conducted a survey of local election officials (LEOs) for the past 4 years that provides local officials with an important and timely opportunity to weigh in on issues of concern in the profession. The LEO Survey is a vital resource for election administrators, policy makers, and researchers to understand local election administration in the U.S. and create space for LEOs to be heard in local, regional, national, and international discussions about electoral integrity, administration, and reform in America. Join Dr. Paul Gronke, founding director of EVIC, as he discusses the findings of the LEO Survey project. Colorado Election Director Judd Choate will moderate.
“Many GOP insiders fear that Teflon Don is back
Trump plays by rules afforded no other candidate. He might luck out again with a large field in 2024.”
Will the 2024 Republican Primary be like the 2016 primary? This story from Politico.
(Updated) “Paxton Impeachment Texas House Votes to Impeach Ken Paxton”
Story here. Paxton is suspended from office. (Thanks to Hugh Brady for the correction). He now awaits a trial by the state Senate.
“Missteps and Miscalculations: Inside Fox’s Legal and Business Debacle”
This fascinating New York Times post-mortem on the Dominion defamation lawsuit against Fox. If your interest is Election Law and Civil Procedure, this is an absolute must-read.
“DeSantis campaign will receive $500K raised by super PAC, a source says. Campaign finance experts call it ‘unprecedented'”
Aaron Navarro has this story for CBS News. From the article:
Campaign finance experts called the move “unprecedented” and had mixed reactions on if it violated FEC regulations.The transfer of “hard” campaign dollars — money raised under federal fundraising limits — from a super PAC to a campaign has not ever been tried, largely because different laws govern the two types of fundraising entities.
But in this case, Paul Seamus Ryan, a campaign finance expert, told CBS News that Never Back Down is “seemingly circumventing” a prohibition on super PACs directly transferring donations to the campaign, by using the separate draft committee PAC.
“Any way you slice it, this is an unprecedented fundraising tactic,” he said.
UVA Law Professors Mike Gilbert and Debbie Hellman on Political Corruption
Professors Hellman and Gilbert has this article, Political Corruption, forthcoming in the Oxford Handbook of American Election Law (Eugene Mazo, ed.). The abstract:
This chapter studies political corruption and its many relationships to the law of democracy. It begins with bribery laws, which forbid officials from selling official acts. Federal bribery law is circular, reflecting uncertainty and disagreement around the concept of bribery itself. Next, the chapter studies campaign finance regulations, which raise First Amendment concerns but are nevertheless often justified on anti-corruption grounds. Then the chapter examines vote buying, which relates to the secret ballot and the complicated connections between corruption and publicity. The chapter addresses the constitutional dimensions of corruption, including its role in impeachment and the Emoluments Clauses, and it concludes with a discussion of the appearance of corruption, a concern that surfaces in many areas, including judicial recusal and misuse of office. The law of political corruption is often vague, and scholars disagree about the very nature of corruption. This leaves much authority in the hands of the actors, including judges, empowered to define corruption in practice.
John Eastman’s Expert in Disbarment Proceeding Disqualified
David Ettinger blogs about it here.
“ARIZONA—Maricopa County Superior Court sanctions both Mark Finchem, R, personally, and his attorney, in legal case stemming from a 2022 election contest.”
More from Ivonne Wingett Sanchez here.
“Texas House to vote Saturday on impeachment of Attorney General Ken Paxton”
This Washington Post story by Molly Hennessy-Fiske. The lede:
The Texas House plans to vote Saturday on whether to impeach Attorney General Ken Paxton, presaging a potential state Senate trial that could lead to the ouster of one of the fiercest opponents of the Biden administration and an architect of conservative Texas policies adopted by other red states.
A Republican-led House investigating committee this week unanimously recommended impeaching Paxton (R) on 20 articles, including bribery, unfitness for office and abuse of public trust. The committee said it began investigating Paxton in March, after he requested $3.3 million in taxpayer funds to end a lawsuit by former staffers who accused him of retaliation.
“Voter confidence ticks up in 2022 — but deep partisan divides remain”
Zach Montellaro of Politico with this report on the partisan divide on voter confidence. A notable paragraph from the story:
That growth comes almost entirely from Republicans, even as a dramatic partisan gap remains. Democrats’ confidence in the nationwide count was virtually unchanged — 93 percent in 2020 to 92 percent in 2022. Republicans grew 20 points — to 42 percent — in 2022, still short of a majority.
“Oath Keepers founder Stewart Rhodes gets 18 years for Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy”
This story from Politico‘s Kyle Cheney. A key paragraph from the story:
“You, sir, present an ongoing threat and a peril to this country, to the republic and to the very fabric of our democracy,” said U.S. District Court Judge Amit Mehta, characterizing Rhodes as a uniquely powerful driver of the threat to democracy that day. “You are smart, you are compelling, and you are charismatic. Frankly, that is what makes you dangerous.”
“Menendez Investigation Is Said to Involve Questions About Luxury Gifts”
This story from the New York Times by Tracey Tully and William K. Rashbaum. Here’s the lede:
Federal prosecutors and the F.B.I. are investigating whether Senator Robert Menendez or his wife received unreported gifts of a luxury car and an apartment in Washington from a halal meat company that is also the focus of a criminal inquiry, two people with knowledge of the matter said on Thursday.
“Judge schedules trial in lawsuit against Wisconsin’s fake electors for weeks before 2024 presidential election”
This story from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. The lede:
A trial in a Wisconsin lawsuit over the actions of 10 Republicans who posed as electors for Donald Trump in 2020 despite his election loss will take place just weeks before the next presidential election.