All posts by Rick Hasen

“Trump Can Restrict A.P. Journalists’ Access, Appeals Court Rules”

June 9, 2025, 7:26 amFirst Amendment theoryRick Hasen

NYT on what is perhaps the worst ruling on freedom of the press that I’ve ever read: A federal appeals court on Friday paused a lower court’s ruling that had required the White House to allow journalists from The Associated… Continue reading

“Georgian falsely accused in ‘2000 Mules’ of voting fraud wants filmmaker to pay”

June 9, 2025, 7:18 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AJC: A man falsely accused of voting fraud in the conspiracy film “2000 Mules” tried to hold its producers responsible Friday, asking a federal judge to rule in his favor. But the moviemakers, including conservative filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza and the… Continue reading

Thanks to Justin and Derek for ELB Blogging These Last Two Weeks….and Here’s What’s Coming

June 9, 2025, 7:14 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Always appreciate the excellent work of my fellow ELB contributors! I’m back in this week, before a big stretch of ELB contributors through June and July: Week of June 16, 2025Rick PildesWeek of June 23, 2025Justin LevittWeek of June 30,… Continue reading

“Trump says Elon Musk will face ‘very serious consequences’ if he funds Democratic candidates”

June 7, 2025, 11:31 amauthoritarian threats in US, campaign financeRick Hasen

NBC News: President Donald Trump on Saturday said there would be “serious consequences” if tech mogul Elon Musk funds Democratic candidates to run against Republicans who vote in favor of the GOP’s sweeping budget bill. “If he does, he’ll have… Continue reading

Supreme Court Will Not Hear What Could Have Been Major Test of Independent State Legislature Theory Out of Pennsylvania

June 6, 2025, 3:38 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

In an unusually timed orders list, the Supreme Court with no noted dissents turned down RNC v. Genser. As I’ve repeatedly written, if the Supreme Court is going to clarify the independent state legislature theory’s scope, it is best… Continue reading

“Trump Orders Investigation of Biden and His Aides”

June 5, 2025, 8:53 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump ordered his White House counsel and the attorney general on Wednesday to investigate former President Joseph R. Biden Jr. and his staff in Mr. Trump’s latest attempt to stoke outlandish conspiracy theories about his predecessor. In an… Continue reading

Mountainhead from Mountainview: “Google’s New AI Tool Generates Convincing Deepfakes of Riots, Conflict, and Election Fraud”

June 3, 2025, 12:34 pmcheap speechRick Hasen

Time: Google’s recently launched AI video tool can generate realistic clips that contain misleading or inflammatory information about news events, according to a TIME analysis and several tech watchdogs. TIME was able to use Veo 3 to create realistic videos,… Continue reading

“DOJ’s New Top Voting Lawyer Worked for Leading Anti-Voting Law Firm”

June 2, 2025, 11:48 amDepartment of Justice, election law biz, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Democracy Docket: The new top voting lawyer at the Department of Justice was until recently an attorney and activist for a leading anti-voting legal group that has worked for years to spread fear about illegal voting and press election officials… Continue reading

“Trump Court Pick Once Called For Bringing Back Literacy Tests For Voters”

June 2, 2025, 11:22 amVoting Rights ActRick Hasen

Jennifer Bendery for HuffPost: One of President Donald Trump’s nominees to a federal judgeship, Josh Divine, argued in a college opinion piece that people should be required to take literacy tests in order to vote — despite such tests being… Continue reading

Quote of the Day

May 31, 2025, 9:18 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

“They don’t want someone who’s just going to be like, ‘We’re going to follow the law and do the originalistic thing, and whatever the result is, so may be it,’” said the consultant. “They want someone [who] can figure out… Continue reading

Democratic Party, in Marc Elias Brief, Seeks to Intervene in NRSC Case at Supreme Court to Defend Limits on Coordinated Spending by Parties

May 30, 2025, 11:07 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Well this is a very interesting development in the case I’ve been tracking closely and expect the Supreme Court to hear, especially given that Marc Elias has not been one to generally defend campaign finance limits applied to political parties.… Continue reading

“Carrie Levine is named editor-in-chief of Votebeat”

May 30, 2025, 7:12 amelection law bizRick Hasen

So well deserved: Civic News Company is pleased to announce the appointment of Carrie Levine as the new editor-in-chief of Votebeat, its nonprofit newsroom dedicated to election administration coverage. Levine, who has been serving as interim editor-in-chief and previously as… Continue reading

“How Donald Trump Has Remade America’s Political Landscape”

May 25, 2025, 1:59 pmpolitical partiesRick Hasen

NYT: Donald J. Trump’s victory in 2024 was not an outlier. It was the culmination of continuous gains by Republicans in much of the country each time he has run for president, a sea of red that amounts to a… Continue reading

“Judge strikes down Trump’s sanctions against Jenner & Block law firm”

May 25, 2025, 1:55 pmauthoritarian threats in US, election law bizRick Hasen

WaPo: A federal judge on Friday struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order sanctioning the law firm Jenner & Block, the second time a court has quashed one of Trump’s efforts to punish a firm. U.S. District Judge John D.… Continue reading