Category Archives: campaign finance

Trump May Have Some Good Arguments on Appeal in the Hush Money Case If Convicted, But Steven Calabresi is Likely Very Wrong That Donald Trump Would Have a Good First Amendment Defense

May 4, 2024, 6:36 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

I’ve been critical of the NY district attorney seeking to turn the Trump falsifying business records charges into felony charges in the hush money case now on trial in NY. To turn the misdemeanors into felonies, Trump had to be… Continue reading

“Trump-nominated FEC leader: let political donors hide their identities”

May 2, 2024, 7:03 pmcampaign finance, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Raw Story: 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… Continue reading

“Opinion: The many campaign finance violations divulged in Trump’s hush-money criminal trial”

May 2, 2024, 5:45 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres Spelliscy at Law and Crime.

May 7 CAP Online Event on Citizens United Includes Sheldon Whitehouse, Shana Broussard, Jamie Raskin, Sarah Haan and Tom Moore

April 30, 2024, 9:47 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Quite the lineup.

Top New York Election Lawyers Cannot Recall Anyone Ever Prosecuted for the NY Election Law Being Used to Try to Turn Trump’s Hush Money Payments into a Felony

April 27, 2024, 7:56 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Business Insider confirms what I suspected: Now, Manhattan prosecutors now say an old, rarely used section of the state election law is their favorite on the menu of potential underlying crimes. “As the court is aware, falsifying business records in… Continue reading

I Spoke to the PBS News Hour About Trump’s Hush Money Case Starting Monday

April 12, 2024, 3:41 pmcampaign financeRick Hasen

You can watch William Brangham’s report here, also featuring Jerry Goldfeder and Jessica Roth:

“Scoop: DNC covered Biden legal bills in special counsel probe”

April 12, 2024, 6:35 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Axios: President Biden used campaign donations to help pay his legal bills last year during the special counsel’s probe into his handling of classified documents, according to two people familiar with the matter and an Axios review of campaign finance… Continue reading

“Super PACs keep testing the limits of campaign finance law”

April 8, 2024, 7:17 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Politico: Super PACs keep pushing the boundaries of campaign finance law this cycle. They’re using novel financial arrangements, like taking “bridge funding” in the form of undisclosed de facto loans from major donors or receiving ad revenue from a candidate’s… Continue reading

“How Republicans texted and emailed their way into a money problem”

April 1, 2024, 7:13 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo: In the years after Donald Trump lost the presidency to Joe Biden, Trump sent so many emails and text messages asking for money that Republican consultants warned his mailing lists could become useless. The former president’s friends told him… Continue reading

“How Trump Moved Money to Pay $100 Million in Legal Bills”

March 27, 2024, 7:03 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Former President Donald J. Trump has spent more than $100 million since leaving office, on lawyers and other costs related to fending off various investigations, indictments and his coming criminal trials, according to a New York Times review of… Continue reading

“Can Trump use campaign funds to pay his $454 million civil fraud debt? Absolutely not.”

March 26, 2024, 8:50 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy at Law & Crime.

“Coordination in Plain Sight: The Breadth and Uses of ‘Redboxing’ in Congressional Elections”

March 22, 2024, 7:09 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Gabriel Foy-Sutherland and Saurav Ghosh have written this article for ELJ. Here is the abstract: This article examines the campaign strategy known as “redboxing.” Redboxing refers to efforts by candidates and parties to bypass laws prohibiting them from coordinating campaign… Continue reading

“Republicans Are Counting on Millionaires to Flip the Senate”

March 21, 2024, 7:46 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Since his rise to the presidency, Donald J. Trump has claimed enormous wealth as proof that he is an anti-establishment ally of the working class, not beholden to corporate donors or special interests. The Republican Party, eyeing control of… Continue reading

“Cross-Border Influencers: Democracy and Externalities”

March 21, 2024, 7:38 amcampaign financeRick Hasen

Saul Levmore has posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: The United States does not allow foreigners to influence U.S. elections by giving money to political parties or candidates, but many other countries do allow cross-border influencing. Indeed,… Continue reading