Category Archives: chicanery

“FEC Votes to Explore Disclosure Rules for Online Ads”

September 14, 2017, 7:33 pmcampaign finance, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Ken Doyle for Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission voted unanimously to jump-start a rulemaking process focused on disclosure requirements for online ads, following the revelation of Russian-linked political ads on Facebook. The vote, at the end of a lengthy … Continue reading

“Exclusive: Russia Used Facebook Events to Organize Anti-Immigrant Rallies on U.S. Soil”

September 11, 2017, 9:08 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

The Daily Beast reports.

“Some Facebook ads bought by Russian company may have violated US election law”

September 11, 2017, 7:21 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

ABA Journal reports.

“Russian Facebook Political Ad Buys During 2016 Election Draw DOJ & FEC Complaints”

September 8, 2017, 9:50 amcampaign finance, chicanery, Department of Justice, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Release: Today Common Cause filed a complaint with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging that one or more unknown foreign nationals made expenditures, independent expenditures or disbursements in connection with the 2016 presidential… Continue reading

“Russia’s Facebook Ads Could Spell Trouble for Any American Who Lent a Hand”

September 8, 2017, 7:38 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Brendan Fischer blogs.

“FEC Might Act on Russia-Linked Facebook Political Ads: Official”

September 7, 2017, 9:26 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicanery, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The revelation that Russian sources financed political ads on Facebook in the 2016 presidential campaign could prompt enforcement action by the Federal Election Commission, agency Vice Chairwoman Caroline Hunter said. “It’s something we can and should deal with… Continue reading

“Did Facebook ads traced to a Russian company violate U.S. election law?”

September 7, 2017, 2:14 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Matea Gold for WaPo.

“The Fake Americans Russia Created to Influence the Election”

September 7, 2017, 12:37 pmchicanery, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

NYT: An investigation by The New York Times, and new research from the cybersecurity firm FireEye, reveals some of the mechanisms by which suspected Russian operators used Twitter and Facebook to spread anti-Clinton messages and promote the hacked material they… Continue reading

Trump Jr. Appears to Acknowledge He Knew Meeting with Russians to Get “Dirt” on Clinton Raised Legal Questions

September 7, 2017, 8:42 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Donald Trump Jr. told Senate investigators on Thursday that he set up a June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer because he was intrigued that she might have damaging information about Hillary Clinton, saying it was important to learn… Continue reading

Would Russian Paid Facebook Ads to Help Elect Trump Be Illegal?

September 6, 2017, 2:18 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Today’s news reveals that Facebook got money, likely from sources connected to the Russian government, to spend ads likely intended to benefit Trump’s election. Is this illegal? The issue is complicated and below I reproduce a footnote from my Cheap … Continue reading

“Facebook says it sold political ads to Russian company during 2016 election”

September 6, 2017, 1:10 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Representatives of Facebook told congressional investigators Wednesday that it has discovered it sold ads during the U.S. presidential election to a shadowy Russian company seeking to target voters, according to several people familiar with the company’s findings. Facebook officials… Continue reading

“Congress Can Help Prevent Election Hacking”

September 6, 2017, 7:20 amchicanery, election administration, voting technologyRick Hasen

Michael Chertoff oped in the WSJ: American voters received yet another rude awakening last month. Chicago’s Board of Elections reported that names, addresses, birth dates and other sensitive information about the city’s 1.8 million registered voters had been exposed on… Continue reading

“Cash-strapped states brace for Russian hacking fight”

September 5, 2017, 7:09 amchicanery, election administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Politico: The U.S. needs hundreds of millions of dollars to protect future elections from hackers — but neither the states nor Congress is rushing to fill the gap. Instead, a nation still squabbling over the role Russian cyberattacks played in… Continue reading