Category Archives: chicanery

“How a fake persona laid the groundwork for a Hunter Biden conspiracy deluge”

October 29, 2020, 3:35 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC News: Nine month before a purported leak of files from Hunter Biden’s laptop, a fake “intelligence” document about him went viral on the right-wing internet, asserting an elaborate conspiracy theory involving former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and… Continue reading

“At behest of Trump campaign official, Minneapolis police union calls for retired officers to act as ‘eyes and ears’ on Election Day”

October 29, 2020, 7:20 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Star Tribune: The Minneapolis police union put out a call this week for retired officers to help serve as “eyes and ears” at polling sites in “problem” areas across the city on Election Day, at the request of an… Continue reading

“Ratcliffe went off script with Iran remarks, officials say”

October 28, 2020, 4:10 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe went off script when he alleged during a press conference last week that Iran was sending intimidating emails to Americans in order to “damage President Trump,” according to two senior administration officials… Continue reading

“‘We Merely Need to Dampen Turnout’: Leaked Docs Show Top Trump Allies’ 2016 Plan to Suppress Black Voters”

October 28, 2020, 8:21 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Great new reporting from Andy Kroll: The disinformation operation was christened “Project Clintonson.” It brought together two notorious figures in Republican political circles, Blackwater founder Erik Prince and Trump adviser Roger Stone. Their objective couldn’t have been more explicit.“We… Continue reading

“Trump Wants COVID-19 Media Coverage To Be Illegal: ‘Should Be An Election Law Violation’”

October 26, 2020, 7:35 amchicaneryRick Hasen

TPM reports.

“‘A disgrace to democracy’: Dozens of ballots destroyed in suspected arson of a Boston drop box”

October 26, 2020, 6:59 amabsentee ballots, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

Kansas: “Secret recording: O’Donnell, Capps, Clendenin plot how to get away with Whipple smear”

October 23, 2020, 5:06 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Wichita Eagle: A secret recording released Friday shows that three Republican officials sought to frame the county’s Republican chairman for a falsified ad they put together smearing then-mayoral candidate Brandon Whipple. One compared their mission to that of the… Continue reading

Iranian Video of Purported Hack into State Voter Registration Database Appears to Be Staged

October 23, 2020, 10:43 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Analysis from EIP: This week has seen a flurry of activity related to potential voter suppression, starting with the sending of threatening emails, purportedly from the Proud Boys, to voters in several states; the release of a video purporting to… Continue reading

Should We Be Worried About Russian Interference in the 2020 Elections? Reasons for Comfort, Reasons for Concern, and BIG Reasons for More Early Voting

October 22, 2020, 3:57 pmchicanery, voting technologyRick Hasen

By Richard L. Hasen The latest murky revelations from U.S. intelligence officials that Russian government operatives are probing state voter registration databases as they did in 2016 raises the question: is this all they’ve got? Why aren’t the Russians doing… Continue reading

“Trump Campaign Draws Rebuke for Surveilling Philadelphia Voters”

October 22, 2020, 2:30 pmchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: The Trump campaign has been videotaping Philadelphia voters while they deposit their ballots in drop boxes, leading Pennsylvania’s attorney general to warn this week that the campaign’s actions fall outside of permitted poll watching practices and could amount to… Continue reading

“Md. elections officials say video’s allegation of ballot fraud is untrue. But it’s already gone viral.”

October 21, 2020, 9:14 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Elections officials in Maryland’s most populous jurisdiction held an emergency meeting Wednesday to discuss a viral video alleging that an election worker attempted to tamper with a mailed-in ballot.A thorough investigation revealed no evidence of fraud or misconduct,… Continue reading

Florida: “Armed guards at St. Pete early voting site told deputies they were hired by Trump campaign, election officials say”

October 21, 2020, 8:37 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

WFLA: Two armed guards set up in a tent outside an early voting location in downtown St. Petersburg claiming to be with the Trump campaign, according to Julie Marcus, the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.“The Sheriff [Bob Gualtieri] told… Continue reading

“Threatening emails to Democratic voters spark investigations in Florida and Alaska”

October 20, 2020, 8:46 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Authorities in Florida and Alaska on Tuesday were investigating threatening emails sent to Democratic voters that claimed to be from the Proud Boys, a far-right group supportive of President Trump, but appeared instead to be a deceptive campaign making… Continue reading

“Federal lawsuit filed to halt firm hiring armed guards for Minnesota polling sites”

October 20, 2020, 4:41 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

The Star-Tribune reports.

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