Category Archives: chicanery

“Restricting the Vote: Inside the Right-Wing Push to Rewrite Election Rules in 2025; Cleta Mitchell offered ALEC state lawmakers a list of restrictive voting policies”

December 13, 2024, 2:18 pmchicanery, fraudulent fraud squad, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Documented: In the immediate aftermath of Trump’s 2024 election victory, the right’s “election fraud” claims magically disappeared—but only temporarily. The fraud narrative is already reemerging to justify a wave of restrictive new voting laws in 2025, according to… Continue reading

“GOP Grabs Control of North Carolina Election Boards, Rushing to Negate November Losses”

December 12, 2024, 3:24 pmchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Deep dive from Bolts.

“Manhattan DA urges judge not to toss out guilty verdict in Trump hush money case”

December 10, 2024, 1:14 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg says Donald Trump’s imminent return to the presidency is not a reason to throw out the 34-count conviction that jurors delivered in the hush money case earlier this year. Bragg conceded in a… Continue reading

“Trump lawyers and aide face additional felony charges in Wisconsin over 2020 fake electors”

December 10, 2024, 12:19 pmchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

AP: Wisconsin prosecutors filed 10 additional felony charges Tuesday against two attorneys and an aide to President-elect Donald Trump who advised Trump in 2020 as part of a plan to submit paperwork falsely claiming that the Republican had won the… Continue reading

“As Trump’s legal cloud lifts, 45 allies still threatened by state-level 2020 election charges”

December 10, 2024, 7:07 amchicaneryRick Hasen

CNN: Donald Trump derailed his 2020 election subversion indictments by winning back the White House, but dozens of his allies still face state criminal prosecutions that he, even as president, can’t shut down through his Justice Department or short-circuit with… Continue reading

Trump and Cheseboro filings in the Georgia conspiracy case

December 4, 2024, 11:32 pmchicanery, election law and constitutional law, Supreme Courtdemocratic backsliding, January 6Justin Levitt

As expected, President-elect Donald Trump has filed a motion in the Georgia Court of Appeals to dismiss the conspiracy prosecution against him in Georgia on the basis that “a sitting president is completely immune from indictment or any criminal process,… Continue reading

“What We Saw on Our Platforms During 2024’s Global Elections”

December 3, 2024, 10:15 pmcheap speech, chicaneryJustin Levitt

A description from Meta about the state of their social media in the recent election cycle (including covert foreign influence operations Meta says it detected and quashed). Of course, it’d be nice if there were enough transparency to allow for… Continue reading

Dinesh D’Souza sort-of kind-of apologizes for 2000 Mules

December 2, 2024, 11:32 pmchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadJustin Levitt

Here’s the statement – which is undated but appears to be new – throwing True the Vote under the bus and also maintaining confidence in the “underlying premise” of the film … but in a nonspecific way far less susceptible… Continue reading

“Election denialism has staying power even after Trump’s win”

December 1, 2024, 6:36 pmchicanery, election subversion riskThe Big LieJustin Levitt

A States Newsroom report on the continuing attempt to blame election losses on nefarious mysterious misconduct rather than … more valid votes being cast for someone else. For those claiming conspiracy, I continue to wonder at how they explain the… Continue reading

Governor Cooper Vetos Bill that Would Shift Power from Executive Offices (soon to be held by Democrats)

November 27, 2024, 7:10 amchicaneryNorth CarolinaTabatha Abu El-Haj

Raleigh News & Observer reports that Governor Cooper has temporarily halted efforts by the Republican legislature to restructure power in North Carolina to limit the impact of Democratic wins in the state. Republicans have repeatedly overridden Cooper’s vetos during this… Continue reading

Must-Read Charlie Savage: “End of Trump Cases Leaves Limits on Presidential Criminality Unclear”

November 26, 2024, 7:35 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of Justice, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Charlie in the NYT: The end of the two federal criminal cases against President-elect Donald J. Trump on Monday left momentous, unsettled questions about constraints on criminal wrongdoing by presidents, from the scope of presidential immunity to whether the Justice… Continue reading

“Top Trump Aide Accused of Asking for Money to ‘Promote’ Potential Appointees”

November 26, 2024, 7:32 amchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: President-elect Donald J. Trump’s legal team found evidence that a top adviser asked for retainer fees from potential appointees in order to promote them for jobs in the new administration, five people briefed on the matter said on Monday.… Continue reading

“No Labels goes after opponents of third-party presidential bid in court”

November 24, 2024, 9:42 amchicanery, third partiesRick Hasen

WaPo: Leaders of the centrist group No Labels abandoned a planned third-party presidential bid in April after a successful campaign by Democratic allies of President Joe Biden damaged their public appeal and undermined their ability to recruit electable candidates.… Continue reading