Category Archives: chicanery

“SOS Kris Kobach’s office paid $1,000 fine in federal case with state-issued credit card”

June 10, 2018, 9:30 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Topeka Capital-Journal: Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Kansas, said three weeks ago Kobach had paid the penalty “out of his own pocket.” However, a Kansas Open Records Act request of the Kansas Department of Administration produced records… Continue reading

“Kobach can be investigated by citizen grand jury, Kansas Court of Appeals rules”

June 8, 2018, 9:27 amchicaneryRick Hasen

KC Star: The Kansas Court of Appeals ruled Friday that a citizen grand jury can proceed with an investigation of Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach in Douglas County. Steven Davis, a Democratic candidate for the Kansas House, first filed … Continue reading

“Missouri House drops effort to get documents from Greitens’ secretive nonprofit”

June 7, 2018, 8:04 amcampaign finance, chicanery, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

KC Star: The Missouri House has dropped its effort to enforce a subpoena demanding documents from former Gov. Eric Greitens’ secretive dark money nonprofit. Lawmakers had asked Cole County Circuit Court Judge Jon Beetem to force Greitens’ nonprofit, called A… Continue reading

“Ex-FBI honcho blasts Trump over Blagojevich”

June 1, 2018, 7:51 ambribery, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: A top former FBI official accused President Donald Trump of acting out of spite against federal law enforcement after the president suggested Thursday he might commute former Illinois Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s 14-year prison term. Robert Grant, a longtime colleague… Continue reading

“Trump Lawyers at Jones Day Resist Discovery Demand in DNC Hack Suit”

May 31, 2018, 2:33 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

NLJ: President Donald Trump’s campaign lawyers at Jones Day pushed back Thursday against a nonprofit group’s pursuit of documents related to the 2016 hack of the Democratic National Committee, assailing the request as a “last-ditch effort to launch a fishing… Continue reading

“I’m in Prison for Practicing Politics: Under the legal arguments the prosecutors used to convict me, all fundraising can be viewed as bribery.”

May 30, 2018, 8:07 ambribery, chicaneryRick Hasen

Rod Blagojevich WSJ oped.

Today’s Must Read: “Inside the Pro-Trump Effort to Keep Black Voters From the Polls”

May 29, 2018, 6:46 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bloomberg: Breitbart News landed an election scoop that went viral in August 2016: “Exclusive: ‘Black Men for Bernie’ Founder to End Democrat ‘Political Slavery’ of Minority Voters… by Campaigning for Trump.” If the splashy, counterintuitive story, which circulated on such… Continue reading

“FEC Deadlocks on Probing Pro-Rubio Super PAC Money”

May 26, 2018, 11:55 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bloomberg BNA: The Federal Election Commission deadlocked over whether to investigate a $500,000 contribution to a super political action committee that backed Sen. Marco Rubio’s (R-Fla.) presidential bid. Watchdog groups contend the 2016 donation was illegally funneled through a limited… Continue reading

“Israeli Intelligence Firm’s Election-Meddling Analysis Comes Under Mueller’s Scrutiny”

May 26, 2018, 11:52 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WSJ: Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators have obtained a presentation prepared by an Israel-based private intelligence firm that outlines ways in which Donald Trump’s 2016 election was helped by fake news and fake social-media accounts, according to people familiar with… Continue reading

“Russian Facebook ads inflamed Hispanic tensions over immigration after Trump election”

May 25, 2018, 8:03 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

USA Today: In the months after Donald Trump rode to victory while calling for mass deportations, Russian operatives bought dozens of Facebook ads targeted at the Hispanic community seeking to further inflame tensions already roiled by the campaign’s racially charged… Continue reading

Giuliani: Russian Emails Helping Trump Campaign “Sort of Like a Gift”; But Campaign Acceptance of Things of Value from Foreign Nationals is Illegal

May 22, 2018, 7:13 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Oh my: In a recent interview with HuffPost, Giuliani initially disputed the notion that Trump’s daily citing, in the final month of his campaign, of Russian-aligned WikiLeaks and its release of Russian-stolen emails constituted “colluding” with Russia. “It is not,” … Continue reading

“Appeals Court Bats Down Kobach Request To Overturn Contempt Finding”

May 22, 2018, 4:47 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

TPM: An appeals court dismissed Tuesday a request by Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach to overturn a federal judge’s finding that he was in contempt of court. The three-judge panel of the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said… Continue reading

“Trump Jr. and Other Aides Met With Gulf Emissary Offering Help to Win Election”

May 20, 2018, 1:31 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Three months before the 2016 election, a small group gathered at Trump Tower to meet with Donald Trump Jr., the president’s eldest son. One was an Israeli specialist in social media manipulation. Another was an emissary for two wealthy… Continue reading

“Not Just Ballots: Tennessee Hack Shows Election Websites Are Vulnerable, Too”

May 17, 2018, 7:53 pmchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

Miles Parks for NPR: When a WWE wrestler, especially one known for his demonic antics and a move calledthe “tombstone piledriver,” runs for mayor of your county, you know your election is going to get more attention than usual.… Continue reading

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