Category Archives: chicanery

“Montana’s attorney general said he recruited token primary opponent to increase campaign fundraising”

May 20, 2024, 7:54 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

AP: Montana’s attorney general told supporters he skirted the state’s campaign finance laws by inviting another Republican to run against him as a token candidate in next month’s primary so he could raise more money for the November general election,… Continue reading

“Can Suing People for Lying Save Democracy?”

May 11, 2024, 3:20 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

New Yorker: Freeman hired a lawyer, though it wasn’t clear what could actually be done. But, in 2021, the lawyer was approached by a nonprofit called Protect Democracy. The group had been founded a few years earlier by former… Continue reading

“A flyer in her name told migrants to vote for Biden. But she says she didn’t write it”

May 11, 2024, 3:14 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

NPR deep dive into a story previously featured on ELB from the NYT: Zavala said a “blanket of fear” fell over her in the days after the flyers went viral. “I didn’t know how to respond. I didn’t know… Continue reading

“Are R.F.K. Jr. Signature Gatherers Misleading New Yorkers for Ballot Access?”

May 10, 2024, 7:11 amballot access, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Amy Bernstein, a traffic court judge in Brooklyn, was heading home from work one night in late April when, she said, a young man carrying a clipboard approached her on the subway platform, asking if she would sign a… Continue reading

“Henry Cuellar Indicted Over Bribery Scheme”

May 5, 2024, 12:00 pmbribery, chicanery, legislation and legislaturesRick Hasen

Missed this story (and the Illinois one Derek flags) while traveling: Representative Henry Cuellar, a Texas Democrat in a crucial swing district, and his wife were charged with participating in a yearslong $600,000 bribery scheme involving Azerbaijan and a… Continue reading

“Top RNC lawyer resigns after rift grows with Trump”

May 5, 2024, 7:43 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo on the campaign losing the adult in the room: The top lawyer at the Republican Party is resigning after he cited conflicts with his other work obligations and after Donald Trump grew angry about his criticism of the former… Continue reading

“Inside the far-right plan to use civil rights law to disrupt the 2024 election”

May 1, 2024, 7:14 amchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

LAT: At a diner just off the freeway north of Sacramento, a mostly white crowd listened intently as it learned how to “save America” by leaning on the same laws that enshrined the rights of Black voters 60 years ago.… Continue reading

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

Why It Matters Legally Whether We Conceive of the Trump Case as One of “Election Interference”

April 23, 2024, 7:41 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Jed Handelsman Shugerman in NYT oped: About a year ago, when Alvin Bragg, the Manhattan district attorney, indicted former President Donald Trump, I was critical of the case and called it an embarrassment. I thought an array of legal problems… Continue reading

“My New One in the LA Times: “Why it’s hard to muster even a ‘meh’ over Trump’s New York criminal trial”

April 14, 2024, 7:48 amchicaneryRick Hasen

I have written this piece for the LA Times. It begins: In watching some of the breathless coverage of Donald Trump’s “hush money” trial, I’m reminded of the 2004 quote from former U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld that, “You go… Continue reading

“Supreme Court to weigh if Jan. 6 rioters can be charged with obstruction”

April 13, 2024, 9:03 amchicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Ann Marimow for WaPo: Defense lawyers say prosecutors overreachedby charging rioters with a crime that is limited to conduct that destroys or tampers with evidence sought by investigators. The government’s broad application of the statute, the lawyerswarned in court filings,… Continue reading

“Voter fraud defamation case heard at NC Supreme Court could have implications for 2024 elections”

April 12, 2024, 7:18 amchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WRAL: A timely constitutional question, as the 2024 elections ramp up: Should people who falsely accuse North Carolina voters of committing voter fraud be immune from being sued for defamation, if they go through the state’s formal process for making… Continue reading

“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

“2 Men Fined $1.25 Million for Robocall Scheme to Suppress Black Vote”

April 9, 2024, 4:02 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Two right-wing political operatives who used a robocall campaign to try to discourage Black New Yorkers from voting in the 2020 election will pay up to $1.25 million for their actions, the New York State attorney general’s office announced … Continue reading