Category Archives: chicanery

“DOJ moves to drop charges against former GOP lawmaker in case criticized by Trump”

January 30, 2025, 6:48 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Politico: The Justice Department has moved to drop its criminal prosecution of former Rep. Jeff Fortenberry, a Nebraska Republican who resigned last year after a conviction on charges that he lied to the FBI. Fortenberry’s conviction by a federal jury … Continue reading

“Trump Signs Agreement Calling for Meta to Pay $25 Million to Settle Suit”

January 29, 2025, 1:37 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

WSJ: President Trump has signed settlement papers that are expected to require Meta Platforms to pay roughly $25 million to resolve a 2021 lawsuit Trump brought after the company suspended his accounts following the attacks on the U.S. Capitol that year, according… Continue reading

“Trudeau Government Left Canada Vulnerable to Foreign Interference, Report Finds”

January 29, 2025, 7:24 amchicanery, comparative election lawRick Hasen

NYT: Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s government was “insufficiently transparent” about foreign interference in Canadian politics and sometimes took “too long to act” against attempts to meddle in the country’s past two general elections by foreign powers including China and India,… Continue reading

“Justice Dept. Fires Prosecutors Who Worked on Trump Investigations”

January 28, 2025, 7:37 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: The acting attorney general on Monday fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on the two criminal investigations into Donald J. Trump for the special counsel Jack Smith, saying they could not be trusted to “faithfully implement” the… Continue reading

“They Followed North Carolina Election Rules When They Cast Their Ballots. Now Their Votes Could Be Tossed Anyway.”

January 28, 2025, 7:28 amchicanery, judicial electionsRick Hasen

ProPublica: A Republican judge has spent more than two months trying to overturn his narrow defeat for a North Carolina Supreme Court seat by arguing that around 60,000 ballots should be tossed out. But many residents have only recently learned… Continue reading

Trump Floats Disgusting Idea of Tying Disaster Aid for Los Angeles Wild Fires to California Adopting a Strict Form of Voter Identification

January 24, 2025, 10:47 amchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

This one really hits home. I have friends and family who have lost their homes or otherwise been displaced by the awful recent wildfires. The tradition has been to give disaster aid where it is needed —whether that is Florida,… Continue reading

“Texas State Bar seeks to dismiss its lawsuit against Ken Paxton for challenging 2020 presidential election”

January 24, 2025, 7:04 amchicanery, election law bizRick Hasen

Texas Tribune: The State Bar of Texas on Wednesday moved to drop its lawsuit against Attorney General Ken Paxton for his attempt to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, extending a cascade of legal and political wins… Continue reading

“Pennsylvania Attorney General’s Office taking over voter registration fraud investigation in Lancaster County”

January 23, 2025, 2:35 pmchicanery, voter registrationRick Hasen

WGAL: The Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office provided the following breakdown of ballots that were reviewed. Detectives from the Lancaster County District Attorney’s Office reviewed 1,203 applications. Applications were provided by the Lancaster County Voter Registration Office. 367 applications were… Continue reading

Time Magazine: Musk Threatens Super PAC Spending Against Senators Who Don’t Vote to Confirm Trump Cabinet Nominees

January 21, 2025, 2:03 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Time: Another source familiar with the matter tells TIME that a Trump ally informed Ernst that the President would support a primary challenge against her in Iowa—where Trump won the caucuses last year by roughly 30 points—if she blocked Hegseth. At… Continue reading

“Trump Grants Sweeping Clemency to All Jan. 6 Rioters”

January 21, 2025, 7:50 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

It is hard to know what to even say about this affront to the rule of law and a reversing of the convictions of those who sought to overturn the results of a fair and legitimate election in 2020. Trump’s… Continue reading

Quote of the Day

January 21, 2025, 7:35 amchicaneryRick Hasen

“He knows those computers better than anybody. All those computers. Those vote-counting computers . . .And we ended up winning Pennsylvania like in a landslide.” –Donald Trump, speaking about Elon Musk, at a pre-inauguration rally, as quoted by Newsweek.

“Trump launches meme coin, apparently makes more than $25 billion overnight”

January 18, 2025, 2:19 pmchicaneryRick Hasen

Axios: President-elect Trump launched his own cryptocurrency overnight and swiftly appeared to make more than $25 billion on paper for himself and his companies. Why it matters: The stunning launch of $TRUMP caught the entire industry off-guard, and speaks to both… Continue reading

“BREAKING: SCOTUSblog Publisher Tom Goldstein Indicted In Tax Case”

January 16, 2025, 1:15 pmchicanery, election law bizRick Hasen

Law360: Tom Goldstein, a publisher of SCOTUSblog and one of the most experienced U.S. Supreme Court lawyers in the country, was indicted Thursday in Maryland federal court on charges he schemed to evade taxes for years and used funds from… Continue reading

“Nonprofit Founded by Stacey Abrams Admits Secretly Aiding Her 2018 Campaign”

January 15, 2025, 9:33 amcampaigns, chicanery, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

NYT: A nonprofit founded by Stacey Abrams, a Georgia Democrat, admitted on Wednesday that it had violated state law by concealing the fact that it had campaigned for her during her 2018 run for governor. At the time of that… Continue reading