Category Archives: chicanery

“NC GOP Chairman, Durham Businessman And Others Indicted On Fraud, Bribery Charges”

April 2, 2019, 11:26 amchicaneryRick Hasen

WFAE: North Carolina GOP Chairman Robin Hayes was one of four people indicted in connection with an investigation involving donations made to the state Republican Party.Hayes, a former five-term North Carolina congressman, surrendered himself to authorities and appeared in… Continue reading

“Catch and Kill: Can tabloids hide behind the First Amendment?”

April 1, 2019, 2:54 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Rebecca Beyer for the ABA Journal: One possible defense to any charge of campaign finance violations in the AMI/McDougal deal would come from the Federal Election Campaign Act’s distinction between campaign expenses and “personal use” expenses. (Edwards went with the… Continue reading

“In Ukraine, Russia Tests a New Facebook Tactic in Election Tampering”

March 29, 2019, 8:08 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Campaigning for Ukraine’s presidential election had just begun to heat up when the authorities announced they had thwarted a Russian plot to use Facebook to undermine the vote. Unlike the 2016 interference in the United States, which centered… Continue reading

“Rigged-Election Rhetoric: Coverage and Consequences”

March 22, 2019, 8:49 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Super interesting article in PS by Kirby Goidel, Keith Gaddie and Spencer Goidel. Here is the abstract: Using content analysis and original survey data, we investigated the news coverage and consequences of Donald Trump’s “rigged-election” claims during the 2016 presidential… Continue reading

“Cindy Yang helped Chinese tech stars get $50K photos with Trump. Who paid?”

March 21, 2019, 8:05 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Miami Herald: So who paid Trump Victory for their photos?Yang isn’t saying — but she and three associates with an Asian-American political group donated a total of $135,500 to Trump Victory in the weeks leading up to the event.… Continue reading

“Beware of Scam PACs in This Crowded Presidential Field”

March 19, 2019, 2:36 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy blogs.

“DOJ & FEC Complaints Filed for Apparent ‘Straw Donor’ Contributions to Trump Campaign”

March 19, 2019, 10:15 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Release via email: Today, Common Cause filed complaints with the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) alleging reason to believe that a Florida businesswoman violated campaign finance laws by enlisting and reimbursing “straw donors” tens of… Continue reading

NYT Reporting Suggests That Cindy Yang Illegally Funneled Contributions Through Conduits to Reach $50,000 Threshold for Picture with Donald Trump

March 16, 2019, 12:42 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

This story is going to get bigger: The Republican National Committee promised an “evening reception with Donald J. Trump” last March at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Palm Beach, Fla.A contribution of $2,700 toward the president’s re-election would get you in… Continue reading

Stacey Abrams Now Troublingly Claims She Did Win Her Election (After Earlier Saying Kemp Was The Legal, Though Perhaps Not Legitimate, Winner)

March 16, 2019, 11:14 amchicaneryRick Hasen

This is troubling: https://twitter.com/adamkelsey/status/1106284755610488833 If Abrams actually has now said that she *did* win her election, this is different (and more troublesome) than what she has said in the past. (That Kemp was the legal winner, whether or not legitimate,… Continue reading

“Documents shed light on Russian hacking of Democratic Party leaders”

March 14, 2019, 8:21 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: Documents unsealed Thursday in a lawsuit have shed new light on how hackers breached Democratic Party email accounts before the 2016 election.The documents include a forensic analysis by a former top official in the FBI’s cybercrime division, which… Continue reading

“Trump issues warning to opponents: ‘It would be very bad’ if his military, police and biker supporters got ‘tough’”

March 14, 2019, 10:13 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Daniel Dale for The Toronto Star: U.S. President Donald Trump has issued what seems to be a warning of armed pushback against his political opponents, telling a right-wing website on Monday that “it would be very bad, very bad” if… Continue reading

“Crenshaw falsely says HR1 would legalize the type of election fraud found in NC”

March 14, 2019, 8:00 amabsentee ballots, chicanery, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Politifact North Carolina reports.

“DOJ Probes Whether Fugitive Financier Supplied Donation to Trump Re-Election Effort”

March 13, 2019, 10:22 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

WSJ: The U.S. Justice Department is investigating whether $100,000 donated to a Trump-related political fundraising committee originated from a fugitive Malaysian businessman alleged to be at the center of a global financial scandal, according to people familiar with… Continue reading