Category Archives: chicanery

“The Jolt: Raffensperger wants ‘robust’ new penalties against election tampering”

June 27, 2023, 6:59 amchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

AJC: Facing pressure to update Georgia’s voting system software before next year, Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger is pursuing a different angle. He is calling on lawmakers to make tampering with Georgia’s election system a felony carrying a minimum sentence… Continue reading

“Justice Dept. asking about 2020 fraud claims as well as fake electors”: “The campaign’s own legal team and data experts cannot verify the bullshit being beamed down from the mothership”

June 26, 2023, 6:20 pmchicanery, election subversion risk, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo: The Justice Department’s investigation of efforts by Donald Trump and his advisers to overturn the 2020 election results is barreling forward on multiple tracks, according to people familiar with the matter, with prosecutors focused on ads andfundraising pitches claiming… Continue reading

“As Legal Fees Mount, Trump Steers Donations Into PAC That Has Covered Them”

June 25, 2023, 1:06 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Facing multiple intensifying investigations, former President Donald J. Trump has quietly begun diverting more of the money he is raising away from his 2024 presidential campaign and into a political action committee that he has used to pay his… Continue reading

“Former Trump Campaign Official in Talks to Cooperate in Jan. 6 Inquiry”

June 23, 2023, 4:58 pmchicanery, election subversion risk, electoral collegeRick Hasen

NYT: Michael Roman, a top official in former President Donald J. Trump’s 2020 campaign, is in discussions with the office of the special counsel Jack Smith that could soon lead to Mr. Roman voluntarily answering questions about a plan to… Continue reading

“Death threats and harassment: 2024 election workers already are scared”

June 23, 2023, 1:50 pmchicanery, election administrationRick Hasen

NPR News reports.

“Exclusive: Special counsel trades immunity for fake elector testimony as Jan 6 probe heats up”

June 23, 2023, 9:40 amchicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

CNN: Special counsel Jack Smith has compelled at least two Republican fake electors to testify to a federal grand jury in Washington in recent weeks by giving them limited immunity, part of a current push by federal prosecutors to swiftly… Continue reading

No Response to John Eastman Cert. Petition Seeking to Wipe Out District Court Finding that Eastman More Likely Than Not Engaged with Trump in Crime Related to 2020 Election

June 23, 2023, 7:33 amchicanery, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I blogged earlier about John Eastman arguing for the decision against him to be vacated on grounds it is moot. I wondered if a response would be filed by the Jan. 6 committee, which I think no longer exists. There… Continue reading

The Coming Storm in depth on QAnon

May 12, 2023, 12:09 pmchicanery, election subversion riskJanuary 6Tabatha Abu El-Haj

I recently listed to this episode of the BBC’s “The Coming Storm” on the origins of QAnon and its connection to January 6. Many regular blog readers may have heard it already, but for those, who like me are not… Continue reading

DOJ Indictment of George Santos Alleges Campaign Finance Fraud, Conversion of Campaign Funds to Personal Use

May 10, 2023, 7:43 amcampaign finance, chicaneryRick Hasen

Pretty blatant violations of the law if they can be proven. [The headline has been corrected.]

“We Just Want Someone Sane”

May 7, 2023, 4:47 pmchicanery, election administration, election subversion riskJustin Levitt

Frank Wilkinson in Bloomberg, in a piece with a Howitzer of a subheader: Washington County, Pennsylvania, was never known as Crazytown. Then election deniers decided to run for local office.

“In Trump Case, Bragg Pursues a Common Charge With a Rarely Used Strategy”

May 7, 2023, 4:45 pmcampaign finance, chicaneryJustin Levitt

The NYT works through the details of a falsifying business records charge and – despite the fact that there’s apparently no legal requirement to do so – the rarity of not making clear the underlying crime to convert the misdemeanor… Continue reading

“Michigan commission finds ‘misconduct’ by pro-Trump attorneys in 2020 lawsuit”

May 6, 2023, 8:35 amchicanery, election administration, election subversion riskJustin Levitt

Bridge Michigan with news on the state’s Attorney Grievance Commission, and its formal complaint against Sidney Powell, Lin Wood, and others (including 3 Michigan attorneys).

“Democratic operative charged with NJ election fraud”

May 4, 2023, 8:46 pmchicanery, petition signature gatheringJustin Levitt

This one’s not the work of a criminal mastermind. According to [AG] Platkin, James Devine allegedly emailed the Secretary of State’s Division of Elections about 1,948 fraudulent voter certifications in support of [a] petition for a spot on the… Continue reading

Arizona Supreme Court sanctions Kari Lake’s attorneys

May 4, 2023, 2:14 pmchicanery, election law biz, election subversion riskJustin Levitt

Hot off the press: an order by the Arizona Supreme Court sanctioning Kari Lake’s attorneys for false factual statements to the court. I believe this is at least the second sanctions order issued against Kurt Olsen related to false statements… Continue reading