Category Archives: chicanery

“Elon Musk’s pro-Trump PAC failed to pay swing state petition signers, new suit alleges”

May 16, 2025, 12:35 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CNBC: Elon Musk’s America PAC didn’t keep its promise to pay swing state voters who signed a pro-Trump petition ahead of the 2024 election, and who enlisted others to do the same, a new lawsuit alleges. The case, a proposed… Continue reading

“U.S. AG Pam Bondi Sold More than $1 Million in Trump Media Stock the Day Trump Announced Sweeping Tariffs”

May 15, 2025, 7:06 amchicanery, conflict of interest laws, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

ProPublica: Attorney General Pam Bondi sold between $1 million and $5 million worth of shares of Trump Media the same day that President Donald Trump unveiled bruising new tariffs that caused the stock market to plummet, according to records obtained… Continue reading

“As Trump Courts Gifts and Dangles Access, Congress Sits on the Sidelines”

May 14, 2025, 7:24 amchicanery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

Carl Hulse for the NYT: The president stood accused of dangling exclusive access to the White House for big bucks. Members of Congress were duly outraged, with one prominent Republican assailing him for using “probably one of the more sacrosanct… Continue reading

“Auction to Dine With Trump Creates Foreign Influence Opportunity; When the bidding stops Monday, the top buyers of a Trump family crypto coin will win a tour of the White House.”

May 12, 2025, 7:30 ambribery, chicanery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

NYT: The sale of face-to-face access to President Trump using the Trump family’s own cryptocurrency has done more than benefit him financially, though it has certainly done that. Mr. Trump announced last month that leading buyers of a digital… Continue reading

“Trump administration poised to accept ‘palace in the sky’ as a gift for Trump from Qatar: Sources”

May 11, 2025, 8:09 ambribery, chicanery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

ABC News: In what may be the most valuable gift ever extended to the United States from a foreign government, the Trump administration is preparing to accept a super luxury Boeing 747-8 jumbo jet from the royal family of Qatar… Continue reading

“Texas Attorney General Announces Vote Fraud and ‘Harvesting’ Charges”

May 8, 2025, 7:20 amchicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: A half-dozen people, including a county judge, two City Council members and a former county election administrator, were indicted in Texas on Wednesday for “vote harvesting” and tampering with evidence, elevating Attorney General Ken Paxton’s charges of voter… Continue reading

“Justice Department lawyers face skeptical judges upset by ‘shoddy work'”

May 4, 2025, 6:58 amchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

WaPo: Justice Department lawyers defending the Trump administration’s policies are encountering mounting criticism and frustration from federal judges, a sign of deepening tension between the executive branch and courts weighing its aggressive uses of power. In recent hearings and… Continue reading

“A fund backed by Abu Dhabi . . . would be making a $2 billion business deal using the Trump firm’s digital coins.”

May 1, 2025, 1:39 pmbribery, chicanery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

The corruption isn’t hidden; it’s right in front of our eyes: Sitting in front of a packed auditorium in Dubai, a founder of the Trump family cryptocurrency business made a brief but monumental announcement on Thursday. A fund backed by… Continue reading

Bizarro Quote of the Day (Elon Musk Edition)

May 1, 2025, 11:20 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicaneryRick Hasen

“Doesn’t the absurdity of that seem, like, like, are we in a simulation here or what’s going on? But, like, it was a meme coin at one point . . . How did we get here?” —Elon Musk,… Continue reading

New Jersey: “Paterson council president indicted, allegedly destroyed ballots for other candidates”

April 30, 2025, 8:39 amchicaneryRick Hasen

Paterson Press: City Council President Alex Mendez faces a new indictment on voter fraud charges in a case that has dragged on for almost five years involving an all vote-by-mail election that took place at the beginning of the COVID… Continue reading

New York Post Story Shows Why Voter Impersonation Fraud Almost Never Happens

April 30, 2025, 7:44 amchicaneryRick Hasen

NYP: A Long Island voter pretended to be someone else to cast an extra ballot in the 2024 election but his scheme was exposed when the resident he impersonated showed up on Election Day, cops said. Lindenhurst resident Christopher… Continue reading

“Secret Deals, Foreign Investments, Presidential Policy Changes: The Rise of Trump’s Crypto Firm”

April 29, 2025, 7:40 amchicanery, conflict of interest lawsRick Hasen

NYT: The pitch from “ZMoney” arrived on the encrypted messaging app Signal just days before Donald J. Trump’s presidential inauguration. “ZMoney” was Zachary Folkman, an entrepreneur who once ran a company called Date Hotter Girls and was now representing World… Continue reading

Rich Bernstein: “The North Carolina’s Supreme Court’s Dangerous Violation of Equal Protection Threatens All Elections”

April 28, 2025, 12:22 pmBush v. Gore reflections, chicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Rich Bernstein: Imagine that a state’s statute (or constitution) required a photo ID to vote, but only in certain counties that had a history of consistently voting for Democrats by wide margins. Everyone… Continue reading

“Trump’s justice department appointees remove managers of voting unit”

April 28, 2025, 7:31 amchicanery, Department of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Sam Levine for The Guardian: Donald Trump’s appointees at the Department of Justice have removed all of the senior civil servants working as managers in the department’s voting section and directed attorneys to dismiss all active cases, according to people… Continue reading