Category Archives: Department of Justice

“Friend Says Trump Is Considering Firing Mueller as Special Counsel”

June 12, 2017, 8:55 pmDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Under Justice Department rules, Mr. Trump would seemingly have to order Deputy Attorney General Rod J. Rosenstein to rescind department regulations protecting a special counsel from being fired for no good reason, and then to fire Mr. Mueller. If… Continue reading

“Trump Can Take Payments From Foreign Governments, U.S. Says”; DOJ Borrows From Prof’s Article without Citation

June 10, 2017, 8:31 amconflict of interest laws, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Bloomberg on this DOJ brief: George Washington did it, so Donald Trump can too. That’s the Justice Department’s take on why the 45th president isn’t violating the U.S. Constitution by accepting payments for goods and services from foreign governments without… Continue reading

“How Jeff Sessions could determine the state of democracy in Texas”

May 19, 2017, 8:00 amDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Reveal: Federal judges have ruled four separate times this year that Republican leaders in Texas rigged election systems to discriminate against minority voters, which potentially could land the entire state under federal oversight. Under what’s known as preclearance, local and… Continue reading

“A Department of Justice, But For Whom?”

April 7, 2017, 7:17 amDepartment of Justice, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

Joshua Matz and Leah Litman: At the end of March, a group of conservative activists sent Attorney General Jeff Sessions an unsolicited letter with some detailed suggestions about how to “fix” the Civil Rights Division of the Department of… Continue reading

“Fifth Circuit Judge Assails DOJ ‘Arrogance’ in Voting Rights Case”

March 14, 2017, 9:18 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Texas Lawyer reports. My coverage of Judge Smith’s dissent in the Texas redistricting case is here and here.

Analysis: Texas Redistricting Decision Major Victory for Voting Rights Bar and May Pave Way for Texas to Be Back under Federal Supervision

March 11, 2017, 10:27 amDepartment of Justice, redistricting, Supreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Last night I linked to the extensive ruling and findings of fact and conclusions of law in a very long-running dispute about whether Texas’s congressional districting were a violation of the Voting Rights Act and/or the Constitution. I have now… Continue reading

Marc Joseph Stern Dispatch from Texas Voter ID Hearing Said It Went Well for Plaintiffs, Despite DOJ Flip

February 28, 2017, 4:44 pmDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Read at Slate.

I Talked to Texas Standard About DOJ’s About-Face on Texas’s Voter ID Law

February 28, 2017, 2:17 pmDepartment of Justice, The Voting Wars, voter initiatives, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Listen.

Today’s Must-Read: Emily Bazelon on the New DOJ: “Department of Justification”

February 28, 2017, 6:47 amDepartment of Justice, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

With a nice section on voting rights, in the new NYT Magazine.

“Justice Dept. Drops a Key Objection to a Texas Voter ID Law”

February 27, 2017, 6:12 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Manny Fernandez and Eric Licthblau in the NYT: The Justice Department remains a party in the case. But it is pulling back at a crucial phase. If a judge finds the state acted with discriminatory intent, as the Justice Department… Continue reading

“Plaintiffs Oppose Texas & Justice Department Effort to Delay Hearing on Photo ID Law”

February 23, 2017, 8:07 pmDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting Wars, voter id, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Release: Groups and individuals suing Texas over its strict photo ID law filed a brief in U.S. District Court today in opposition to a joint request by the state and the United States Department of Justice, who asked to delay… Continue reading

Bauer on Sen. Sessions as AG Who Acts as Policy and Politics “Clearinghouse”

January 31, 2017, 7:18 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Post: Mr. Bannon was responding to a question posed by the Washington Post and inspired, apparently, by the AG nominee’s part in fashioning President Trump’s policy agenda. Mr. Bannon is reported to have described Senator Sessions as “the clearinghouse for… Continue reading

“Trump’s Voting Investigation Is a Great Idea; As long as it looks like this.”

January 25, 2017, 8:59 amDepartment of Justice, election administration, The Voting WarsRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: President Donald Trump on Wednesday called for a “major investigation” into voter fraud. While his tweets announcing the call focus on the possibility of double voting and voter registration fraud, the… Continue reading

“Civil Rights Group Rebukes Trump Justice Dept. Over Case Delays”

January 25, 2017, 8:56 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: A leading civil rights group on Tuesday denounced the Trump administration’s delay of legal cases to overhaul the Baltimore Police Department and challenge a voter ID law in Texas — two lawsuits that were major efforts of the Obama-era… Continue reading