Category Archives: Department of Justice

“DOJ Frees Federal Prosecutors to Take Steps That Could Interfere With Elections, Weakening Long-standing Policy”

October 7, 2020, 9:53 amDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Very worrisome development broken by ProPublica: The Department of Justice has weakened its long-standing prohibition against interfering in elections, according to two department officials.Avoiding election interference is the overarching principle of DOJ policy on voting-related crimes. In place since… Continue reading

“Justice Dept., FBI planning for the possibility of Election Day violence, voting disruptions”

October 2, 2020, 1:33 pmDepartment of Justice, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

WaPo: Bracing for possible civil unrest on Election Day, the Justice Department is planning to station officials in a command center at FBI headquarters to coordinate the federal response to any disturbances or other problems with voting that may… Continue reading

“Don’t fall for claims of voter fraud. Error is more likely the case, and errors don’t swing elections”

September 25, 2020, 5:20 pmDepartment of Justice, Election MeltdownRick Hasen

I have written this piece for the LA Times. It begins: Let’s admit this now: We are not going to have a perfect election in November. We never have perfect elections.There will be reports of ballots sent to voters that… Continue reading

“Justice Dept. Discloses Pa. Ballot Inquiry, Prompting Fears of Politicization”

September 24, 2020, 8:35 pmchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: The Justice Department on Thursday released details about an investigation into nine discarded mailed-in ballots in Pennsylvania, an unusual step that stoked new fears that President Trump’s political appointees were using the levers of law enforcement to sow doubt… Continue reading

“White House touts unusual Justice Department announcement about ‘discarded’ Trump ballots in Pennsylvania”

September 24, 2020, 2:54 pmchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Marshall Cohen for CNN: The Justice Department said Thursday that it is investigating “potential issues with mail-in ballots” in the swing state of Pennsylvania and, in a highly unusual disclosure, revealed that several ballots marked for President Donald Trump… Continue reading

Justin Levitt (Who Was a Voting Official at DOJ) on the Bizarre DOJ Press Release on an Investigation Into 9 Potentially Mishandled Ballots

September 24, 2020, 12:48 pmchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Thread starts here: An investigation here may be reasonable. But there is NO legit reason for:1) a DOJ press release on a pending investigation, that2) announces a partial list of unconfirmed facts, including3) the identity of one of the… Continue reading

DOJ Settles Voting Rights Act Section 2 Lawsuit with South Dakota School District Allegedly Violating Native American Rights; A Rare Pro-Voter Action by Trump DOJ

May 28, 2020, 10:32 amDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Tierney Sneed: The DOJ announces a Voting Rights Act settlement in a case concerning a school district election process in South Dakota that allegedly disenfranchised Native American voters https://t.co/P8QQ1mcsOI pic.twitter.com/CCCNYM3iZW— Tierney Sneed (@Tierney_Megan) May 28, 2020

“Trump’s DOJ Has Not Filed A Single New Voting Rights Act Case”

March 5, 2020, 9:31 amDepartment of Justice, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

Tierney Sneed for TPM: The apparent refusal of President Trump’s Justice Department to engage in any meaningful, public enforcement of the Voting Rights Act has taken Republicans’ general hostility to the law to a whole new level. The DOJ has… Continue reading

“Barr disputes key inspector general finding about FBI’s Russia investigation”

December 2, 2019, 8:19 pmDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

Barr further disgraces the office of the attorney general.

John Gore’s Ostensibly Faulty Memory Now at Issue in Litigation Over Pence-Kobach Commission (in Addition to Census Case)

November 26, 2019, 7:09 amchicanery, Department of Justice, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

Tierney Sneed for TPM: The apparent memory problems of a former Trump Justice Department appointee have continued to haunt the department since the official left the administration.Last week, in two separate cases, the Justice Department had to tell courts that… Continue reading

DOJ Officials in Census Citizenship Case Claim Faulty Memories

November 22, 2019, 5:21 pmcensus litigation, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

Hansi Lo Wang: https://twitter.com/hansilowang/status/1198046939390066688

Why Didn’t DOJ Share Whistleblower Complaint with FEC, and What About the Timing of FEC Commissioner Petersen’s Departure?

November 7, 2019, 8:41 amchicanery, Department of Justice, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Empty Wheel ponders.

“Justice Dept. Is Said to Open Criminal Inquiry Into Its Own Russia Investigation”

October 24, 2019, 10:19 pmchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation, portraying it as a hoax and illegal even months after the special counsel closed it. Now, Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation… Continue reading

John Gore Leaving DOJ: “DOJ Official Behind Failed Census Citizenship Question To Leave Department”

August 9, 2019, 7:10 amcensus litigation, chicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NPR: John Gore, the main Justice Department official behind the Trump administration’s failed push to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census, is set to leave the department Friday.A person familiar with the matter tells NPR Gore plans to… Continue reading

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