Category Archives: campaigns

“The Trump White House’s new hush-money problem”

August 11, 2018, 2:46 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Aaron Blake for WaPo: In this case, about the only campaign finance question would be whether this would be considered a legitimate campaign expense, said election-law expert Rick Hasen of the University of California, Irvine. “I’m not sure I’ve seen… Continue reading

“PA James Announces Legislation to Close Loophole Allowing Foreign Contributions to NYC Political Campaigns”

August 8, 2018, 5:47 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Press release: Public Advocate Letitia James announced major new legislation designed to prevent foreign entities from circumventing New York City’s strict campaign finance laws through a loophole created by Citizens United. Introduced in the wake of substantial new evidence of… Continue reading

Interview with Me on NPR: Trump Says His Son’s Meeting With Russians Was ‘Totally Legal.’ But Was It?

August 8, 2018, 8:55 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Listen at NPR’s Here & Now.

“Judge’s ruling invalidates FEC regulation allowing anonymous donations to ‘dark money’ groups”

August 8, 2018, 8:54 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Big ruling while I was gone flagged here by Politico: A U.S. District Court judge on Friday issued a ruling invalidating a Federal Election Commission regulation that has allowed donors to so-called dark-money groups to remain anonymous, the latest development… Continue reading

“Why Russian Money Ends Up in U.S. Elections; America needs a new model of campaign finance not to supplant the political marketplace but to correct for its inadequacies.”

August 8, 2018, 8:46 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Bob Bauer NYT oped.

“Sitting Rep’s Campaign Collected Dead Man’s Signature On Challenger’s Behalf”

August 8, 2018, 8:44 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

TPM: A Virginia judge appointed a special prosecutor Tuesday to look into a case of potential forgery and other election law violations after multiple suspicious signatures were found on a petition to get an independent congressional candidate on the ballot,… Continue reading

“Donald Trump Jr.’s Potential Legal Troubles, Explained”

August 8, 2018, 8:40 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Charlie Savage reports for the NYT.

“Facebook Grapples With a Maturing Adversary in Election Meddling”

August 2, 2018, 8:38 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: They covered their tracks, using software to camouflage their internet traffic. They created Facebook pages for anti-Trump culture warriors, Hispanic activists and fans of alternative medicine. And they organized protests in coordination with real-world political groups. The people behind… Continue reading

“Kris Kobach couldn’t prove widespread voter fraud. Can he prove to voters that he can ‘Make Kansas Great Again’?”

July 31, 2018, 7:19 pmcampaigns, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

“Facebook Identifies an Active Political Influence Campaign Using Fake Accounts”

July 31, 2018, 7:03 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: Facebook said on Tuesday that it had identified a political influence campaign that was potentially built to disrupt the midterm elections, with the company detecting and removing 32 pages and fake accounts that had engaged in activity around divisive… Continue reading

“Liberal secret-money network hammers House GOP”

July 30, 2018, 8:08 amcampaign finance, campaigns, tax law and election lawRick Hasen

Politico: A network of secret-money nonprofit groups has spent millions of dollars attacking swing-seat House Republicans on health care and taxes, quietly becoming one of the biggest players in the 2018 political landscape. The groups have local members and names… Continue reading

Oklahoma Law Review Symposium: “Falsehoods, Fake News, and the First Amendment”

July 27, 2018, 2:11 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

This definitely looks worth diving into soon: Volume 71, Number 1 (2018) Symposium: Falsehoods, Fake News, and the First Amendment PDF Editor’s Introduction Mitchell B. Bryant Panel 1: Falsehoods and the First Amendment PDF False Speech and the First Amendment… Continue reading

“Is Lying About an Election Free Speech or Fraud?”

July 27, 2018, 2:05 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Matt Ford for The New Republic.

If Donald Trump Knew About the Meeting With Russians at Trump Tower, Would That Be a Campaign Finance Violation? It’s Complicated

July 27, 2018, 8:36 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Yesterday CNN reported: Michael Cohen, President Donald Trump’s former personal attorney, claims that then-candidate Trump knew in advance about the June 2016 meeting in Trump Tower in which Russians were expected to offer his campaign dirt on Hillary Clinton,… Continue reading