Category Archives: campaigns

“Michigan ‘Ballot Selfie’ Case to Proceed with Voting Rights Claim”

August 30, 2018, 9:28 amcampaignsRick Hasen

Release: U.S. District Court Judge Janet Neff denied a motion by Michigan Secretary of State Ruth Johnson to dismiss a voting rights claim against the state’s ballot exposure laws today. The lawsuit, brought by the Pillar of Law Institute on… Continue reading

Andrew Gillum, Democratic Nominee for Florida Governor, Allegedly Posts Ballot Selfie in Apparent Violation of Florida Law

August 28, 2018, 8:33 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

Tallahassee Democrat: Mayor Andrew Gillum may have run afoul of little-known provisions of Florida election law when he posted a photo of his ballot on social media today. But his chances of getting in trouble over it are virtually nil,… Continue reading

“How online money is reshaping the Democratic Party”

August 24, 2018, 5:12 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

McClatchy reports.

ELB Podcast, Season 2, Episode 2: Bob Bauer: Unpacking the Trump Campaign Finance Allegations, From Michael Cohen to Trump Tower

August 23, 2018, 9:58 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicanery, ELB PodcastRick Hasen

Does Michael Cohen’s guilty plea to campaign finance violations implicate the President in criminal campaign finance activity? What about the defenses that the President has raised to these charges? Did Trump or the Trump campaign violate the prohibition on soliciting… Continue reading

“FACT CHECK: Trump’s Misguided Defense Of Cohen Payments”

August 23, 2018, 7:35 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Peter Overby for NPR.

“The Campaign Finance Case Against Donald Trump is a Strong One: Just Ask John Edwards’ Prosecutors”

August 23, 2018, 7:18 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Paul Ryan for Just Security.

“‘Dark money’ boosts Democratic super PAC that’s battling ‘corrupt campaign finance system’”

August 23, 2018, 7:16 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

CPI: BlackPAC — an upstart super PAC that’s raised millions to support Democrats — has received a new infusion of “dark money” to fuel its 2018 midterm election efforts, according to new federal filings. BlackPAC received $100,000 in July… Continue reading

Trump Tells FOX News Interviewer That He Learned of Later of Hush Money Payments, That Paying Out of the Campaign Would Be “a Little Dicey”

August 22, 2018, 1:38 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

EXCLUSIVE: President @realDonaldTrump on if he knew about the Cohen payments. See more from his interview with @ainsleyearhardt tomorrow 6-9amET. pic.twitter.com/HPJPslOG6X — FOX & friends (@foxandfriends) August 22, 2018 (via Jonathan Chiat)

“Campaign Finance Transparency Affects Legislators’ Election Outcomes and Behavior”

August 22, 2018, 1:06 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Abby Wood and Christian Grose have posted this draft on SSRN. Here is the abstract: Do audits by executive agencies impact the behavior of those audited? Does revealing negative information about candidates affect electoral results and behavior? Institutions that encourage… Continue reading

“Michael Cohen’s Guilty Plea Directly Implicates Donald Trump in a Felony”

August 21, 2018, 5:22 pmcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

I have written this piece for Slate. It begins: For the first time since the Trump presidency began, President Donald Trump is in some real legal jeopardy, providing potential grounds for his eventual impeachment, if not indictment. Most people watching… Continue reading

“Microsoft says it has found a Russian operation targeting U.S. political institutions”

August 21, 2018, 6:56 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

WaPo: A group affiliated with the Russian government created phony versions of six websites — including some related to public policy and to the U.S. Senate — with the apparent goal of hacking into the computers of people who were… Continue reading

“Trump Lawyers’ Sudden Realization: They Don’t Know What Don McGahn Told Mueller’s Team”

August 19, 2018, 8:56 pmcampaignsRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump’s lawyers do not know just how much the White House counsel, Donald F. McGahn II, told the special counsel’s investigators during months of interviews, a lapse that has contributed to a growing recognition that an early strategy… Continue reading

Michael Cohen May Be Indicted for Bank Fraud and Campaign Finance Violations by the End of the Month

August 19, 2018, 8:50 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: Federal authorities investigating whether President Trump’s former personal lawyer and fixer, Michael D. Cohen, committed bank and tax fraud have zeroed in on well over $20 million in loans obtained by taxi businesses that he and his family own,… Continue reading

“‘Oh that’s cool — do that!’: Super PACs use new trick to hide donors”

August 17, 2018, 8:15 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Politico: t wasn’t the first super PAC to pull that trick: The scheme is part of a sharp escalation in super PACs avoiding reporting requirements and keeping voters in the dark about their funding until after key elections. Two other… Continue reading

Election Law Blog

The law of politics and the politics of law