Category Archives: campaigns

“Democrats Swear off Big Money, but Will It Hurt Their 2020 White House Chances?”

February 14, 2019, 1:02 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Good Amanda Becker piece for Reuters: Legally, Super PACs are supposed to operate independently of candidates and cannot contribute to them directly. In reality, they often are run by donors close to the candidates and their campaigns.David Donnelly, president of… Continue reading

“‘It’s the metric, 100 percent.’ Democratic presidential hopefuls increasingly see small-dollar donations as a sign of viability.”

February 11, 2019, 8:59 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

WaPo reports.

“Updated: Small-Donor Matching Funds for New York State Elections: A Policy Analysis of the Potential Impact and Cost”

February 11, 2019, 4:26 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Updated Campaign Finance Institute report.

Today’s Must-Read: “‘Private Mossad for Hire: Inside a plot to influence American elections, starting with one small-town race.”

February 11, 2019, 7:18 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Adam Entous and Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker: Psy-Group’s larger ambition was to break into the U.S. election market. During the 2016 Presidential race, the company pitched members of Donald Trump’s campaign team on its ability to influence… Continue reading

“6 Days When 2020 Democratic Hopefuls Scored With Small Donors”

February 10, 2019, 4:54 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

NYT: In the 2020 race for the White House, small donors are expected to play a more significant role than ever before. With so many Democratic candidates running, and only so much money to go around, whom small donors… Continue reading

North Carolina Poll Worker Pleads Guilty to Advising Noncitizen to Register and Vote; DOJ Press Release Misleadingly Refers to Worker as a “Board of Elections Election Official”

February 8, 2019, 11:40 amcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

The DOJ press release headline refers to the worker as a “Board of Elections Election Official” but that seems incorrect. From an earlier HuffPost piece: The sole U.S. citizen facing charges ― Denslo Allen Paige, a 66-year-old Walmart worker… Continue reading

“NRA Chief Wayne LaPierre Targeted in Congressional Inquiry Into Illegal Campaign Coordination”

February 7, 2019, 12:35 pmcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

The Trace: A joint congressional inquiry is demanding that National Rifle Association executive vice president Wayne LaPierre hand over internal documents showing whether the NRA made “illegal, excessive, and unreported in-kind donations” to the campaigns of Donald Trump and… Continue reading

Potentially Bad News for Trump and Trump Organization: SDNY Still Investigating Michael Cohen for Campaign Finance Crimes

February 7, 2019, 9:19 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Potentially a big deal here: “In particular, the Government represents that aspects of its investigation remains ongoing, including those pertaining to or arising from Cohen’s campaign finance crimes.”A bad sentence for Individual 1 and the Trump Org execs who… Continue reading

“Billionaires Flooded Republicans’ Coffers Just Before the Tax Cuts Passed”

February 7, 2019, 7:28 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Mother Jones: From the looks of it, GOP politicians got what they wanted, too. From the time the tax bill was first introduced on Nov. 2, 2017, until the end of the year, a 60-day period, dozens of billionaires and… Continue reading

“Justice and Homeland Security report finds no foreign interference in 2018 elections”

February 5, 2019, 9:26 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

CBS News: There is no evidence to date of any foreign interference in the 2018 midterm elections, according to a new joint report released by the Justice and Homeland Security Departments on Tuesday. While specific conclusions remain classified, the… Continue reading

“Trump Inaugural Committee Ordered to Hand Over Documents to Federal Investigators”

February 5, 2019, 6:54 amcampaign finance, campaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

NYT: In the subpoena, investigators also showed interest in whether any foreigners illegally donated to the committee, as well as whether committee staff members knew that such donations were illegal, asking for documents laying out legal requirements for… Continue reading

“Democratic Presidential Hopefuls Compete To Spurn Establishment Cash”

February 2, 2019, 9:19 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Peter Overby for NPR: As Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris and Kirsten Gillibrand jumped into the Democratic presidential nomination contest, they staked out the same position against corporate campaign cash.“The money in politics is corrupting. It controls everything,” Gillibrand… Continue reading

“Mueller Could Have More Than Russia on His Mind: There were foreign nationals from many countries surrounding the Trump campaign, argues Brennan Center fellow Ciara Torres-Spelliscy.

February 1, 2019, 3:51 pmcampaigns, chicaneryRick Hasen

Interesting.

Trump’s Presidential Fundraising May Be Unprecedented So Early Before Election, But So Is His Massive Campaign Spending

February 1, 2019, 8:04 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Robby Mook: Wow. Does Trump’s campaign have an 85% burn rate?! How is that possible?"The latest fundraising disclosures bring the total haul for Trump's reelection effort to more than $129 million…The campaign had more than $19.2 million in cash… Continue reading

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