“Meta’s Oversight Board should just quit, critics say”

February 13, 2025, 7:08 amcheap speechRick Hasen

WaPo: A coalition of advocacy groups from around the world is calling on Meta’s quasi-independent Oversight Board to resign en masse to protest the social media giant’s recent pullback on content moderation. In an open letter shared with the Tech… Continue reading

“Trump takes aim at agencies that police wrongdoing, protect federal workers”

February 13, 2025, 6:56 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

WaPo: President Donald Trump is taking aim at federal offices that investigate government malfeasance and protect workers from retribution, summarily firing and replacing five top ethics officials this week in an apparent attempt to consolidate his power over the sprawling… Continue reading

“Election Law in a Misaligned America”

February 13, 2025, 6:29 amUncategorizedNed Foley

The Ohio State Law Journal is hosting a symposium focused on Nick Stephanopoulos’s important new book Aligning Election Law. It’s next Friday, February 21. It’s got a great lineup of presenters, including Nick’s keynote and follow-up conversation with my Ohio… Continue reading

“The public lost access to Census Bureau data for days after a Trump order”

February 12, 2025, 12:46 pmcensus litigationRick Hasen

Hansi Lo Wang for NPR: An apparent attempt by the U.S. Census Bureau to follow an executive order by President Trump targeting gender identity led to the public losing access for days to certain key statistics. Close to two weeks… Continue reading

Levitsky and Way: “The Path to American Authoritarianism: What Comes After Democratic Breakdown”

February 12, 2025, 7:44 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Steven Letvitsky and Lucian Way in Foreign Affairs: U.S. democracy will likely break down during the second Trump administration, in the sense that it will cease to meet standard criteria for liberal democracy: full adult suffrage, free and fair… Continue reading

“US Homeland Security says election security personnel placed on leave”

February 12, 2025, 7:18 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, election subversion riskRick Hasen

Reuters: The Department of Homeland Security, as part of an evaluation of its election security mission, said on Tuesday that personnel focused on misinformation, disinformation and foreign influence operations aimed at U.S. elections have been placed on administrative leave. DHS… Continue reading

Must-Read Bloomberg Law Deep Dive: “Voting Rights Claims Plunge in Wake of Supreme Court Decision”

February 12, 2025, 7:15 amSupreme Court, Voting Rights ActRick Hasen

I’ve been waiting to see the results of this study, and it’s consistent with my own research and what I’ve written for my upcoming Yale Law Journal Feature about how Brnovich killed Section 2 vote denial cases: After the Supreme… Continue reading

“The Rise of America’s Broligarchy and What to Do About It”

February 12, 2025, 7:01 amcampaign finance, Plutocrats UnitedRick Hasen

Larry Norden and Dan Weiner in Time: While the corrupting influence of big money over our government is not new, the specifics of this danger are different today than perhaps at any other time in our nation’s history. Tech billionaires,… Continue reading

“Former Sheriff Hayden investigated Johnson County’s top election official, records show”

February 11, 2025, 5:05 pmfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

KC Star: Former Johnson County Sheriff Calvin Hayden investigated Johnson County Election Commissioner Fred Sherman over allegations of voter intimidation, according to records obtained by The Star. The case was the only one Hayden, a Republican, ever sent to Johnson… Continue reading

Must Read Adam Liptak in the NYT: “Trump’s Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Scholars Say” (Gift Link)

February 11, 2025, 7:13 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: There is no universally accepted definition of a constitutional crisis, but legal scholars agree about some of its characteristics. It is generally the product of presidential defiance of laws and judicial rulings. It is not binary: It is a… Continue reading

“Trump allies suggest defying court orders after stinging legal rebukes”

February 11, 2025, 7:10 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Washington Post: Federal judges have issued President Donald Trump stinging legal rebukes in the early clashes over his blitz of executive orders, and two of his top advisers have responded by suggesting that his administration defy the courts and move… Continue reading

“Push to Drop Adams Charges Reveals a Justice Dept. Under Trump’s Sway”

February 11, 2025, 7:07 amchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: The Justice Department on Monday ordered federal prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York, a remarkable incursion into a continuing criminal case that raises questions about the fair administration of justice during President… Continue reading

“Fiery Directives Under Trump’s Justice Dept. Signal a Significant Shift”

February 11, 2025, 7:05 amauthoritarian threats in US, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Hours after being sworn in as President Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi declared to the entire Justice Department work force, “This shameful era ends today.” That assertion, in one of 14 memos she issued on Wednesday, underscored what many… Continue reading

“Trump Pauses Enforcement of Law Banning Foreign Bribery”

February 11, 2025, 7:03 ambriberyRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump on Monday ordered a pause in the enforcement of a federal law aimed at curbing corruption in multinational companies, saying it creates an uneven playing field for American firms. The law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,… Continue reading