“Jack Smith’s Accountability Effort Ends With More Freedom for Trump”

January 15, 2025, 7:11 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: In a closing argument he never got to make to a jury, Jack Smith, the former special counsel who investigated Donald J. Trump, insisted that his thwarted prosecution was righteous and that his investigators set an example “for others… Continue reading

“Scoop: Trump’s $500 million post-election windfall”

January 15, 2025, 7:02 amcampaign finance, campaignsRick Hasen

Axios: President-elect Trump is being inundated with so much money from corporations and wealthy donors that his team expects to raise about $500 million by summer — even though he can’t run again, sources in his operation tell Axios. Why… Continue reading

“Meta just flipped the switch that prevents misinformation from spreading in the United States”

January 15, 2025, 6:59 amcheap speechRick Hasen

Platformer: Last week, Meta announced a series of changes to its content moderation policies and enforcement strategies designed to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration. The company ended its fact-checking program in the United States, stopped scanning new… Continue reading

Pam Bondi, the 2020 election, Project 2025, and the Ku Klux Klan Act

January 15, 2025, 12:19 amprovisional ballots, The Voting Warsdemocratic backsliding, project 2025, The Big LieJustin Levitt

Pam Bondi’s hearings start today. She’s applying for the job of Attorney General: the lawyer for the United States. Given the shifting loyalties and vindictive proclivities of the President-elect who has put her forward, every Senator has both an obligation… Continue reading

My Review of “The ‘Stench’ of Politics: Polarization and Worldview on the Supreme Court”

January 14, 2025, 4:25 pmSupreme CourtRick Hasen

I have written this book review for Political Science Quarterly, reviewing The “Stench” of Politics: Polarization and Worldview on the Supreme Court by Joseph Russomanno. It begins: After the disputed 2000 election that culminated in the Supreme Court’s opinion… Continue reading

“The Real Preference of the Voters”: Madison’s Idea of a Top-Three Election and The Present Necessity of Reform

January 14, 2025, 2:18 pmUncategorizedNed Foley

I have posted this new paper on SSRN. It will be published in the Wisconsin Law Review as part of a symposium held last September. The paper focuses on an 1823 letter written by James Madison, the significance of which… Continue reading

The Attempt to Hold Donald Trump Responsible for Election Subversion Ends with a Whimper, and With Renewed Dangers for American Democracy

January 14, 2025, 11:25 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

The attempt to hold Donald Trump accountable for seeking to illegally overturn the results of the 2020 election ended shortly after midnight on Tuesday with a whimper, as the United States Department of Justice posted online special counsel Jack Smith’s… Continue reading

“Fifteen Years Later, Citizens United Defined the 2024 Election”

January 14, 2025, 10:10 amcampaign finance, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

New analysis from the Brennan Center.

Is PR the panacea?

January 14, 2025, 9:39 amUncategorizedNed Foley

The New York Times has a big piece posted this morning by Jesse Wegman and Lee Drutman advocating for using proportional representation (PR) to elect members of the federal House of Representatives (and expanding the size of the House to… Continue reading

“Special Counsel Report Says Trump Would Have Been Convicted in Election Case”

January 14, 2025, 8:44 amDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Jack Smith, the special counsel who indicted President-elect Donald J. Trump on charges of illegally seeking to cling to power after losing the 2020 election, said in a final report released early Tuesday that the evidence would have been… Continue reading

“How to Fix America’s Two-Party Problem”

January 14, 2025, 8:35 amalternative voting systemsRick Hasen

Jesse Wegman and Lee Drutman in NYT Opinion advocating for proportional representation for Congress.

“Jan. 6 committee members talk to White House about pardons”

January 14, 2025, 8:33 amelection subversion riskRick Hasen

Punchbowl: With President-elect Donald Trump set to take office in less than a week, members of the Jan. 6 Select Committee and White House are privately discussing whether to issue presidential pardons to lawmakers who served on the panel, according to lawmakers and… Continue reading

Read the Special Counsel’s Report on Trump’s Attempted Election Subversion in 2020 (My Analysis to Come in the Morning)

January 13, 2025, 9:55 pmDepartment of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

You can read the report at this link.

“News Outlets Take Unusual Steps to Prepare for Onslaught From Trump”

January 13, 2025, 4:04 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

NYT: Reporters and editors at national newspapers are increasing their reliance on encrypted communications to help shield themselves and their sources from potential federal leak investigations and subpoenas. Multiple media organizations are evaluating whether they have enough insurance coverage to… Continue reading