Republican FEC Commissioners: Twitter Entitled to Press Exemption for Excluding NY Post Content on Hunter Biden

September 15, 2021, 11:37 amcampaign finance, cheap speech, federal election commissionRick Hasen

Dickerson/Trainor statement: Moreover, the decision as to precisely which news to distribute is, in many ways, the sine qua non of “the business of producing…news stories, commentary,and/or editorials.”27 The New York Times famously emblazons its masthead with the… Continue reading

“The F.E.C. dismisses claims that Twitter illegally blocked a Hunter Biden article.”

September 13, 2021, 9:38 amfederal election commissionRick Hasen

Shane Goldmacher for the NYT: The Federal Election Commission has dismissed Republican accusations that Twitter violated election laws in October by blocking people from posting links to an unsubstantiated New York Post article about Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son Hunter… Continue reading

“Ballot inspection seeks elusive proof of fraud in Georgia election”

May 28, 2021, 7:18 amfraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

AJC: Aided by a treasure hunter, the tea party and an unshakable belief that the presidential election was rigged, a group of skeptics may soon inspect Georgia absentee ballots in an attempt to find counterfeits.The court-ordered review is the latest… Continue reading

“Undercutting Trump, Barr says there’s no basis for seizing voting machines, using special counsels for election fraud, Hunter Biden”

December 21, 2020, 12:45 pmDepartment of JusticeRick Hasen

WaPo: Outgoing Attorney General William P. Barr said Monday that he saw no basis for the federal government seizing voting machines and that he did not intend to appoint a special counsel to investigate allegations of voter fraud — again… Continue reading

“Republicans Find Themselves Speechless Following a Supreme Court Defeat”

December 13, 2020, 4:53 pmchicanery, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: A day after President Trump’s stinging defeat in the Supreme Court, Republicans around the country seemed to be having trouble finding the right words.The bellicose statements from some quarters that had characterized the postelection period — claims of… Continue reading

“In Torrent of Falsehoods, Trump Claims Election Is Being Stolen”

November 6, 2020, 6:34 amElection Meltdown, fraudulent fraud squadRick Hasen

NYT: Even for President Trump, it was an imagined version of reality, one in which he was not losing but the victim of a wide-ranging conspiracy stretching across the country in multiple cities, counties and states, involving untold numbers of… Continue reading

“Republicans publicly silent, privately disgusted by Trump’s election threats”

November 3, 2020, 8:56 amUncategorizedRick Hasen

Politico: Democrats have been clear in their condemnations of the president’s comments, which they consider the most worrisome of Trump’s four years in office, which were often marked by anti-democratic rhetoric.“When Donald Trump says, ‘I think I deserve a third… Continue reading

Report Card for Election Administrators, Congress, Media, Social Media and Others in Handling “Fair Elections During a Crisis”

November 2, 2020, 12:17 pmElection MeltdownRick Hasen

When I was writing my book, Election Meltdown, I recognized that although there are decent medium- and long-term ways to improve how our elections are run and bolster voter confidence in the legitimacy of our election system, short term… Continue reading

“How a fake persona laid the groundwork for a Hunter Biden conspiracy deluge”

October 29, 2020, 3:35 pmcheap speech, chicaneryRick Hasen

NBC News: Nine month before a purported leak of files from Hunter Biden’s laptop, a fake “intelligence” document about him went viral on the right-wing internet, asserting an elaborate conspiracy theory involving former Vice President Joe Biden’s son and… Continue reading

“Trump announces intention to nominate two individuals to serve as FEC members”

October 28, 2020, 4:17 pmfederal election commissionRick Hasen

The Hill: President Trump on Wednesday announced his intent to nominate Sean Cooksey and Shana Broussard to serve as members of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). The potential nominations come four months after Republican FEC Commissioner Caroline Hunter resigned, … Continue reading

The Journalism Empire Strikes Back: Ben Smith NYT Column on WSJ’s Failure to Bite on the Hunter Biden Story Despite Efforts of Trump World and White House Counsel Lawyer

October 26, 2020, 7:17 amcheap speechRick Hasen

This is a must-read.

Should We Be Worried About Russian Interference in the 2020 Elections? Reasons for Comfort, Reasons for Concern, and BIG Reasons for More Early Voting

October 22, 2020, 3:57 pmchicanery, voting technologyRick Hasen

By Richard L. Hasen The latest murky revelations from U.S. intelligence officials that Russian government operatives are probing state voter registration databases as they did in 2016 raises the question: is this all they’ve got? Why aren’t the Russians doing… Continue reading

“Trump pressures Barr to investigate Bidens as election nears”

October 20, 2020, 3:38 pmUncategorizedRick Hasen

AP: President Donald Trump on Tuesday called on Attorney General William Barr to immediately launch an investigation of Democrat Joe Biden and his son Hunter, effectively demanding that the Justice Department muddy his political opponent and abandon its historic resistance… Continue reading

“Twitter Changes Course After Republicans Claim ‘Election Interference’”

October 16, 2020, 10:36 amcampaigns, cheap speechRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump called Facebook and Twitter “terrible” and “a monster” and said he would go after them. Senators Ted Cruz and Marsha Blackburn said they would subpoena the chief executives of the companies for their… Continue reading