[EL] ELB News and Commentary 7/14/17

Thu Jul 13 21:11:47 PDT 2017

“Work of Trump’s Voter Fraud Panel Inflames Partisan Divide”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93844>
Posted on July 13, 2017 9:08 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93844> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
William Gallo<https://www.voanews.com/a/work-of-trump-voter-fraud-panel-inflames-paritsan-divide/3942978.html> for VOA.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93844&title=%E2%80%9CWork%20of%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20Voter%20Fraud%20Panel%20Inflames%20Partisan%20Divide%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“‘Pray there is no hell’: Critics are savaging Trump’s voter fraud panel via email”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93842>
Posted on July 13, 2017 8:59 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93842> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Must-read<https://mic.com/articles/182175/pray-there-is-no-hell-critics-are-savaging-trumps-voter-fraud-panel-via-email?utm_campaign=ckatz+twitter&utm_content=buffer52618&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com#.p7sIXhD8k> Celeste Katz:
When President Donald Trump’s “voter fraud panel”<https://mic.com/articles/181295/donald-trump-just-admitted-his-election-integrity-commission-is-a-voter-fraud-panel#.tFoze33Td> holds its first meeting on July 19, members of the public won’t be able to speak. Instead, the Presidential Commission on Election Integrity, which has enraged and frightened<https://mic.com/articles/181510/trump-election-integrity-commission-member-we-should-have-predicted-the-backlash#.H80Jum6PW> plenty of Americans by requesting detailed data on every registered voter in the country, offered to take comments via email.
And comment people did.
As of Thursday afternoon, 112 pages of responses<https://www.whitehouse.gov/sites/whitehouse.gov/files/docs/comments-received-june-29-through-july-11-2017.pdf> were already available on the White House website — and if the feds set up a swear jar, the U.S. just might be on its way to paying off that national debt.
Descriptions of the controversial panel and its aims included “pea brained,” “undemocratic,” “stupid” and “unpatriotic.”
And that was the good news.
The panel is supposed<https://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2017/05/11/president-announces-formation-bipartisan-presidential-commission> to study and address vulnerabilities in the system, along with concerns about potential fraud and suppression. Critics fear<https://mic.com/articles/181965/watchdogs-say-trumps-new-voter-fraud-panel-pick-rounds-out-four-horsemen-of-suppression#.jPw6j75Sw> it could ultimately be weaponized to keep people from voting.
While there were some notes encouraging the commission, chaired by Vice President Mike Pence, with Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach as vice chairman, the majority of the responses posted to date were so harsh that they probably should have come with a vial of antivenom — or at least a box of tissues.
“You are all about voter suppression to rig elections. You are evil. Pray there is no hell,” said a relatively mild June 29 missive submitted under the header, “you are not about voting integrity.”
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93842&title=%E2%80%9C%E2%80%98Pray%20there%20is%20no%20hell%E2%80%99%3A%20Critics%20are%20savaging%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20voter%20fraud%20panel%20via%20email%E2%80%9D>
Posted in election administration<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Commentary: Trump’s plan to make voters older, wealthier and whiter”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93838>
Posted on July 13, 2017 3:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93838> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Scott Lemieux<http://www.reuters.com/article/us-lemieux-voting-commentary-idUSKBN19X28H> for Reuters Opinion.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93838&title=%E2%80%9CCommentary%3A%20Trump%E2%80%99s%20plan%20to%20make%20voters%20older%2C%20wealthier%20and%20whiter%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

“Trump’s Hunt for Fake Votes and the Hurdles Ahead: QuickTake Q&A”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93836>
Posted on July 13, 2017 3:19 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93836> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Bloomberg reports.<https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-07-13/trump-s-hunt-for-fake-votes-and-the-hurdles-ahead-quicktake-q-a>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93836&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%E2%80%99s%20Hunt%20for%20Fake%20Votes%20and%20the%20Hurdles%20Ahead%3A%20QuickTake%20Q%26A%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Trump-Russia investigators probe Jared Kushner-run digital operation”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93834>
Posted on July 13, 2017 3:16 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93834> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
McClatchy:<http://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/nation-world/national/article160803619.html>
Investigators at the House and Senate Intelligence committees and the Justice Department are examining whether the Trump campaign’s digital operation – overseen by Jared Kushner – helped guide Russia’s sophisticated voter targeting and fake news attacks on Hillary Clinton in 2016.
Congressional and Justice Department investigators are focusing on whether Trump’s campaign pointed Russian cyber operatives to certain voting jurisdictions in key states – areas where Trump’s digital team and Republican operatives were spotting unexpected weakness in voter support for Hillary Clinton, according to several people familiar with the parallel inquiries.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93834&title=%E2%80%9CTrump-Russia%20investigators%20probe%20Jared%20Kushner-run%20digital%20operation%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

The Vare Precedent in the Senate–And Its Relevance to the Trump-Russia Inquiry<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93832>
Posted on July 13, 2017 2:54 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93832> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
New Ned Foley.<http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/election-law/article/?article=13407>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93832&title=The%20Vare%20Precedent%20in%20the%20Senate%E2%80%93And%20Its%20Relevance%20to%20the%20Trump-Russia%20Inquiry>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

9th Circuit 1980 Case: “Information,” “State Secrets,” “Information Obtained for Political Advantage” All “Things of Value”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93830>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:44 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93830> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
This case<http://www.leagle.com/decision/19801225618F2d607_11114/UNITED%20STATES%20v.%20SHEKER> presents a very different context than Donald Trump, Jr.<http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/jurisprudence/2017/07/donald_trump_jr_s_free_speech_defense_is_as_bogus_as_it_sounds.html>, but the discussion is instructive:

II. Sufficiency of the Indictment
The indictment adequately charged Sheker with impersonating a federal officer to obtain a thing of value, within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 912.2<http://www.leagle.com/decision/19801225618F2d607_11114/UNITED%20STATES%20v.%20SHEKER#fid3> See U. S. v. Mitman, 459 F.2d 451<http://www.leagle.com/cite/459%20F.2d%20451> (9th Cir.), cert. den. 409 U.S. 863, 93 S.Ct. 154, 34 L.Ed.2d 111 (1972). We do not embrace the government’s sweeping position that 18 U.S.C. 912 extends to anything that has value to the defendant. Such a broad reading of “value” negates any limitation the word could imply. By the same token, we cannot accept Sheker’s suggestion that 18 U.S.C. 912 covers only things having commercial value.Information can be a thing of value. Whaley v. U. S., 324 F.2d 356<http://www.leagle.com/cite/324%20F.2d%20356> (9th Cir. 1963). In normal English usage commercial worth is not the exclusive measure of value. For instance, state secrets might trade hands without cash consideration. Information obtained for political advantage might have value apart from its worth in dollars. In each case the information sought would have value to others,in addition to the seeker. Such is the case here. Stokes would see value in keeping his whereabouts unknown to Sheker. The criminal justice system, concerned with the safety of witnesses, has a similar interest. Because the information sought had value in these broader senses, we hold the indictment sufficient.
In view of this conclusion, we also hold that the challenged language in the indictment (“concerning the location of a witness against him”) was not prejudicial surplusage. The quoted words were properly included to explain why the information sought was valuable. See generally, U. S. v. Root, 366 F.2d 377<http://www.leagle.com/cite/366%20F.2d%20377>, 381 (9th Cir.), cert. den. 386 U.S. 912, 87 S.Ct. 861, 17 L.Ed.2d 784 (1966).
The language of the statute is not sufficiently ambiguous to call into play the rule of lenity. As the Supreme Court said in Bell v. U. S., 349 U.S. 81<http://www.leagle.com/cite/349%20U.S.%2081>, 83, 75 S.Ct. 620, 622, 99 L.Ed. 905 (1955):
[L]anguage used in criminal statutes should not be read with the saving grace of common sense with which other enactments, not cast in technical language, are to be read.
We find the statute unambiguous.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93830&title=9th%20Circuit%201980%20Case%3A%20%E2%80%9CInformation%2C%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%9CState%20Secrets%2C%E2%80%9D%20%E2%80%9CInformation%20Obtained%20for%20Political%20Advantage%E2%80%9D%20All%20%E2%80%9CTh>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Yes. Violating Certain Campaign Finance Laws Is a Criminal Offense”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93828>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:36 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93828> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ciara Torres-Spelliscy<http://billmoyers.com/story/violating-certain-campaign-finance-laws-criminal-offenses/> for Bill Moyers.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93828&title=%E2%80%9CYes.%20Violating%20Certain%20Campaign%20Finance%20Laws%20Is%20a%20Criminal%20Offense%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

“Trump’s voter panel is scaring away voters”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93826>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:35 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93826> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Josh Douglas<http://www.cnn.com/2017/07/13/opinions/trump-panel-scaring-away-voters/index.html> CNN opinion piece.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93826&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%E2%80%99s%20voter%20panel%20is%20scaring%20away%20voters%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

6th Circuit Dismisses on Standing Grounds Challenge to SEC Rules Limiting Campaign Activities of Municipal Investment Advisors<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93824>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:33 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93824> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Opinion. <http://www.opn.ca6.uscourts.gov/opinions.pdf/17a0150p-06.pdf>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93824&title=6th%20Circuit%20Dismisses%20on%20Standing%20Grounds%20Challenge%20to%20SEC%20Rules%20Limiting%20Campaign%20Activities%20of%20Municipal%20Investment%20Advisors>
Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

“Trump, Jr., Kushner, Manafort Violated Foreign Solicitation Ban, Watchdogs Allege in Complaints”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93822>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:27 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93822> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Release:<http://www.commoncause.org/press/press-releases/trump-jr-kushner-manafort-violated-foreign-solicitation-ban-watchdogs-allege-in-complaints.html>
Today Common Cause, the Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 filed a complaint<http://www.campaignlegalcenter.org/document/fec-complaint-requesting-investigation-donald-trump-jr-foreign-national-contribution> with the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Federal Election Commission (FEC) supplementing a complaint filed by Common Cause on Monday. The expanded complaint alleges that Jared Kushner and Paul Manafort illegally solicited a contribution from a foreign national, and that Kushner, Manafort and Rob Goldstone illegally assisted Donald Trump Jr. in soliciting an illegal political contribution from a foreign national on behalf of the Trump 2016 presidential campaign.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93822&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%2C%20Jr.%2C%20Kushner%2C%20Manafort%20Violated%20Foreign%20Solicitation%20Ban%2C%20Watchdogs%20Allege%20in%20Complaints%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

“Yes, Trump Can Accept Gifts”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93820>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:21 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93820> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Blackman and Tillman<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/07/13/opinion/trump-france-bastille-emoluments.html> in the NYT oped section.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93820&title=%E2%80%9CYes%2C%20Trump%20Can%20Accept%20Gifts%E2%80%9D>
Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

“Dean of Yale Law School: Campus Free Speech Is Not Up for Debate”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93818>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:19 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93818> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Heather Gerken<http://time.com/4856225/law-school-free-speech/> in TIME.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93818&title=%E2%80%9CDean%20of%20Yale%20Law%20School%3A%20Campus%20Free%20Speech%20Is%20Not%20Up%20for%20Debate%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

President Trump Nominates Tom Farr, Leading Lawyer Representing NC in Its Controversial Voting Cases, to Federal District Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93816>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:16 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93816> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Nomination.<https://twitter.com/brkend/status/885576211971362816>
I’ve had only positive personal interactions with Mr. Farr, and I don’t think people should be excluded from office because of their clients.
Whether or not he should be confirmed would require an examination of his entire record.

[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93816&title=President%20Trump%20Nominates%20Tom%20Farr%2C%20Leading%20Lawyer%20Representing%20NC%20in%20Its%20Controversial%20Voting%20Cases%2C%20to%20Federal%20District%20Court>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Russia may sabotage the next election, too. What will Trump and Republicans do about it?”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93814>
Posted on July 13, 2017 12:13 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93814> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Greg Sargent:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/wp/2017/07/13/russia-may-sabotage-the-next-election-too-what-will-trump-and-republicans-do-about-it/?utm_term=.08e425c83f52>
The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee, which oversees House races, has issued a formal request to its Republican counterpart, asking it to join in showing a “united front” and creating a “joint plan” against any Russian efforts to undermine the 2018 elections, I’ve learned.
DCCC Chairman Ben Ray Luján (N.M.) has sent a letter<https://www.washingtonpost.com/r/2010-2019/WashingtonPost/2017/07/13/Editorial-Opinion/Graphics/Letter_to_Chairman_Stivers_Cyber.pdf> to Rep. Steve Stivers (Ohio), the chair of the NRCC, asking him to work with Democrats in a unified effort to guard against Russian efforts to undermine next year’s congressional races. In the letter, Democrats ask Republicans to pledge not to use any information obtained via Russian hacking against Democratic candidates, and to create a joint plan in collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to guard against Russian interference. The letter was passed on to me by a Democratic source.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93814&title=%E2%80%9CRussia%20may%20sabotage%20the%20next%20election%2C%20too.%20What%20will%20Trump%20and%20Republicans%20do%20about%20it%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, The Voting Wars<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>, voting technology<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=40>

“The GOP Quest to Find Voter Fraud Draws Backlash”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93812>
Posted on July 13, 2017 7:13 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93812> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
TIME reports.<http://time.com/4856223/voter-fraud-backlash/>
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93812&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20GOP%20Quest%20to%20Find%20Voter%20Fraud%20Draws%20Backlash%E2%80%9D>
Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Trump Jr.’s Emails Gain Attention as FEC Eyes Foreign Influence Issue”<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93810>
Posted on July 13, 2017 7:09 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93810> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Ken Doyle reports<https://www.bna.com/trump-jrs-emails-n73014461616/> for Bloomberg BNA.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93810&title=%E2%80%9CTrump%20Jr.%E2%80%99s%20Emails%20Gain%20Attention%20as%20FEC%20Eyes%20Foreign%20Influence%20Issue%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

Second Circuit Grants Sheldon Silver New Trial Based on McDonnell-Linked Instructional Error<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93808>
Posted on July 13, 2017 7:00 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=93808> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
Opinion:<http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/c8a49406-8ba5-4da0-8920-9efb81d01c50/1/doc/16-1615_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/c8a49406-8ba5-4da0-8920-9efb81d01c50/1/hilite/>
After Silver had been convicted and sentenced, the Supreme Court issued its decision in McDonnell v. United States, 136 S. Ct. 2355 (2016), which clarified the definition of an “official act” in honest services fraud and extortion charges. The Supreme Court, vacating the conviction of former Governor Robert McDonnell of Virginia, held that “an ‘official act’ is a decision or action on a ‘question, matter, cause, suit, proceeding or controversy’” involving “a formal exercise of governmental power.” Id. at 2371–72.    Silver now appeals from his judgment of conviction and argues, primarily, that the District Court’s jury instructions defining an official act as “any action taken or to be taken under color of official authority” was erroneous under McDonnell. He additionally challenges the sufficiency of the evidence on all counts of conviction, arguing, among other things, that his money laundering conviction under 18 U.S.C. § 1957 required the Government to trace “dirty” funds comingled with “clean” funds.
Though we reject Silver’s sufficiency challenges, we hold that the District Court’s instructions on honest services fraud and extortion do not comport with McDonnell and are therefore in error. We further hold that this error was not harmless because it is not clear beyond a reasonable doubt that a rational jury would have reached the same conclusion if properly instructed, as is required by law for the verdict to stand.
Accordingly, we VACATE the District Court’s judgment of conviction on all counts and REMAND the cause to the District Court for such further proceedings as may be appropriate in the circumstances and consistent with this opinion.
[hare]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=http%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D93808&title=Second%20Circuit%20Grants%20Sheldon%20Silver%20New%20Trial%20Based%20on%20McDonnell-Linked%20Instructional%20Error>
Posted in bribery<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=54>

--
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
401 E. Peltason Dr., Suite 1000
Irvine, CA 92697-8000
949.824.3072 - office
949.824.0495 - fax
rhasen at law.uci.edu<mailto:rhasen at law.uci.edu>
http://www.law.uci.edu/faculty/full-time/hasen/
http://electionlawblog.org<http://electionlawblog.org/>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20170714/622d7ca3/attachment.html>
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: image001.png
Type: image/png
Size: 2021 bytes
Desc: image001.png
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20170714/622d7ca3/attachment.png>