[EL] ELB News and Commentary 10/18/17

Wed Oct 18 07:58:14 PDT 2017

"Is Trump Violating the Constitution? In Absentia, He Defends Himself in Court"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95509>
Posted on October 18, 2017 7:56 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95509> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/10/18/us/politics/trump-hotel-lawsuit.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fpolitics&action=click&contentCollection=politics&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront>

Donald J. Trump, Defendant" has graced reams of court papers through decades of dealmaking and New York real estate litigiousness.

"Donald J. Trump, in his official capacity as President of the United States of America" remains a relatively new phenomenon.

But inside a federal courtroom on Wednesday in Lower Manhattan, with the full force of the Justice Department defending him, Mr. Trump will be the focus, in absentia, of a remarkable legal drama: Is a sitting president - disinclined to relinquish his gilded empire before taking office - violating the Constitution by continuing to own and profit from his businesses?

At issue is a lawsuit<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/us/politics/trump-crew-lawsuit-constitution.html> filed this year<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/18/us/politics/trump-crew-lawsuit-constitution.html> in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York by a legal watchdog group, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, or CREW. It has argued that Mr. Trump is violating a constitutional provision that a president may not accept any economic benefit from foreign governments or the United States government beyond a salary.
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Posted in conflict of interest laws<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=20>

"Trump's small-dollar donors fuel surge in GOP fundraising"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95507>
Posted on October 18, 2017 7:47 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95507> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

McClatchy:<http://www.sunherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article179293746.html>

The Republican National Committee raised more than $100 million in the first nine months of 2017, marking the first time it has raised that much, that fast, in a non-presidential election year.

The record-breaking fundraising can be largely attributed to a flurry of small-dollar donors responding to fundraising appeals by the first Republican president in eight years, Donald Trump, according to a new report to be released later this week and obtained by McClatchy<http://www.mcclatchydc.com/>.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

"Las Vegas judge tells felons if they meet probation requirements they likely can vote for Trump in 2020"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95505>
Posted on October 18, 2017 7:45 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95505> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Head-scratcher<https://thenevadaindependent.com/article/las-vegas-judge-tells-felons-if-they-meet-probation-requirements-they-likely-can-vote-for-trump-in-2020> from the Nevada Independent.
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Posted in judicial elections<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=19>

"Puerto Ricans get short shrift as U.S. citizens"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95503>
Posted on October 18, 2017 7:42 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95503> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Antonio Perez oped<http://www.orlandosentinel.com/opinion/os-ed-puerto-rico-gets-short-shrift-as-united-states-citizens-20171017-story.html> in the Orlando Sentinel.
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Posted in Uncategorized<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

"Republican lawmakers' posh hideaway bankrolled by secret corporate cash"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95501>
Posted on October 18, 2017 7:41 am<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95501> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI:<https://www.publicintegrity.org/2017/10/18/21213/republican-lawmakers-posh-hideaway-bankrolled-secret-corporate-cash>

But behind the scenes, several major corporations and trade groups secretly bankrolled a plush hideaway<https://issuu.com/masterplanbuilders/docs/rnc_book_v5_hires>for lawmakers at the same Republican National Convention in Cleveland where Trump gave the speech, records obtained by the Center for Public Integrity<http://www.publicintegrity.org/politics> show.

Comcast Corp., Microsoft, Koch Companies Public Sector, the National Retail Federation, Health Care Service Corp., the American Petroleum Institute, Chevron and AT&T are among the companies, associations and lobbying powerhouses that funded a limited liability company called "Friends of the House 2016 LLC," according to bank records.

Friends of the House 2016 LLC, in turn, paid for the design and outfitting of an exclusive office, lounge and gathering space for Republican lawmakers - including House Speaker Paul Ryan - and controlled access to the so-called "cloakroom."

The limited liability company effectively hid the corporations' contributions from public view at a time when activist groups were pressuring companies to scale back giving to<https://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/31/us/politics/donald-trump-republican-national-convention.html> the Republican convention, and a few of the companies had publicly minimized their participation.
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Posted in campaign finance<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>

"Conflict Mounts Inside Voting Fraud Commission in the Wake of Child Porn Arrest"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95499>
Posted on October 17, 2017 6:39 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95499> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

ProPublica<https://www.propublica.org/article/conflict-mounts-inside-voting-fraud-commission-in-the-wake-of-child-porn-arrest>:

The arrest<https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-politics/wp/2017/10/14/trump-voter-fraud-commission-researcher-arrested-on-child-pornography-charges/?utm_term=.85bfcc91c7c3>, on child pornography charges, of a researcher for the controversial Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity is intensifying conflict inside the group, with two Democratic members asserting again that a small band of conservatives holds disproportionate power. The researcher, Ronald Williams II, who was arrested late last week, previously worked as an intern at the Department of Justice on a case with J. Christian Adams, who is now a Republican member of the commission.

Democratic commissioner Matt Dunlap contends Williams' involvement with the commission is the latest in a series of discoveries suggesting a few conservative members wield outsize clout; Dunlap claims that Democratic members have been largely excluded from planning. Today he wrote a letter<https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/4111815-PACEI-10-17-17.html> to the commission demanding information.

"I am seeking information because I lack it," stated the letter, a copy of which was given to ProPublica. "I am in a position where I feel compelled to inquire after the work of the Commission upon which I am sworn to serve, and am yet completely uninformed as to its activities." The letter demanded copies of "any and all communication between members of the commission" beginning in May.....

It seems like you have the core of the commission - J. Christian Adams, Hans van Spakovsky and [Kris] Kobach - and then you have the rest of us, who are kind of like mannequins," Dunlap said in an interview. He said he was surprised to learn of Williams' history working alongside Adams.

Williams was an intern at the DOJ during the administration of George W. Bush. He worked alongside Adams on litigation the department filed against Noxubee County, Mississippi, in 2006 - the first time the DOJ used the Voting Rights Act of 1965 to protect white voters.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>

Texas, with Paul Clement on Brief, Files SCOTUS Jurisdictional Statement in Congressional Redistricting Case<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95497>
Posted on October 17, 2017 5:25 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95497> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Read it here.<https://www.brennancenter.org/sites/default/files/legal-work/Perez_17A225_JurisdictionalStatement.pdf>

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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

"The Supreme Court is Allergic to Math"<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95494>
Posted on October 17, 2017 5:11 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95494> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

538,<https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/the-supreme-court-is-allergic-to-math/> heavy on the redistricting cases.
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Posted in redistricting<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Supreme Court<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=29>

Sad News: David Dunn, One of Few Democratic Members of Pence-Kobach Fraud Commission, Dies at 52<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95490>
Posted on October 17, 2017 5:01 pm<http://electionlawblog.org/?p=95490> by Rick Hasen<http://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Condolences to his family and friends on this untimely death<https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/lobbyist-and-ex-arkansas-state-rep-david-dunn-dies-aged-52/>.
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Posted in election law biz<http://electionlawblog.org/?cat=51>

--
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
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/>

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