[EL] ELB News and Commentary 8/27/19

Mon Aug 26 20:09:03 PDT 2019

“Richard Neal Facebook page mixes campaign, congressional business”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107082>
Posted on August 26, 2019 8:06 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107082> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Roll Call:<http://%20http/www.rollcall.com/news/congress/richard-neal-facebook-page-mixes-campaign-congressional-business>

House Ways and Means Chairman Richard E. Neal<https://www.rollcall.com/members?215&utm_source=memberLink?utm_source=memberLink> used his government-funded official Facebook page to air campaign advertisements, Facebook Ad Library shows, potentially running afoul of House Ethics rules that prohibit campaign business on House official resources.

In Neal’s official Facebook page disclaimer, up to $100 were spent on the ads in 2018 paid for by “Richard Neal<https://www.rollcall.com/members?215&utm_source=memberLink?utm_source=memberLink> for Congress Committee, Treasurer Michael F. Hall,” suggesting Neal’s campaign funds paid for the ad to air through the House office’s Facebook page.

House official resources, including social media, also run under the purview of the House Administration Committee. Their rules say that member-controlled content on social media accounts is subject to the same requirements as member websites. In both cases, it forbids any campaign use. The rules also explicitly state that campaign funds may not pay for a member’s official expenses, which are used to maintain and operate a members’ official resources.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107082&title=%E2%80%9CRichard%20Neal%20Facebook%20page%20mixes%20campaign%2C%20congressional%20business%E2%80%9D>
Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>

Quote of the Day<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107080>
Posted on August 26, 2019 8:01 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107080> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

“When I saw …that Don McGahn went to be the White House counsel, I predicted…that what that meant was that all agencies in the federal government whose job it was to protect the public interest were going to be rendered useless.And I believe that prediction came to fruition.”

—Ann Ravel, quoted in the NYT<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/us/politics/federal-election-commission.html#click=https://t.co/Q4R8DKDSBN>, The U.S. Election Watchdog Needs 4 of 6 Members to Enforce the Law. It Now Has 3.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107080&title=Quote%20of%20the%20Day>
Posted in federal election commission<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

“Trial of High-Powered Lawyer Gregory Craig Exposes Seamy Side of Washington’s Elite”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107077>
Posted on August 26, 2019 7:57 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107077> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/08/26/us/politics/gregory-craig-trial.html>

It is a trial tailor-made to grab the attention of this city’s power brokers: In a federal courtroom this month, one of Washington’s most prominent lawyers — a former White House counsel and attorney to global statesmen and other icons — is battling criminal charges of lying to investigators about his work for a shady foreign client.

But the most riveting aspect of the case against the lawyer, Gregory B. Craig, is not his innocence or guilt. Rather, it is the depiction of the seamy world of power brokers like Mr. Craig that prosecutors have painted during nearly two weeks of testimony and in an array of court filings.
Mr. Craig’s trial has supplanted any image of Washington’s elite as sage Brahmins with a vivid picture of the ruling class at its avaricious worst.

The details include a $4 million payment shunted through a secret offshore account to Mr. Craig’s law firm, a backdated invoice, a lying publicist, a scheme to net one player’s daughter a cushy job and a bungled wiretap by a suspected Russian intelligence asset nicknamed “the angry midget.”
Taken together, they illustrate how lawyers, lobbyists and public relations specialists leapt onto slippery ethical slopes to cash in on a foreign government’s hopes of papering over its sordid reputation.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107077&title=%E2%80%9CTrial%20of%20High-Powered%20Lawyer%20Gregory%20Craig%20Exposes%20Seamy%20Side%20of%20Washington%E2%80%99s%20Elite%E2%80%9D>
Posted in ethics investigations<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=42>, lobbying<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=28>

“Obama introduces new initiative in fight against gerrymandering”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107075>
Posted on August 26, 2019 7:47 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107075> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The Hill:<https://thehill.com/homenews/campaign/458905-obama-introduces-new-initiative-in-fight-against-gerrymandering>

Former President Obama on Monday announced a new initiative in a campaign to combat partisan gerrymandering.

“Training is at the heart of organizing. It’s why I’ve always made it a priority – from my 2008 campaign until now,” Obama said in a tweet announcing Redistricting U, part of the All on the Line campaign.

Redistricting U will send trainers throughout the country to offer free, in-person instruction and help to volunteers involved in the redistricting process in states.

[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107075&title=%E2%80%9CObama%20introduces%20new%20initiative%20in%20fight%20against%20gerrymandering%E2%80%9D>
Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

“Janet Mills will decide on bill to switch Maine to ranked-choice voting in presidential races”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107073>
Posted on August 26, 2019 7:41 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107073> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Bangor Daily News:<https://bangordailynews.com/2019/08/26/politics/janet-mills-will-decide-on-bill-to-switch-maine-to-ranked-choice-voting-in-presidential-races/>

In a surprise move, Maine lawmakers passed a bill Monday extending ranked-choice voting to presidential primary and general elections, though it’s unclear if Gov. Janet Mills backs it. She could stop it from taking effect before the 2020 election.

The proposal from Senate President Troy Jackson, D-Allagash, would put Maine further in uncharted territory on ranked-choice voting. A 2016 referendum<https://bangordailynews.com/2016/11/09/politics/maine-backs-ranked-choice-voting-proposal-but-legal-hurdles-remain/> made it the first state to adopt ranked-choice voting statewide, but legislative tweaks motivated by conflicts with the state Constitution have limited its use to congressional elections and state primaries.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107073&title=%E2%80%9CJanet%20Mills%20will%20decide%20on%20bill%20to%20switch%20Maine%20to%20ranked-choice%20voting%20in%20presidential%20races%E2%80%9D>
Posted in alternative voting systems<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=63>

“The Voting Wars Come to Campus; Students face a growing maze of voting restrictions. Can they find their way through in time for 2020?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107070>
Posted on August 26, 2019 11:07 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107070> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Daniel Block<https://washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/september-october-2019/the-voting-wars-come-to-campus/> for Washington Monthly.
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107070&title=%E2%80%9CThe%20Voting%20Wars%20Come%20to%20Campus%3B%20Students%20face%20a%20growing%20maze%20of%20voting%20restrictions.%20Can%20they%20find%20their%20way%20through%20in%20time%20for%202020%3F%E2%80%9D>
Posted in The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

What Can the FEC Do Without a Quorum?<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107068>
Posted on August 26, 2019 10:54 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107068> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CPI investigates.<https://publicintegrity.org/federal-politics/federal-election-commission-fec-to-effectively-shut-down/>
[Share]<https://www.addtoany.com/share#url=https%3A%2F%2Felectionlawblog.org%2F%3Fp%3D107068&title=What%20Can%20the%20FEC%20Do%20Without%20a%20Quorum%3F>
Posted in federal election commission<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=24>

--
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/>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://webshare.law.ucla.edu/Listservs/law-election/attachments/20190827/72eea6a3/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/20190827/72eea6a3/attachment.png>