[EL] ELB News and Commentary 2/27/19

Tue Feb 26 19:36:31 PST 2019

“Cohen to Testify That Trump Engaged in Criminal Conduct While in Office”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103776>
Posted on February 26, 2019 7:31 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103776> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WSJ:<https://www.wsj.com/articles/cohen-to-testify-that-trump-engaged-in-criminal-conduct-while-in-office-11551175201?utm_source=CNN+Media%3A+Reliable+Sources&utm_campaign=87dfb4277d-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_09_11_04_47_COPY_01&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_e95cdc16a9-87dfb4277d-82746257>

Mr. Cohen’s planned testimony comes 13 months after the Journal first reported that Mr. Cohen paid $130,000<https://www.wsj.com/articles/trump-lawyer-arranged-130-000-payment-for-adult-film-stars-silence-1515787678?mod=article_inline> in October 2016 to former adult-film star Stephanie Clifford, known as Stormy Daniels, to buy her silence after she alleged having a sexual encounter with Mr. Trump.

In his testimony Wednesday, Mr. Cohen will provide documentation of his reimbursement for the $130,000 Clifford payment, which he received in monthly installments of $35,000 throughout 2017, the person familiar with his testimony said. Mr. Cohen intends to show the panel a signed check, the person said.

Mr. Trump signed some of the checks reimbursing Mr. Cohen, which Mr. Cohen began receiving after Mr. Trump took office, according to another person familiar with the payments….

In August Mr. Cohen implicated the Republican president in two federal crimes when he told prosecutors Mr. Trump directed hush-money payments<https://www.wsj.com/articles/donald-trump-played-central-role-in-hush-payoffs-to-stormy-daniels-and-karen-mcdougal-1541786601?mod=article_inline> during the 2016 campaign to Ms. Clifford and to former Playboy model Karen McDougal, who alleged she had an affair with Mr. Trump<https://www.wsj.com/articles/national-enquirer-shielded-donald-trump-from-playboy-models-affair-allegation-1478309380?mod=article_inline>.

The person familiar with Mr. Cohen’s anticipated testimony said Mr. Cohen would provide “evidence of criminal conduct since Mr. Trump became president,” but other than saying it involved the Clifford payment, wouldn’t offer more specifics before Wednesday’s House hearing.

The hearing would be the first time Mr. Cohen alleges that Mr. Trump committed a crime while in office. While the payments to both women were made in the weeks before the 2016 presidential election, Mr. Trump has faced questions from reporters about his possible knowledge of Mr. Cohen’s subsequent reimbursement for the Clifford payment, as well as about whether he discussed with Mr. Cohen efforts to conceal the payment after the Journal first reported its existence in January 2018.
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Posted in campaign finance<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=10>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>

Strange Bedfellows in Fight Against Ga Electronic Voting Machine Litigation<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103774>
Posted on February 26, 2019 7:24 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103774> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
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Susan Greenhalgh at SEGreenhalgh<https://twitter.com/SEGreenhalgh>

<https://twitter.com/SEGreenhalgh/status/1100526647298666501>

The GA Secretary of State is trying to ram through a bill to force GA voters to continue to vote on electronic voting machines which will cost over 3x more than using hand-marked paper ballots, a boondoggle to the vendor. Speak up #gapol<https://twitter.com/hashtag/gapol?src=hash>! via @Freedomworks<https://twitter.com/FreedomWorks> https://fwact.org/50PSMT6?utm_source=email-fw&utm_medium=act-state-ga&utm_campaign=20190226-election-security …<https://t.co/z6rVWCAfny>
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Don't Let Atlanta Lobbyists Put Election Security at Risk!<https://t.co/z6rVWCAfny>
fwact.org<https://t.co/z6rVWCAfny>

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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“U.S. Cyber Command operation disrupted Internet access of Russian troll factory on day of 2018 midterms”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103772>
Posted on February 26, 2019 7:15 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103772> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/us-cyber-command-operation-disrupted-internet-access-of-russian-troll-factory-on-day-of-2018-midterms/2019/02/26/1827fc9e-36d6-11e9-af5b-b51b7ff322e9_story.html?utm_term=.aca3aa4b7d36>

The U.S. military blocked Internet access to an infamous Russian entity seeking to sow discord among Americans during the 2018 midterms, several U.S. officials said, a warning that the Kremlin’s operations against the United States are not cost-free.

The strike on the Internet Research Agency in St. Petersburg, a company underwritten by an oligarch close to President Vladimir Putin, was part of the first offensive cyber-campaign against Russia designed to thwart attempts to interfere with a U.S. election, the officials said.

“They basically took the IRA offline,” according to one individual familiar with the matter who, like others, spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss classified information. “They shut them down.”

The operation marked the first muscle-flexing by U.S. Cyber Command, with intelligence from the National Security Agency, under new authorities it was granted by President Trump and Congress last year to bolster offensive capabilities. The president approved of the general operation to prevent Russian interference in the midterms, officials said.
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>, social media and social protests<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=58>

Wisconsin: “Tony Evers to propose nonpartisan redistricting process in budget”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103770>
Posted on February 26, 2019 1:01 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103770> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Wisconsin State Journal reports.<https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/tony-evers-to-propose-nonpartisan-redistricting-process-in-budget/article_5e6512a4-94cd-5bcf-bbcf-4459e422a1a6.html#tracking-source=home-top-story>
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Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>

Mark Harris Not Running for Election in #NC09 Redo. What Happens Next?<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103768>
Posted on February 26, 2019 11:25 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103768> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
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Rick Hasen<https://twitter.com/rickhasen>
✔@rickhasen<https://twitter.com/rickhasen>

<https://twitter.com/rickhasen/status/1100476742005776384>

There is still a chance Harris could face criminal liability in the first election.

There's also now the issue of the law passed in the #ncga<https://twitter.com/hashtag/ncga?src=hash> lame duck subjecting #nc09<https://twitter.com/hashtag/nc09?src=hash> to a new primary. Will Democrats now challenge?
<https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/1100474994218491904>
Joe Bruno<https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/1100474994218491904>
✔@JoeBrunoWSOC9<https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/1100474994218491904>

BREAKING: Mark Harris announces he will NOT run for #NC09 in the new election. Harris endorses Union County Commissioner @StonyRushing for the seat #ncpol @wsoctv<https://twitter.com/JoeBrunoWSOC9/status/1100474994218491904>

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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

“Some Noncitizens Do Wind Up Registered To Vote, But Usually Not On Purpose”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103766>
Posted on February 26, 2019 10:58 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103766> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Pam Fessler<https://www.npr.org/2019/02/26/697848417/some-noncitizens-do-wind-up-registered-to-vote-but-usually-not-on-purpose?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter> (back on the beat!) at NPR:

ince 1995, federal law has required states to offer people a chance to register to vote when they visit a local motor vehicle office.
But it turns out that Pennsylvania, like some other states, was asking that question of everyone who applied for a driver’s license or state ID card — even those showing green cards or other documents identifying them as noncitizens.
That is often confusing for immigrants who come in to get a driver’s license or ID, which noncitizens are eligible to do.
The issue remains a challenge for states, especially as President Trump and other Republicans have alleged — without providing evidence<https://www.npr.org/2018/04/05/599868312/fact-check-trump-repeats-voter-fraud-claim-about-california> — that tens of thousands, even millions, of noncitizens have illegally registered and voted in U.S. elections….

While claims of massive illegal voting by noncitizens have routinely been disproved<https://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2018/nov/16/lou-dobbs/no-evidence-many-illegal-immigrants-voted-midterm-/>, some noncitizens have ended up on the rolls, usually by accident.
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>

“Federal Judge Directs Counties to Halt Texas Voter Purge”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103764>
Posted on February 26, 2019 10:41 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103764> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

CLC<https://campaignlegal.org/press-releases/federal-judge-directs-counties-halt-texas-voter-purge>:

A federal judge in the United States District Court for the Western District of Texas said Monday that Texas counties involved in ongoing litigation may not purge registered voters or send letters demanding proof of citizenship until further order from the court. This conclusion was reached by Judge Fred Biery after a three-day evidentiary hearing in which the court heard from League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC) and Texas plaintiff Julie Hilberg, a citizen of Atascosa County, Texas who told the court the story of how she was wrongly placed on Secretary of State David Whitley’s list, despite being naturalized in 2015 after moving to Texas. CLC represents LULAC and Ms. Hilberg.
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Posted in election administration<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=18>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>

Dan Tokaji and Justin Levitt Guest Blogging March 1-9<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103762>
Posted on February 26, 2019 10:32 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103762> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

I’ve got some personal and writing commitments that will keep me mostly off the blog at the beginning of March. Dan Tokaji and then Justin Levitt will be steering the ELB ship from March 1-9. If there’s any key breaking election news, I might chime in with some analysis.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>

Mitch McConnell is Truly Shameless<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103760>
Posted on February 26, 2019 7:47 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=103760> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>
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Aaron Rupar<https://twitter.com/atrupar>
✔@atrupar<https://twitter.com/atrupar>

<https://twitter.com/atrupar/status/1100414132531060737>

On Senate floor, @senatemajldr<https://twitter.com/senatemajldr> McConnell shamelessly blames Dems for Mark Harris' election fraud in North Carolina, because Dems haven't supported voter ID laws.
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Posted in fraudulent fraud squad<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=8>, The Voting Wars<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=60>
--
Rick Hasen
Chancellor's Professor of Law and Political Science
UC Irvine School of Law
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