[EL] ELB News and Commentary 9/29/19 / Lighter blogging schedule

[Rick Hasen]

Oops that went out without the full set of posts.  Here are the rest:

“‘Worth the Investment:’ Memos Reveal the Scope and Racial Animus of GOP Gerrymandering Ambitions”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107509>
Posted on September 27, 2019 3:53 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107509> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

David Daley <https://theintercept.com/2019/09/27/gerrymandering-gop-hofeller-memos/> with the latest from the Hofeller files:

IN COURT AND IN PUBLIC, many top Republicans have denied gerrymandering gives them any advantage at all. They’ve captured state legislatures and won an edge in Congress, some have suggested, due to superior candidates, better campaigns, and natural geographic sorting<https://madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/u-s-supreme-court-decision-leaves-wisconsin-gerrymandering-case-with/article_72ef834b-e3f0-58ae-b6e2-3162db6cafa8.html> that clusters Democrats in urban areas and spreads Republicans more efficiently across the suburbs and rural America.

“The problem is not district lines; the problem is weak candidates who run poor campaigns based on bad ideas,” said Chris West, spokesperson for former Virginia Speaker of the House William Howell, in 2017<https://www.dailypress.com/news/newport-news/dp-nws-politics-gerrymandering-virginia-20170624-story.html>.
“We have better candidates, better issues and a better understanding of what our constituents want to do,” Wisconsin state Rep. Kathleen Bernier told the Wall Street Journal<https://www.wsj.com/articles/gerrymandering-a-tradition-as-old-as-the-republic-faces-a-reckoning-1506698255> in the same year.

In a trove of never before published memos and emails, however, GOP leaders come clean: Their nationwide advantage in state legislatures and Congress is built on gerrymandering. And top Republican strategists and political operatives admit to weaponizing racial data and the Voting Rights Act in order to flip the South red and tilt electoral maps in their direction.

Those are among the revelations from over 70,000 documents, maps, and emails<https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/the-secret-files-of-the-master-of-modern-republican-gerrymandering>, obtained by The Intercept, that were culled from the hard drive backups of the late redistricting mastermind Thomas Hofeller. Though the exact purpose or destination — and sometimes even the author — of each memo is not always clear, the thinking revealed in the documents and drafts is illuminating. Some appear to be regular updates for Republican leadership, top stakeholders, and key donors.
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Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>, Voting Rights Act<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=15>


“Senator Portman, What Would It Take to Remove the President from Office?; How different, in principle, would it be if the President had asked a foreign government to cyberattack the 2020 campaign?”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107507>
Posted on September 27, 2019 3:29 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107507> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Ned Foley <https://medium.com/@Nedfoley/senator-portman-what-would-it-take-to-remove-the-president-from-office-adfd3ca44bd8> at Medium.
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Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


I’ll Be Speaking October 22 at Orange County Bar Association Dinner Honoring Ted Boutrous for His First Amendment Work<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107505>
Posted on September 27, 2019 3:21 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107505> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

The other speaker will be Fifth Circuit Judge James Ho. I’ll be talking about Cheap Speech<https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3017598> (and What It Has Done to American Democracy). Join us!<https://www.ocbar.org/Calendar/Event-Detail/sessionaltcd/APP2019>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Common Cause files objection against new NC House districts adopted by legislature, asks court to redraw districts in question”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107503>
Posted on September 27, 2019 3:18 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107503> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Release.<https://www.commoncause.org/press-release/common-cause-files-objection-against-new-nc-house-districts-adopted-by-legislature-asks-court-to-redraw-districts-in-question/>
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Posted in redistricting<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=6>


From: Law-election <law-election-bounces at department-lists.uci.edu> on behalf of Rick Hasen <rhasen at law.uci.edu>
Date: Sunday, September 29, 2019 at 1:29 PM
To: Election Law Listserv <law-election at uci.edu>
Subject: [EL] ELB News and Commentary 9/29/19 / Lighter blogging schedule


Lighter Blogging the Next Few Weeks<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107517>
Posted on September 28, 2019 6:42 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107517> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

A combination of personal and professional obligations will cut into blogging time over the next few weeks. Those who receive daily emails from me via the Election Law Listserv will find them somewhat less frequently.

Thanks for your patience.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Silicon Valley billionaire Thiel invests in Kobach, Hawley and rise of nationalism”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107525>
Posted on September 29, 2019 1:26 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107525> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

KC Star:<https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article235516452.html>

Silicon Valley billionaire Peter Thiel, who believes Google should be investigated for treason and once wrote that American democracy has been in decline since women won the right to vote, is investing heavily in two of the Kansas City region’s most ambitious political startups.

Thiel steered six figures into a dark money group that backed Republican Kris Kobach’s failed campaign for Kansas governor, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter.

And now that Kobach is running for U.S. Senate,<https://www.kansascity.com/news/politics-government/article232407992.html> the PayPal co-founder is upfront about his financial support. Last week at his New York City apartment<https://www.mediaite.com/politics/pictures-peter-thiel-held-fundraiser-for-kris-kobach-at-manhattan-apartment-featuring-ann-coulter/>, Thiel and conservative pundit Ann Coulter co-hosted a fundraiser for the former Kansas secretary of state.

He also donated $300,000 to Missouri Republican<https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article184796788.html> Josh Hawley’s 2016 campaign for Missouri attorney general and $5,400, the maximum allowed under federal law, <https://www.kansascity.com/news/local/news-columns-blogs/the-buzz/article199723414.html> toward his successful 2018 run for U.S. Senate.<https://www.mcclatchydc.com/news/politics-government/election/midterms/article221170485.html>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Federal Election Commissioner Posts Foreign Interference Memo on Twitter”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107523>
Posted on September 29, 2019 1:22 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107523> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

NYT:<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/29/us/fec-chairwoman-twitter-memo.html>

The Federal Election Commission chairwoman, Ellen L. Weintraub, on Friday took the dramatic step of using Twitter to release the entire draft of a memo addressing foreign election interference<https://twitter.com/EllenLWeintraub/status/1177719828632739842> after its disputed publication in the agency’s weekly digest.
Ms. Weintraub, a Democrat appointed by President George W. Bush, said a Republican commission member, Caroline Hunter, had thwarted the release of the memo and the digest, so she self-published the materials in a tweet storm that drew widespread attention to the tensions on the commission.
Ms. Weintraub said on Sunday that the memo<https://www.fec.gov/resources/cms-content/documents/mtgdoc_19-41-A.pdf>, which can also be found on the agency’s website, was drafted by the commission’s staff and was meant to provide guidance on rules about prohibited activities involving foreign nationals in elections.
She said it was unusual for another commissioner to object to publishing it in the digest, a weekly account of fines meted out by the agency for campaign finance law violations and other regulatory matters.
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Impeachment Battle to Turn for First Time on a President’s Ties to a Foreign Country”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107521>
Posted on September 29, 2019 1:17 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107521> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Peter Baker<https://www.nytimes.com/2019/09/28/us/politics/impeachment-foreign-influence.html> for the NYT:

The emerging battle over the future of Mr. Trump’s presidency will explore as never before the scope and limits of a commander in chief’s interactions with other countries. His adversaries echo the fears of the founders in accusing Mr. Trump of committing high crimes by pressuring Ukraine to dig up dirt on Democratic opponents while holding up American aid. Mr. Trump contends that impeaching him would infringe on the ability of future presidents to conduct foreign policy.

Unlike the impeachment battles involving Andrew Johnson, Richard M. Nixon and Bill Clinton, the debate over Mr. Trump turns on whether a president can solicit or accept help from abroad to advance his political fortunes and where lies the line between the national interest and personal interests.
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Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


Here’s the Full Meet the Press Daily Segment Where I Discussed Ukraine/Campaign Finance/Election Interference/Impeachment with Chuck Todd<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107519>
Posted on September 28, 2019 9:33 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107519> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Watch.<https://www.msnbc.com/mtp-daily/watch/did-president-trump-s-call-with-zelensky-violate-campaign-finance-law-70117445635>
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Posted in campaigns<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=59>, chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>



“Researchers Assembled over 100 Voting Machines. Hackers Broke Into Every Single One.”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107515>
Posted on September 28, 2019 6:40 am<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107515> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

Mother Jones reports.<https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2019/09/defcon-2019-hacking-village/>
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Posted in Uncategorized<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=1>


“Trump told Russian officials in 2017 he wasn’t concerned about Moscow’s interference in U.S. election”<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107513>
Posted on September 27, 2019 7:53 pm<https://electionlawblog.org/?p=107513> by Rick Hasen<https://electionlawblog.org/?author=3>

WaPo:<https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-told-russian-officials-in-2017-he-wasnt-concerned-about-moscows-interference-in-us-election/2019/09/27/b20a8bc8-e159-11e9-b199-f638bf2c340f_story.html>

President Trump told two senior Russian officials in a 2017 Oval Office meeting that he was unconcerned about Moscow’s interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential election because the United States did the same in other countries, an assertion that prompted alarmed White House officials to limit access to the remarks to an unusually small number of people, according to three former officials with knowledge of the matter.

The comments, which have not been previously reported, were part of a now-infamous meeting <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/trump-revealed-highly-classified-information-to-russian-foreign-minister-and-ambassador/2017/05/15/530c172a-3960-11e7-9e48-c4f199710b69_story.html> with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak, in which Trump revealed highly classified information that exposed a source of intelligence on the Islamic State. He also said during the meeting that firing FBI Director James B. Comey the previous day had relieved “great pressure<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/19/us/politics/trump-russia-comey.html>” on him.

A memorandum summarizing the meeting was limited to all but a few officials with the highest security clearances in an attempt to keep the president’s comments from being disclosed publicly, according to the former officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive matters….

White House officials were particularly distressed by Trump’s election remarks because it appeared the president was forgiving Russia for an attack that had been designed to help elect him, the three former officials said. Trump also seemed to invite Russia to interfere in other countries’ elections, they said.

The previous day, Trump had fired Comey amid the FBI’s investigation into whether the Trump campaign had coordinated with Russia. White House aides worried about the political ramifications if Trump’s comments to the Russian officials became public.
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Posted in chicanery<https://electionlawblog.org/?cat=12>


--
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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