September 6, 2024 •
News You Can Use Digest – September 6, 2024
National/Federal
Courtroom Clash in Trump’s Election Interference Case as the Judge Ponders the Path Ahead
Associated Press News – Eric Tucker, Alanna Durkin Richer, and Michael Kunzelman | Published: 9/5/2024
In the first court hearing in nearly a year, a lawyer for Donald Trump clashed with the judge in the federal election interference prosecution of the former president after suggesting the government was rushing forward with an “illegitimate” indictment at the height of the White House campaign. Prosecutors and defense lawyers are bitterly at odds over the next steps in the case after the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of the prosecution by ruling former presidents are entitled to broad immunity from criminal charges.
Iran Emerges as a Top Disinformation Threat in U.S. Presidential Race
DNyuz – Steven Lee Myers, Tiffany Hsu, and Faranz Fassihi (New York Times) | Published: 9/4/2024
American officials and tech company analysts say Iran is waging an intensifying campaign to sway this year’s American presidential election. Iran has long carried out clandestine information operations against its adversaries, especially Israel, Saudi Arabia, and the United States, but until now most of its activities were conducted under the shadow of similar campaigns by Russia and China. Its latest propaganda and disinformation efforts have grown more brazen, more varied, and more ambitious, according to the U.S. government, company officials, and Iran experts.
Republicans Seize on False Theories About Immigrant Voting
DNyuz – Alexandra Berzon (New York Times) | Published: 9/5/2024
There is no indication that noncitizens are voting in large numbers. Yet the notion they will flood the polls, and vote overwhelmingly for Democrats, is animating a network of Republicans who mobilized around Donald Trump’s false claims of a rigged election in 2020 and are now preparing for the next one. Activists, prominent lawyers, Republican lawmakers, right-wing influencers, and other Trump allies have pressed for voter roll purges, filed lawsuits, prepared for on-the-ground monitoring of polling places, and spread misinformation online.
Whistle-Blower Groups Push to End Secret Seizure of Congressional Communications
DNyuz – Luke Broadwater (New York Times) | Published: 8/31/2024
As President Trump hunted for people inside the government who were divulging details of an investigation into whether his 2016 election campaign colluded with Russia, the Justice Department turned to a covert tactic. Department officials secretly collected the phone and email records of roughly a dozen people connected to Congress, including lawmakers and aides who routinely deal with anonymous whistleblowers, to see who might be coming forward with confidential information. Now, whistleblower advocacy groups hope to shame the agency into ending the practice of secretly collecting congressional communications records.
GOP Network Props Up Liberal Third-Party Candidates in Key States, Hoping to Siphon Off Harris Votes
MSN – Brian Slodysko and Dan Merica (Associated Press) | Published: 9/1/2024
Across the country, a network of Republican political operatives, lawyers, and their allies is trying to shape November’s election in ways that favor Donald Trump. Their goal is to prop up third-party candidates such as Cornell West who offer liberal voters an alternative that could siphon away support from Vice President Kamala Harris. It is not clear who is paying for the effort, but it could be impactful in states that were decided by miniscule margins in the 2020 election won by Joe Biden.
13-Month Sentence for Man Who Made 12,000 Harassing Calls to Congress Members
MSN – Spencer Hsu (Washington Post) | Published: 9/3/2024
Ade Lilly was sentenced to 13 months in prison for making more than 12,000 harassing phone calls to members of Congress over an 18-month period and threatening to kill a congressional aide. Addressing the defense’s argument that Lilly was motivated by childhood tragedy and a zealous belief lawmakers must do more for the nation’s young people, U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Kelly said, “it is easy to see” how his offense might be the result of “good intentions gone wrong.”
MSN – Andy Kroll (ProPublica) and Nick Surgery (Documented) | Published: 9/4/2024
Ginni Thomas, the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, privately heaped praise on a major religious-rights group for fighting efforts to reform the nation’s highest court – efforts sparked, in large part, by her husband’s ethical lapses. Ginni Thomas expressed her appreciation in an email sent to Kelly Shackelford, an influential litigator whose clients have won cases at the Supreme Court. Shackelford runs the First Liberty Institute. It came shortly after President Biden announced support for a slate of reforms for the high court.
Convicted Fraudsters Launch AI Lobbying Firm Using Fake Names
Yahoo News – Daniel Lippman (Politico) | Published: 9/2/2024
A K Street startup pitched as a service to integrate AI into lobbying is covertly run by a pair of well-known, far-right conspiracy theorists and convicted felons who are using pseudonyms in their new business, according to four former employees and other evidence. LobbyMatic was founded last year by Jacob Wohl, who in 2022 was convicted along with his longtime associate Jack Burkman of fraud after running a robocall campaign in largely Black neighborhoods in several states telling people not to vote by mail. LobbyMatic, whose website does not list any company leadership, temporarily signed up at least three brand-name clients.
From the States and Municipalities
Arizona – She Was Arrested After Speaking at a City Meeting. Now She’s Suing.
MSN – Praveena Somasundaram (Washington Post) | Published: 9/4/2024
An Arizona woman is suing the city of Surprise for arresting and charging her with trespassing during a recent city council meeting after she criticized the city attorney’s proposed pay raise. Mayor Skip Hall interrupted Rebekah Massie’s remarks, accusing her of “attacking the city attorney personally” and violating a council policy. Her lawsuit requests that a judge order the city to halt a policy that stipulates comments during council meetings “may not be used to lodge charges or complaints against” public officials.
California – Mayor Breed Orders Increased Scrutiny of San Francisco Contract Work, Grantees
KQED – Sydney Johnson | Published: 9/3/2024
City contractors and grant recipients will face tighter scrutiny to receive public dollars, according to a directive from San Francisco Mayor London Breed. The order, which is effective immediately, comes after numerous scandals. Breed also announced legislation to support her directive that would require contractors to keep separate accounts for political activities and prevent them from using city funds or lobbying officials.
California – While an Orange County Supervisor Was Under Scrutiny, His Daughter Interned with County Prosecutors
MSN – Salvador Hernandez (Los Angeles Times) | Published: 8/29/2024
Within weeks of it being revealed that Orange County Supervisor Andrew Do directed millions of dollars in contracts to a nonprofit without disclosing a link to his daughter, a scandal that sparked a lawsuit and a possible federal probe, his daughter began working as an intern for the county’s top prosecutor. Two county supervisors said they were unaware of Rhiannon Do’s stint at the district attorney’s office while county officials considered a lawsuit against Viet America Society, a nonprofit that once listed the supervisor’s daughter as its president, and asked for local and federal officials to step in.
California – Anaheim Hires City’s First Ethics Officer
Orange County Register – Michael Slaten | Published: 9/3/2024
Anaheim has hired its first ethics officer. Artin Berjikly will be the assistant city attorney-ethics officer, leading a new ethics division. Berjikly will report to the city attorney and provide legal expertise on ethical issues, campaign finance laws, conflict-of-interest rules, and the city’s lobbying laws.
Florida – Activists Charged with Pushing Russian Propaganda Go on Trial in Florida
WLRN – Patricia Mazzei (New York Times) | Published: 9/3/2024
Experts say a trial in Florida offers a rare glimpse into how Russia has tried to secretly influence American politics. Prosecutors say Russia sought out a sympathetic group in the U.S., invited its leader to visit Moscow, and established a long-term relationship. The group then promoted Russian views on its website, social media accounts, and radio station. Four Americans face charges they conspired to have other U.S. citizens act as illegal agents of the Russian government or acted as unregistered Russian agents themselves.
Florida – Miami Lakes Sues Law Firm Over Role in FBI Corruption Sting That Led to Mayor’s Arrest
Yahoo News – Catherine Odom (Miami Herald) | Published: 8/29/2024
Miami Lakes is suing a law firm over its involvement in an FBI sting operation that led to the arrest of the town’s mayor in 2013. The suit is seeking more than $5 million in damages over the role of Richard Candia, who was an employee at the law firm Becker & Poliakoff, in the FBI operation. Candia was party to an alleged corruption scheme involving then-Mayor Michael Pizzi and later became an FBI informant. Miami Lakes is suing the firm, which was under contract to provide lobbying and consulting services to the town, for negligence, as well as breach of contract and fiduciary duties.
Iowa – Iowa Lieutenant Governor Resigns to Take Over State Lobby Group Representing Bankers
MSN – Hannah Fingerhut (Associated Press) | Published: 9/3/2024
Lt. Gov. Adam Gregg resigned to take the helm of the Iowa Bankers Association. The association advocates for its members with state and local governments and has been led for 28 years by John Sorensen, who is stepping down this year. Sorensen was registered as a lobbyist for the current General Assembly, but Iowa law specifies a statewide elected official “shall not within two years after the termination of service or employment become a lobbyist.”
Louisiana – Shreveport Lawmaker Fought Ethics Board for Years Before Authoring New Ethics Laws
Yahoo News – Julie O’Donoghue (Louisiana Illuminator) | Published: 8/29/2024
The first two bills state Rep. Steven Jackson authored had an unusual target for a new lawmaker: Louisiana’s Board of Ethics. His interest in restricting the board’s activities follows five years of angry exchanges between Jackson and ethics staff over financial penalties he has accrued while running for office. Since his first race for the Caddo Parish Commission in 2015, Jackson has racked up $10,080 in late fees after failing to file or improperly submitting 12 campaign finance and personal disclosure reports.
Maine – Maine Utilities Will Be Banned from Spending Ratepayer Money on Lobbying, Advertising
Yahoo News – Stephen Singer (Portland Press Herald) | Published: 9/4/2024
Maine regulators announced they will draft rules that prohibit utilities from billing ratepayers for spending on advertising, lobbying, and political expenses and require spending disclosures to the state. Legislation passed last year bars utilities from passing on expenses for contributions or gifts to candidates, political parties, and political or legislative committees; to a trade association, chamber of commerce, or public charity; for lobbying or grassroots lobbying; or for educational expenses, unless approved by the Public Utilities Commission.
Montana – Tim Sheehy Was Recorded Using Racist Stereotypes About Native Americans
Seattle Times – Kellen Browning (New York Times) | Published: 9/3/2024
Tim Sheehy, the Republican nominee for U.S. Senate in Montana, made comments perpetuating racist stereotypes about Native Americans during private fundraisers last year, according to recordings of the events. In one recording, Sheehy can be heard saying he had participated in roping and branding cattle on the Crow Reservation, and it was “a great way to bond with all the Indians out there, while they’re drunk at 8 a.m.”
New Hampshire – Ex-Biden Official in NH Primary Raises Questions with ‘Bizarre’ Financial Disclosure
MSN – Taylor Giorno (The Hill) | Published: 8/30/2024
Maggie Goodlander, a candidate in the Democratic primary in New Hampshire for retiring U.S. Rep. Annie Kuster’s seat, filed a personal financial disclosure that has raised questions over the actual value of sizable assets she holds. The disclosure puzzled experts because it lists the value of multiple easily verifiable assets as “undetermined,” including checking, retirement, and investment accounts, and several properties or pieces of land, even those the report indicates are currently for sale.
New Mexico – The New Mexico Project Ordered to Disclose Donors, Campaign Expenditures
Yahoo News – Colleen Held (Albuquerque Journal) | Published: 8/29/2024
A state judge ordered a dark money group that paid for political advertising in support of legislative candidates in New Mexico earlier this year to disclose the sources of its funding and its spending by September 9. Judge Joshua Allison ruled the New Mexico Project meets the definition of “political committee” and must comply with the state’s campaign finance law. The state Ethics Commission based its case partly on statements the group’s founder made on talk radio, social media, and in radio advertisements.
New York – Former Aide to N.Y. Governors Charged with Secretly Helping China
MSN – Devlin Barrett (Washington Post) | Published: 9/3/2024
Linda Sun, a former deputy chief of staff to New York Gov. Kathy Hochul, was accused of trading on her connections to act as an undisclosed agent of the Chinese government. Federal prosecutors also indicted Sun’s husband, Chris Hu, for allegedly illegal conduct dating back to her time as an aide to Gov. Andrew Cuomo. Sun was accused of using her influence as a top aide to both governors to shape state policy toward China and Taiwan. U.S. Attorney Breon Peace said the couple’s scheme made them millions of dollars.
New York – Federal Judge Rejects Donald Trump’s Request to Intervene in Wake of Hush Money Conviction
MSN – Michael Sisak (Associated Press) | Published: 9/3/2024
A federal judge rejected Donald Trump’s request to intervene in his New York hush money criminal case, spurning the former president’s attempt at an end-run around the state court where he was convicted and is set to be sentenced on September 18. U.S. District Court Judge Alvin Hellerstein’s ruling – just hours after Trump’s lawyers asked him to weigh the move – upends Trump’s plan to move the case to federal court so he could seek to have his conviction overturned in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s presidential immunity ruling.
North Carolina – In North Carolina, the Math for a Supermajority May Come Down to One
DNyuz – David Chen (New York Times) | Published: 8/31/2024
This fall, as Democrats and Republicans vie for control of state Legislatures across the country, much of the attention has focused on states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Arizona, where one or two seats could tip the balance. But in a handful of states, the Legislature is dominated by one party, while the governor’s office is held by another. In those states, an effort is underway to either preserve an existing supermajority, which confers the ability to override a governor’s veto, or to break it. Nowhere has the battle been more magnified than in North Carolina.
Ohio – Federal Judge Blocks Ohio’s Ban on Foreign Political Donations
Ohio Capital Journal – Morgan Trau (WEWS) | Published: 9/3/2024
A federal judge blocked Ohio’s new law limiting who can participate in the political process just hours before it was set to go into effect. The controversial legislation would have prevented lawful permanent residents, known as green card holders, from making contributions or expenditures regarding ballot issues or candidates. It would also prevent campaigns from accepting donations from them.
Oklahoma – Oklahoma’s Election Laws Inhibit Voter Participation, Create More Extreme Candidates, Experts Say
Oklahoma Voice – Emma Murphy | Published: 8/30/2024
Oklahoma’s voting system is leading to low turnout rates, the election of more extreme candidates, and disenfranchisement of voters who are excluded from participating in primary elections, experts said. That is prompting conversations about whether reforms are needed to increase voter participation rates and how the state can ensure hundreds of thousands of independent voters have a voice at the ballot box at a time when most outcomes are determined months ahead of November’s general election.
Pennsylvania – A Court Just Told Pa. Not to Reject Mail Ballots Missing Handwritten Dates. The Case Isn’t Over Yet.
Spotlight PA – Carter Walker (Votebeat) | Published: 8/30/2024
Not counting a voter’s mail ballot because they failed to properly date the return envelope violates their rights under the state constitution, a Pennsylvania appellate court ruled. “The refusal to count undated or incorrectly dated but timely mail ballots submitted by otherwise eligible voters because of meaningless and inconsequential paperwork errors violates the fundamental right to vote recognized in the free and equal elections clause,” Judge Ellen Ceisler wrote for the majority, referring to a provision in the state constitution. Republicans said they would immediately appeal the ruling to the Pennsylvania Supreme Court.
Tennessee – Tennessee Education Commissioner Remains Under the Microscope
Yahoo News – Sam Stockard (Tennesse Lookout) | Published: 9/5/2024
Tennessee lawmakers have been scrutinizing state Education Commissioner Lizzette Reynolds almost since she took the post in 2023 to push the governor’s private-school voucher plan, and some want to take an even closer look at her administration. Reynolds has been dogged by revelations that she did not meet state requirements to hold the education commissioner position. A complaint was filed about trips Reynolds took to two out-of-state education conferences paid for by her former employer, the pro-voucher group ExcelInEd, which hires a lobbyist to work on education issues in Tennessee.
Texas – Paxton’s Election Fraud Charges Upend Lives but Result in Few Convictions
MSN – Arelis Hernández and Molly Hennessy-Fiske (Washington Post) | Published: 9/2/2024
Leticia Sanchez was an activist in her majority-Latino community helping register people to vote before she was arrested in 2018. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton accused her and three other Hispanic women of forming an “organized voter fraud ring” that targeted elderly voters by applying for mail-in ballots they had not requested. Five years later, the case was dismissed by the state’s highest criminal court. The case fits a pattern that has emerged in Texas under Paxton: aggressive prosecutions for alleged election fraud crimes that upend lives but result in few cases that go to trial and end in a conviction.
Texas – Top Harris County Health Official Fired after Chronicle Investigation into $6 Million Contract
MSN – Mike Morris (Houston Chronicle) | Published: 8/30/2024
Harris County Public Health Executive Director Barbie Robinson was fired amid a scandal over her department’s hiring of an embattled California consulting company for a lucrative contract. Records showed Robinson arranged for DEMA Consulting & Management to run two county COVID-19 testing and vaccination sites two months after she was named executive director in 2021. Then DEMA won a bigger, more competitive public health contract. Several email exchanges during the county’s procurement process for the second contract suggested possible conflicts-of-interest.
Salt Lake Tribune – Robert Gehrke (Sal Lake Tribune) | Published: 9/4/2024
Groups opposing a constitutional amendment that will ensure the Utah Legislature can repeal or amend any future ballot initiative are outraged by the way the issue will be presented on voters’ ballots in November. The question put before voters is whether to prohibit “foreign influence” on ballot initiatives and “clarifying the voters and legislative bodies’ ability to amend laws.” Opponents contend the description of the amendment “clarifying” the power of voters minimizes what they say is a power grab by the Legislature that would strip voters of their constitutional right to run ballot initiatives.
Vermont – House Ethics Panel Provided ‘Restorative Justice’ Response to Legislator’s Bag-Soaking Scheme
VTDigger.org – Sarah Mearhoff | Published: 8/29/2024
After investigating accusations that a state representative repeatedly bullied a colleague throughout the 2024 legislative session by secretly pouring water into his tote bag, the Vermont House Ethics Panel initiated a “restorative justice process as a response.” Rep. Jim Carroll, the target of the bullying, and Rep. Mary Morrissey, who admitted to the acts, said they met with the panel throughout this summer to discuss the incidents. A statement said Morrissey “is committed to making amends, including activities that encourage the development and strengthening of collaborative and positive relationships within the legislative community.”
Washington – Group Behind State Initiatives Accused of Violating State Anti-Corruption Laws with Discount Gas, Burgers
Spokane Spokesman-Review – Emry Dinman | Published: 9/4/2024
Let’s Go Washington was accused of illegally trying to sway voters to support four initiatives the group backs with offers of discount gas and burgers. The complaint filed with the state Public Disclosure Commission alleges Let’s Go Washington’s offer of cheaper gas, and in one case food during promotional events for the four initiatives, ran afoul of the state’s anti-corruption and anti-bribery laws.
State and Federal Communications, Inc. provides research and consulting services for government relations professionals on lobbying laws, procurement lobbying laws, political contribution laws in the United States and Canada. Learn more by visiting stateandfed.com.
