August 9, 2023

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The Courts

Washington Examiner: FEC agrees to pay NRA $25,000 for hiding key documents

By Paul Bedard

.....The Federal Election Commission agreed today to pay $25,000 to the National Rifle Association for hiding documents critical to the gun lobby’s effort to defend itself in a costly election lawsuit.

The embarrassing agreement will cover the costs NRA lawyers spent in its Freedom of Information Act suit against the FEC.

The fee follows a recent FEC decision to cough up thousands of pages that the election agency was withholding from the NRA about internal votes and other action on claims the gun group was engaged in wrongful election spending.

The agency deadlocked on charges brought by the Gabby Giffords anti-gun group against the NRA, but it also never disclosed its actions and kept the case open, making it appear to some outsiders like it didn’t take action when it had.

Buckeye Institute: The Buckeye Institute Urges Court Uphold Injunction While Free Speech Case Is Heard

.....On Monday, The Buckeye Institute filed its second amicus brief in Missouri v. Biden. This one urging the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit to uphold a preliminary injunction—that forbids the Biden Administration from “jawboning” social media companies to censor viewpoints the government does not agree with—until the case is resolved...

In this brief, The Buckeye Institute highlights several examples going back to World War II, when the federal government provided the American public with information only to find later that the government’s initial assessment was, in fact, wrong.

Center Square (Texas): Lawsuit alleges gag order, impeachment rules violate First, Fourteenth Amendments

By Bethany Blankley

.....Another lawsuit has been filed alleging two Senate impeachment rules and a July 17 gag order violate the First and Fourteenth Amendments to the U.S. Constitution...

The rules and gag order prohibit senators from interacting with their constituents, “effectively silencing the voice of all Texans in this historic process,” the federal complaint states.

FEC

Washington Post (Technology 202): Daybook

By Cristiano Lima

.....The Federal Election Commission considers a petition to clarify AI usage in election campaigns on Thursday at 10:30 a.m.

Insider: FEC Commissioner Trey Trainor cleared of ethics violation after Insider reporting spurred investigation

By Madison Hall

.....The Federal Election Commission's Office of the Inspector General found on Monday that Commissioner Trey Trainor did not commit any ethics violations after he participated in an "election integrity" event where he was labeled as a member of the "Trump Elections Team."

In 2022, Insider reported that Trainor, who was previously appointed to the commission by President Donald Trump, was billed as a member of Trump's team in a Facebook post by the Denton County Republican Party.

Nonprofits

Wall Street Journal: ‘Fix the Court’ Should Fix Itself

By The Editorial Board

.....It would be nice if the progressives attacking Supreme Court Justices for alleged ethical lapses practiced what that they preach. Consider the outfit Fix the Court, which is working with Democrats to pass ethics and disclosure rules for Justices while ignoring a requirement to disclose its own lobbying.

New York Times: A Global Web of Chinese Propaganda Leads to a U.S. Tech Mogul

By Mara Hvistendahl, David A. Fahrenthold, Lynsey Chutel and Ishaan Jhaveri

.....On the surface, No Cold War is a loose collective run mostly by American and British activists who say the West’s rhetoric against China has distracted from issues like climate change and racial injustice.

In fact, a New York Times investigation found, it is part of a lavishly funded influence campaign that defends China and pushes its propaganda. At the center is a charismatic American millionaire, Neville Roy Singham, who is known as a socialist benefactor of far-left causes.

What is less known, and is hidden amid a tangle of nonprofit groups and shell companies, is that Mr. Singham works closely with the Chinese government media machine and is financing its propaganda worldwide.

Political Parties

Reason: Hollow Major Parties Preside Over a Politics of 'Fear and Loathing'

By J.D. Tuccille

.....A year and a bit before a political contest that, we're told, will be yet another "most important election ever," the Colorado Republican Party is broke. So is the Minnesota GOP. Michigan Republicans have some money in the bank after being bust earlier this year. It would be a moment for Democrats to celebrate if they weren't so busy trying to gin up enthusiasm and donations among their own tepid supporters—perhaps enough to fund their efforts in next year's campaigns.

The fact is that America's major parties are hollow shells of their former selves, propped up by a few diehards, a lot of loony personality cultists, and a fair amount of inertia. In most countries, where political parties come and go, you'd assume they'll soon fade away to be replaced by…something. And maybe they will—though by what is unclear.

The States

Colorado Politics: Lawsuit challenges required language description of Colorado ballot measures

By Marianne Goodland

.....A state law proponents say will provide more transparency in ballot measures that raise or lower taxes has earned a legal challenge in Denver District Court.

Advance Colorado Institute filed the lawsuit Monday against House Bill 21-1321, which added requirements to the language in a ballot measure's title. The conservative group claims the measure is violating people's First Amendment rights…

HB 1321 required measures that reduce state tax revenue through a tax change to include specific language, spelled out in the law: "Shall there be a reduction to [a tax] by [a percentage], thereby reducing state revenue." The ballot title could identify up to the three largest program expenditures that would be affected by the change. Similar language is required for measures that deal with property taxes.

The lawsuit, which names Gov. Jared Polis and Secretary of State Jena Griswold as defendants, refers to the change as "poison pill language" that violates the plaintiffs “First Amendment right to present their message undiluted by views they [do] not share.”

That's a quote from the 303 Creative LLC v. Elenis case recently decided by the U.S. Supreme Court.

Arizona Capitol Times: Petersen and Toma in court filing aim to quash Prop 211

By Howard Fischer

.....With efforts by one set of foes already rebuffed, the state’s top Republican lawmakers are making their own bid to quash a new state law designed to shine a light on “dark money.”

In a new court filing, Senate President Warren Petersen and House Speaker Ben Toma contend that Proposition 211 infringes on the constitutional right of the Legislature to make laws. Now they want Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Frank Moskowitz to override what voters approved just last year.

The new litigation comes less than two months after a different Maricopa judge tossed out a challenge filed by the Arizona Free Enterprise Club and the Center for Arizona Policy. Scott McCoy rejected their claims that the requirements of the law to disclose the true identity of those who spend money to affect candidate races and ballot measures violates the rights of donors.

A separate challenge is pending in federal court where Americans for Prosperity, a conservative advocacy group founded by the Koch brothers, contends Proposition 211 results in “government doxxing” of those who contribute to political groups. No ruling has been made in that case.

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