The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee recently obtained an email addressed to former IRS official Lois Lerner sent from Election Crimes Branch Director Richard Pilger at the Justice Department. The email addressed to Lerner stated that, “I have been asked to run something by you.” During the Committee’s investigation, Public Integrity Section Chief Jack Smith told investigators that officials at the Justice Department discussed targeting conservative nonprofit groups with Lerner as early as October 2010. The Committee reasons that, “[w]hile we knew that the Justice Department engaged with the IRS in May 2013 to consider prosecution of political active nonprofits, we were shocked to learn that this engagement started in October 2010.”

In the wake of McCutcheon v. FEC, Democratic Senator Tom Udall has proposed a constitutional amendment in S.J. Res 19. The so-called Political Equality Amendment would vest Congress with the power to regulate election fundraising, contribution caps, and campaign spending as they see fit. The text of the proposed Amendment reads: 

On Tuesday, the White House indicated that it will comply with a Second Circuit decision and publicly release a copy of the secret legal memo authorizing the killing of American citizens overseas with drone strikes. This news comes on the heels of the looming confirmation vote for First Circuit Court of Appeals nominee David Barron. As discussed in an earlier post, this memo was authored by Mr. Barron. After it became clear that withholding this memo would likely cost Barron his confirmation, the White House is attempting to sway hesitant Democratic senators by producing the document. However, Barron must still jump the hurdle of the content of this memo.

Attorney General Eric Holder will hold a press conference today in Washington to announce major law enforcement action. Interestingly, a bold notice appears at the bottom of the press release for this event reading:

David Barron’s appointment to the First Circuit Court of Appeals is detrimental to the integrity of the judiciary for three reasons. First, during his time with the Justice Department, Barron wrote the opinion justifying the drone killing of an American Citizen without due process, Anwar al-Awlaki. Second, he has long advocated for the courts to be used to justify the expansion of government regulatory authority. Third, both Republican and Democratic Senators oppose his nomination.

Tennessee officials have uncovered clear evidence of voter fraud so significant that they may refuse to certify the election. The fraudulent voters had already cast their absentee ballots before they also decided to appear at the polls on Election Day. The election worker for Davidson County was fired in the wake of this revelation, and Tennessee Election Commissioner Mark Goins has recommended referring the fraudulent voters to prosecutors.

Ask noted election law professor Rick Hasen about political corruption and he might tell you a story. On the day McCutcheon v. FEC came out, he spoke at a California legal luncheon. When he quoted the Citizens United majority’s definition of political corruption (or its appearance), the audience laughed it up.  

          Distinguished committee members, thank you for the opportunity to address you regarding data in elections. I am a former Virginia election official and co-author and Editor of a recent report from the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA) reviewing  the Presidential Commission on Election Administration’s (PCEA) report and providing additional suggestions to improve election administration in the United States.

The Republican National Lawyers Association joined a coalition of groups in opposing David Barron to be a judge on the First Circuit.  Barron’s nomination has drawn widespread criticism from the left (ACLU) and right-of-center groups.  An excerpt from the letter:

At the RNC meeting in Memphis last week, RNC General Counsel, RNC Committeeman from Tennessee, and RNLA Vice Chair John Ryder made a successful amendment to the RNC rules for the party to take control of the Republican Presidential Debate process in 2016: