The Courts
The City: How Brian Benjamin and a Campaign Donor Attempted a Taxpayer-Funded Gift Swap
By Greg B. Smith
The paper trail leading to the indictment of Brian Benjamin and his resignation Tuesday as lieutenant governor shows an alleged scheme years in the making — including many details first reported by THE CITY based on campaign finance filings in his run last year for city comptroller.
And it paints a portrait of two Harlem players seeking to advance their mutual interests with the help of government money…
Migdol is himself under federal indictment in connection with contributions prosecutors allege he made to the campaign through other individuals after Benjamin urged him to deliver small contributions to maximize public matching dollars.
Nonprofits
Washington Examiner: BLM co-founder: Charity transparency laws are ‘triggering’
By Andrew Kerr
Laws that require charities to disclose their finances and activities to the public endanger the lives of activists, Black Lives Matter co-founder Patrisse Cullors said at a recent event…
Cullors said activists suffer trauma and that their lives are put at risk when charities under their control are required to disclose publicly what they did with their tax-deductible donations.
“This doesn’t seem safe for us, this 990 structure — this nonprofit system structure,” Cullors said. “This is, like, deeply unsafe. This is being literally weaponized against us, against the people we work with.” …
“People’s morale in an organization is so important. But if their organization and the people in it are being attacked and scrutinized at everything they do, that leads to deep burnout. that leads to deep, like, resistance and trauma,” Cullors said.
Online Speech Platforms
Washington Post: Elon Musk launches hostile takeover bid of Twitter
By Aaron Gregg
Elon Musk has launched a hostile takeover bid of Twitter — promising to unlock its “extraordinary potential” as a private company — in the latest twist in a stunning multiweek saga.
In a securities filing dated Wednesday, the billionaire tech CEO proposed $54.20 a share for the social media giant, calling it his “best and final offer. If it is not accepted, he added, “I would need to reconsider my position as a shareholder.”
In a letter addressed to Twitter Chairman Bret Taylor, Musk said he invested in the company because of its “potential to be the platform for free speech around the globe.” Free speech is a “societal imperative for a functioning democracy,” he added.
“However, since making my investment I now realize the company will neither thrive nor serve this societal imperative in its current form. Twitter needs to be transformed as a private company.”
Glenn Greenwald: Western Dissent from US/NATO Policy on Ukraine is Small, Yet the Censorship Campaign is Extreme
If one wishes to be exposed to news, information or perspective that contravenes the prevailing US/NATO view on the war in Ukraine, a rigorous search is required. And there is no guarantee that search will succeed. That is because the state/corporate censorship regime that has been imposed in the West with regard to this war is stunningly aggressive, rapid and comprehensive.
On a virtually daily basis, any off-key news agency, independent platform or individual citizen is liable to be banished from the internet…
So prolific and fast-moving is this censorship regime that it is virtually impossible to count how many platforms, agencies and individuals have been banished for the crime of expressing views deemed “pro-Russian.” On Tuesday, Twitter, with no explanation as usual, suddenly banned one of the most informative, reliable and careful dissident accounts, named “Russians With Attitude.”
Candidates and Campaigns
Buzzfeed News: Political Campaigns Are Facing Risks With Crypto Donations On Coinbase And BitPay
By Emily Baker-White
In preparation for the 2022 midterm elections, more candidates than ever have begun accepting donations in cryptocurrency. As a result, major crypto platforms have begun marketing themselves to candidates as donation processors. But the platforms intentionally obscure the identities of people using their services, which makes it harder for campaigns to find out if donors are who they say they are — and follow campaign finance laws.
New Jersey Globe: Menendez Opponent, A Seton Hall Law Professor, Says DeGise Petition Challenge Violates Federal Law
By David Wildstein
A Seton Hall law professor running for Congress in New Jersey’s 8th district says that the Hudson County Democratic Organization violated a federal campaign finance law by challenging his nominating petition.
Eugene Mazo is citing a Federal Election Commission decision that “when a party moves to remove a candidate from the ballot, its activities are done for the purpose of influencing a federal election and thus constitute a ‘contribution’ to a federal campaign.”
He says that the endorsement of another candidate, Robert J. Menendez, by the Hudson Democrats, means that the party organization is limited to a market value of $5,000 for legal services connected to the challenge of the petitions.
The American Prospect: Conor Lamb’s Shift on Campaign Finance
By Alexander Sammon
Lamb was an early signee of the No Corporate PAC pledge, forswearing lucrative contributions from corporate treasuries and embracing a campaign strategy that had overwhelmingly been a hallmark of progressive candidates. Lamb ended up being one of the biggest long-shot triumphs for Democratic campaign finance reform groups…
Lamb is now running for Pennsylvania’s vacant Senate seat, one of a handful of promising pickup opportunities for Democrats . . . But on campaign finance, Lamb has done an about-face. Staring down a fundraising deficit and a stubborn, substantial gap in the polls, trailing Lt. Gov. John Fetterman by 25-plus points, Lamb has turned to the type of big-money fundraising strategies he once scorned…
The not illegal but certainly not savory coordination between Lamb and his super PAC has gone beyond just fundraising as well…
Lamb’s pivot away from higher campaign finance standards is especially surprising given its salience in the Democrats’ all-important voting rights agenda, which he has supported…
But under either version, his current fundraising approach and coziness with Penn Progress would have been illegal.
The States
Roanoke Star: Gov. Youngkin Signs Bill Protecting Donor Privacy
In recent years, “cancel culture” has targeted many individuals, businesses, and organizations with the intention of silencing them into submission. One aspect has been political activists targeting or hacking donor lists of groups they disagree with and publicly shaming or intimidating those donors and/or their businesses who had the expectation that their gifts would be kept private. For example, this was seen recently by some donors to the Canadian truckers’ Freedom Convoy who had their gifts made public and the givers were subjected to public shaming, in some cases costing them their reputations and livelihoods.
To remedy this, the General Assembly passed HB 970 in this session and Governor Glenn Youngkin signed it on April 11.
AZ Central: Why a bill to stop firearms industry boycotts could backfire for Republicans
By Mikkel Jordahl
I received news with alarm last month that House Bill 2473 won passage in the Arizona House. It would ban state or local governments from granting contracts to companies unless they pledge that they won’t boycott the firearms industry.
On March 29, the legislation passed the Senate Appropriations Committee, and is poised to pass the Senate.
The bill is based on a previous Arizona law that we challenged in court and was ruled unconstitutional.
In 2016, Arizona adopted legislation that prohibited the state from contracting for services unless the contractor signed a certification that they wouldn’t boycott Israel. The anti-boycott law (amended in 2019) was supported by all Republicans and six Democrats in the Arizona House…
Boycotting is affirmed as a First Amendment right by the U.S. Supreme Court. It’s integral to our American story, from boycotting British tea to the Montgomery bus boycott.
The Supreme Court also long-prohibited awarding government contracts based on political speech. Consequently, states have been losing cases that challenged these anti-boycott laws…
This suppression extends beyond Arizona. Texas banned contracts with entities that boycott firearms and fossil fuels. There are at least eight blatantly unconstitutional bills nationwide cutting the word “Israel” and pasting in other issues.
