Brendan Fischer

@brendan_fischer
674 Followers
78 Following
18 Posts
Deputy Executive Director @ItsDocumented. Formerly @CampaignLegal. RPCV El Salvador. Wisconsinite. Views are mine alone.
Brendan FischerJan 6, 2023

George Santos’ sister, who he is allegedly staying with, is facing eviction for $40k in unpaid rent.

But somehow, while she was not paying rent and applying for federal assistance, she was also giving thousands of dollars in political contributions.

This raises the specter of Santos's sister making illegal straw donations—a particularly intriguing prospect given that the recipient was part of the FTX universe, which has been racked by straw donor allegations. https://www.thedailybeast.com/george-santos-eviction-drama-facing-his-sister-tiffany-in-queens

George Santos Eviction Drama Facing His Sister Tiffany in Queens

George Santos was seen moving his stuff into his sister’s place last week, but court records show she’s facing eviction for allegedly failing to fork over $40,000 in unpaid rent.

The Daily Beast
Brendan FischerDec 21, 2022

The Trump White House’s top ethics lawyer, Stefan Passantino, allegedly instructed Cassidy Hutchinson to to tell the Jan. 6 committee that she did not recall details that she did, in fact, recall.

Trump’s PAC was covering Hutchinson’s legal fees until she fired Passantino, got a new lawyer, and became a blockbuster witness for the Jan 6 committee.

https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/20/politics/trump-ethics-lawyer-passantino-cassidy-hutchinson-misleading-testimony-jan-6/index.html

Brendan FischerDec 20, 2022
Danielle BrianDec 20, 2022
The #jan6committee includes a charge based in the Constitution: That an insurrectionist should not be allowed on the ballot. This is some of @pogowatchdog’s most important work. https://www.pogo.org/report/2022/11/the-constitutions-disqualification-clause-can-be-enforced-today
The Constitution’s Disqualification Clause Can Be Enforced Today

Legal processes at the state and federal level can be used to ensure that those who engage in insurrection do not serve in public office. The January 6 Select Committee can aid these efforts by offering some key findings in its final report.

Project On Government Oversight
Brendan FischerDec 20, 2022

After joining Trump’s White House in 2017, Kellyanne Conway pledged to divest from her polling firm, whose client list posed conflicts of interest in her new role.

But the sale raised new ethics issues: the firm’s purchase was facilitated by firms tied to Leonard Leo, who was playing a key role in pushing the White House to reshape the federal judiciary.

https://www.politico.com/news/2022/12/20/trump-conway-leonard-leo-00074690

While advising Trump on judges, Conway sold her business to a firm with ties to judicial activist Leonard Leo

The move adds to a growing picture of how groups associated with Leo helped advance the conservative legal agenda.

POLITICO
Brendan FischerDec 17, 2022
b_fungDec 16, 2022
Does Twitter blocking Mastodon links constitute anticompetitive behavior against a nascent rival? I asked a couple of legal experts, including Bill Baer, the former antitrust chief at DOJ and FTC in two US administrations. Here's what they say: https://www.cnn.com/2022/12/16/tech/mastodon-twitter-links/index.html
Brendan FischerDec 16, 2022
Ken WhiteDec 16, 2022

Remember: Twitter is Elon's company, he has the free speech and free association right to run it pretty much however he wants and to ban people for petty narcissistic reasons.

And we have the right to laugh and point at his ridiculousness and at the free-speech pretenses of his gullible fans.

Brendan FischerDec 16, 2022
Will OremusDec 16, 2022
I wrote about the hypocrisy of Elon Musk’s “Twitter files” in light of his own approach to content moderation. https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/12/16/twitter-files-musk-free-speech-hypocrisy/
Elon Musk’s ‘Twitter files’ are an exercise in hypocrisy

Internal documents show how a small group of executives molded online discourse. Under Musk, that’s more of a problem than ever.

The Washington Post
Show threadBrendan FischerDec 16, 2022

"Wealthy donors aren’t supposed to be able to pick and choose which of their big contributions are public, and which ones are secret.”

https://www.thedailybeast.com/the-mysterious-problem-with-sam-bankman-frieds-political-donations

The Mysterious Problem With Sam Bankman-Fried’s Political Donations

Among the charges against Sam Bankman-Fried is a strange one that he broke rules surrounding political donations.

The Daily Beast
Show threadBrendan FischerDec 14, 2022

There’s still a lot we don’t know, but it appears that the reason Bankman-Fried got caught is because unrelated investigations into FTX’s business practices revealed a slew of campaign finance violations.

Megadonors who aren't engaged in illegal business activities might escape scrutiny for similar dark money political giving. 

Show threadBrendan FischerDec 14, 2022

Transparency is a cornerstone of campaign finance law. Wealthy donors aren't supposed to be able to pick-and-choose which of their big political donations are public, and which ones are secret. 

The problem is that it is way too easy to pour dark money into politics. Citizens United opened new avenues for secret political spending, and Congress and the FEC have refused to close them.