Latest news with #MarcElias
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Law firms that made deal with Trump, see major clients abandon them for firms that stood up to him
Marc Elias, Voting Rights Attorney and Founder of the Democracy Docket and Michael Schmidt, New York Times Investigative Reporter join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to new reporting in the Wall Street Journal which details how many of the same major law firms that made deals with the Trump Administration for pro bono work are now seeing major clients abandon them for firms that stood up to Donald Trump.
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Liberal law firm again asks Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider congressional maps
A Democratic law firm has again asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to reconsider the state's congressional boundaries ahead of the 2026 midterms, a request the court has previously rejected. Elias Law Group, chaired by Marc Elias, who has led previous voting access lawsuits in Wisconsin and across the country, filed a petition with the high court May 8 on behalf of Wisconsin voters. "Wisconsin's current congressional map has unfairly rewarded Republicans with a significant electoral advantage and will continue to do so for the remainder of the decade," Elias Law Group partner Abha Khanna said in a release. The firm argues the congressional map was drawn based on a "least change" principle the court abandoned when it struck down the state's legislative maps in December 2023. That concept refers to favoring maps that minimize changes to existing boundary lines. New maps for the state Assembly and Senate greatly reduced the GOP advantage in the Capitol and allowed Democrats to pick up several seats in November, though they fell short of flipping the state Legislature. Elias Law Group filed a similar petition last year, asking the court to reconsider the U.S. House boundaries, but the court rejected the last-minute push. More: Why does Wisconsin have new legislative maps, but not new congressional ones? Wisconsin has only two competitive districts, held by U.S. Reps. Bryan Steil and Derrick Van Orden, both Republicans. There are six Republicans and two Democrats in Wisconsin's House delegation. The state's current congressional lines were drawn by Democratic Gov. Tony Evers. The state Supreme Court approved his set of maps in 2022 because it made the least changes compared to ones submitted by Republicans and others. In a statement, Republican Party of Wisconsin chairman Brain Schimming called the new lawsuit a "desperate attempt by far-left Democrats who have shown time and time again that they can't win without rigged maps." The latest petition now goes before the Supreme Court's liberal majority, following the election of liberal Judge Susan Crawford April 1. She takes office on Aug. 1. Crawford's win allowed the liberal faction to maintain the majority it gained in 2023, with the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz. During the campaign, Republicans heavily criticized Crawford after she attended a virtual meeting with donors, billed as a "Chance to put two more House seats in play for 2026.' Crawford's campaign said she only appeared on the call to introduce herself and she has not publicly or privately commented on the state's congressional maps. More: Supreme Court race puts spotlight on congressional maps as GOP files complaint against Crawford "Told you," Van Orden responded in a short tweet on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. U.S. Rep. Tony Wied, a newly elected Republican representing northeastern Wisconsin in Congress, suggested Wisconsinites would vote for Republicans' "common sense agenda" in 2026 regardless of whether the state has new maps. "The 'party of democracy' can't win on their own policies so they need to change the playing field," Wied posted on X. In a statement, National Democratic Redistricting Committee executive director Marina Jenkins said Wisconsin voters "want and deserve a fair map." "Wisconsinites are rightly fed up with being forced to vote on an egregiously gerrymandered congressional map that has not accurately reflected the competitive nature of their purple state for over a decade," Jenkins said. (This story was updated to add new information.) This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Law firm asks Supreme Court to reconsider Wisconsin congressional maps
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘A mockery': Trump bulldozes all ethics, accepts luxury aircraft as a gift from Qatar
Glenn Thrush, New York Times Justice Department Reporter and Marc Elias, Voting Rights Attorney and Founder of Democracy Dockett join Nicolle Wallace on Deadline White House with reaction to the news that Donald Trump will accept a luxury, 747 aircraft from the Government of Qatar to replace Air Force One, and how it flies in the face of all ethics rules for government officials.
Reuters
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
Democrats challenge Wisconsin congressional map, eyeing 2026 midterm elections
May 8 (Reuters) - Democrats have asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to invalidate the state's congressional map as illegally advantageous to Republicans, a move that if successful could help determine which party controls the U.S. House of Representatives after next year's midterm elections. The lawsuit was filed just five weeks after liberal Susan Crawford defeated conservative Brad Schimel for a pivotal seat on the state Supreme Court, maintaining a 4-3 left-wing majority. The race shattered U.S. spending records for a judicial race, with more than $100 million pouring into the campaign – including more than $20 million from billionaire Elon Musk and his network of political groups in support of Schimel. Under the current congressional district lines, Republicans control six of the state's eight U.S. House seats. Two of the districts are considered competitive by election analysts. Democrats would need to flip only three seats in November 2026 to retake the House majority. The Elias Law Group, headed by top Democratic election lawyer Marc Elias, filed the lawsuit on behalf of several Wisconsin voters, arguing that the map is an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander. "Wisconsin's congressional map is antithetical to virtually every principle necessary to sustain a representative democracy," the complaint says. The court's liberal majority previously threw out the state's Republican-leaning legislative maps in 2023, leading to a new set of maps that helped Democrats flip 14 seats statewide in 2024. Musk said he got involved in the judicial race this year because he was worried a liberal majority on the court would redraw the state's congressional lines, endangering the Republican majority in the House. During the campaign, Republicans attacked Crawford for having met by video with a liberal group that presented the election as a chance to flip congressional seats. Crawford said she did not discuss redistricting on the call and only learned of the group's focus after the event. "Wisconsin voters deserve congressional districts that ensure all voices and viewpoints are fairly represented," Elias Law Group partner Abha Khanna said in a statement. "Unfortunately, Wisconsin's current congressional map has unfairly rewarded Republicans with a significant electoral advantage and will continue to do so for the remainder of the decade." After the lawsuit was filed, U.S. Representative Tony Wied, a Wisconsin Republican, wrote on X, "The 'party of democracy' can't win on their own policies so they need to change the playing field."
Yahoo
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
‘60 Minutes' compares Trump to ‘mob boss' in one-sided segment — as $20B lawsuit over Kamala interview looms
'60 Minutes' ran a highly partisan segment likening President Trump to a cold-blooded mob boss Sunday — even as its corporate parent, Paramount Global, is currently in talks to settle a $20 billion lawsuit with the Trump administration over election interference. Correspondent Scott Pelley — who recently accused his bosses at Paramount of restricting journalistic independence in an astonishing on-air rant — compared the executive orders the president has enacted against multiple law firms to how a 'mob boss' would use intimidation tactics. 'The fact is that these law firms are being told, 'If you don't play ball with us, maybe somethin' really bad will happen to you,'' he said during Sunday night's episode. '60 Minutes' Correspondent Scott Pelley during Sunday night's segment. 60 Minutes / CBS News Pelley also sat down with Marc Elias, a longtime rival of Trump and a former Perkins Coie partner hired by the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign, in the one-sided segment. 'Donald Trump is the walking embodiment of everything that is wrong with the American political system,' said Elias, who first crossed paths with Trump while a part of Hillary Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign. 'And so when Donald Trump says that I am unethical or that I am undermining his vision of America, I say, 'Boy I must be doin' something right.'' Sunday's scathing '60 Minutes' segment comes as Paramount Global is in talks to settle its high-stakes lawsuit with the president. Lawyers for Paramount and Trump have started mediation to resolve the president's $20 billion lawsuit against the network over how '60 Minutes' edited a sit-down with then-Vice President and presidential candidate Kamala Harris last fall. Pelley sat down with a longtime rival of Trump and a former Perkins Cole partner hired by the Kamala Harris 2024 presidential campaign, Marc Elias, as he slammed the president. 60 Minutes / CBS News President Donald Trump signs executive orders in the Oval Office of the White House on March 6, 2025 in Washington, DC. Getty Images The talks are also taking place as Paramount seeks approval of its merger with Skydance from the Federal Communications Commission, which is also probing the Harris interview for complaints of 'news distortion.' While '60 Minutes' brought out guests critical of the president, they did not feature anyone to argue in favor of Trump's orders against law firms. Last week, Pelley went rogue at the end of Sunday night's episode during what appeared to be a simple tribute to Bill Owens, the longtime '60 Minutes' executive producer who quit in April over the company's heavy-handed interference. 60 Minutes / CBS News Last week, Pelley went rogue at the end of Sunday night's episode during what appeared to be a simple tribute to Bill Owens, the longtime '60 Minutes' executive producer who quit in April over the company's heavy-handed interference. 'Bill resigned Tuesday — it was hard on him and hard on us,' Pelley said in his closing remarks on the show he has worked on for more than 20 years. 'But he did it for us — and you,' he told viewers, then unexpectedly suggested that Owens' exit could end the era of coverage being 'accurate and fair.' 'Our parent company, Paramount, is trying to complete a merger,' he said, noting that it needs approval from the Trump administration. Paramount boss Shari Redstone allegedly had expressed concerns to CBS CEO George Cheeks over segments critical of Trump and his policies, asking if the program could wait to run them until after a merger between Paramount and Skydance Media was sealed.
