The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 5, 2025

We’ve been revisiting election denial hotspots this week, five years after the 2020 election. Monday, June 9th, a civil trial begins against My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell, accused of defaming former Dominion Voting Systems election security expert, Dr. Eric Coomer. 

Coomer, former director of product strategy and security for Dominion, found himself accused in a conspiracy theory claiming Coomer admitted rigging the election, and his life was threatened.  Broadcasters, podcasters, Lindell and others allegedly repeated the claim, resulting in Coomer bringing five suits, two in Denver district court, and three in federal district court.  Dominion itself settled with Fox News for $787.5 million dollars. 

Two defendants, far right broadcasters OAN and NewsMax, settled their cases with Coomer.  Others tried to use Colorado’s statute giving courts the power to dismiss meritless defamation cases where defendants prove they were exercising free speech.  So far, the courts have found for Coomer, and his cases were allowed to go forward.  

Lindell told The Bulwark that he would be taking the stand in his defense.  The witness list also reportedly includes former Mesa County, Colorado Clerk, Tina Peters, convicted of giving unauthorized access to the county’s Dominion Voting Systems electronic ballot tabulators to investigators tied to Lindell.   

Lindell told a DC federal court in April he could not afford judgement in the case he lost to voting systems company Smartmatic.  

We have more at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources: 

Colorado Public Radio – (2020)  Election Conspiracy Theorists Focused On One Man In Colorado. His Life Will Never Be The Same
American Democracy Minute – (2023) Judge Rules Fox News Lied About Dominion Voting Systems Being Linked to Fraud; Sends Case to Jury Trial
Colorado Public Radio – (2023) Former Dominion Voting employee waits for his day(s) in court on multiple suits
Colorado Public Radio – (2024) Former Dominion employee defamation suit against Trump campaign can continue, court says
Courthouse News Service – (2025) Colorado appeals court greenlights Dominion Voting defamation claims against conservative radio host
The Bulwark – Mike Lindell Is Texting Me From His Defamation Trial
Colorado Politics – My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell defamation trial starts in Denver

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

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Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #MyPillow #MikeLindell #ElectionDeniers #DominionVotingSystems

The post Civil Trial Against My Pillow CEO Mike Lindell Starts June 9 for Allegedly Defaming Former Dominion Voting Systems Exec appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 4, 2025

President Donald Trump recently announced pardons to a range of individuals, including convicted drug dealers, fraudsters, and . . .  corrupt public officials.  ABC New reports 1 in 5 have political or financial ties to the president.

Scott Jenkins, a former Culpeper County, Virginia sheriff had been sentenced to 10 years for taking $75,000 in bribes in exchange for issuing deputy sheriff badges.  Jenkins has been a long-time Trump supporter.

Ardent Trump acolyte  Michele Fiore had not yet been sentenced when she received her pardon on April 23rd.  A former member of the Nevada Assembly and Las Vegas City Council, she was convicted of six counts of wire fraud for skimming money from a memorial for a slain Las Vegas police officer.  She used the money for rent, plastic surgery and her daughter’s wedding.  

Former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich, was pardoned in February, after endorsing Trump’s 2020 and 2024 campaigns.  Blagojevich appeared on Trump’s Celebrity Apprentice in 2010, but was convicted in 2011 of attempting to sell President Barack Obama’s vacated U.S. Senate seat, among other corruption charges. 

Former Kentucky state senator and 2016 Congressional candidate Brian Kelsey served only 2 weeks of a 21 month sentence on federal campaign finance violations and defrauding the Federal Election Commission before he was pardoned in March.  

We have a full list of Trump’s pardons at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Dept. of Justice, Office of the Pardon Attorney – Clemency Grants by President Donald J. Trump (2025-Present)
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington – Trump has granted clemency to 16 corrupt politicians—so far
ABC News – Trump’s flurry of pardons include some to campaign contributors
CBS News – Trump says he’s pardoning Scott Jenkins, a sheriff convicted of taking $75,000 in bribes
Nevada Independent – OPINION: Trump’s audacious Fiore pardon gets buried by what came next
American Democracy Minute – What Corruption? Trump Pardons Former KY State Senator for Campaign Finance Fraud, and May Be Preparing to Dismantle DOJ Public Integrity Section
PBS NewsHour – A look at Trump’s controversial pardons for political allies and loyalists

Groups Taking Action:

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, Public Citizen

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #PoliticalCorruption #TrumpPardons #Bribery #Fraud

The post Looking for a Presidential Pardon?  Loyalty and Endorsements are Apparently More Important Than Political Corruption appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for June 3, 2025

We recently reported on county supervisors in Shasta County, CA still clinging to debunked 2020 election fraud claims by President Trump and his allies.  May 29th, a Colorado man was sentenced to three years in prison for threats he made to top Colorado and Arizona election officials, fueled by those same claims.  

Teak Ty Brockbank of Cortez, Colorado pleaded guilty in Federal District Court last fall for threatening to QUOTE “hang by the neck” Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold and former Arizona Secretary of State and now Governor, Katie Hobbs.  He also threatened a judge presiding in a separate DUI case, and threatened to shoot federal agents if they stepped on his property.

Brockbank asked for leniency during the sentencing, blaming consumption of alcohol and online conspiracy theories for his actions, according to the Associated Press.

The Brennan Center for Justice found in a 2024 survey that 38% of election officials have been subjected to threats.  A Princeton University Bridging Divides tracker found 90 threats to election workers last year alone.  

Meanwhile, the Department of Justice division which prosecuted Brockbank, the Public Integrity Division, has been largely dismantled under Trump’s “Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government” executive order.   The division has been reduced from 30 lawyers to only 5, under Attorney General Pam Bondi.  

We have DOJ’s details of the case at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Department of Justice – (2024) Cortez Man Pleads Guilty To Making Threats Against Election Official
Colorado Public Radio – Colorado man who threatened election officials asked for leniency in sentencing, got 3 years 
Brennan Center for Justice – Poll of Election Officials Finds Concerns About Safety, Political Interference
Princeton University Bridging Divides Initiative – Threat and Harassment Incidents Targeting Local Officials Surge During 2024 Election
Federal Register – Executive Order:  Ending the Weaponization of the Federal Government
NBC News – Justice Department office that prosecutes public corruption slashed in size, sources say  

Groups Taking Action:

Protect Democracy, Issue One, Center for American Progress

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #ProtectElections #ProtectPollWorkers 

The post CO Man Sentenced to 3 Years for Threats Against Top CO and AZ Election Officials, Judge and Law Enforcement appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 30, 2025

New York City Mayor Eric Adams had his bribery and corruption charges dropped by the U.S. Department of Justice under questionable circumstances in April. Because of those charges, the New York State Campaign Finance Board denied Adams matching campaign funds.  Adams is now suing to get those funds. 

Mayor Adams was accused last December by the Biden DOJ with taking campaign donations from foreign nationals and businessmen, allegedly using “straw donors” to make them appear as legitimate donations.  He was also accused of doing favors in exchange for luxury travel and attempting to conceal those transactions. 

We reported in February that the DOJ dropped bribery and corruption charges against Adams, after Adams visited Trump at Mar-a-lago.  An apparent Trump directive to drop the charges to the DOJ’s Southern District of New York resulted in the resignations of seven experienced prosecutors.  

As a result of the corruption charges and paperwork omissions, the New York Campaign Finance Board denied Adams $4 million dollars in matching funds for his campaign from the state’s taxpayer-funded campaign finance option. Now that the charges have been dropped, Politico reports that Adams – now an independent candidate –  is now suing the board to recover $3.4 million dollars of those denied funds.  The Campaign Finance Board will reportedly revisit Adams eligibility for funding in July. 
Find our past reports on the accusations against Adams at    AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl. 

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:

U.S. Department of Justice – New York City Mayor Eric Adams Charged With Bribery And Campaign Finance Offenses
Brennan Center for Justice – New York City Campaign Finance Board Denies Mayor Eric Adams Public Matching Funds; Brennan Center Reacts 
American Democracy Minute – Trump Fires Office of Government Ethics Chief Monday; Hours Later, DOJ Drops Campaign Corruption Charges Against NYC Mayor Eric Adams
Politico – Eric Adams sues Campaign Finance Board for denying him millions in matching funds

NY Daily News – Mayor Adams sues NYC Campaign Finance Board for $3.4 million in denied funds

NYC Campaign Finance Board – Finance Reports – Eric Adams

Groups Taking Action:

Campaign Legal Center, Common Cause NY, Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

Want ADM sent to your email?  Sign up here!

Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #EricAdams #NewYork #PoliticalCorruption #NYC

The post With His Corruption Charges Dropped by the Trump DOJ, NYC Mayor Eric Adams Sues NY Campaign Finance Board for Denying Matching Funds appeared first on American Democracy Minute.

The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 26, 2025

As the egregious violations of the emoluments clause add up, with unknown millions in dark money contributed during the transition, another $240 million in inaugural donations, and now peddling meme coins and receiving a Boeing 747, I wonder what Granny D would have said.  My guess?  She’d be circling the U.S. Capitol again.

On Memorial Day, an abridged portion of a speech at the U.S. Capitol by legendary campaign finance reformer Doris “Granny D” Haddock, the 90-year-old grandmother who walked across the U.S. to bring attention to campaign finance corruption.

“This morning we began our walk among the graves of Arlington so that those spirits, some of whom may be old friends, might join us today and that we might ask of them now: Did you, brave spirits, give your lives for a government where we might stand together as free and equal citizens, or did you give your lives so that laws might be sold to the highest bidder?

What might we call the selling of our government from under us? What might we call a change of government—from a government of, by and for the people, to a government by and for the wealthy elite? I will not call such a change of government a treason, but those more courageous shadows standing among us, whose blood runs through our flag and our history, and whose accomplishments are more solid beneath us than these stone steps, why they might use such a word in angry whispers that trace through the polluted corridors of this once great Capitol.

We speak for these spirits and for ourselves: No, you may not have our democratic republic to sell. What our family members died for, we do not forget. They died for our freedom and equality, not for a government of the rich alone.

We have a link to the full speech at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.

Today’s Links

Articles & Resources:
Open Democracy – Granny D Speech at the US Capitol Feb 29 2000
GrannyD.org –  Videos, Quotes and Speeches from Doris “Granny D” Haddock
Trailer to “Granny D Goes to Washington”
Open Democracy – “The Politics of Joy (and Sacrifice):  The Fearless Walks and Historic Talks of Doris “Granny D” Haddock”

Groups Taking Action:

Open Democracy Action, Public Citizen, Common Cause, American Promise, Represent.Us

Register or Check Your Voter Registration:

U.S. Election Assistance Commission – Register And Vote in Your State

Please follow us on Facebook and Bluesky Social, and SHARE! 

Find all of our reports at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org

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Are you a radio station?  Find our broadcast files at Pacifica Radio Network’s Audioport and PRX

#News #Democracy  #DemocracyNews #GrannyD #CampaignFinance #BigMoneyCorruption

The post Meme Coins & 747s: Campaign Finance Reformer Doris “Granny D” Haddock’s Immortal Words on Memorial Day appeared first on American Democracy Minute.