Brad Smith (@CommishSmith) / X

Brad Smith

5,767 posts

Brad Smith

@CommishSmith

Father, law professor, former FEC Commissioner, Chairman Institute for Free Speech @InstFreeSpeech, lover of liberty & dogs, evidence-based, #freespeech,

Ohio, USA

ifs.org

Joined September 2009

Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Oct 2, 2024
That JD Vance entered the debate with the lowest favorabiity rating of 4 people on the Dem/Repub Presidential tickets is a tribute to the power of legacy media. I have a number of policy disagreements w/ JD, but of the 4, he is clearly the smartest, most serious, and most normal.
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Judge Merchan has so restricted my testimony that defense has decided not to call me. Now, it’s elementary that the judge instructs the jury on the law, so I understand his reluctance. /1
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Jun 1, 2024
Let's take a stab... Falsifying business records under NY law is a misdemeanor, unless done to hide a crime. Bragg says that crime was a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), or of a NY statute making it illegal to influence an election by "unlawful" means./1
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Sep 29, 2024
Ron DeSantis is, without question, the best governor in the country, liberal or conservative, Republican or Democrat. It is not even close.
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Replying to @CommishSmith
/11 Why do pluralities of Americans see Biden as a greater threat to democracy than Trump? It’s in part because of farces like this trial.
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Feb 10, 2024
American public: “We really, really don’t want Biden. Please, Republicans, give us any alternative except Trump, and we will give you an easy win and big congressional majorities; an epochal political realignment.” Republicans: “No.”
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Aug 23, 2024
I love the line about "Trump hand-picked supreme court judges," Not like them other presidents, who apparently just plucked names at random out of the bar directory.
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Replying to @CommishSmith
/7 but While judge wouldn’t let me testify on meaning of law, he allowed Michael Cohen to go on at length about whether and how his activity violated FECA. So effectively, the jury got its instructions on FECA from Michael Cohen!
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Jun 1, 2024
In another thread, x.com/CommishSmith/s…, I explain why payments to Stormy Daniels were not a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA). In this thread, I'll explain why no FECA reporting obligations were violated, and why the prosecution's theory makes no sense. /1
Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
Jun 1, 2024
Let's take a stab... Falsifying business records under NY law is a misdemeanor, unless done to hide a crime. Bragg says that crime was a violation of the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA), or of a NY statute making it illegal to influence an election by "unlawful" means./1
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 21, 2024
Bragg's theory hinges on the claim that Trump tried to influence an election through "unlawful means." To do that, he'll have to show that Trump violated the Federal Election Campaign Act. But since neither the FEC nor DOJ sued Trump, he's got to show it on his own evidence. /1
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Replying to @CommishSmith
/10… To repeatedly misstate the law or elicit incorrect statements of law from witnesses (and unlike Cohen’s, my testimony would not have gone to the ultimate legal issue). The judge’s bias is very evident.
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Replying to @CommishSmith
/9 So you’ve got a judge who contributed to Trump’s opponent presiding over a trial by a prosecutor who was elected on a vow to get Trump, for something DOJ and FEC chose not to prosecute, on a far-fetched legal theory I which the prosecution has been allowed …
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Replying to @CommishSmith
But the Federal Election Campaign Act is very complex. Even Antonin Scalia—a pretty smart guy, even you hate him—once said “this [campaign finance] law is so intricate that I can’t figure it out. /2
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Brad Smith
@CommishSmith
May 20, 2024
Replying to @CommishSmith
Picture a jury in a product liability case trying to figure out if a complex machine was negligently designed, based only on a boilerplate recitation of the general definition of “negligence.” They’d be lost without knowing technology & industry norms. /3
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