{"id":58022,"date":"2016-11-28T18:43:23","date_gmt":"2016-11-28T22:43:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=58022"},"modified":"2016-11-28T18:45:12","modified_gmt":"2016-11-28T22:45:12","slug":"flashback-george-soros-financed-hillary-clintons-recount-lawyer-marc-elias","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/?p=58022","title":{"rendered":"Flashback: George Soros Financed Hillary Clinton\u2019s Recount Lawyer Marc Elias"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><!--more--><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"attachment-isc-bbn-full size-isc-bbn-full wp-post-image\" src=\"http:\/\/media.breitbart.com\/media\/2016\/10\/Hillary-Clinton-George-Soros-Getty-640x480-640x480.jpg\" alt=\"Hillary-Clinton-George-Soros-Getty-640x480\" width=\"640\" height=\"480\" \/><\/p>\n<p><span class=\"by\">by<\/span> AARON KLEIN<a class=\"byauthor\" href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/author\/aaron-klein\/\"><br \/>\n<\/a>BREITBART<\/p>\n<h2>The lawyer representing Hillary Clinton\u2019s recount efforts recently led legal battles against state voting laws with an infusion of funding from billionaire George Soros.<\/h2>\n<p>On Saturday, Marc Elias, the Clinton team\u2019s general counsel, <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/medium.com\/@marceelias\/listening-and-responding-to-calls-for-an-audit-and-recount-2a904717ea39#.k4c7dpnz3\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">announced<\/a> Clinton\u2019s campaign would participate in Green Party candidate Jill Stein\u2019s recount effort in Wisconsin.\u00a0 Elias also said the Clinton campaign would participate if Stein decides to pursue recounts in Pennsylvania and Michigan.<\/p>\n<p>Elias is a senior lawyer at the Perkins Coie law firm, which also represents Hillary Clinton and the Democratic National Committee.<\/p>\n<p>In July, the New York Times <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/politics\/first-draft\/2015\/06\/05\/bankroller-of-democratic-voting-rights-cases-george-soros\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">reported<\/a> Soros had pledged up to $5 million for a legal fight led by Elias against what the newspaper characterized as \u201crestrictive voting laws enacted in recent years by Republican-controlled state governments.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Times further reported on Elias\u2019 Soros-financed efforts:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Elias, who specializes in voter-protection issues, was in contact with Mr. Soros in January 2014 when Mr. Elias was exploring a series of federal lawsuits before that year\u2019s midterm election and in advance of the 2016 campaign, according to Mr. Soros\u2019s political adviser, Michael Vachon. (Mr. Elias declined to comment on Friday about the funding of the lawsuits.)<\/p>\n<p>The goal is to try to influence voting rules in states where Republican governors and Republican-led legislatures have enacted election laws since 2010, and to be ready to intervene if additional measures are passed over the next 17 months.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" width=\"590\" height=\"332\" src=\"http:\/\/launch.newsinc.com\/?type=VideoPlayer\/Single&#038;widgetId=1&#038;trackingGroup=69016&#038;playlistId=19132&#038;siteSection=90085_dynamic&#038;videoId=31677438\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\" noresize marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>At the time, Soros helped pay for two lawsuits in Ohio and Wisconsin, and the billionaire activist contributed funds for suits that, according to the Times, \u201cMr. Elias and several other groups filed last year in North Carolina.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>In August, the Washington Post <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonpost.com\/politics\/courts_law\/the-crusade-of-a-democratic-super-lawyer-with-multimillion-dollar-backing\/2016\/08\/07\/2c1b408c-5a54-11e6-9767-f6c947fd0cb8_story.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">spotlighted<\/a> the Soros-funded legal work of Elias in a profile titled, \u201cThe crusade of a Democratic superlawyer with multimillion-dollar backing.\u201d The newspaper described Elias as the \u201cgo-to lawyer for Democrats in recount fights and redistricting battles.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The Post reported on Elias\u2019s top benefactor:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>With a multimillion-dollar commitment from liberal mega-donor George Soros, Elias is challenging laws that, he argues, diminish the impact of important Democratic Party constituencies of African Americans, Latinos and young people.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI don\u2019t think people should think we\u2019re done filing lawsuits for this election cycle,\u201d Elias said in a taxicab interview after two flights and a two-hour weather delay delivered him to Phoenix.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The Post detailed the evolution of Soros\u2019s financial backing:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>While Elias will not discuss the funding for his project, Soros\u2019s spokesman Michael Vachon said Elias approached them with a set of proposals for challenging state restrictions that would be helpful \u201cup and down the ballot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>That was appealing to Soros, who began his political giving with voter mobilization efforts, Vachon said. And they agreed with Elias that there was work to be done beyond what the civil rights groups, to which Soros also contributes, were doing. \u2026<\/p>\n<p>Soros has given $5 million to the trust that funds the litigation, Vachon said, and Elias said he has picked his shots with an eye toward \u201cprotecting the Obama coalition\u201d of African Americans, Latinos and young people.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Clinton\u2019s direct involvement through Elias in the recount efforts follows a <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/nymag.com\/daily\/intelligencer\/2016\/11\/activists-urge-hillary-clinton-to-challenge-election-results.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">New York Magazine<\/a> article by contributing editor Gabriel Sherman last week first revealing that Clinton\u2019s campaign had been urged by \u201ca group of prominent computer scientists and election lawyers\u201d to call a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe group, which includes voting-rights attorney John Bonifaz and J. Alex Halderman, the director of the University of Michigan Center for Computer Security and Society, believes they\u2019ve found persuasive evidence that results in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania may have been manipulated or hacked,\u201d Sherman reported.<\/p>\n<p>Bonifaz is the founder of the\u00a0National Voting Rights Institute\u00a0(NVRI), where he also served as General Counsel.<\/p>\n<p>The NRVI\u2019s website <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.nvri.net\/support\/supporters.shtml\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">documents<\/a> it is the recipient of \u201cgenerous foundation and institutional support\u201d from 24 past and present grantors, including Soros\u2019s Open Society Institute.<\/p>\n<p>The NRVI is also funded by the Soros-funded Tides Foundation, and the Joyce Foundation, which has <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/about\/programs\/us-programs\/grantees\/new-venture-fund\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">partnered<\/a> with the Open Society Foundations on <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.opensocietyfoundations.org\/reports\/report-commission-public-financing-judicial-campaigns\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">numerous<\/a>projects.\u00a0 President Obama <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2008\/04\/obama-linked-to-gun-control-efforts-009722\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">served<\/a> as a paid board member of the Joyce Foundation for eight years from 1994 to 2002.\u00a0\u00a0Joyce has also been a prominent <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2012\/02\/17\/left-wing-foundations-lavish-millions-on-media-matters\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">donor<\/a> to the Soros-funded Media Matters For America progressive activist group.<\/p>\n<p>It is worth noting that from <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.gabrielsherman.com\/about.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">2012 to 2014<\/a>, New York Magazine\u2019s Sherman was the Bernard L. Schwartz <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/our-people\/gabriel-sherman\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Fellow <\/a>at New America, a think-tank that, like the NRVI, <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/our-funding\/our-funders\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">received<\/a> funding from Soros\u2019s Open Society Foundations and the Joyce Foundation in addition to scores of other liberal groups.\u00a0 Another New America donor is the Jennifer and Jonathan Allan Soros Foundation.\u00a0 Jonathan is George Soros\u2019s son.<\/p>\n<p>New America <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.newamerica.org\/our-story\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">describes<\/a> itself as \u201crenewing American politics, prosperity, and purpose in the Digital Age. We generate big ideas, bridge the gap between technology and policy, and curate broad public conversation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The recount efforts jumpstarted after Jill Stein at the last minute last Friday filed a petition for a recount in Wisconsin.<\/p>\n<p>According to Politico, Stein was <a class=\" x5l\" href=\"http:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2016\/11\/jill-stein-recount-effort-231829\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">prompte<\/a>d by Sherman\u2019s article:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Stein first set a goal to raise $2.5 million to fund a recount in Wisconsin, Michigan, and Pennsylvania based off a report from New York Magazine that said prominent cybersecurity experts were urging Hillary Clinton\u2019s campaign to contest the results there, citing suspicious results.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>___<br \/>\n<a href=\"http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2016\/11\/28\/soros-financed-attorney-leading-hillary-clintons-recount-efforts\/\">http:\/\/www.breitbart.com\/big-government\/2016\/11\/28\/soros-financed-attorney-leading-hillary-clintons-recount-efforts\/<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58022","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58022","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=58022"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/58022\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=58022"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=58022"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateofthenation2012.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=58022"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}