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Richard Painter

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Richard Painter
Born
Richard William Painter

(1961-10-03)October 3, 1961(age 62)
Philadelphia,Pennsylvania,U.S.
EducationHarvard University(BA)
Yale University(JD)
Political partyForward
Other political
affiliations		Republican(before 2018)
Democratic(2018–2022)
SpouseKaren Painter
Children3
WebsiteCampaign website

Richard William Painter[1](born October 3, 1961) is an American lawyer, professor, and political candidate. From 2005 to 2007 Painter was the chiefWhite Houseethics lawyer in theGeorge W. Bush administration.He is the S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law at theUniversity of Minnesota,and since 2016 has served as vice-chair ofCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington(CREW),[2][3]a government watchdog group.[4]

A longtime Republican and self-described centrist, Painter announced[5]that he would be a candidate for theDemocratic–Farmer–Labor Partyendorsement in the2022 Minnesota 1st congressional district special electionto fill a vacancy caused by the death of Rep.Jim Hagedorn.Painter finished in a distant third in the primary, losing the nomination to businessmanJeffrey Ettinger,who ultimately lost the special election.

Painter previously ran for the 2018Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Partynomination forU.S. Senate,losing to recently appointed SenatorTina Smithin a primary.[6]

Painter has been affiliated with theCampaign Legal Center,[7]a group that is a frequent critic of the Trump administration.[8]Throughout 2017 he was involved in the CREW lawsuit against Trump,CREW v. Trump.In March 2020, his book coauthored withPeter Golenbock,American Nero: The History of the Destruction of the Rule of Law, and Why Trump Is the Worst Offender,appeared.[9]

Early life and education[edit]

Painter was born inPhiladelphia,Pennsylvania, in 1961. He was raised outside Philadelphia, inKansas City, Kansas,and inChampaign, Illinois.He graduated fromSt. George's School,Rhode Island.

Painter received hisB.A.in historysumma cum laudefromHarvard Universityand hisJuris DoctorfromYale Law School,where he was an editor of theYale Journal on Regulation.[10][11][12]At Harvard, Painter became politically active, speaking out againstPresident Reagan's decision to send aid to the right-wing government in El Salvador and founding the Harvard Radcliffe Democratic Club newspaperPerspective.[13]In 1982 he made his first appearance on national television during an episode ofFiring Linewith Reagan in which he called out Reagan's "reckless deficit spending and cuts to social programs".[14]During the 1984presidential electionPainter was the chair of Harvard Students for Walter Mondale.[citation needed]

Career[edit]

Painter served aslaw clerkto JudgeJohn T. Noonan Jr.of theUnited States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.He then worked at the law firms ofSullivan & Cromwellin New York and Finn Dixon & Herling inStamford, Connecticut.[11]

Painter was the Guy Raymond and Mildred Van Voorhis Jones Professor of Law at theUniversity of Illinois College of Lawfrom 2002 to 2005 and the chiefWhite Houseethics lawyer in theGeorge W. Bush administrationfrom 2005 to 2007.[10][15][16]Upon leaving the White House, he returned to teaching, at theUniversity of Minnesota Law School.[17]

Painter has been a member of theAmerican Law Institutesince 2004.[12]In March 2016 he wrote inThe New York Timesthat ifGeorge W. Bushhad had the opportunity to appoint a Supreme Court justice during his last two years in office, with a Democratic-majority Senate, Bush would have chosenMerrick Garland,who was ultimatelynominated by Barack Obamaon March 16, 2016, as a consensus nominee.[18]William K. Kelley,who was deputy counsel to Bush from 2005 to 2007, disagreed that Bush might have nominated Garland under such circumstances.[19]

In December 2016, Painter replacedDavid Brockas vice-chair ofCitizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington(CREW).[20][21]As of May 2017 he is the S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law at theUniversity of Minnesota Law School.[16][20]

Collusion between the Trump campaign and Russians[edit]

In May 2017 Painter compared the Trump administration with Nixon's scandals, saying, "Nixon may have been a crook, but at least he was our crook. He wasn't a Russian agent!"[22]In 2018 he said, “We know there was collusion.”[23]In early 2019 Painter told German newspaperDeutsche Wellethat the indictment of Roger Stone was "evidence of collusion between high-ranking officials in the Trump campaign and WikiLeaks to obtain documents stolen by the Russians in the 2016 election."[24]

Emolument Clause lawsuit against Donald Trump[edit]

Main article:CREW v. Trump

In January 2017 CREW sued PresidentDonald Trumpfor failing to sell off certain assets and place others in ablind trust.[25]Painter said, "If Obama had tried that, we would have impeached him in two weeks."[25]CREW alleged that certain foreign payments that Trump received violated theU.S. Constitution'semoluments clause.[26]The case was dismissed by the district court, which found that the plaintiffs lackedstanding;[27][28]CREW's appeal is pending in theU.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.[29]

2018 U.S. Senate campaign[edit]

Main article:2018 United States Senate special election in Minnesota

Painter was a longtimeRepublican,saying in 2017: "I've been a Republican for 30 years. There's no way that I would want to see the Republican Party stand up for covering up for Russian espionage and whoever in the United States has been helping the Russians. It's going to be a disaster for the Republicans. It's going to be a disaster for our country."[30]In criticizing Trump and his administration, Painter said, "We are well past the point where we were in 1973 (Watergate) with respect to clear evidence of abuse of power, obstruction of justice, and other illegal activities. "[31]

In March 2018 Painter announced that he was forming anexploratory committeeto run for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, saying he was unsure whether he would seek office as a Republican, Democrat, orindependent.In April 2018 he announced that he would run as a Democratic (Minnesota DFL) candidate in the primary against the incumbent SenatorTina Smith.[32]Painter finished a distant second, with 14% of the vote to Smith's 76%.[33][34]

2022 U.S. House campaign[edit]

Main article:2022 Minnesota's 1st congressional district special election

In February 2022, Painter announced his candidacy for theU.S. House of RepresentativesinMinnesota's 1st congressional district.The seat became vacant after the death ofJim Hagedorn.[35]In May 2022, Painter lost theDFLprimary, placing third behind Sarah Brakebill-Hacke andJeff Ettinger.

Political positions[edit]

Painter describes himself as acentrist,[32]and has criticized the Republican Party's move to the rightsince 1980.[31]He said he would not accept the support ofpolitical action committees,super PACs,or "dark money"organizations.[32]He supports major investments in transportation and other infrastructure projects, and is critical ofstadium subsidies.[31]Painter also declared his opposition to theTrump tariffs,in particular those on steel and aluminum.[36]

Painter favorslegalizing recreational marijuanaand ending thefederal ban on marijuana.[37]He is critical of theNational Rifle Association of America,calling it a "protection racket" and favors "a license-and-registration system similar to what we have for cars."[31][38]

Ethics reform[edit]

To confrontcorruption in Washington,Painter proposed what he calls the "strongest ethics reform package in United States history":[39]

  • Apply 18 U.S.C § 208, a previously existing criminal statute that prohibits all unelectedfederal executive branch officersfrom participating in any matter with which they or a spouse have a personal financialconflict of interest,to the President, Vice President, and all members of the House and Senate.
  • Require the President and all members of the House and Senate to divest from individual companies’ stocks, bonds and other securities that create conflicts of interest, and instead invest in broadly diversified stock mutual funds, life insurance, bank accounts, and other conflict-free assets as defined in already existingOffice of Government Ethicsregulations.
  • Expand the post-government-employment ban in 18 U.S.C § 207 to include a lifetime ban on former members of the House and Senate serving as paidlobbyists,and provide that violating this ban will result in criminal penalties.
  • Impose term limits (six years in the House, twelve years in the Senate) forCongressional leadership positionsandcommittee chairmanships,and dismantle theseniority systemthat gives more power to long-serving members.
  • Strip pensions of any official found guilty of violating any federal anti-corruption statute, including but not limited to 18 U.S.C §§ 207 and 208, bribery and gratuity statutes,insider trading laws,and other similar provisions.
  • Impose criminal penalties on any U.S. government official who receives profits and benefits from foreign governments in violation of theEmoluments Clauseof the Constitution, and mandate that theDepartment of Justiceinvestigate and prosecute persons violating this prohibition.

Healthcare[edit]

Painter believes that the United States ought to support the health care system that is the most efficient and comprehensive, which he believes to be asingle-payer system.[40]He supports the following:

Environment[edit]

Painter rejected theTrump administration's approach to carbon emissions and departure from theParis Agreement.[43]He believes thathuman-caused climate changeis an existential threat to human life, and wants to make various political changes to try to prevent it, including:

Copper/nickel mining[edit]

The Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wildernesscomprises nearly one million acres of pristine Minnesota lakes, forests, and wildlife. It also contains vast quantities of metals such ascopperandnickelthat foreign entities are trying to mine by an extremely dangerous method:sulfide mining.[47]

Painter often points out thatcopper/nickel mininghas serious environmental consequences. TheMinnesota Department of Natural Resourcesis a political office, and Painter believes Minnesotans have little reason to be confident in their ability to protect Minnesota from these consequences.[47]The legal framework governing these kinds of mines was designed to regulatetaconite extractionand does not properly addresssulfide mining.Additionally, Glencore's chairman,Tony Hayward,former chairman ofBritish Petroleumduring theDeepwater Horizon oil spill,gives Painter reason to question the company's commitment to safety and environmental-consciousness.[48]

For these reasons Painter vehemently opposes H.R. 3115, a bill that passed theU.S. Housein early December 2017 to push through a land swap needed for the completion of the PolyMet mine, and the "Smith Amendment," arideradded to theNational Defense Authorization Actthat was designed to be parallel legislation to H.R. 3115 introduced in theU.S. Senate.[49][50]Enacting this legislation will void four pending lawsuits on the matter, preventing Minnesotans from questioning the legality of the land swap and eliminating the judicial branch's role.

Painter also opposes the MINER Act (H.R. 3905), which would prevent the completion of a two-year Forest Service study related to economic and environmental issues associated with mining near the Boundary Waters.[51]This act would allow PolyMet to begin mining before all the questions surrounding the sulfide mines are answered fully.[52]Painter believes that Minnesotans have a right to know the kind of damage these mines will do to our rivers, lakes, and ecosystems before the monied interests in Washington push them through. The MINER Act also designates Minnesota as the only state in the nation unworthy of public lands protections, requiring Congressional intervention into decisions regarding public lands in Minnesota.[53]

Clean energy[edit]

Painter has said, "Donald Trump's promise to bringcoal miningback to the U.S. is disingenuous. We need to move forward and expand the creation ofcleanjobs across the state. "He supports creating these jobs by expanding tax credits that can help growsolar energy farmsacross Minnesota.[54]Painter believes that investing in clean energy will increase jobs in all areas of processing, such as installation, manufacturing, sales and distribution, and project development.

Painter also advocatesfair tradeandfree tradetrade policiesin order to protect American jobs while promoting clean energy investment. He has criticized theTrump tariffs,saying that, while using American resources is important to the economy, he believes that these tariffs will only increase the prices of goods while propping up a sector of unsustainable jobs.[54]

Election reform[edit]

If elected, Painter promised to take the following steps to eliminate the corrupting influence of money in politics, which he believes is legalized bribery.[54][55]

  • Introduce a bill requiring complete transparency about money in politics, including contributions to 501(c)(3) organizations, 501(c)(4) organizations, PACs, Super PACs, and any dark-money organizations engaging in communications intended to influence elections. All such contributions will be recorded by the FEC and made publicly available.
  • Enact a "Taxation Only With Representation" statute giving every taxpayer the right to designate the first $200 of their taxes to the campaign(s) of their choice.
  • Vote against the appointment of any Supreme Court nominee who will not, under oath, commit to overturningFEC vs. Citizens United.
  • Provide funding to state legislatures to organize and sponsor televised debates for both the primary and general election for all federal and statewide offices, as well as any other offices at the discretion of the legislature.

Personal life[edit]

Painter's wife, Karen Painter, is a professor of music history at theUniversity of Minnesota.They have three children, and have lived in Minnesota since 2007.[56]

In July 2015 Painter was diagnosed withshinglesandRamsay Hunt syndrome type 2,which left the right side of his face partially paralyzed.[57]

Selected publications[edit]

  • Getting the Government America Deserves: How Ethics Reform Can Make a Difference(Oxford University Press 2009)
  • Professional and Personal Responsibilities of the Lawyer(with Judge John T. Noonan Jr.; Foundation 1997; Second Edition, 2001; Third Edition 2011)
  • Securities Litigation and Enforcement(withMargaret SachsandDonna Nagy;West 2003; Second Edition, 2007; Third Edition 2011).

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^"Lawyer Richard Painter - Minneapolis, MN Attorney - Avvo".www.avvo.com.RetrievedMay 26,2018.
  2. ^Samuels, Brett (May 16, 2018)."Ethics watchdog: Trump should have disclosed Cohen payment last year".TheHill.RetrievedJanuary 1,2019.
  3. ^"House Democrats have oversight investigation plans far beyond Russia probe".NBC News.November 9, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 1,2019.
  4. ^Debenedetti, Gabriel (January 21, 2017)."Brock groups set $40 million budget to fight Trump".Politico.RetrievedJuly 17,2018.
  5. ^Former Republican files as Democrat in 1st District race
  6. ^Election filing indicates Painter to run as DFL candidate for U.S. Senate;Minnesota Public Radio;Nina Moini; April 29, 2018
  7. ^"Gill v. Whitford: U.S. Supreme Court - Amicus Brief by Represent.Us and Richard Painter".Campaign Legal Center.September 6, 2017.RetrievedJanuary 1,2019.
  8. ^"Liberal Group Behind Kavanaugh Resistance is Hiding Its Funding".Campaign Legal Center.July 18, 2018.RetrievedJanuary 1,2019.
  9. ^Painter, Richard., Golenbock, Peter (2020).American Nero: The History of the Destruction of the Rule of Law, and Why Trump Is the Worst Offender.United States: BenBella Books.ISBN9781950665273,hardback.
  10. ^ab"Contributors: Prof. Richard W. Painter".Federalist Society.December 12, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 7,2018.
  11. ^ab"Richard Painter: Former Bush White House Chief Ethics lawyer".The Huffington Post.RetrievedJanuary 7,2018.
  12. ^abRichard W. Painter: S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law,University of Minnesota Law School (last accessed November 7, 2018).
  13. ^"Proposed Dowling Review Questioned".The Harvard Crimson.RetrievedJune 4,2018.
  14. ^Buckley Jr., William (January 7, 1982)."Firing Line"(PDF).
  15. ^"Richard W. Painter".University of Minnesota Twin Cities. February 3, 2016.RetrievedJanuary 7,2018.
  16. ^abPainter, Richard W. (March 2, 2017),"Jeff Sessions Needs to Go",The New York Times,retrievedMarch 2,2017
  17. ^Baker, Peter."Besieged White House Reinforces Counsel's Office",Washington Post(June 9, 2007). See correction at top of the article.
  18. ^Painter, Richard W.Bush Would Have Nominated Garland,New York Times(March 23, 2016).
  19. ^Whelan, Edward.Re: Baseless Claim that President Bush Would/Might Have Nominated Garland,National Review(March 23, 2016).
  20. ^ab"Richard W Painter".The Guardian.RetrievedMay 1,2017.
  21. ^"Norman Eisen and Richard Painter to Lead CREW Board".Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. December 7, 2016.
  22. ^"Ex-Bush White House Lawyer: 'Nixon May Have Been a Crook' But He 'Wasn't a Russian Agent'".Mediaite.May 17, 2017.RetrievedJune 3,2019.
  23. ^"The collusion scorecard: What we know so far about Trump-Russia contacts".Ottawa Citizen.March 31, 2018.RetrievedMarch 26,2019."We know there was collusion," Richard Painter told a CNN panel last week.
  24. ^"Ex-White House ethics lawyer: Stone indictment 'direct evidence of collusion' | DW | 25.01.2019".Deutsche Welle.
  25. ^abSpencer, Jim (January 31, 2017)."U law prof Richard Painter sues Trump over ethics".StarTribune.com.RetrievedMay 1,2017.
  26. ^Rosenmann, Alexandra (January 23, 2017)."Republican Ethics Lawyer Suing Trump for Violation of Constitution: 'We Are Fed Up!'".Alternet.RetrievedMay 1,2017.
  27. ^Farenthold, David; O'Connell, Jonathan (December 21, 2017)."Judge dismisses lawsuit alleging Trump violated Constitution".Washington Post.
  28. ^Kroll, Andy.Judge Tosses Out Lawsuit Targeting Trump's Foreign Business Dealings: But the constitutional battle over the emoluments clause is far from over.,Mother Jones(December 21, 2017).
  29. ^CREW v. Donald J. Trump,Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.
  30. ^"Transcript".CNN. May 17, 2017.
  31. ^abcdDavid M. Perry,'I've Been a Pain in the Rear for the Republican Party': A Conversation With Richard Painter,Pacific Standard(May 17, 2018).
  32. ^abcPaul Walsh,Former George W. Bush ethics lawyer ditches GOP, to seek U.S. Senate in Minn. as Democrat,Star Tribune(April 29, 2018).
  33. ^"Minnesota primary election results roundup".KMSP.RetrievedAugust 30,2018.
  34. ^"Tina Smith, Karin Housley make for historic matchup for U.S. Senate".Star Tribune.RetrievedAugust 30,2018.
  35. ^"Richard Painter announces MN-01 candidacy".KEYC.February 24, 2022.Archivedfrom the original on February 24, 2022.RetrievedMarch 1,2022.
  36. ^"Economy - Richard Painter for US Senate".Archived fromthe originalon July 5, 2018.RetrievedJuly 4,2018.
  37. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 6,2018.
  38. ^Painter, Richard W. (December 19, 2012)."Opinion | The N.R.A. Protection Racket".The New York Times.ISSN0362-4331.Archivedfrom the original on December 21, 2012.RetrievedJune 4,2018.
  39. ^"Painter For Minnesota on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 1,2018.
  40. ^abPainter Minnesota (May 30, 2018),Richard Painter on the need for single-payer healthcare,retrievedAugust 2,2018
  41. ^Jilani, Zaid (May 18, 2018).""Medicare for All" Becomes Issue in Race for Al Franken's Senate Seat ".The Intercept.Archivedfrom the original on July 22, 2018.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  42. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  43. ^"Richard Painter".www.facebook.com.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  44. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  45. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  46. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  47. ^ab"Environment".Painter For Minnesota.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  48. ^"Our Leadership".Glencore.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  49. ^Richard, Nolan (November 29, 2017)."H.R.3115 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Superior National Forest Land Exchange Act of 2017".www.congress.gov.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  50. ^"Sen. Tina Smith's amendment would complete PolyMet land swap".Star Tribune.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  51. ^Emmer, Tom (December 1, 2017)."H.R.3905 - 115th Congress (2017-2018): Minnesota's Economic Rights in the Superior National Forest Act".www.congress.gov.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  52. ^"Emmer Introduces MINER Act".Congressman Tom Emmer.October 3, 2017.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  53. ^"MINER Act introduced | The Ely Echo".www.elyecho.com.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  54. ^abc"Election Reform".Painter For Minnesota.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  55. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedAugust 2,2018.
  56. ^"Faculty & Staff Directory".College of Liberal Arts | University of Minnesota.RetrievedAugust 8,2018.
  57. ^"Richard W. Painter on Twitter".Twitter.RetrievedJune 4,2018.
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