Gene Hamilton Esq
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Project 2025 partner blog advocates for overturning New York Times Co. v. Sullivan
The Claremont Institute's American Mind: “President Trump should make the case for revisiting the Sullivan ruling a more prominent and recurring part of his public rhetoric”
Written by Madeline Peltz
:{Published 10/25/24
The American Mind, a project of Project 2025 partner The Claremont Institute, published a piece on October 23 advocating for a second Trump administration to seek the Supreme Court to overturn New York Times Co. v. Sullivan, a key decision protecting the First Amendment.
Legal scholars have described the Sullivan decision, which established the “actual malice” standard in libel law, as “one of the Supreme Court’s most significant First Amendment rulings.” As Oyez outlines: “When a statement concerns a public figure, the Court held, it is not enough to show that it is false for the press to be liable for libel. Instead, the target of the statement must show that it was made with knowledge of or reckless disregard for its falsity.”
The Claremont Institute’s Carson Holloway recently argued that “President Trump should seek the reversal of New York Times v. Sullivan,” casting his argument as a continuation of the Dobbs decision that reversed the constitutional right to abortion. Holloway celebrates Trump as singularly responsible for Dobbs, describing it as his “signature accomplishment” in his “already impressive legacy” of the “restoration of self-government.” Continued:
If Trump is elected to a second term, he should build on this legacy by seeking the reversal of another egregious instance of judicial activism that continues to distort the Constitution and our nation’s politics: New York Times v. Sullivan. In this 1964 ruling, the Warren Court imposed a new doctrine of libel and the First Amendment on the nation.
Holloway then lays out a three point plan for how to accomplish this.
First, he suggests, “President Trump should make the case for revisiting the Sullivan ruling a more prominent and recurring part of his public rhetoric.” He has good reason to believe this is viable. In 2016, Trump promised that if he won he would “open up our libel laws” to make it easier to sue the press, singling out The New York Times and The Washington Post. On the Supreme Court, Justices Thomas and Gorsuch have both signaled their openness to reconsidering Sullivan.
More recently, Trump has been ramping up his attacks on journalists, advocating for revoking broadcasting licenses and launching other legal attacks. Brendan Carr, a Trump-appointed member of the Federal Communications Commission that oversees broadcasting licenses, could be a key ally in this threat. Carr wrote the chapter on the FCC in Project 2025’s policy book, Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise.
Holloway’s next suggestion on stripping the press of legal protections is a given: “President Trump should continue his first-term policy of appointing serious constitutionalists to the Supreme Court and, indeed, to all federal judicial vacancies.”
Finally, Holloway states: “President Trump should direct his Department of Justice to seek the reversal of the actual malice doctrine and restore judicial respect for the original meaning of the First Amendment. This policy should include the regular filing, in appropriate cases, of amicus curiae briefs by the Justice Department urging the courts to revisit this question.”
This argument harmonizes with the vision of a weaponized Department of Justice outlined in Mandate. As Gene Hamilton, vice president and general counsel of former Project 2025 partner America First Legal, wrote in his chapter on the Justice Department, DOJ policy “must always be consistent with the President’s policy agenda and the rule of law.” Project 2025 would gut the federal government’s system of checks and balances through a radical consolidation of executive power.
Project 2025’s emphasis on personnel would also bolster a second Trump administration’s attacks on free speech. Through the initiative, The Heritage Foundation has assembled a prevetted database of Trump loyalists, which it calls a “conservative LinkedIn,” of potential administration hires that have taken loyalty tests to prove they’d be willing to stretch or even violate the law in order to enact his agenda. Project 2025 also advocates for the implementation of a policy known as “Schedule F,” which would remove civil service protections for politically neutral career bureaucrats so they could be fired en masse and replaced with pro-MAGA sycophants. Remaking the federal workforce in this way would allow Trump to more easily exercise control over the Department of Justice and enact a retributional, anti-free speech agenda.
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Gene Hamilton, The Author Of The Project 2025 Chapter On The Department Of Justice, Has A History Of Developing Extreme Immigration Policy, Including Family Separation.
SUMMARY: Gene Hamilton is the “vice-president and general counsel of America First Legal” and has worked in the Department of Justice, Homeland Security, and for former Sen. Jeff Sessions. Hamilton, most notably, helped implement some of the most extreme immigration policies deployed during the Trump administration.
● Hamilton was in contact with Stephen Miller about the family separation policy, helping to craft public statements and discussing future policies. When asked in 2024 if he regretted his role in this policy, Hamilton instead attacked the inspector general’s report as a “hatchet job.
” ● While in the Trump Administration, Hamilton “helped shape Trump's various travel bans, changes to refugee policies, and the implementation of an aggressive new approach to immigration enforcement,” including drafting the memo that terminated DACA.
● While Trump promised DACA applicant information would not be shared with immigration enforcement, ICE did have access, which Hamilton privately acknowledged in an email. Later, DHS decided to omit this information in Congressional testimony.
● Hamilton has railed against the DOJ being politicized, claiming that cases in Republican-led states are evidence of politicization. He also criticized a gag order on Trump as the “deep state” silencing him in the “court of public opinion.
” ● Hamilton's legal expertise was sought by Stephen Miller around policies to fine immigrants to pay for border wall construction and to make it harder to obtain green cards.
● In a YouTube interview with Constituting America, Hamilton compared immigration to people breaking into a house and floated the idea that immigrants qualified as an invasion under Article 4 Section 4 of the constitution.
Kevin Roberts, president of the Heritage Foundation, described Hamilton as “vital” to “the plan to revitalize this country.” As the author of the Department of Justice chapter of the Project 2025 Playbook, Hamilton is...
Gene Hamilton Is A Trump Administration Alum Who Currently Works As The Vice-President And General Counsel Of America First Legal As Well As Treasurer For Citizens For Sanity, A New “Dark Money” Group Running Ads To Mock Progressive Policies.
Gene Hamilton Is The “Vice-President And General Counsel Of America First Legal” And Has Worked In The Department Of Justice, Homeland Security, And For Former Sen. Jeff Sessions. Gene Hamilton Is The “Vice-President And General Counsel Of America First Legal.” “Gene serves as Vice-President and General Counsel of America First Legal.
Prior to AFL, Gene served as Counselor to the Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice from 2017-2021—providing legal advice, counsel, and strategic guidance. He has also served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, General Counsel on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, and served in a variety of other roles at the Department of Homeland Security.” [America First Legal, accessed 2/14/24]
Gene Hamilton Is A Federalist Society Contributor That Served As “Counselor To The Attorney General At The United States Department Of Justice From 2017-2021.” “Gene Hamilton served as Counselor to the Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice from 2017-2021—providing legal advice, counsel, and strategic guidance to Attorney General Jeff Sessions, Attorney General William Barr, Acting Attorney General Jeff Rosen, Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker, and other officials throughout the Department of Justice.
During his service as Counselor to the Attorney General, Gene advised on and participated in litigation, regulatory actions, and policymaking on high-priority issues for the Administration.” [Federalist Society, Contributors, accessed 2/14/24] Hamilton Previously Worked In The Department Of Homeland Security And For Sen. Jeff Sessions. “Prior to his service at the Department of Justice, Gene served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security, John Kelly; as General Counsel to Senator Jeff Sessions on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest; as Assistant Chief Counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and as an Attorney Advisor in the Secretary’s Honors Program for Attorneys at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.” [Federalist Society, Contributors, accessed 2/14/24]
Hamilton Has Also Worked As Assistant Chief Counsel At U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement And Was An Honors Attorney At The Department Of Homeland Security. “Gene Hamilton is currently the General Counsel to Chairman Jeff Sessions (R-AL) on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration and the National Interest. As General Counsel to Chairman Sessions, Mr Hamilton is responsible for the Subcommittee’s legislative portfolio, advising the Chairman on immigration and homeland...
Hamilton Is The Treasurer For Citizens For Sanity, A New “Dark Money” Group Running Ads To Mock Progressive Policies.
Citizens For Sanity Is “A New ‘Dark Money’ Group Bankrolling Provocative Ads Mocking Progressive Policies And Politicians In Battleground States.” “A new ‘dark money’ group bankrolling provocative ads mocking progressive policies and politicians in battleground states ahead of 2022 midterms is connected to officials in former President Donald Trump’s administration who now work with the America First Legal Foundation, records reviewed by OpenSecrets show.
The group, Citizens for Sanity, has paid for billboards emblazoned with messages like ‘Protect Pregnant Men from Climate Discrimination’ and ‘Real progressives support violent criminals in their hour of need’ in states across the country – including Massachusetts, Colorado, Arizona, Nevada, Pennsylvania, California, Michigan, Texas, Illinois and Georgia. The ads have been described as racist and transphobic. [Open Secrets, 9/15/22]
Hamilton Is The Treasurer Of Citizens For Sanity. “Citizens for Sanity’s treasurer is Gene Hamilton, vice president of the America First Legal Foundation and a former top aide in Trump’s administration who was considered to be a ‘key architect of the repeal of DACA.’” [Open Secrets, 9/15/22] Hamilton “Helped Shape Trump’s Various Travel Bans, Changes To Refugee Policies, And The Implementation Of An Aggressive New Approach To Immigration Enforcement;” He Also Drafted The Memo That Terminated DACA.
While In The Trump Administration, Hamilton “Helped Shape Trump’s Various Travel Bans, Changes To Refugee Policies, And The Implementation Of An Aggressive New Approach To Immigration Enforcement,” Including Drafting The Memo That Terminated DACA. While Working In The Trump Administration, Hamilton “Helped Shape Trump’s Various Travel Bans, Changes To Refugee Policies, And The Implementation Of An Aggressive New Approach To...
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In America First Legal Press Releases, Hamilton Has Criticized The Biden Administration For Decimating Immigration Enforcement, Amplified Election Fraud Fear, And Claimed Prosecution Of Violent January 6th Insurrectionists Was Radical. Hamilton Claimed In America First Legal Press Releases That “The Biden Administration Has Overseen What Could Be The Largest International Child Trafficking And Smuggling Regime In Human History” And Has “Systematically Decimated Our Borders And Our Immigration Enforcement Regime.” In An America First Legal Press Release, Hamilton Claimed That “The Biden Administration Has Overseen What Could Be The Largest International Child Trafficking And Smuggling Regime In Human History, And They Have Done Nothing To Stop It.” “Statement from Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel: ‘The Biden Administration has overseen what could be the largest international child trafficking and smuggling regime in human history, and they have done nothing to stop it. Instead, they have doled out contracts worth billions of dollars in taxpayer dollars, some of which appear to be totally unaccounted for, and lined the pockets of their allies. Until something changes, this cycle will perpetuate itself, leading to a situation where the American people continue to shell out their hard-earned money to fund the completion of a cycle of egregious human trafficking and smuggling,’ said Gene Hamilton.” [America First Legal, 9/28/23] In An America First Legal Press Release, Hamilton Claimed “President Biden And His Open-Border Idealogues Have Systematically Decimated Our Borders And Our Immigration Enforcement Regime.” “Statement from Gene Hamilton, America First Legal Vice President and General Counsel: ‘President Biden and his open-border idealogues have systematically decimated our borders and our immigration enforcement regime. From the earliest days of the Biden Administration, instead of allowing ICE officers to go out and do their job of arresting and removing dangerous people who are not allowed to be in the country, the Biden Administration made all those officers go into the office and submit a report about why they should be able to enforce the law, and then wait for approval from Washington, D.C. Fortunately, Texas and Louisiana took action to stop these twisted policies–and we hope for a good decision from the Supreme Court soon–but...
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In Hamilton’s Project 2025 Section On The Department Of Justice, He Recommends “A Top-To-Bottom Overhaul” Of The DOJ And FBI, Demoting The FBI Within The DOJ To Allow More Political Appointees, Prosecuting Local District Attorneys For “Refusing To Prosecute Criminal Offenses In Their Jurisdictions,” Stop Provision And Distribution Of Medication Abortion Pills, Among Other Egregious Proposals.
In Hamilton’s Project 2025 Section On The Department Of Justice, He Said That “Anything Other Than A Top-To-Bottom Overhaul” Of The DOJ And FBI Would “Guarantee The Failure Of That Conservative Administration’s Agenda In Countless Other Ways.” In Hamilton’s Project 2025 Section On The Department Of Justice, He Said That “Anything Other Than A Top-To-Bottom Overhaul” Of The DOJ And FBI Would “Guarantee The Failure Of That Conservative Administration’s Agenda In Countless Other Ways.” “It is essential that the next conservative Administration place a high priority on reforming the DOJ and its culture to align the department with its core purposes and advance the national interest. Critically, this must include the FBI. Anything other than a top-to-bottom overhaul will only further erode the trust of significant portions of the American people and harm the very fabric that holds together our constitutional republic. At a practical level, not reforming the Department of Justice will also guarantee the failure of that conservative Administration’s agenda in countless other ways.” [Project 2025, accessed 4/30/24] ● Hamilton Wrote The Project 2025 Section On The Department Of Justice.
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Gene P. Hamilton is an American lawyer and policymaker who served within the U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security[1] during the presidency of Donald J. Trump. In these positions, he played key roles in ending the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program, creating the Trump administration's "zero tolerance" family separation policy,[2][3][4] and in revoking the Temporary Protected Status of immigrants from Sudan and South Sudan.[5]
Hamilton currently serves as the Vice President of America First Legal,[6][7] a legal action group founded by former Trump administration officials, including Stephen Miller. In this role, he has represented the state of Texas in a lawsuit aiming to reinstate Trump-era policies that bar unaccompanied migrant children from entering the United States.[8] He also serves as the treasurer for Citizens for Sanity, a conservative political action committee.[9]
Education and early career
Hamilton was raised in Arizona.[2] He received a Bachelor's degree from the University of Georgia, and a J.D. from the Washington and Lee School of Law in 2010.[10] While attending law school, Hamilton interned at the Krome Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility in Miami, Florida;[2][11] upon graduation he accepted a role as an Honors Attorney at the Department of Homeland Security,[12] eventually returning to ICE in its Office of Chief Counsel in Georgia.
In 2015, Hamilton left the Department to become General Counsel to then-Senator Jeff Sessions, under whom he would later work at the Department of Justice when Sessions became the United States Attorney General.[2] In 2016, Hamilton joined the Trump transition team, ultimately leading its immigration policy efforts.
fedsoc bs
Gene Hamilton serves as Executive Director, Executive Vice President, and General Counsel of America First Legal Foundation. Prior to AFL, Gene served as Counselor to the Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice from 2017-2021—providing legal advice, counsel, and strategic guidance to the Attorney General and other officials throughout the Department of Justice. While serving as Counselor to the Attorney General, Gene advised on and participated in litigation, regulatory actions, and policymaking on high-priority issues for the Trump Administration. Before his service at the Department of Justice, Gene served as Senior Counselor to the Secretary of Homeland Security; as General Counsel to Senator Jeff Sessions on the Senate Committee on the Judiciary; as Assistant Chief Counsel for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement; and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Secretary’s Honors Program for Attorneys at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which included work in the Office of General Counsel’s Operations and Enforcement Law Division, the Intelligence Law Division, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Transportation Security Administration.
Gene graduated from the Washington and Lee School of Law magna cum laude and Order of the Coif and has a Bachelor of Arts in International Affairs from the University of Georgia.
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2024-05-13-Gene-Hamilton-Congressional-Hearing-Doc
ACCOUNTABLE us 13 PP
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disquaL TITLE 42 SUIT PAXTON
Brief in Opposition to Defendants’ Motion to Disqualify
KEN PAXTON AARON F. REITZ Attorney General of Texas Lead Counsel Deputy Attorney General for Legal Strategy BRENT WEBSTER Texas Bar No. 24105704 First Assistant Attorney General aaron.reitz@oag.texas.gov
LEIF A. OLSON OFFICE OF THE ATTORNEY GENERAL Special Counsel P.O. Box 12548 Texas Bar No. 24032801 Austin, Texas 78711-2548 leif.olson@oag.texas.gov (512) 936-1700
MATTHEW G. WHITAKER Counsel for the State of Texas Admitted pro hac vice America First Legal Foundation 300 Independence Avenue SE Washington, D.C. 20003 (202) 964-3721 info@aflegal.org
...and two of its lawyers, Gene Hamilton and Matt Whitaker, from that representation. There is no factual or legal foundation for doing so, which would substantially prejudice Texas.
More, the Defendants’ logic would also disqualify nearly all attorneys from working on subjects in which they used their expertise while in government service, including challenges to unlawful acts by their former government employers. That would be an absurd result, and the Court should deny the Motion.
Background
This case primarily involves a group of enactments collectively referred to as Title 42: a nearly century-old statutory authority, 42 U.S.C. § 265; a regulation promulgated to implement that authority, 42 C.F.R. § 71.40; and multiple orders issued by the Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention under that authority, the latest in August 2021. 85 Fed. Reg. 65,806–12 (Oct. 13, 2020); 86 Fed. Reg. 42,828 (Aug. 5, 2021) (“replacing and superseding” the October 2020 order).
Among Texas’s counsel in this case are Mr. Hamilton and Mr. Whitaker, both of whom served at the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Hamilton served as Counselor to the Attorney General and provided legal advice and counsel for general policymaking matters related to Title 42 during that time. Some of that work related to other particular cases involving the Title 42 regime. Mr. Whitaker served as Chief of Staff and Senior Counselor to the Attorney General and, later, as Acting Attorney
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BRIEF OF AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION AS AMICUS CURIAE IN SUPPORT OF APPELLEES __ CHRISTOPHER E. MILLS GENE P. HAMILTON Spero Law LLC Ga. Bar No. 516201 557 East Bay Street
#22251 America First Legal Foundation Charleston, SC 29413 611 Pennsylvania Ave. SE (843) 606-0640 #231 cmills@spero.law (pro hac vice pending) Washington, DC 20003 (202) 964-3721 gene.hamilton@aflegal.org Counsel for Amicus Curiae
INTRODUCTION In accepting this appeal, the Court posed the question: “Does the Open Records Act apply to district attorneys’ offices?”
:{:{Dec. 27, 2023 Order. The only plausible reading of the statute is that it does. By its terms after its amendments in 2012, it applies to all state “offices.” Notwithstanding Appellant’s long digression about the judicial branch, the statute’s terms do not distinguish between offices that exercise executive and judicial functions. And the statute expressly exempts certain records maintained by prosecutors’ offices—underscoring that its default rule encompasses those offices.}:
Thus, which branch of government district attorneys’ offices reside in—or what types of power they exercise—is irrelevant to this question of statutory interpretation. The only plausible reading of the text is that it applies to those offices. Because the text is clear and Appellant raises no constitutional challenge to the statute, that clear reading disposes of the Court’s statutory question. This reading also promotes the rule of law. To amicus’s knowledge, no similar...}:
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COMPLAINT TO ENFORCE COMPLIANCE WITH THE GEORGIA OPEN RECORDS ACT Plaintiff Bentley Media Group files this Complaint to ensure that the Fulton County District Attorney’s Office provides public access to documents in accordance with the Georgia Open Records Act, O.C.G.A. §§ 50-18-70 et seq. PARTIES 1. The Plaintiff, Bentley Media Group, operates “Just The News” (“JTN”), a web-based news organization with adjacent television and podcast operations. John Solomon is JTN’s Chief Executive Officer and Editor in Chief. He is an award-winning investigative journalist, author, and digital media entrepreneur who has reported for The Associated Press, The Washington Post, The Washington Times, Newsweek, The Daily Beast, and The Hill. JTN’s website may be found at https://justthenews.com. JTN has consistently reported on criminal investigations and trials of national significance....
iii. Order the Defendant to comply with the Plaintiff’s request pursuant to the Georgia Open Records Act and to provide any applicable records; iv. Grant the Plaintiff reasonable attorney’s fees and costs incurred in filing this action; and v. Provide such further relief as this Court deems just and proper. Dated: February 21, 2024 Respectfully submitted, /s/ Gene P. Hamilton Gene P. Hamilton Georgia Bar No. 516201 Michael Ding* DC Bar No. 1027252 AMERICA FIRST LEGAL FOUNDATION 611 Pennsylvania Avenue SE #231 Washington, DC 20003 Email: gene.hamilton@aflegal.org Attorneys for Plaintiff *Application for admission pro hac vice forthcoming
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former-trump-administration-official-gene-hamiltons-contacts-with-far-right-anti-immigration-groups
as former top Trump administration officials search for new roles outside of government, one such political appointee — Gene Hamilton, who held prominent positions in the Departments of Homeland Security and Justice — has been involved in the creationof a new conservative group led by former White House Senior Adviser Stephen Miller.
The organization, America First Legal, aims to organize Republican attorneys general to mount legal challenges to Biden administration policies. Hamilton is expected to spearhead the group’s legal efforts, which have so far included a lawsuit claiming that the American Rescue Plan Act discriminates against white ranchers and another attempting to preventPresident Biden from softening border restrictions.
Hamilton, often working behind the scenes, was an influential player in the Trump administration’s immigration policy. In an October 2017 deposition, later obtained by the *New Yorker*, Hamilton said that he had been the Trump transition team’s “lead on development of all immigration-policy issues.” After Trump’s inauguration, Hamilton went to work at the Department of Homeland Security, and in late 2017 he became an aide to then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. While working for the Trump administration, Hamilton was instrumental in setting refugee caps at historic lows and in ending Temporary Protected Status for people from Sudan and South Sudan in 2017. He is credited with writing the memo that ended Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, and a recent report by the DOJ inspector general named him as a key player in the “zero tolerance” policy that resulted in separating hundreds of children from their families.
Previously, American Oversight reported on records obtained through Freedom of Information Act litigation that reveal frequent contact between Hamilton and Miller during the height of family separation. While Miller is often cited as the architect of Trump’s most severe anti-immigration policies, it’s clear that Hamilton’s role was equally crucial in enacting that agenda.
In his new role with America First Legal, Hamilton joins an extensive network of pressure groups attempting to prevent the Biden administration from rolling back the immigration policies that he helped create.
He is no stranger to this community. While he was working in the Trump administration, as American Oversight has previously reported, Hamilton maintained contact with many such anti-immigrant groups. He granted them a high level of access: agreeing to organize meetings, to share data, and to discuss policy.
One such contact was Maria Espinoza, who founded the Remembrance Project, which has been designated as a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). The group has pushed a false narrative linking immigration to crime, purporting to advocate for victims of crimes committed by undocumented immigrants. In the last decade, Espinoza has aligned herself with white nationalist and nativist organizations.
In a March 2017 email, Espinoza thanked Hamilton for setting up a meeting with then-DHS Secretary John Kelly, which she called “an exciting first step in what we believe will be a great partnership.” Espinoza listed several of the “action items” that had been discussed, including information on “the “scale of illegal alien crime” and potential grants to “help fund our pro-Trump agenda.”
Another far-right contact of Hamilton who appears in documents uncovered by American Oversight is Steven Camarota, the research director of CIS, which has also emphasized a spurious connection between immigrants and crime and has been designated as a hate group by the SPLC.
In July 2017, Camarota emailed Hamilton and asked if the administration could “delay” an announcement regarding a temporary increase in new H-2B temporary worker visas so that CIS could “put some stuff out” to argue that there was “no need” for the expansion. The government appears to haveadopted the group’s desired timing on the announcement, allowing CIS to publish materials referencing a policy change that was coming “any day.”
In the following months, Hamilton maintained other contacts at CIS. In January 2018, he sent an email indicating that he was planning to meet with the CIS Executive Director Mark Krikorian and Art Arthur, a resident fellow. He said that they would be joined by James McHenry, who was serving as director of the Executive Office of Immigration Review, and Devin O’Malley, who was then a Justice Department spokesman.
In addition, Hamilton appears to have been acquainted with numerous employees of the conservative Heritage Foundation. In February 2019, he scheduled a meeting with James Jay Carafano, the vice president of the foundation’s Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy. The next month, Carafano invited Hamilton to have a “sit down with our team that works on immigration security issues” in order to have an “open off the record discussion.” Hamilton appears to have accepted the invitation. In April, Carafano sent Hamilton a link to an opinion piece he wrote for Fox News that claimed undocumented immigrants come with a “big sticker price” of “providing public services” and that sanctuary cities have served as “magnets for criminals.” (Each of these claims has been contested by research.)
In August 2019, Hamilton received an email from Paul Winfree, director of Heritage’s Institute for Economic Policy, copying Norbert Michel, director of Heritage’s Center for Data Analysis. Winfree noted that Michel had “questions about data regarding visas.” Hamilton set up a meeting with Michel later that month, and he told Winfree that they should “plan on catching up soon.”
Hamilton’s relationship with the Heritage Foundation has continued. In March, he participated in a panel discussion on the “Biden border crisis” hosted by Carafano, alongside Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Rep. Tom McClintock of California.
American Oversight also obtained records showing that Hamilton corresponded with members of the Federalist Society, a conservative organization that exercises enormous influence on the courts. In March 2019, Vice President and General Counsel Dean Reuter emailed Hamilton, asking for a “chance to discuss some immigration issues.” Hamilton agreed, and they met for lunch later that month.
American Oversight continues to investigate Hamilton and his role in immigration policy. We continue to litigate for his communications with Stephen Miller, as well as for his communications with right-leaning organizations.
Part of Investigation:
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