Judge fines Kansas elections official for misleading court

A judge has fined Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach $1,000 for misleading the court about the contents of materials he was photographed taking into a November meeting with then President-elect Donald Trump.

The ruling Friday by U.S. Magistrate Judge James O’Hara also requires Kobach to submit to a deposition by the American Civil Liberties Union about that document as well as a separate draft amendment to the National Voter Registration Act.

The ruling stops short of ordering the materials be made public as the ACLU had requested.

But O’Hara says they would become a judicial record if attorneys file them as exhibits in a motion. The parties would then face a tougher standard to meet to keep them secret.

Kobach did not immediately respond to a request for comment.