He is the S. Walter Richey Professor of Corporate Law at the University of Minnesota, and since 2016 has been vice-chair of Citizens 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 the Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party endorsement in the 2022 Minnesota 1st congressional district special election to fill a vacancy caused by the death of Rep. Jim Hagedorn.

Painter finished in a distant third in the primary, losing the nomination to businessman Jeffrey Ettinger, who ultimately lost the special election.

In March 2020, his book coauthored with Peter Golenbock, American Nero: The History of the Destruction of the Rule of Law, and Why Trump Is the Worst Offender, appeared.

[citation needed] Painter was a law clerk to Judge John T. Noonan Jr. of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.

"[22] In 2018 he said, “We know there was collusion.”[23] In early 2019 Painter told German newspaper Deutsche Welle that 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.

"[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 an exploratory committee to run for U.S. Senate in Minnesota, saying he was unsure whether he would seek office as a Republican, Democrat, or independent.

[37] He is critical of the National Rifle Association of America, calling it a "protection racket" and favors "a license-and-registration system similar to what we have for cars.

3115, a bill that passed the U.S. House in early December 2017 to push through a land swap needed for the completion of the PolyMet mine, and the "Smith Amendment," a rider added to the National Defense Authorization Act that was designed to be parallel legislation to H.R.

[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.

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.

[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.

[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.

[56] In July 2015 Painter was diagnosed with shingles and Ramsay Hunt syndrome type 2, which left the right side of his face partially paralyzed.