Washington Examiner reporter Kelly Cohen’s reaction in the Senate Judiciary Committee hearing was exactly what many expected from the blockbuster report on the investigation of the FBI. The problem is that Cohen was actually responding to something most DC citizens consider far, far more serious: the stepping down of the Washington Capitals head coach Barry Trotz. Continue reading
Congress
The Pardon Power Is Not A ShamWow For Presidential Scandals
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on Giuliani’s statement that the President may “clean up” the entire Mueller investigation with a slew of pardons at the end. After causing an outcry, Giuliani later said that the President would not pardon anyone under investigation. That led to utter confusion, again, about what Giuliani is saying and whether the original statement remains valid for pardons after the investigation.
Here is the column: Continue reading
Why The IG Report Undermines Mueller’s Obstruction Investigation
Below is my column on the implications of the IG report for the obstruction allegations being investigated by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. I have previously written how the most likely explanation for actions taken by this Administration will be found in Ockham’s Razor and that theory that requires the least number of assumptions. The IG report is an example of following such logic rather than assumptions.
Here is the column: Continue reading
Congress Is Again AWOL On War Powers
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent Senate hearing (in which I testified) on the proposed new AUMF legislation. In the last couple days, an open battle erupted between Sen. Lindsey Graham (R., South Carolina) and Sen. Rand Paul (R., Kentucky) after Graham called for the addition of North Korea among the ever changing list of countries. Paul called him “a danger to the country.”
Here is the column: Continue reading
It’s Not Personal, Mr. Rosenstein, Its Strictly Government Business
It appears that things got ugly in a recent meeting between Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein and House oversight staff. Rosenstein reportedly threatened to “subpoena” House committee members if they went after him with a contempt sanction for failing to turn over material on the FBI’s investigation of Trump campaign officials. If the account is true, it was a mistake by Rosenstein. To quote The Godfather, oversight is not personal, its oversight business. Continue reading
Turley To Testify On War Powers In Senate Today
I will be testifying today in the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management. The hearing is entitled “War Powers and the Effects of Unauthorized Military Engagements on Federal Spending” and will address the new proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) proposed by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA). As my testimony below discusses, the new legislation would represent an unprecedented change in the law governing war powers. The new AUMF amounts to a statutory revision of one of the most defining elements of the United States Constitution. Putting aside the constitutionality of such a change absent a formal amendment, the proposed legislation completes a long history of this body abdicating its core responsibilities over the declaration of war. Continue reading
Controversy Erupts With The Intervention Of The President’s Counsel Before Two Highly Classified Briefings
Emmet Flood, the latest lawyer added to the White House as part of its defense to the Russian investigation, was meant to bring experience and order to the chaotic legal team around President Donald Trump. However, his first public move can only be described as a blunder of the first order. Flood went to yesterday’s much discussed briefing to speak with members of Congress. Two highly classified briefings were scheduled to discuss the use of informants by the FBI in its investigation of Trump campaign associates. It was precisely the type of thoughtless act that has baffled many of us for months. Little would be achieved by Flood briefly addressing the members but, in appearing, Flood undermined the integrity and stated purpose of the meeting. He created the impression that the briefing was first and foremost about the defense of the President personally. In doing so, he undermined the entire exercise with virtually nothing to gain from his attending the meeting. None of this was criminal or unethical. The concern is that it shows a continued failure to mind critical lines of separation as well as a dumbfounding lack of judgment.
