There is a bizarre dispute brewing in New York where Rep. Mike McMahon is being criticized for his publication of a list of his opponent Mike Grimm’s Jewish contributors.
Category: Congress
Former Ways and Means Chairman, Rep. Charles B. Rangel (D., NY) will be tried on serious charges of ethics violations after he rejected the findings of the Ethics Committee, including the alleged failure to declare up to $831,000 in assets and use of his office to raise money for a center named after himself.
Continue reading “Rangel To Stand Trial On Ethics Violations”
If you recall, one of the most steadfast public positions of the Democrats and the Obama White House during the health care debate was that the legislation did not constitute a tax. President Barach Obama expressly denied that the legislation was a tax in pushing for its approval. Now, however, his administration is seeking to defend the law on the basis that it is . . . you guessed it . . . a tax.
Continue reading “Health Care: Turns Out To Be A Tax After All”
In an interview with Raw Story, Rep. Jerrold Nadler (D-NY) denounced President Barack Obama for blocking any investigation or prosecution of torture under the Bush Administration as inviting ‘tyranny.”
Continue reading “Nadler Denounces Obama’s Failure to Prosecute Bush Officials For Torture”
The Obama Administration is continuing to feel the heat over its decision to challenge the Arizona immigration law — a move making immigration a rallying cry for the November elections. With polls showing that citizens oppose the federal lawsuit two to one and that over sixty percent want similar laws in their own states, some Democrats are complaining that the Administration has put a nail in their political coffins. The level of anger on the issue is reflected by the astonishing level of financial support donated to Arizona: roughly $500,000 to pay for the state to fight the federal lawsuit.
Continue reading “Citizens Donate Half a Million Dollars to Arizona to Fight Federal Lawsuit”
Below is today’s USA Today column on the arrest of individuals for telling obvious jokes on airplanes and at airports.
Continue reading “Airlines Should Go After Hoaxers, Not Jokesters”
The Obama Administration filed a challenge of the Arizona immigration law in a move that comes with great legal and political risks. As noted in a recent column, the Arizona law remains quite popular around the country and the Administration will be in the unenviable position of arguing that increased enforcement conflicts with its own policies. Legally, the Justice Department will have to make out a case for implied preemption.
Continue reading “Obama Administration Challenges Arizona Law”
In a 5-4 decision, the United States Supreme Court has effectively struck down Chicago’s gun law and extended its earlier ruling on the Second Amendment to all states as a fundamental right. It is the decision that some of us anticipated as consistent with past rulings on fundamental rights. The impact will be considerable as all states will now have to respect the individual right of gun ownership under the Second Amendment.
Continue reading “Supreme Court Extends Second Amendment to the States”
Today the Senate will begin one of the longest running Kabuki shows in history. Supreme Court nominee Elena Kagan goes to the Senate Judiciary Committee for her confirmation hearings — a process long ridiculed for its ritualized and exaggerated content. The big question is whether Kagan will abandon her previously stated position that nominees should have to answer substantive questions on their views — a rejection of the so-called “Ginsburg Rule.” I will be commenting on the confirmation process at noon on MSNBC and later on Countdown.
Continue reading “Show Time: Kagan Hearings Begin Today”
A New Orleans federal judge lifted the six-month moratorium imposed on deepwater drilling by President Barack Obama after the BP spill. In New Orleans, U.S. District Judge Martin Feldman found that the administration had failed to satisfy requirements for notice and comment from industry. The case is Hornbeck Offshore Services LLC v. Salazar, 2:10-cv-01663(E.D. La.).
Continue reading “Drill, Baby, Drill: Obama’s Deep-Drilling Moratorium Lifted By Federal Court”
Tony Hayward, the chief executive of BP, appeared in the House of Representatives to apologize again for the destruction caused by his company. In the meantime, Rep. Joe Barton , R-Arlington, apologized for apologizing earlier to Hayward.
Below is today’s column exploring the growing anger of voters and the possible linkage of controversies ranging from the bank bailouts to immigration to the BP oil spill.
In the past, I have disclosed my involvement in high-profile cases to avoid any conflict with this blog or questions why I am not posting on a particular subject. Accordingly, I wanted to confirm that I have agreed to serve as co-lead counsel in the Senate impeachment trial of Judge G. Thomas Porteous.
Continue reading “Turley Joins Porteous Defense as Co-Lead Counsel”
Economists continue to line up warning of an economic meltdown as the U.S. moves toward 2012 when our debt will exceed our gross domestic product. The White House and Congress, however, continue to spend wildly on Iraq, Afghanistan, and other programs.
Continue reading “Super Debt Cycle: U.S. Debt Set to Surpass Gross Domestic Product”
With the BP spill destroying large areas of our coast and expected to move up the East Coast, lawmakers are pushing President Barack Obama to honor his earlier pledge to lift the moratorium on new drilling along our coasts. The oil lobby is pushing for expanded drilling even as the disaster mounts in the Gulf — many are calling the moratorium an “overreaction.”
Continue reading “Drill, Baby, Drill: Lawmakers Demand More Drilling and an End to Moratorium”