President Donald Trump today weighed in, again, on the Russian investigation with a tweet declaring that “collusion is not a crime.” He is correct. Indeed, I was raising this objection before the appointment of the Special Counsel. For months, commentators treated collusion as if it were a per se crime. However, it is unwise for Trump to continue to weigh in on the investigation though he is clearly undeterred by complications created legally by his tweets in litigation (particularly in the immigration challenges).
Category: Constitutional Law
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the calls for the impeachment of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. While the key sponsors have indicated that they may be willing to delay this effort, many continue to advocate for a vote on articles of impeachment. As I have previously said, that would be a mistake. Putting aside the historical and constitutional reasons discussed below, this is the worst possible time for the Republicans to lower the standard for impeachment. The Democrats could well retake the house in November and the effort against Rosenstein could make it all the more easy for Democrats to pursue Donald Trump after the midterm elections. Continue reading “Republicans Need To Consider The Consequences Of A Rosenstein Impeachment”
I have the honor of giving a keynote address to the Ninth Circuit Judicial Conference in Anaheim, California this morning. The presentation at 10:30 am at the Marriott Anaheim is entitled “The Rise and Fall of Free Speech In the West.” Continue reading “Turley To Address The Ninth Circuit Conference”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the lingering questions left from the Strzok testimony. While it may seem like a thousand years after Helsinki and the Cohen tape, the testimony of Strzok was shaped by highly dubious instructions from the FBI not to answer core questions. It is highly doubtful that a majority of these refusals would be upheld under judicial review — starting with the first question asked of Strzok.
Here is the column: Continue reading “On Contempt: The FBI Has Congress’ Number”
In another attack on journalists, President Donald Trump called the “fake news media” the “real enemy of the people” yesterday. The tweet is in response to uniformly negative coverage, including on Fox News, of Trump’s handling of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Since the vast majority of reporters described the summit as a debacle, it put most reporters in this category. The tweet caused even Fox reporter John Roberts to remark that he must also now be an “enemy of the people.” The White House is still reeling from Trump’s disastrous news conference with Putin and various Republican leaders (and Trump’s own intelligence figures) have made varying levels of corrections or outright contradictions of his words. I have repeatedly criticized the media for unfair coverage of the Trump investigations and related subjects. However, these attacks on the media are as unfounded as they are dangerous for American society. The President often has a point on slanted coverage but his use of such inflammatory and unjustified language should be rejected by all citizens.
Continue reading “No, Mr. President, The Media Is Not The “Real Enemy of the People””
MGM Resorts International has gone to an extraordinary point to forum shop for more sympathetic judges: it is actually suing the victims of last year’s Las Vegas concert mass shooting. The move has outraged many as MGM shamelessly sues grieving families and individuals to get before the more conservative federal bench. It is a move that is a stark reminder of how corporations openly forum shop for judges as well as the view of the federal bench as being more sympathetic to corporate defendants. What is all the more unsettling is that MGM and Mandalay Bay could well succeed.
Continue reading “Changing Dealers? MGM Resorts Sues The Victims In The Mandalay Bay Massacre”
In one of the most troubling orders issued by a court in years, U.S. District Judge John F. Walter issued an order on Saturday to the Los Angeles Times to remove information from an article describing a plea agreement between prosecutors and a Glendale police detective. The detective is alleged to have been in the pocket of the blood-soaked Mexican Mafia. The newspaper discovered the details in a posted order on PACER the online court database, which was supposed to be left under seal. I have been in cases when such mistakes have occurred but the court’s actions in this case drive to the heart of press freedom in this country. In my view (which will hardly surprise our regular readers), the order is a direct and dangerous violation of the First Amendment. [UPDATE: After a national outcry, the judge has rescinded his order and says that he was not sure that the LA Times had obtained the material legally.]
Over the course of the last year, I have been highly critical of Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein for his selection of Robert Mueller as Special Counsel and his failure to recuse himself from the Russian investigation. However, the most recent effort to impeach Rosenstein is unwarranted and unwise. According to news reports on Friday, Reps. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., and Jim Jordan, R-Ohio are preparing articles of impeachment to subject in the coming weeks against Rosenstein.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on continued claims about undocumented immigrants and their legal status. There is a growing misrepresentation of the status issues that are deeply concerning. While undocumented status can be treated as a civil matter, it is also a criminal matter when a person enters the country illegally. Some politicians and commentators have been stating simply that all undocumented persons are non-criminals while others have suggested that persons are “perfectly legal” if they claim asylum even if they entered illegally. The point is that not all such persons should be treated criminally, but rather these statements can be dangerously misleading for families considering an illegal crossing. The Trump Administration has shifted enforcement toward greater criminal than civil enforcement. As for asylum claims, they are not the majority of illegal entries but the numbers are clearly rising. We are required under international law to consider such applications, but that does not mean that the entry was lawful or that such cases cannot raise risks of criminal enforcement. With so many lives at risk, we need to be more accurate in how we describe the legal realities of illegal entry.
Here is the column:
Continue reading ““Perfectly Legal”: The Perilous Rhetoric Of Immigration Politics”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the nomination of Brett Kavanaugh to replace retiring Associate Justice Anthony Kennedy. It seems likely that Kavanaugh will be confirmed absent some earth-shattering disclosure in the confirmation process.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Kavanaugh Nomination: Trump Selects A Robertsesque Nominee”
Students at Cambridge are objecting to the hiring of American Aron Wall, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of California-Santa Barbara who studies “quantum gravity and black hole thermodynamics.” It is not Wall’s academic credentials or theories that are controversial. Rather, three years ago, Wall wrote a blog post critical of Obergefell v. Hodges in 2015, the decision protecting the right to same-sex marriage. Wall’s criticism was of non-monogamous relations in the gay and lesbian communities. One can easily see the objections to such arguments but critics have gone further to object that Wall’s personal views create a hostile or threatening environment. Continue reading “Cambridge Under Fire For Hiring American Physics Researcher Who Advocated Monogamy On Blog Three Years Ago”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on why the most creative and productive individuals are often disfavored in our modern confirmation system. With the announcement of the new nominee this evening by President Donald Trump, we will have the state of a counterintuitive process that favors those who are the least forthcoming or open about their views.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Why Big Fierce Nominees Are Rare”
Christopher John Czarnik, 45, is the focus of a novel criminal charge. The prisoner at Oaks Correctional in Michigan is serving time on a 2014 plea for the possession and distribution of sexually explicit images of children. He was then charged again with child porn in prison. The source? Czarnik himself. Guards found a drawing of a young girl engaged in sexual acts with an adult male. The drawings were upheld by the Michigan Supreme Court.
Below is my column in USA Today on politics over Roe and the Supreme Court vacancy. The new vacancy and the the earlier pro-life pledge of President Donald Trump is something of a bill come due for Republicans. It is a bill that some Republicans privately do not want to pay.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Catching Roe: Republicans Face The Peril Of Success Of A Pro-Life Majority”
Attorneys for former Trump campaign manager Paul Manafort have asked a federal judge for a venue change on the rather dubious grounds that Alexandria Virginia is simply too liberal. Manafort wants a jury in Roanoke where there are more Republicans. It is an exceptionally weak motion and would be unprecedented to shift jurisdiction based on the political views of the local electorate as opposed to using voir dire to spot bias. Attorneys Kevin Downing, Thomas Zehnle and Jay Nanavati told the “It is not a stretch to expect that voters who supported Secretary Clinton would be predisposed against Mr. Manafort or that voters who supported President Donald Trump would be less inclined toward the Special Counsel.” If it is “not a stretch” politically, it is a stretch legally. In fairness to the defense time, however, it was Judge T.S. Ellis III who raised the possibility of a venue change to Roanoke or Richmond. Ellis however has a reputation for making controversial statements from the bench. In most courts, I would expect this motion to be denied fairly quickly.
Continue reading “Manafort Moves For Venue Change From Liberal Alexandria”