Alissa Eleanor Azar, a well-known Antifa activist, was sentenced to jail recently in Oregon after being convicted of felony riot and disorderly conduct. What is notable about the case was the journalism defense put forward by Azar, who claims that she was not a participant but press. That assertion is belied by not just videotapes of Azar assaulting members of the far-right group The Proud Boys but her long record of violence. Continue reading “Well-Known Antifa Member Sentenced to Jail Despite Journalism Defense”
Category: Criminal law
Below is my column in Fox.com on the Hunter Biden guilty plea. The plea proved vintage Hunter Biden for all of the wrong reasons. The effort to plead guilty without admitting guilt left him looking like the most privileged person since Marie Antoinette. However, it was consistent with a bizarre criminal defense that never seemed connected to a legal strategy. In a twist on the famous tag line from Love Story, Hunter believed that being a Biden “is never having to say you’re guilty.”
Here is the column: Continue reading “Hunter Biden Discovers There is No “Nicer” Way to Say “I’m Guilty””
Below is my column in the New York Post on the sudden guilty plea from Hunter Biden in his federal tax case. It was not the plea but the timing of the plea that was the surprise. What is missing is any cognizable legal strategy in waiting until the first day of the trial to make a “naked plea” when it offered the least possible benefit to him. It was like waiting for the water to reach the deck of the Titanic before asking about swimming lessons. He was a tad late and then unsuccessfully sought to plead guilty without admitting guilt.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Hunter Biden Loses Game of Chicken With Himself”
In 2020, I wrote about the toppling of the monument to George Washington on the campus of George Washington University, where I teach. The university was silent on the vandalism by far left groups. Now, after George was restored, protesters have again vandalized the monument by spray painting pro-Palestinian slogans on its base. It is a continuation of property damage seen recently on Capitol Hill, including the defacing of the Columbus statue in front of Union Station as police watched. A pro-Palestinian group heralded the property damage on GW campus this week and pledged more such action until the university cuts ties with Israel. Continue reading “George Washington Monument Vandalized By Pro-Palestinian Protesters” 
Three years ago, we discussed the conviction of a British man for “toxic ideologies,” under the draconian laws criminalizing inciteful or dangerous speech. The erosion of free speech appears to have only accelerated in the UK. As is often the case, the attacks on free speech increase during periods of unrest, anger or fear. With the recent anti-immigration riots, British authorities have used their laws to round up a large number of citizens expressing anti-immigrant views and some have already been convicted. Those cases include Wayne O’Rourke, 35, who has been sentenced to three years in prison for “stirring up racial hatred.” Continue reading ““Keyboard Warrior”: British Crackdown Results in Three-Year Sentence Over Anti-Migrant Postings”
We have previously discussed controversial sentences handed down in cases involving rioters on January 6th, including sentencing orders that, in my view, violate First Amendment rights. That included the case of Daniel Goodwyn, who pleaded guilty to a single misdemeanor count of entering and remaining in a restricted building. That crime would ordinarily not involve any jail time for a first offender. However, Judge Reggie B. Walton of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia decided that he would use the case to regulate what Goodwyn was reading and communicating with a chilling probation order. After the case was sent back by the D.C. Circuit, Walton doubled down on his extraordinary order. Now the D.C. Circuit has refused to hear an emergency appeal. Continue reading “Combatting “False Narratives”: D.C. Circuit Refuses to Block Judge Limiting the Speech of Jan. 6th Defendant”
For over a year, Special Counsel Jack Smith has made one element the overriding priority in his prosecution of former president Donald Trump: speed. Smith repeatedly moved to curtail Trump’s appellate rights and demand expedited appeals to try to secure a conviction before the election. In that effort, he found an equally motivated judge in U.S. District Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who virtually turned her court into a rocket docket to try Trump. Now, in a neck-breaking change of direction, Smith is trying to slow down Chutkan who appears again ready to pull out the stops in this case. Continue reading “Smith is No Longer in a Hurry: Special Counsel Moves To Slow Down District Court Judge”
Special Counsel David Weiss appears to have finally made the long-awaited case exposing years of concealment and political corruption. No, it is not the case against Hunter Biden. The allegations of tax fraud in California are obvious and unavoidable. Weiss just made the case against the Justice Department and himself in protecting Hunter Biden from the most damaging charges of being an unregistered foreign agent. In a new filing, Weiss released evidence on Hunter seeking money to advance the interests of a Romanian on United States policy. Continue reading “The Justice Department Makes The Case Against Hunter Biden . . . and Itself in California”
Barbara Butch, the LGBTQ activist who was the center figure in the controversial “Last Supper” Paris Olympic scene is threatening to sue those criticizing her. Butch played the role (wearing a Christ-like halo) viewed by many as a spoof on Christ in the Last Supper. The creators insist that they were going for a type of “pagan party” of Olympic gods and sent a message of tolerance. Art experts have supported the creators and pointed to paintings that inspired the pagan motif. That is not exactly what was seen by millions of Christians who were deeply insulted by the parody.
Continue reading “Olympic “Christ” Threatens to Sue Critics Over “Last Supper” Backlash”
For most of us, this election could not become more confusing. However, Rep. Jasmine Crockett (D., Tx.) may have added a whole new level of confusion for many in suggesting that Donald Trump may have been the latest victim of systemic racism among law enforcement in the United States. Continue reading “Was Donald Trump the Victim of White Privilege? A Democratic Member Wants to Know”
We previously discussed how Hunter Biden adopted the arguments of the National Rifle Association (NRA) and other gun rights groups to challenge the law that his father has championed as a key gun control reform. In his effort to challenge his various charges, Hunter Biden has gone full Trump. Now, Hunter has adopted the Trump argument that special counsels are unconstitutional in seeking to toss out all of the charges by Special Counsel David Weiss, it is the very argument that Democrats and liberal law professors have denounced as meritless and menacing. Having recently embraced the conservative justices in challenging gun laws, Hunter is now channeling Justice Clarence Thomas on the unconstitutionality of special counsel appointments — an argument that his father denounced as wrong and “specious.”
Carnegie Mellon University Professor Uju Anya has joined the ranks of academics spreading the conspiracy theory that the assassination attempt on former President Donald Trump was “staged.” As for the killing and wounding of bystanders, Anya explained that “that’s exactly what they do.” Continue reading ““They Lie and People Die”: Carnegie Mellon Professor Claims Trump Assassination Attempt was “Staged”” 
Winston Churchill once famously said that “nothing in life is so exhilarating as to be shot at without result.”
For Donald Trump, the failed assassination attempt in Pennsylvania could prove politically exhilarating. After rising with a fist pump and a call to fight on, Trump seems to have gone from being a movement to a mythological figure with his supporters. All he needs now is a big blue ox named Babe to return to the campaign trail. Continue reading “Trump’s Churchillian Moment: How the Near Miss Assassination Hit the Mark with Press and Pundits”
Below is my Hill column on the assassination attempt of former president Donald Trump. We all watched as the horrific scene unfolded on television. It was a traumatic moment for the entire country, but it was hardly surprising given this age of rage. We are still learning about the suspected shooter, Thomas Matthew Crooks, 20, was from Bethel Park, Pennsylvania. He was able to use a roof top 130 yards away from the rally for the assassination attempt. He is being described as a registered Republican but donated to a Democratic political organization.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Attempted Assassination of Trump is Not Nearly as Surprising as it Should Be”
The Washington Post is reporting that Special Counsel Jack Smith may try to convict former president Donald Trump all the way through the election and up to 11:59 am on January 20th. After the oath, the Justice Department has long maintained that it will not prosecute a sitting president. Continue reading “Post: Jack Smith is Willing to Try Trump Up to Inauguration Day”