Below is my column in USA Today on Rep. Devin Nunes, the ranking member of the House Intelligence Committee, threatening lawsuits against the media. It will not come as a surprise of many that I opposed such lawsuits from a free speech perspective, but this effort could also ultimately undermine the position of the White House.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “How Devin Nunes’ Lawsuit Threat Could Undermine Donald Trump’s Impeachment Defense”
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on what the Democrats would have to do to build an actual case for the removal of the American president. I have previously said that abuse of power is impeachable, but it is the most difficult of potential impeachment claims. Once again, impeachment does not require a criminal allegation but it does require clarity. It also requires a complete and compelling record. This record is neither complete nor compelling on proof of an impeachable offense.
Rather than continuing to criticize the record, below is an effort to lay out a possible case for impeachment.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “How Democrats Can Build A Stronger Case To Impeach President Trump”
Timothy Bell, 29, has been charged with felony theft for a curious crime: stealing a burrito with threatening words. The charge however leaves a serious question as to the cost of burrito in Arizona.
Continue reading “Robo Grande? Arizona Man Charged With Felony Theft For Stealing Burrito With Threatening Words”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
There are some cases that are so unbelievably asinine, I must remind the reader this is not April Fool’s Day.
A woman in Utah presently faces the possibility of a ten year sex offender registration mandate if a Utah judge convicts her of Misdemeanor Lewdness Involving A Child for walking inside her own home topless.
Yes, apparently one can be arrested for being nude in their own home if a child witnesses the horrorshow of a woman’s exposed breast. God help us if nursing women feed their babies.
Continue reading “Utah Woman Charged With Lewdness For Being Nude In Her Own Home”
I have repeatedly criticized President Donald Trump’s counsel Rudy Giuliani for his record of rampage as counsel. Even before the ruinous work in the Ukraine came to light, Giuliani has assembled a long line of harmful statements. Now, in what may be the worst possible way to respond to a question whether he is concerned that Trump will throw him under the proverbial bus, Giuliani has said that he is not worried because “I have insurance.” It is a statement that raises obvious images of what the Russians call kompromat, or “compromising material.” Whether a joke or serious, it is again a remarkably dim-witted response at the height of an impeachment process.
Continue reading “Giuliani: I Am Not Worried Because “I Have Insurance””
“From the Land of Sky Blue Waters” in Wisconsin, police in Chippewa Falls stop Nicholas Layton after he was spotted allegedly weaving through the town. Layton was charged with drunk driving but that was not the biggest surprise in store for the police. Chippewa Falls Police officer Scott Schoenwetter could not find a registration for the plates and then realized that they were actually just painted on the back of a Hamm’s beer box.
Continue reading “Minnesota Man Arrested For DUI In Car With Fake License Plates Made From Hamm’s Beer Box”
While virtually everyone in Washington is burning any Christmas card or note connecting them to Rudy Giuliani, President Donald Trump gave a rambling and at times baffling interview on Fox & Friends in which he not only doubled down on his faith in Giuliani but restated the importance of the widely discredited Crowdstrike server claims. Giuliani has been denounced for his role in the Ukraine scandal and portrayed as a universally despised individual in the State Department and national security agencies. Yet, Trump heralded Giuliani as “a great crime-fighter” and leader even though Fox co-host Brian Kilmeade questioned his role in the scandal and raised the fact that two of his associates are now under indictment. I have been critical of Giuliani’s representation of the President for years. The interview could be an effort to keep Giuliani, who is under federal investigation, in the fold or the President may genuinely still believe that Giuliani is not only blameless but praiseworthy. Either way, this is not good. Both Giuliani and the Crowdstrike theory have been discredited in prior testimony. Nevertheless, the interview offer a glimpse into a possible defense in the Senate.
Continue reading “Trump Goes All-In With Giuliani and Crowdstrike In Fox Interview”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the three new crimes being alleged by the Democrats: bribery; extortion; and obstruction. There was a critical shift away from the abuse of power framework this week in favor of these criminal allegations. That may reflect the fact that the hearings have not resonated with voters, or at least have not caused a shift in public opinion. I have previously stated that a president can be impeached for abuse of power, including a quid pro quo. However, when alleging a crime, the elements of such a crime are relevant. Indeed, Schiff has referenced those elements in his comments in the hearings. The problem is that the case law falls far short of the rhetoric surrounding these crimes.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Democrats Seek To Redefine Crimes To Reframe The Trump Impeachment”
We often discuss the criminal defense question of whether it is better to smile or not smile for a mugshot. Shanda Johnson-Williams, 48, went with the smile option, but it somehow does not quite fit the moment given that she is accused of . . .
Continue reading “Can You Guess The Crime Alleged Here?”
European Union Ambassador Gordon Sondland sent shockwaves around Washington after he not only confirmed what he deduced as a quid pro quo demand but that a wide circle of top officials were fully informed for the effort. Sondland did not directly implicate Trump who he recounted denied any quid pro quo to him in a call on September 9th. However, he offered compelling testimony that he was told to speak to Rudy Giuliani who pursued such a quid pro quo. His testimony suggested knowledge of these efforts by Vice President Michael Pence, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, former National Security Adviser John Bolton, acting White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, and others. Pence and Pompeo immediately issued direct denials of that meetings or communications with Sondland ever occurred. What was striking is that Sondland made it clear that he would not go down alone. His testimony reflected a type of mutually assured destruction strategy for a wide circle of officials.
Below is my column in The Hill on the unfolding impeachment hearings. As I have stated, the hearings have proved damaging for President Donald Trump — damage that was bizarrely magnified by Trump himself with an attack on Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch. The move only pushed many Republicans on the Committee to avoid aggressive questioning of the diplomat. The tweet was unfair and remarkably self-defeating. As with the attacks by Trump on Taylor and Kent as “never Trumpers,” the tweet was wildly off base. While I have raised concerns over these allegations as a basis for impeachment, these diplomats strike me as people who have served our country with distinction and dedication. They are indeed the type of professionals that we need in our foreign posts.
That does not change the difficult questions that lie ahead. Perhaps this week’s testimony will materially change the zen-like questions discussed in this column.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Now For Your Moment Of Zen From The Trump Impeachment Hearings”
Below is my column in USA Today on the conviction of Roger Stone and his final battle for a presidential pardon to avoid a potentially terminal prison sentence.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “As Impeachment Draws Near, An “Agent Provocateur” May Have To Wait For An Urgent Pardon”
In what police allege is a real-life version of the premise of “Breaking Bad,” two Arkansas chemistry professors have been arrested for allegedly making methamphetamine. Terry David Bateman, 45, and Bradley Allen Rowland, 40, both associate professors of chemistry at Henderson State University in Arkadelphia, Arkansas, are accused of following in the footsteps of Walter White.
Continue reading “Breaking Bad Goes Bad: Two University Professors Arrested For Making Meth”
It was a defense that would make Johnnie Cochran proud. In an exclusive BBC interview, Prince Andrew insisted that he could not have had sex with an underaged girl arranged by Jeffrey Epstein because he does not perspire and she referenced his “sweating all over me.” This ultimate “no sweat” response is unlikely to convince many given the infamous pictures of the Prince with his arm around Virginia Giuffre at the home of Epstein. It is bad enough to be considered criminal without adding comical in the eyes of your critics. Hence the New York Post headline “His Royal Dryness.”
Continue reading “If The Glands Don’t Fit, You Must Acquit: Prince Andrew Advances Curious Perspiration-Based Defense To Epstein Allegations”
By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
A Spokane man is in hot air after allegedly attempting to evade arrest on a protection order violation by cloistering himself within a clothing dryer. No, it was not a big “Canyon-aire-o” sized dryer but it was a stackable apartment version.
Police claim that it was the work of a K-9 who found our hapless crook, but I have it on good authority it might have been the Snuggles Dryer Sheet bear who ratted him out.
Continue reading “Spokane Police Find Suspect Hiding In Clothes Dryer, Along With Missing Sock”