It is my great pleasure to give a keynote speech at the Federal Identity Conference in Tampa, Florida today — an international gathering of government, private, and academic experts in the field of biometric technology. I will be presenting material from two forthcoming law review articles on privacy in the biometric age. I will be speaking at the Tampa Convention Center at 10:15 am.
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The release of the transcript of the conversation of President Donald Trump and Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy falls a quid short of a pro quo but still raises troubling questions. As I have discussed on CBS and BBC, the transcript shows that Trump never expressly tied military aid to the “favor.” However, he does push his counterpart to reopen the investigation and even promises to put together a call with his private counsel Rudy Giuliani and Attorney General Bill Barr. However, the Justice Department has released a statement that Barr was not informed of the call by Trump and never spoke with the Ukrainians. While Republicans have called the release of the transcript as a mistake, I believe credit again should be given for the waiver of executive privilege. As with the Mueller report, the White House erred on the side of transparency and that should be noted. There remains a serious question for Congress to investigate but the transcript does not establish the quid pro quo that is practically needed for a compelling case of impeachment.
Continue reading “Transcript: Trump Asks For “Favor” in Investigating The Bidens But Stops Short Of A Quid Pro Quo”
Calls for impeachment are rising on Capitol Hill as more details emerge from a call by President Donald Trump to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in which he repeatedly asked for the investigation of Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden. Now, reports indicate that Trump froze roughly $400 million in military aid shortly before the call. The timing could reinforce arguments of an implied or express quid pro quo arrangement. Update: Trump confirmed that he ordered the withholding of funds.
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Former Massachusetts Gov. Bill Weld, who is running against President Trump in the Republican primaries, drew headlines on Monday by declaring that Trump’s call to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky asking for an investigation of Joe Biden and his son constitutes treason. Indeed, the normally circumspect Weld, said that Trump could be executed for his conversation. The claim is wildly off base. The call could theoretically be criminal if, as I have written recently, there were a quid pro quo or suffice as an impeachable offense. That will depend on the facts that unfold in the coming weeks. However, it achieves nothing to escalate the debate far beyond the reasonable interpretation of the criminal code.
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One of the areas that I teach in torts is the use and limits of the privilege of self-defense and defense of property. We recently discussed in Illinois case involving the use of a spring gun in a case of defending property. Now in New York, postal worker Troy George has been charged with murder, manslaughter and weapons possession after he chased down an alleged burglar and killed him with a pipe.
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The family of Boston gangster James “Whitey” Bulger have filed a wrongful death action against the federal Bureau of Prisons, alleging that he was “deliberately placed in harm’s way.” As I have written previously, Bulger’s murder would seem the result of either gross negligence or an intentional act by prison officials in allowing the attack on Bulger, 89. Perhaps a lawsuit will produce the full accounting that has yet to emerge from the prison.
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In another extreme and dubious argument in court, President Donald Trump has gone to court against to block Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance from gaining access to his tax returns. The President’s resistance to disclosing his taxes is now legendary, including differing excuses. However, this 20-page filing contains a particularly disconcerting argument that Trump cannot be criminally investigated while he is in office. It is an argument that has little support in either the text of the Constitution or cases dealing with Article II.
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This morning on NPR, I discussed the latest controversy triggered by President Trump’s personal lawyer, Rudy Giuliani. We have previously discussed the often conflicting statements made by Rudy Giuliani in this representation of President Donald Trump and the failure to follow a type of legal Hippocratic oath to first do no harm to one’s client. Last night Giuliani triggered another firestorm of criticism on CNN after he first denied speaking to Ukraine about investigating Joe Biden and then immediately contradicted himself and said that he did.
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There is another case involving a possible “Stand Your Ground” defense in the headlines this week. The latest case comes out of Georgia where three teens were shot and killed by a home owner. Stand Your Ground laws have been part of the national consciousness since George Zimmerman shot Trayvon Martin, even though Zimmerman did not ultimately rely on the Florida SYG law. The initial account seems to be a classic case for the common law rule that you are not required to retreat in exercising the privilege of self-defense.
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Some of us go to great lengths to see Grizzly bears in the wild. Devin Mitsuing, 35, appears to look for bears for a more hands on interaction with the bears. Mitsuing was found guilty in trying to box with a grizzly bear after stripping off his shirt and charging at it.
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We have previously discussed cruel abuse of wild animals by people who then post their twisted achievements on the Internet. One such idiot is Robert Lee “Bo” Benac III who recorded the dragging of a shark to its death behind a high-speed boat. Benac was given a generous a plea deal and sentenced to only 10 days in jail. He is the third person to face charges for the disgusting videotape shoot near Egmont Key, Florida. Benac pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor charges of aggravated cruelty to animals and violation of Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission rules. This is what you get for an open and brutal case of torturing a wild animal to its death.
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There is a new spring gun or man trap case in torts. I teach such cases as part of intentional torts starting with the famous case of Bird v. Holbrook in 1825. William Wasmund, 48, was convicted of rigging a shotgun (a favorite choice of spring gunners) and killed a neighbor. He was convicted of first-degree murder and aggravated battery in the death of Jeff Spicer, according to The Southern Illinoisian.
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Minnesota police are looking for a group of men who brutally attacked a man who was sitting outside of the Minnesota Twins stadium. The two minute videotape below shows the man savagely attacked by at least six young males who strip him, stomp on him, and rob him. It is the utter glee of the attackers that is so chilling in the film as they laugh at his suffering.
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By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor
According to Court records via the local news, a former middle-school para-educator pleaded guilty to a reduced charge of Communicating with a Minor for Immoral Purposes after she allegedly facilitated the statutory rape of a thirteen year old girl by her husband.
The former Kennewick, WA educator acted as an intermediary in the exchange of “love letters”, providing a cellphone, and arranging for sexual relations between the child victim and her husband, a former Umatilla County Oregon Corrections officer.
I have often lamented in the past that virtue has its limits but depravity knows no bounds. And with these two having positions of both authority and responsibility to the public, especially children, there simply is no redemption they may qualify.
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Earnest Christopher Grant, 50, was celebrated by President Donald Trump at the White House for what Trump described as a heroic attempt to stop the shooter in the El Paso Walmart shooting. He was not present however because the Secret Service stopped him due to an outstanding warrant. Yet, Trump went ahead with his story and gave a commendation to his mother. It turns out, according to law enforcement officials, to be a false account. I have previously written about the steady flow of self-inflicted wounds and embarrassing missteps in this White House. This is one. Why would the President hold a national recognition ceremony featuring a heroic tale that was based solely on one person’s own account, particularly after he was just prevented from entering by the Secret Service?
Continue reading “Less Than Earnest? Heroic Account Celebrated By Trump From El Paso Shooting Declared False”