Category: Criminal law

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media, Politics

Trump Is Still Three Nixons Short Of Watergate

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent testimony by former Nixon White House Counsel John Dean. While President Trump has personally attacked Dean, I have always liked and respected him. However, I disagree with his historical analogies. Comparisons to the Nixon case are fair, but they become forced when people insist that the conduct or record is the same. There are fundamental and likely determinative distinctions. There is a valid basis for an investigation but the record does not support the extent of comparison laid out by John Dean. John often seems to rank presidents on a Nixon scale. Yet, rather than giving Trump essentially “five Nixons,” I would put it as one or two pending further investigation. In other words, the case must still be made that this is “just like Watergate.”

Here is the column:

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Criminal law, Media, Politics

Trump: I Would Accept Dirt On Political Opponents If Offered By Foreign Governments [Updated]

In controversial interview, President Donald Trump told ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos in the Oval Office that he would accept dirt on political opponents from foreign governments and would not necessarily alert his own FBI. He further said that FBI Director Christoper Wray was “wrong” in saying that such contacts should be reported. There is nothing illegal in receiving such information for either politicians or journalists. However, it puts Trump at odds with the view not only of his own agencies but most of the public on the need to alert the FBI. In the aftermath of the interview, various Fox hosts criticized not Trump but ABC for what they portrayed as an ambush. It was not an ambush. It was a standard interview with a highly relevant (and predictable) question by Stephanopoulos. At the same time, the CNN’s Chris Cuomo is also wrong to portray this as endorsing possible criminal conduct. There is nothing illegal in accepting information from foreign intelligence figures, which was done by the Clinton campaign in the Steele Dossier. Trump has downplayed the comments.

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Criminal law, Justice, Lawyering, Politics

Lock Him Up: Harris Says Justice Department Would Have “No Choice” Under Her Administration But To Prosecute Trump

For years, many of us have criticized Donald Trump for his signature campaign mantra of “Lock her up” against Hillary Clinton. Now, however, Sen. Kamala D. Harris (D-Calif.) seems to be adopting a “Lock him up” pledge to jumpstart her campaign, which remains struck around fifth in the pack. Last week, Harris pledged to prosecute Trump. This morning, she said her Justice Department would have “no choice” but to prosecute Trump after he left office.

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Columns, Criminal law, Politics

Trump’s “Tough” Immigration Policy Leaves Out Employers

Below is my column on the recent controversy over a threatened tariff against Mexico for its failure to stop undocumented immigrants from crossing the U.S. border. Despite the last-minute deal with Mexico purportedly avoiding the tariff, President Donald Trump was back on the weekend threatening “very profitable tariffs” on Mexico. Whatever the purpose of such tariffs, however, they are unlikely to solve our problem with unlawful immigration absent greater enforcement on this side of the border. My point is not to call for wholesale prosecutions. Indeed, the primary concern is not the hiring by families or small businesses, but rather large operations with large percentages of undocumented workers.  If there government truly wants to curtail the undocumented workforce (and that is uncertain), hammering the immigrants at the border or attempting mass deportations is unlikely to succeed. There remains a striking disconnect between the level of enforcement directed at undocumented individuals as opposed to large employers of undocumented persons.

Here is the column:

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Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media

“The Enemy of the People”: Trump Resumes His Attacks On American Media As China Bans The Washington Post
Flag of the Peoples Republic of China

I was been a long critic of President Donald Trump’s attacks on the media even though I have been critical of biased reporting by some outfits. Trump’s mantra of calling the media, and particularly the Washington Post and the New York Times, “the enemy of the people” was repeated on Twitter last weekend as China banned the Washington Post (and the Guardian) from access to its citizens. Both publications joined others behind the infamous “Great Firewall” of China’s massive censorship apparatus. While Trump has only called for greater liability for American media (rather than censorship), the confluence of these stories is concerning. China can cite our own president in declaring the Washington Post as an enemy and “fake news” to justify its censorship of one of the last remaining free press accessible to some Chinese.

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Criminal law, Environment, International

South Koreans Arrested After Stripping National Parks Of Succulents For Illegal Export
http://www.wildlife.ca.gov

As many of you know, I am a huge advocate of hiking and particularly our national parks. We have amazing parks and most of us take great efforts to avoid leaving traces or causing damage to our natural areas. That is why a recent arrest is so alarming. Recently, three South Korean nationals were  charged  after an arrest at Los Angeles International Airport with a van filled with more than 3,700 Dudleya succulents. The spiky blue-green plants are prized in Asia. The men were tracked as they stripped parks of the plants and stuffed them into backpacks.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Lawyering

Turley To Speak At 2019 Judicial Conclave In New Mexico

Today I have the honor of delivering a keynote speech to the 2019 Judicial Conclave in New Mexico at the Hyatt Regency in Albuquerque. I will be discussing the history, cases, and evolution of the “cultural defense” in federal and state courts. The speech is at 11:15 am on Friday at the conference held at the Hyatt.

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Society

Rocky Road: New York Officials Seize 40 Ice Cream Trucks In Ticket-Avoidance Scheme

If you were in New York yesterday, you would have seen more than 40 ice-cream trucks being towed away. It was a crackdown on New York Ice Cream which allegedly has been running a scheme to avoid millions in tickets. The culprit was ice cream mogul Dimitrios Tsirkos, founder of New York Ice Cream. Long Island officials say that Tsirkos has been racking of millions in tickets and then creating new companies to avoid payment.

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Criminal law, Military

U.S. Military Buys Defective Chinese -Made Parkas That Would Help Enemy See Troops

The U.S. military spent $20 million on parkas that were supposed to counter night vision googles and allow our Air Force personnel to move undetected in combat. Instead, the parkas were counterfeited Chinese products that lacked any night vision capabilities — exposing any troops to detection by the enemy. The persons responsible for this potentially lethal fraud were not just our friends in China but Ramin Kohanbash, 49, and other associates, operating a Brooklyn, New York, clothing and goods wholesaler. They are now criminally charged. If proven, the depravity of this crime is truly overwhelming. Kohanbash allegedly conspired with the Chinese to get rich at the possible cost of the sons and daughters of other Americans who are serving in war zones.

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Criminal law, Politics, Society

Justice Department Only Prosecuted 11 Employers and No Businesses For Hiring Undocumented Workers In The Last Year

According to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse (TRAC) at Syracuse University, the much discussed crackdown on illegal immigration policies of the Trump Administration does not extend to one notable group: employers. With increases in arrests and deportations, the Justice Department has notably not prosecuted the employers who hire illegal immigrants. Only 11 employers in the entire nation were prosecuted last year. Eleven.

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Animals, Criminal law, Environment

Icelandic Fishermen Under Fire After Posting Cruel Video of Mutilated Shark

Two crew members of an Icelandic fishing vessel have caused a global outrage after they filmed themselves hacking off the tail of a shark and then laughing as they threw it into the river. The disturbing video captures the utter cruelty of the men as they enjoy the scene of a suffering creature trying to swim without a tail.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Politics, Society

Mueller’s Lack Of Explanations Raises New Questions of His Motivations On Three Key Decisions

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on three unanswered and troubling questions for Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The concerns over Mueller’s motivations was heightened by the justifications that he has offered for some of his decisions like not reaching a conclusion on the weight of the evidence on obstruction. Many of us view Mueller’s rationale (based on the DOJ policy not to indict a sitting president) to be not just unprecedented but illogical. Putting aside my long disagreement with the argument that a president is immune from indictment, that policy (and the underlying memos) say nothing about a Special Counsel reaching conclusions on the evidence of possible criminal acts. Indeed, that is the core purpose of a Special Counsel. If one rejects the rationales of Mueller, you are left with a question of motivation in maintaining these positions.

Here is the column:

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Criminal law, International, Religion

Girl At Islamic School Accuses Headmaster of Assault . . . Mob Then Burns Girl To Death

We have previously discussed the violence and discrimination faced by girls and women in some Muslim countries. Nusrat Jahan Rafi, 19, is the latest such victim after she was burned to death. Her offense was reporting a sexual assault by Headmaster Siraj Ud Doula at her Islamic school, or madrassa. Sixteen people are accused of engaging in the conspiracy to murder this girl in Bangladesh.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Free Speech, International, Media

Poll: Only 18 Percent Of Germans Feel Free To Voice Views In Public

For years, we have discussed the unrelenting attacks on free speech in Europe with the expansion of hate speech laws and the general criminalization of speech, including international speech crimes. Some in the United States would like to follow down that dangerous path (and universities are reinforcing the view of the need to regulate speech). The implications of such anti-speech policies are evident in Germany where a survey, conducted by the Institut für Demoskopie Allensbach(and published in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung) found that only 18 percent of Germans feel free to express their views in public. It is the most vivid example of how Europeans are learning to live without free speech. Undeterred, Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, the successor to Angela Merkel, is now calling on greater limits on free speech during election periods — a concept that would normally be viewed as counterintuitive outside of the new European model.

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Columns, Criminal law, Politics, Religion, Society

Why Mueller May Be Fighting A Public Hearing

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on why Special Counsel Robert Mueller may not want to testify in public. Mueller clearly had trouble explaining why he was refusing to reach a conclusion on obstruction in a meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr and Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. It could be a hundred times more difficult — and embarrassing — before a congressional committee.

Mueller failed to perform the most basic function of a special counsel to reach conclusions on possible criminal conduct. After accepting the job as Special Counsel, Mueller basically decided not to be a special counsel with respect to this core responsibility. It was like watching Bodexpress run in the Preakness without a rider. My first reaction to both scenes was: can he do that?  The answer in both cases is it is possible but this is not how it is done.  The Special Counsel is mandated to find possible evidence of criminal conduct. Period.

Here is the column:

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