Category: Media

Durham’s Lame Duck Period: Democratic Leaders Suggest A Dim Future For Biden-Related Investigations

Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the growing pressure on prosecutors during the lame duck period to move forward in their investigations into the Russian investigation or Hunter Biden. House Intelligence Committee Chair Adam Schiff again strongly suggested that such investigations should end with the entry of a Biden Justice Department.  Schiff told MSNBC that investigations of a president-elect constitute “tearing down our democracy” and a way to “delegitimize” a president. This is precisely what I raised in my column on the expected effort by some to scuttle the Biden related investigations. The statement was only the latest indication that Democrats are likely to push to end any investigations touching on the Bidens, including statements from individuals known to be under consideration for Attorney General. In doing so, they will likely have the support of many members of the media who would be embarrassed by any findings of wrongdoing after insisting that there was nothing to cover and refusing to ask Biden specific questions on the campaign trail on these allegations.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “Durham’s Lame Duck Period: Democratic Leaders Suggest A Dim Future For Biden-Related Investigations”

The Notorious SAA: Democrats Denounce Alito After Years Of Praising Ginsburg For Controversial Comments

This week I criticized Supreme Court Justice Samuel A. Alito for a speech that he gave to the Federalist Society. That should come as no surprise since I have spent two decades criticizing justices for such controversial public addresses.  However, I was struck in the last couple days by the politicians like Sen. Elizabeth Warren and liberal faculty members who are falling over themselves in utter disgust with such public commentary from a sitting justice. For years, I criticized the far more egregious comments from Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg without a peep of protest from people like Warren. Instead, Ginsburg became the “Notorious RBG.” There is, however, no place for a Notorious SAA in the media or academia.

Continue reading “The Notorious SAA: Democrats Denounce Alito After Years Of Praising Ginsburg For Controversial Comments”

Law Professor Compares Questioning Voting Results To Holocaust Denial [Updated]

We have been discussing how the celebration of Joe Biden’s election as a “unifying” and “healing” moment has been lost on many who are calling for blacklists and retaliatory actions against anyone viewed as “complicit” in the Trump period.  Indeed, for years, I have been writing about a rising McCarthyism in our country  and the growing threat to both free speech and academic freedom. This hateful or unhinged rhetoric has on occasion come from law professors, but most academics have retained a modicum of restraint and tolerance.  For that reason, it was disappointing to read a bizarre attack from University of Colorado Law Professor Paul Campos who compared my discussion of possible voting irregularities to Holocaust denial.

Continue reading “Law Professor Compares Questioning Voting Results To Holocaust Denial [Updated]”

“Unfashionable Views”: Justice Alito Speaks Out Against Pandemic Restrictions, Contraception Laws, and Other Controversies

Justice Sam Alito is making headlines after his speech last night as the keynote at this year’s all-virtual Federalist Society National Lawyers Convention. Alito slammed pandemic measures  and attacks on free speech in his remarks to the Convention, including the crackdown on “unfashionable views” in our society.  I happen to agree with some of his points, but I have great reservations over a justice speaking on issues that are likely to come before him on the Court. Indeed, I have long been a critic of the Supreme Court justices engaging in public appearances where they hold forth on contemporary issues. I have been particularly critical of the late Justice Antonin Scalia and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg who clearly relished appearances before ideologically supportive groups. Continue reading ““Unfashionable Views”: Justice Alito Speaks Out Against Pandemic Restrictions, Contraception Laws, and Other Controversies”

Big League Censorship? Michigan Attorney General Threatens Criminal Prosecution Over Posting Of Video Alleging Voter Fraud

I have been commenting on the ongoing challenges to the presidential election. While I have not seen evidence of systemic voter fraud, there are hundreds of affidavits alleging localized fraud, including cases of deceased persons voting. The challenges should be heard and the evidence should be examined. However, the most worrisome response came out of Michigan this week where Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel’s Office of Public Information threatened a website, Big League Politics, with criminal prosecution if it did not take down a video of alleged voting fraud. The video may indeed be misleading or false. However, the threat of criminal prosecution by the Michigan Attorney General’s office is a chilling escalation of the crackdown on free speech in this country and the calls for censorship on the Internet.

Continue reading “Big League Censorship? Michigan Attorney General Threatens Criminal Prosecution Over Posting Of Video Alleging Voter Fraud”

In The Midst of Voting Irregularity Challenges, Democrats Call For People To Move To Georgia To Stack The Vote

One can have an interesting debate over the most self-defeating political statements in American politics. There was Bill Clinton’s not-so-clever answer about his affair with Monica Lewinsky as depending what “the meaning of ‘is’ is.” There was John Kerry’s statement that he was for the Iraq war before he was against it. There was Donald Trump’s refusal to commit to a peaceful transfer of power. However, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer may have taken the crown with his yelling on the streets of New York that “Now we take Georgia, then we change the world. Now we take Georgia, then we change America.”  It is a quote that will live in political infamy — and play endlessly in Georgia. Now adding to the Democratic problems are liberal figures openly encouraging Democrats to move to Georgia to stack the vote in the runoff elections. So Georgia just started a hand recount in the midst of claims of voting irregularities but figures like New York Times columnist Thomas L. Friedman are calling for liberals to move to Georgia to influence their election.  In other words, Friedman and others are sending the self-destructive message is that Jon Ossoff and Raphael G. Warnock might not have enough Georgians to vote for them so they need New Yorkers and Californians to come and vote as Georgians.  The New York Times, which has run repeated pieces on alleged vote suppression by the GOP, has had nothing to say about Friedman’s call for vote stacking in Georgia.

Res Ipsa Hits 46,000,000

crowd vj dayLast night, we passed the 46,000,000 mark in views on the blog. The blog continues to grow with new regular commenters and a growing international readership. Again, we thank our loyal readers who return every day to discuss contemporary legal, political, and occasionally bizarre stories. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank with the top legal blogs in the world. As always, I want to offer special thanks for Darren Smith who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems.

So here is our current profile: Continue reading “Res Ipsa Hits 46,000,000”

With Malice For All: The Lincoln Project Unleashes Attacks On Lawyers Who Represent The Trump Campaign . . . As It Runs A Commercial On The New Unity

The Lincoln Project is airing a commercial today celebrating the end of the politics of division and personal attacks as Twitter removed a tweet (with a skull-and-crossbones emoji) from The Lincoln Project that sought to target lawyers simply because they represent the Trump campaign. The crushing irony is magnified by the fact that Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) has called for liberals to start to assemble enemy lists of people who were “complicit” in the Trump Administration and the first entry was . . . you guessed it … the Republicans who founded the Lincoln Project. It is the reality of our doublespeak politics. Call it skull-and-crossbones civility.

Continue reading “With Malice For All: The Lincoln Project Unleashes Attacks On Lawyers Who Represent The Trump Campaign . . . As It Runs A Commercial On The New Unity”

A Conspiracy Collapses In The Court: Justices Appear To Confirm A Majority In Favor Of Preserving The ACA

During the Barrett confirmation hearing, we discussed the narrative of the Democrats and the media that the Affordable Care Act was dangling in the balance on the Supreme Court. With huge pictures of beneficiaries of the ACA displayed around the room, some Democratic senators actually said that Barrett was part of a conspiracy to rush her to the Court to kill the ACA.  As I repeatedly said, the narrative was entirely disconnected from any legal reality since at least two conservative justices — Chief Justice John Roberts and Brett Kavanaugh — were likely to vote for severability and thus preserve the Act. They previously voted on similar cases. Today’s oral argument in It’s Obamacare day at the Supreme Court. In California v. Texas again exposed the unfair and unfounded narrative against Justice Barrett with both Roberts and Kavanaugh expressly reaffirming their positions on the severability.  Will any of these senators or analysts now acknowledge that the hype in the hyperbole from the hearing?

Continue reading “A Conspiracy Collapses In The Court: Justices Appear To Confirm A Majority In Favor Of Preserving The ACA”

“Shredding The Fabric Of Our Democracy”: Biden Aide Signals Push For Greater Censorship On The Internet

We have been discussing the calls for top Democrats for increased private censorship on social media and the Internet.  President-elect Joe Biden has himself called for such censorship, including blocking President Donald Trump’s criticism of mail-in voting. Now, shortly after the election, one of Biden’s top aides is ramping up calls for a crackdown on Facebook for allowing Facebook users to read views that he considers misleading — users who signed up to hear from these individuals.  Bill Russo, a deputy communications director on Biden’s campaign press team, tweeted late Monday that Facebook “is shredding the fabric of our democracy” by allowing such views to be shared freely. Continue reading ““Shredding The Fabric Of Our Democracy”: Biden Aide Signals Push For Greater Censorship On The Internet”

Georgia Prepares For Second “March To The Sea” As Leading Democrats Promise Scorched Earth Campaign

After the election with two races undecided in Georgia, Chuck Schumer sounded more like William Tecumseh Sherman, proclaiming on the streets of New York: “Now we take Georgia, then we change the world. Now we take Georgia, then we change America.”  The Senate Minority Leader (and hopeful Senate Majority Leader) was referring to two runoff elections that could hand the Senate to the Democrats with total control of the legislative and executive branches. The last Yankee to promise a scorched earth campaign through Georgia delivered on his promise. Ironically, the Georgia campaign will commence on an ominous anniversary. The infamous “March to the Sea” by Gen. Sherman began on November 15th and ended shortly before Christmas.  The march left Georgia in ashes. Continue reading “Georgia Prepares For Second “March To The Sea” As Leading Democrats Promise Scorched Earth Campaign”

“Bring Out Your Dead”: The Trump Campaign Faces Calls For Evidence To Support Allegations of Voter Fraud

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Below is my column in The Hill on the challenges to the presidential election and moving beyond heated allegations to hard evidence in the filings.  I have expressed skepticism over the sweeping claims of fraud or that the current margins could be overcome with anything other than systemic flaws in the authentication of ballots. However, the demand for clear evidence of systemic violations after only a couple days of the tabulation stage is bizarre. We would not necessarily have such evidence, which is largely held by election officials. As expected, we have a series of localized affidavits and allegations of intentional fraud. Yet, network analysts were dismissing any and all allegations within the first 24 hours, as tabulations were continuing. It is like saying that a patient has a low white blood cell level but insisting on stopping testing if you cannot conclusively say that there is cancer. These initial allegations may or may not be indicative of a more systemic problem. There is no reason to presume fraud but also no reason to demand concessions before we look at these allegations, particularly with the addition of sworn statements and at least one computer problem resulting in loss of thousands of Trump votes in Michigan.  Half of this country voted for Trump and it is not much for them to ask for a review of the challenges — a right that the Democrats would be demanding if the positions in this close election were reversed. Moreover, those voters can be understandably skeptical to hear these instant dismissals from networks, which previously predicted a sweeping victory for Biden and the Democrats. Even if, as expected, these allegations are rejected, it is important for this country to have a full and open consideration of these claims and the underlying evidence.

Here is the column:

Continue reading ““Bring Out Your Dead”: The Trump Campaign Faces Calls For Evidence To Support Allegations of Voter Fraud”

Pulling A Rosie Ruiz: The Risky Business of Calling American Presidential Elections

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Being a legal analyst often makes you a killjoy at a party.  As millions broke out in celebration over the calling of the election for Joe Biden (including most of my immediate family), I watched with a mix of shared excitement and silent apprehension. It does appear that Biden won this election and his speech last night was the perfect pitch and message for a divided nation.  However, there are still legal challenges being filed in a half dozen, new affidavits containing troubling sworn allegations, and relatively close state contests. As someone who has covered presidential elections for networks going back to 2000, those challenges are like live torpedoes in the water – you do not know if one could actually hit below the water line. The issue for legal analysts is that, with the tabulations still occurring, there is little ability to judge allegations of voting irregularities.

Continue reading “Pulling A Rosie Ruiz: The Risky Business of Calling American Presidential Elections”

Pelosi Claims “Tremendous Mandate” Despite House Losses And Ongoing Vote Count

Speaker Nancy Pelosi has announced her campaign to be reelected Speaker of the United States House of Representatives despite losing seats against one of the least popular presidents in history. This is not the first such loss for Pelosi who remains one of the most polarizing and unpopular figures in American politics. Pelosi claimed that former Vice President Joe Biden was not only already the “President-Elect” but insisted that she and Biden had a “tremendous mandate” despite the election blows in the House and the close presidential election. She insisted that she is “part of that mandate” from the American people.

Injudicious: Pelosi Calls Barrett “Illegitimate” As MSNBC’s Joy Reid Calls Thomas “Uncle Clarence”

The sobering election results do not seem to have altered the heated rhetoric from Democratic leaders or media figures. Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who oversaw another loss of seats in the House, lashed out at Justice Amy Coney Barrett as “illegitimate.”  MSNBC’s Joy Reid once again triggered outrage with a reference to Justice Clarence Thomas as “Uncle Clarence” — a clear reference to the racial slur of being an “Uncle Tom.”  There was no outrage in the media which has previously criticized President Trump for attacks on jurists.

Continue reading “Injudicious: Pelosi Calls Barrett “Illegitimate” As MSNBC’s Joy Reid Calls Thomas “Uncle Clarence””

Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks