Special counsel Robert Mueller’s investigators are reportedly looking into allegations of possible Russian blackmail or “kompromat” over Donald Trump from his prior business dealings and work in Moscow during the Miss America Pageant. Notably, he is also exploring when Trump started to consider his run for President and whether such plans may have started as earlier as 2014 — around the time of the formation of the Russian election operation. Other reports indicate that Mueller is pursuing inquiries into Trump knowledge or relationship with Wikileaks and when he first became aware of the hacking of emails.
During the campaign, President Donald Trump was roundly criticized for his comments about the ethnicity of a judge who was presiding in a case involving his now defunct Trump University. He argued that, because of the Mexican heritage of U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel (who was actually born in Indiana), the judge was biased against him and referred to him as a “hater.” That “hater” however just handed down a major 101-page ruling in favor of Trump’s signature policy: the wall with Mexico. 
We have previously discussed the unparalleled bravery of the women fighting discriminatory Islamic law requiring them to wear veils and limiting their freedoms due to their gender. This is particularly true of the women engaged in protests over compulsory headscarves in Iran. Now however the Islamic regime is cracking down and not just arresting women but charging them with “inciting prostitution.” It is the perfect sexist charge to go with deeply sexist legal system. A woman who asserts her most basic right to expression and religious choices is treated by the Islamic government as fostering prostitutes.
The Supreme Court turned down the effort of the Trump Administration to circumvent the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit and hear the challenge over the termination of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program. The decision not to grant review is clearly a victory for challengers of the Trump policy but it is also important not to read too much into the decision given the procedural posture of the appeal. Notably, on Tuesday the Supreme Court ruled in another immigration case and adopted the type of narrow interpretation sought by the Administration in the DACA litigation. In its 
Colton Haab, a survivor of last week’s mass shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., has 
The greatest beneficiary of the Gates plea may not be Rick Gates himself but Tony Podesta, the former head of the Podesta Group and the brother of John Podesta, the former head of the Hillary Clinton campaign. Tony Podesta recently resigned by the Podesta Group and has been cited as one of the Democrats who also engaged in work for Russian-backed interests in the Ukraine. Podesta suddenly registered as a foreign agent in the midst of the Russian investigation. (The Manafort-Gates indictments contained Foreign Agent Registration Act charges). Now, Special Counsel Robert Mueller may have given Podesta legal shelter from any charge in working for the same interests as Manafort and Gates. Buried in the Gates plea agreement is a key section that could have been written by Podesta counsel in establishing a defense to a future charge. While there is still the possibility of charges against Podesta or his former company, the filings strongly suggest that Manafort and Gates knowingly hid both critical facts and sources of payments from two lobbying groups including the Podesta Group. Mueller has been filing “speaking indictments” and these papers notably do not speak to any criminality on the part of Podesta.
The court order for Special Counsel Robert Mueller to share exculpatory evidence with former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has raised intriguing questions about whether evidence might have been withheld from Flynn before his plea deal. As I stated on air, I do not believe that the issuance of this order by Judge Sullivan should be assumed as evidence of any second thoughts by Flynn. As I state in my column below in The Hill newspaper, I do not see a real option for Flynn in trying to undo his plea deal. However, the disclosure of the evidence could raise questions for Flynn.
Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens is now the state’s chief executive and its most famous accused felon. On Thursday, the Republican governor was indicted for felony invasion of privacy in a truly bizarre affair from 2015. Greitens, 43, is accused of involuntarily restraining a woman in an affair and taking pictures of her naked as leverage over her. 
Below is my column in USA Today looking at the array of threats still present for the Trump White House even if collusion fades as part of the Russian investigation. There still could be evidence discovered or disclosed on collusion. However, after multiple indictments, pleas, and a year of investigation, we have not yet seen any credible criminal allegations linked to collusion. As many on the blog know, I have long been skeptical about the real likelihood of a criminal case based on collusion or obstruction against President Donald Trump. However, even if collusion does recede as a threat, there remain significant areas of risk for the President.
We 
You know you are on the outs with the President when he not only unleashes an army of citizen trolls on you, but demotes you from plural to singular. President Trump posted another controversial tweet this morning in asking why he is being investigated but not his predecessor or the Democrats. He tells supporters to Just “Ask Jeff Session.” Attorney General Sessions appears to still be the persona non grata and, if anything, diminishing by the day.
I have 
Call it the “shot never heard around the world.” Elk Grove, California has earned national ridicule by preventing the Elk Grove Historical Society from holding a Revolutionary War reenactment with vintage flintlocks. 