Category: Politics

Moore Spokesperson To CNN Anchor: Jones Support Killing Your Unborn Baby

 

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As spokesperson for Roy Moore, Janey Porter may have hit on a brilliant strategy to distract people from the bizarre statements of your candidates . . . make even more bizarre statements.  Porter was on CNN this week when she told pregnant anchor Poppy Harlow that Moore’s opponent Doug Jones basically wanted to kill her eight-month old unborn baby.  Now there’s a catchy campaign slogan: Vote Moore Or Jones Will Kill Your Baby.

She also shocked many by calling all of the women accusing Moore “criminals.”  That’s right, criminals for alleging sexual assault or molestation.

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Roy Moore Denies Knowing Accuser Debbie Wesson Gibson . . . Gibson Then Produces Note From Moore

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Supreme Court Reinstates The Trump Travel Ban In Full Depending Appeal

 court_front_medYesterday, the Trump Administration secured two clear victories after the United States Supreme Court issued two orders lifting the lower court injunctions imposed on the travel ban.  I have written repeatedly on the travel ban (here and here and here and here and here and here and here and here) and my view that the case law supported the Trump Administration.  I thought that the appeal that reached the Supreme Court on the second round seemed likely to succeed while the third round was even stronger for the Administration.  The Administration had already secured an order with the Ninth Circuit reversing the trial courts in critical respects.  Now the Supreme Court restored the travel ban in its entirety pending appeal.  The orders issued shortly before appellate arguments on the merits this week is a further indication that the Administration is likely to prevail on the merits.  Indeed, while the orders do not dictate an outcome, they send a strong message to the lower courts on the skepticism of the Court.

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The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly Of The Flynn Plea

images-2Below is my column on the Flynn plea agreement and its potential significance to the Russian investigation.  One development is that President Donald Trump is now denying that he ever told Director James Comey to let Flynn go.  This follows a highly damaging tweet that a Trump lawyer now says was his sloppy mistake. It is another tweet gone awry for the Trump White House.

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Gloria Steinem: No Regrets For 1998 Column In Support Of Clinton . . . But Would Not Write The Column Today

Continue reading “Gloria Steinem: No Regrets For 1998 Column In Support Of Clinton . . . But Would Not Write The Column Today”

ABC News Retracts Flynn Bombshell Story

download-6.jpgDuring the frenzy yesterday over the Flynn plea deal, ABC dropped a bombshell report that Michael Flynn told Special Counsel Bob Mueller that he was prepared to testify that it was Trump who told him to contact the Russians.  ABC News later not only retracted that statement but corrected it with information supporting Trump’s account and contacts with Russians.  With the story today of an FBI special agent removed from the Russian investigation due to anti-Trump tweets, the “clarification” by ABC plays into the narrative by Trump supporters that the Russian investigation is politically motivated.

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Proletarian Pot? Canadian Politician Warns The Marijuana Will Led To Communism

Marijuana Leaf130px-Mao_Zedong_portraitAlberta Conservative MLA Ron Orr appears to be planning the remake of Reefer Madness.   In the case of Orr, the use of marijuana however does not yield to jazz-fused madness but lock-step communism.  Orr is warning that legalizing marijuana could send Canada into the arms of the red army and fellow travelers.

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From Katz To Carpenter: The Supreme Court Hears Case That Could Gut Privacy In the United States

CellPhoneSupreme CourtBelow is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the case this week before the Supreme Court on cellphones and privacy.  As discussed below, the government’s argument in Carpenter v. United States represents one of the greatest threats to privacy in a generation.  One promising sign is that Justice Neil Gorsuch seemed to be siding with privacy in his questions during oral argument.

Here is the column:

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Moore: Sexual Allegations Are The Work Of Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals, Transgenders, and Socialists

Judge_Roy_MooreRepublican Senate candidate Roy Moore in Alabama has faced a large and broad spectrum of accusers over his alleged pursuit of girls aged 14-16 while a prosecutor in his 30s. The allegations have come from multiple women, including one who says that she was sexually assaulted at age 14.  There are also an array of neighbors, former colleagues, and security officers who have come forward to detail Moore’s reputation as a menace for young girls.  The women accusing Moore are Republican and Trump supporters.  They describe a similar and chilling pattern of a man who was reportedly on a watch list at the local mall as well as cheerleading events.  While denying the sexual assault, Moore avoided any substantive national interview.  Now, however, Moore appears to entered a delusional and deranged realm in blaming the allegations on a conspiracy of lesbians, gays, bisexuals, transgender persons, and socialists.

 

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France Rejects Gender Neutral Words As A “Mortal Danger” To The French Language

300px-eugene_delacroix_-_la_liberte_guidant_le_peupleWe recently discussed how the leading Irish university has barred the use of “freshman” in favor of the gender neutral term “fresh.”  The French government came to the opposite conclusion this month after  French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe rejected the demand to make French more “female-friendly” by dropping masculine words.  French, like English, often use the masculine forms as neutral terms.  It will continue to do so.

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Flipping Flynn: The Real and Imagined Damage For A Mueller Deal

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Since the appointment of the Special Counsel in the Russian investigation, former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn has been the most obvious target for not simply a criminal charge but a possible prosecutorial deal.  The news that Flynn is no longer sharing information under the prior joint defense agreement with Trump figures could prove significant . . . or not.  Such a change would occur even with a non-cooperation plea agreement.  Nevertheless, it could be an effort of Flynn to strike a deal on a deal for himself and his son in exchange for cooperation.

While it did not attract the same attention, another notable development was the cooperation agreement reached with Reza Zarrab, a Turkish businessman accused of violating U.S. sanctions on Iran.  His cooperation could have magnified the pressure on Flynn, whose greatest exposure appears to be his Turkish as opposed to his Russian dealings.

Here it the column:

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Anthony Scaramucci Threatens Tufts With Defamation Lawsuit

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A speech by Anthony Scaramucci at his alma mater, Tufts University, has been delayed after the former Trump White House spokesman threatened the student newspaper with a defamation lawsuit.  I previously wrote a column on Scaramucci and his controversial outbursts. This threat against the students at Tufts is legally meritless and undermines whatever credibility Scaramucci retained following his disastrously sort stint at the White House.

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Florida Governor Seeks Disqualification Of Justice Barbara Pariente (GW’73) For Comments Captured On “Hot Mike” [Updated]

parienteOne of our graduates on the judicial bench is in hot water this week. Justice Barbara Pariente (GW Class of 1973) is facing demands from Florida Gov. Rick Scott that she be disqualified in a case over judicial appointments due to a comment caught on a live microphone.  On November 1st, Pariente was caught pointing to a document listing members of the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission and saying “crazy.” Update: As predicted, the high court rejected the effort to disqualify Pariente over her remark.

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Kellyanne Conway Hit With Hatch Act Complaint Over Moore Comments

 

Screen Shot 2017-11-26 at 10.09.44 PM.pngWe previously discussed the violation of federal rules by White House counselor Kellyanne Conway in the endorsement of a commercial product.  Now an even more serious allegation has been raised in a complaint filed by Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics.  Shaub charges that Conway violated the ban on federal employees using their positions for political purposes and the allegation is not without merit.  Conway has possible defenses but the statements on Fox against the election of Alabama Democratic Senate candidate Dough Jones used poor judgment.  When reviewed in the context of past cases, the complaint raises credible claims.  For full disclosure, Conway is one of my former students at George Washington University Law School (she graduated in 1995).

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Time Is Not On His Side: Magazine Contradicts Trump’s Person-of-the-Year Claims

time-poy-cover-trump-today-161206_cbe454aa529a192dd0e276627cd43f31.today-inline-largeTIME Magazine contradicted the assertions of President Donald Trump that he was offered to be Time Magazine’s “Person of the Year” but declined the offer. Trump tweeted that “Time Magazine called to say that I was PROBABLY going to be named “Man (Person) of the Year,” like last year. But I would have to agree to an interview and a major photo shoot. I said probably is no good and took a pass. Thanks anyway!” The magazine now claims that the account is false.

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