Category: Politics

“I Didn’t Know Anything”: Former Obama Official Criticized After Classified Testimony Contradicts Her Public Statements

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The long-delayed release of testimony from the House Intelligence Committee has proved embarrassing for a variety of former Obama officials who have been extensively quoted on the allegedly strong evidence of collusion by the Trump campaign and the Russians.  Figures like James Clapper, who is a CNN expert, long indicated hat the evidence from the Obama Administration was strong and alarming.  However, in testimony, Clapper denied seeing any such evidence.  One of the most embarrassing is the testimony of  Evelyn Farkas, a former Obama Administration official who was widely quoted in her plea to Congress to gather the evidence that she knew was found in by the Obama Administration. In her testimony under oath Farkas repeatedly stated that she knew of no such evidence of collusion.

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“A Contradiction In Terms”: Chuck Todd’s “Inadvertent” Journalism

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Yesterday, I was critical of a segment by NBC News’ Chuck Todd that addressed the motion to dismiss the case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn, including the use of a statement by President Obama without noting that he was wrong on the underlying charge and wrong on the absence of precedent (including a high-profile case from his own Administration).  I previously called for the motion that was filed and criticized those who have ignored the clear evidence of prosecutorial abuse, including possible violations of Brady and standing court orders.   It is always unnerving when Todd starts a discussion about the Trump Administration with “it is not partisan to say . . .” During Todd’s questioning of the panel on NBC’s Meet the Press, he used a clearly deceptive clip of a statement by Attorney General Bill Barr to suggest that Barr simply justified his decision as an exercise of raw power.  Both the question and carefully clipped soundbite belie the later statement from Todd’s staff that the misrepresentation of Barr’s words as “inadvertently and inaccurately” edited. However, Todd has not issued an apology and NBC has only issued this brief statement.  Such expectations seem quant relics in this age of rage and echo journalism. Many in the media seem to have embraced Hunter Thompson’s rejection of  “objective journalism” as “a pompous contradiction in terms.” What is a contradiction in terms is this type of inadvertent journalism. (For full disclosure, I testified in favor of Barr’s confirmation before the Senate Judiciary Committee).

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The Future Of The Economy May Depend On An Ancient Doctrine Of The Past

Nighthawks_by_Edward_Hopper_1942Below is my column in The Hill on the legal foundation for an economic recovery in reopening businesses in the United States.  While some often seem to assume a zero tolerance approach for any risk of spread, we have no choice but to try to get this economy out of the current disastrous conditions.  Unless we want to reintroduce a barter economy, we need to stop the exponential growth of debt coupled with the perilous decline of employment.  The key may be individual choice and an ancient legal doctrine.

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President Obama Declares “There Is No Precedent That Anybody Can Find” For The Flynn Motion [He May Want To Call Eric Holder]

President_Barack_Obama Former President Barack Obama is being quoted from a private call that the “rule of law is at risk” after the Justice Department moved to dismiss the case against former national security adviser Michael Flynn. Obama reportedly told members of the Obama Alumni Association that “There is no precedent that anybody can find for someone who has been charged with perjury just getting off scot-free.”  Without doubting the exhaustive search referenced by President Obama, he might have tried calling one “alum”: former Attorney General Eric Holder.  Holder moved to dismiss such a case based on prosecutorial errors in front of the very same judge, Judge Emmet Sullivan. [Notably, CNN covered the statements this morning without noting the clearly false claim over the lack of any precedent for the Flynn motion]

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Linda Hirschman: Yes, Biden Is A Rapist But He Should Be The Next President

220px-Biden_2013Yesterday, we discussed the astonishing tweet from Lisa Bloom that she believes that Joe Biden is a rapist and continues to lie about raping a former staffer, but she still will endorse him for President.  Now Linda Hirshman in the New York Times has run an opinion piece entitled “I Believe Tara Reade. I’m Voting for Joe Biden Anyway.”  It is a chilling example of how feminist writers are retaining their “women must be believed” position from Kavanaugh and simply declaring that they will support someone they believe to be a rapist. Imagine if a Republican senator said he believed Dr. Ford that Kavanaugh was clearly a rapist but we need a reliable conservative on the Court.

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Supreme Court Unanimously Throws Out Bridgegate Convictions — And Rejects Prior Legal Arguments Against Trump

Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court today unanimously threw out the convictions of  Bridget Kelly, a former aide to Christie, and Bill Baroni, a former Port Authority official, for their role in  “Bridgegate.” The dispute involved  the controversial closing of lanes on the George Washington Bridge to create traffic problems for the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., who had refused to endorse Christie.  Notably, the Court rejected the very arguments raised by some experts against Trump and relied on some of the same analysis that I raised in my testimony in the Trump impeachment against such claims. Continue reading “Supreme Court Unanimously Throws Out Bridgegate Convictions — And Rejects Prior Legal Arguments Against Trump”

Penn Students Toss Out Penn Dems For Endorsing Joe Biden In Light Of Assault Allegations

download-1Many of us have criticized the shifting and incomplete excuses of former Vice President Joe Biden in refusing to open his papers held at the University of Delaware. This includes politicians like Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Gov. Gretchen Whitmer who have declared Biden innocent before the start, let alone the completion, of a search of his papers.  However, students at the University of Pennsylvania seem to have taken away the wrong lesson from this controversy.  The school’s Coalition Against Fraternity Sexual Assault (CAFSA) has thrown out the Penn Dems for not supporting former Biden staffer Tara Reade after she claimed Biden sexually assaulted her in 1993. Our point is not that Biden should face the same presumptions of guilt but that both alleged violators and victims deserve to be heard fairly and both deserve due process.

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Lisa Bloom: Yes, Biden Is A Rapist But I Endorse Him

220px-Biden_2013We have been discussing the hypocritical positions of Democratic leaders ranging from Speaker Nancy Pelosi to Gov. Gretchen Whitmer in their response to the allegations of sexual assault by former Vice President Joe Biden.  Women’s rights attorney Lisa Bloom caused a stir this week however with a position that is at least honest, if chilling.  Bloom stated that she believes that Biden did rape a female staffer but she is still going to endorse him for President of the United States.  She tweeted “I believe you, Tara Reade . . . sorry.”

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The Harder They Fall: Trump Attorney Moves Against Stormy Daniels And Michael Cohen

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There is something crushingly ironic in a recent letter received by former Trump counsel Michael Cohen from current Trump counsel Charles Harder.  Cohen has been getting the word out that he is writing a tell-all book in his latest effort to cash in on his scandalous career.  He then received a letter from Harder that he will sue Cohen if he violates . . . you guessed it . . . his nondisclosure agreement (NDA).  The same grounds that Cohen used against Stormy Daniels.  Speaking of Daniels, she also received mail from Harder, who is seeking hundreds of thousands of dollars for attorneys fees used to represent Trump against her (also a threat made by Cohen in prior litigation).  There are two critical differences in all of this. First, unlike Cohen, Harder is a competent lawyer.  Second, Harder actually has a strong case against both individuals. Continue reading “The Harder They Fall: Trump Attorney Moves Against Stormy Daniels And Michael Cohen”

Federal Court: New York Democrats Violated The Constitution By Cancelling The Presidential Primary

downloadDemocratic politicians like Sen. Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) have been railing against what they view as an undemocratic effort to suppress votes.  Former Vice President Joe Biden has even peddled a conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump was certain to halt the November election.  However, a New York judge has ruled that it is the Democratic party that violated the Constitution in cancelling the June 23rd presidential primary to effectively anoint Biden as the party nominee. What was particularly striking was the highly dubious argument presented in court by the Democratic Party.

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The Bare Necessities: Federal Court Rules That Strip Clubs Are Entitled To Pandemic Loans

We recently discussed the controversy when a Nevada brothel filed for pandemic stimulus money as a small business forced to suspend operation.  Now, U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman has ruled (correctly) that the owners of four Silk Exotic Gentleman’s Clubs in Milwaukee and Middleton are entitled to emergency loans. During this litigation however there was a surprising twist in arguments over whether strip joints appeal to prurient interests. Continue reading “The Bare Necessities: Federal Court Rules That Strip Clubs Are Entitled To Pandemic Loans”

“China Was Right”: Academics and Democratic Leaders Call For Censorship Of Social Media and The Internet

130px-Mao_Zedong_portraitBelow is my column in The Hill on calls for increased censorship on the Internet and social media due to the pandemic.  While academics are writing that “China was . . . right”, China was celebrating World Press Day by sentencing journalist Chen Jieren to 15 years in prison for “picking quarrels and provoking trouble, extortion, illegal business operations and bribery.”  It is an ironic moment to herald China’s censorship of the media when the evidence mounts that China concealed and censored information on the virus outbreak in January.

Here is the column:

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“That’s All I’m Going To Say About It”: Whitmer Declares Biden Innocent Without A Search Of Senate Records

Screen Shot 2020-05-03 at 7.15.59 PMWe have been discussing how Democrats are struggling to defend former Vice President Joe Biden despite his refusal to open up his papers being held at the University of Delaware.  The disconnect with how the same politicians addressed the allegations against Justice Brett Kavanaugh is glaring but few have adopted the categorical position of Gov. Gretchen Whitmer on Sunday with Jake Tapper. Whitmer’s answer (like the poor image in the remote interview) was obscure but no less conflicted than the later interview given by DNC Chair Tom Perez.  The key is that there is still no review of the Biden papers that has been completed yet MSNBC host Nicole Wallace has called the coverage a “smear campaign” against Biden.

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The New York Times Calls For Biden To Open Up His Papers As Two Additional Witnesses Come Forward To Support Reade

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Biden Issues Another Artificially Narrow Waiver In Search On Sexual Assault Evidence

220px-Biden_2013We discussed yesterday how former Vice President Joe Biden issued a request to release material from the National Archives related to the allegation of sexual assault made by former Biden staff member Tara Reade. There was less than met the eye however.  Biden adamantly refused to open up the records held by the University of Delaware and has steadfastly limited any searches to Reade’s complaint rather than any such allegations.  Now Biden is adopting the same artificially narrow approach in his letter to the United States Senate.  While CNN has been running glowing interviews about the letter, it is clearly drafted to limit the search.  Once again, I fail to understand this reluctance to simply end all discussion with total transparency.  Biden, in my view, has the stronger case here given the limited evidence and witnesses supporting Reade.  The fact of any recollection of this allegation by various staff members is highly compelling evidence. Yet, he continues to issue strangely curtailed requests while proclaiming that he is being totally transparent. It is not clear if this is just a reflexive resistance to full disclosure, over-lawyered language, or actually an effort to conceal information.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks