Professor Chris Edelson, assistant professor of government at American University, has penned an opinion column calling for President Trump to resign or be impeachment for his handling of the coronavirus crisis. It is just the latest in a long line of such impeachment theories that reflect a fundamental misconception of the function and standard for the removal of an American President.
Continue reading “American University Professor Calls For Trump Impeachment Over The Coronavirus Response”
It is less than 24 hours since the story broke but CNN contributor and former Democratic candidate for Florida governor, Andrew Gillum is already being referred to as a “former rising star of the Democratic party.” That is not a good sign. Gillum was found “inebriated” early Friday morning in a hotel where meth was also recovered. The story may rekindle a long controversy over “morals clauses” in media contracts.
Continue reading “A Family Or Corporate Matter? CNN Contributor Andrew Gillum Found Inebriated In Miami Hotel Room With Illegal Drugs”
I previously wrote about the highly improper threats made against the Supreme Court by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.). Schumer is now facing both complaints in the Senate and in the New York bar. The Senate has a legitimate concern about a member threatening the Court with retaliation if it does not rule in the way that he favors. However, as my column noted, Senator Whitehouse and others have made the same type of threats. Any censure or sanction remains a matter for the Senate but it would have to distinguish between Schumer’s statements and past hyperbolic statements of other senators. My main concern is the the bar complaint against Schumer. Despite my stated and strong disapproval of his threats against Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and Brett Kavanaugh, I do not believe that this is a matter for the New York bar. Indeed, I view the effort as a threat to protected political speech.
Continue reading “No, Schumer Did Not Violate Legal Ethics In His Threat Against The Court”
Below is my column for BBC on the Sanders campaign and my recent discussion of the election with over a dozen of his supporters at the University of Michigan. Biden is being portrayed as the effective nominee after last Tuesday and at least one Democrat is suggesting the cancelation of the remaining primaries. However, polls show a distinct lack of excitement about Biden as a candidate. His express selling point is that he is better situated to defeat Trump. That leaves an obvious vacuum on positive passion that was so evident at the Sanders rally that I attended.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “What Bernie Sanders Has That Joe Biden Doesn’t”
Below is my column in USA Today on the significance of March 10th as the likely critical blow to Bernie Sanders in his campaign for the presidency. That was the day — 100 year ago — that Eugene Debs, the last major socialist presidential candidate, lost his bid for freedom. He would run his final presidential campaign from jail. Sanders seems to have fallen to the Eugene Debs curse not just in terms of the calendar but the response of the establishment. Liberal icons like Louis Brandeis would join in condemning him to prison and his presidential campaigns were harassed by a wide array of political and police forces. For Sanders, the only thing that has changed is the threat of criminal prosecution. The united front against his campaign remained the same.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Curse Of Eugene Debs: Sanders Loses On The 100th Anniversary Of Socialist’s Demise”
We have been discussing the long litigation of the Hunter Biden to first deny that he is the father of a child in Arkansas and then, after DNA testing proved he is the father, to resist efforts to establish child custody. He is now facing a contempt sanction for refusing to answer questions about his net worth and, after repeated court filings, was scheduled for a March 11th with what seemed like no-excuses court order. Now however Biden has a novel claim. Indeed, it is novel coronavirus and the danger of traveling. Thus, he is not acting ultra vires as much as ultra virus. Update: The judge has denounced Hunter Biden’s effort at delay as yet another “duplicitous” filing.
Continue reading “Ultra Virus: Hunter Biden Self-Quarantines Himself . . . In Refusing Deposition On Child Support [UPDATED]”
If reports are accurate, influence peddling may be something of a family cottage industry. Biden and his business partners however insist that their business dealings have been widely misrepresented in the media. While Congress continues to look at the Hunter Biden contract and his effort to sell his name to foreign companies, the brother of Joe Biden is facing the same allegations in an expanding controversy over his selling of his connection to the former vice president. James Biden was anything but subtle in his pitching his connections to his brother. Update: after initially posting this blog, I heard from Michael Lewitt, friend and partner of “Jim” Biden, who offered some useful (and not widely known) details on the loan controversy in this litigation. I have offered their side of this litigation below, which makes some good points. It also gives a perspective of a core player who has found himself at the center of a swirling controversy during a vicious presidential election cycle.
Continue reading “The Other Biden Problem: James Biden Now Facing Allegations Of Influence Peddling [UPDATED]”
We have been discussing the openly hostile treatment of Bernie Sanders on MSNBC by hosts like Rachel Maddow. MSNBC has often been cited with CNN as one of the main voices of the Democratic establishment working against Sanders. On the eve of the all-important Michigan primary, MSNBC was true to form and script with a bizarre question by MSNBC Katy Tur: “Can he continue to blame the establishment if he loses in Michigan?” For those of us who are alarmed by the bias against Sanders by the media and political establishment, the question showed an utter lack of self-awareness. If Sanders loses today, it will come after a concerted effort of virtually every establishment candidate in the country. Why would a loss after such a crushing campaign by the establishment be proof that there was no campaign by the establishment? This does not mean that many voters honestly do not support Sanders’ radical agenda, but Tur’s comments reflects an effort to deny what has been obvious and open in the long-effort to derail Sanders.
Continue reading “What Establishment? MSNBC’s Katy Tur Offers Bizarrely Circular Analysis Of Expected Sanders Loss”
With as many as ten thousand gathered at the University of Michigan for the rally leading into Tuesday’s key primary, the gathering was unmistakingly a Sanders rally. There were the “Eat the Rich” teeshirts and the “Make Fascists Afraid Again” signs. One former Michigan students wore her handmade “Socialist Butterfly” jacket. Popular lead singer James Grace sang of the “breaking the walls” and the “American way . . . a burning crucifix and white supremacy.” However, there was also something not in abundance at Biden rallies: youthful hope. It was not just the overwhelmingly young audience, but also older voters who seemed to rekindle a passion left long behind by decades of political compromise and concessions. This is no campaign. This is now a movement and that should worry the hell about the Democratic establishment.
Continue reading “The Wolverines Gather For Bernie: How Sanders Has Energized A Movement”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent threat from Sen. Chuck Schumer directed at two members of the Supreme Court. The column explores how this attack was neither isolated nor unique. Despite any substantive coverage in the media, Democratic politicians are increasingly attacking the Court and the judicial system. I have joined in the criticism of President Donald Trump over his verbal assaults on judges, Yet, there is the paucity of attention given to the same types of attacks coming from Democrats.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Road Rage Defense: How The Media Has Ignored A Pattern Of Democratic Attacks On The Judiciary”
For years, I have written about our age of rage where people believe that they now have license to attack others in restaurants, hurl threats on social media, and even damage the front doors of those who hold opposing political views. These attacks have been fueled by politicians like Maxine Waters who encourage people to hound conservatives. Howard Dean is the latest leader to rationalize such threats. After Rep. Elise Stefanik revealed a threatening note left on her car, Dean chided her as bringing about such threats by voicing her opposing political views.
Continue reading ““As Ye Sow, So Shall Ye Reap”: Howard Dean Blames Rep. Stefanik For Threatening Note Left On Her Car”
President Trump’s re-election campaign filed a defamation action in Georgia against CNN on Friday for publishing an opinion piece by Larry Noble, a CNN contributor and former general counsel for the Federal Election Commission. Based largely on an opinion piece by a well-known Trump critic, the lawsuit is weak and unlikely to succeed. The complaint offers more heat than light as a defamation action.
Continue reading “A Less Than Noble Moment: Trump Campaign Sues CNN For Defamation”
There is a controversy brewing over the comments of CNN contributor Hilary Rosen during a heated exchange with Sanders campaign co-chair Nina Turner. Rosen’s comments have been denounced as racist and her initial apology triggered even more intense criticism. What is most interesting however is what this controversy says about the role of contributors. Rosen has a long history of supporting Democratic establishment figures from the Clintons to Joe Biden. In today’s formulaic media roles, she is viewed as such a de facto voice for Biden that Sen. Bernie Sanders has demanded that Biden apologize for her comments. It is a dispute that directs a bright light on the usually murky roles played by “contributors” on the cable programs as campaign surrogates. The exchange also had some troubling issues when Turner objected to Rosen’s contrary interpretation of a Martin Luther King “as a white woman.” As discussed below, Turner was right on the meaning of the quote. So the problem was not that Rosen was white. It was that she was wrong.
Continue reading “Sanders Demands Apology From Biden For Hilary Rosen’s Comment”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on critical cases facing Chief Justice John Roberts this term as his impact as the new swing vote on the Court becomes more clear. In the oral arguments for Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, Chief Justice Roberts appeared to be following his prior position in favor of state laws imposing conditions on abortion services. However, in that case and the recently accepted Obamacare appeal, Roberts will be exercising his swing vote while carrying a fair amount of baggage from earlier decisions.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Chief Justice John Roberts Heading Down Collision Course With Himself”
It is the one defense that Harvey Weinstein did not argue in his recent trial: I was just working out my stress. The new documentary on Hillary Clinton has been panned by many as yet another attempt to rewrite history for the Clintons. However, few expected Bill Clinton to come up with yet another explanation for the affair that led to his impeachment. Clinton explained in an interview that it was all an effort “manage my anxieties.” The problem is that his anxiety management included committing perjury as well as recently disclosed alleged witness tampering. He was of course never charged with perjury despite a court later saying that he clearly lied under oath. Of course, he would never lie to Hulu.
Continue reading “High Anxiety: Clinton Raises New Explanation For Lewinsky Affair”