Category: Politics

Bizarre, Media, Politics

NPR Corrects False Hunter Biden Claim But . . .

National Public Radio issued a correction after running a false statement about the laptop of Hunter Biden in a story about Biden’s recent memoir, “Beautiful Things.”  The article by NPR senior editor and correspondent Ron Elving stated categorically that the laptop story was discredited by news organizations. It was later compelled to correct that false statement but still has language casting doubt on the story and evades glaring contradictions in Biden’s book and his interview.  Moreover, NPR continues to run false claims from prior controversies.

Continue reading “NPR Corrects False Hunter Biden Claim But . . .” →

Bizarre, Media, Politics

“C’mon Man!”: Biden Again Misrepresents Georgia Election Law While Supporting State Boycott

We recently discussed the false statement made repeatedly by President Joe Biden about the Georgia election law, which Biden has called “Jim Crow on steroids.” Biden falsely claims that the law closes polling places earlier, a claim that even the Washington Post decried as false.  Biden has not only repeated his earlier false claim but added a new one in supporting a boycott of the state of Georgia by Major League Baseball.  It is a common false claim made about denying water under the law to people standing in line to vote. What is astonishing is that the media itself has fueled this false narrative and it is being used as a key claim in boycotting the state.

Continue reading ““C’mon Man!”: Biden Again Misrepresents Georgia Election Law While Supporting State Boycott” →

Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

Wisconsin Supreme Court Finds Wisconsin Governor Acted Unlawfully On Mask Mandate

The Wisconsin Supreme Court blocked Democratic Gov. Tony Evers from issuing any new public health emergency orders to mandate face masks. In a 4-3 decision that broke along ideological lines, the conservative majority found that Evers lacked authority for his order. It is similar to a ruling rejecting orders by Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer.  What was most striking was the dissenting opinion from the three liberal justices. The dissenting justice adopted the most convoluted and artificial construct to ignore the plain meaning of the controlling state law. Continue reading “Wisconsin Supreme Court Finds Wisconsin Governor Acted Unlawfully On Mask Mandate” →

Bizarre, Congress, Criminal law, Politics

The Gaetz Scandal Is Long On Speculation And Short On Facts

The scandal involving Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) continues to rage in Washington as Gaetz alleges a conspiracy to extort $25 million and the New York Times has reported an investigation into his traveling across state lines with a minor for sex. Both are serious allegations and someone is clearly lying. The question is why, after a year of reported investigation, the underlying facts appear unresolved.  Either this girl was 17 or she was not. Either Gaetz traveled with her or he did not. Then there is a taped call that could prove the veracity of key witnesses.  In other words, there is raging speculation over facts that should be easily and already established. Why?

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

He Who Must Not Be Heard: Facebook Removes Interview By Lara Trump For Including The “Voice Of Donald Trump”

Recently, Sen. Bernie Sanders raised concerns over the banning of Donald Trump from Twitter as an attack on free speech by corporate censors. It apparently had no impact on Big Tech.  Facebook has removed a video of an interview by Lara Trump of her father-in-law and former president. The company declared that it would censor  any content “in the voice of Donald Trump.” It appears that Trump has achieved Voldemort status on social media and is now “he who must not be heard.” Continue reading “He Who Must Not Be Heard: Facebook Removes Interview By Lara Trump For Including The “Voice Of Donald Trump”” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Free Speech, Lawyering, Politics, Torts

Two Capitol Police Officers Sue Trump Over Capitol Riot

I recently wrote about the lawsuit by Rep. Eric Swalwell against former President Donald Trump as a serious miscalculation that could result in a legal vindication for Trump either on the trial or appellate levels. In my view, the lawsuit contravenes free speech as well as controlling case law from the Supreme Court. Now two Capitol Police officers injured during the riot, James Blassingame and Sidney Hemby, have sued on similar grounds with many of the same inherent flaws. The 40-page lawsuit was written by D.C. attorney Patrick Malone, who previously filed ethics complaints against lawyers representing the Trump campaign or the Republican party.  Trump lawyers many view this lawsuit as a greater opportunity than a liability for their client.

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Media, Politics

The Washington Post Gives Biden “Four Pinocchios” For Statement on New Georgia Election Law

The Washington Post has issued a rare rebuke to President Joe Biden over his statement about the new Georgia election law.  As noted earlier, Biden’s statistical claims about the crisis on the Southern border have also been challenged by news organizations as false or misleading. However, one statement on the Georgia law stood out for many when Biden declared “What I’m worried about is how un-American this whole initiative is. It’s sick. It’s sick … deciding that you’re going to end voting at five o’clock when working people are just getting off work.” The statement was repeated in an official White House release from the President. The is untrue and the Post awarded Four Pinocchios.  However, one other statement in the article was equally surprising.

Continue reading “The Washington Post Gives Biden “Four Pinocchios” For Statement on New Georgia Election Law” →

Media, Politics

Situational Ethics: Allegations Facing Anti-Trump Figures Dampen Demands For Disbarments

After the 2020 election, activists launched scorched earth campaigns against conservative figures that included calls for the disbarment or delicensing of Trump lawyers, doctors, and even U.S. senators. Hundreds of righteous lawyers and professionals signed petitions and letters, insisting that they cannot stand idly by in the face of professional misconduct. Those outraged voices however have become muted as Trump critics themselves have faced ethical challenges. In today’s political environment, actions often seem unethical only if they are unpopular. Consider the controversies surrounding anti-Trump figures former Yale Professor Bandy Lee and Clinton lawyer Marc Elias – and how the righteous have become reticent in the face of allegedly unethical practices. Continue reading “Situational Ethics: Allegations Facing Anti-Trump Figures Dampen Demands For Disbarments” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics

Democrats Cannot Erase The History Or Hypocrisy Of The Filibuster

Below is my column on the ongoing Democratic effort to get rid of the Senate filibuster. There are good-faith arguments against filibusters but there is a new campaign to declare the rule as racist. Once again, many in the media are ignoring both the history and hypocrisy surrounding the filibuster, including in the press conference last week with President Joe Biden. Biden was not asked in multiple questions on the filibuster about his defense of a rule that he now dismisses as a racist relic. In 2005 he stated:

The Senate ought not act rashly by changing its rules to satisfy a strong-willed majority acting in the heat of the moment…Proponents of the ‘nuclear option’ argue that their proposal is simply the latest iteration of a growing trend towards majoritarianism in the Senate. God save us from that fate, if it is true…Adopting the ‘nuclear option’ would change this fundamental understanding and unbroken practice of what the Senate is all about. Senators would start thinking about changing other rules when they became “inconvenient.” …Altering Senate rules to help in one political fight or another could become standard operating procedure, which, in my view, would be disastrous.”

Here is the column:
Academia, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Former Yale Professor Bandy Lee Sues University Over Termination
I have long been an out-spoken critic of Dr. Bandy Lee, a former faculty member in the School of Medicine and Yale Law School, who has made bizarre and unprofessional statements about the mental fitness of not just former president Donald Trump but his supporters. A favorite expert of MSNBC, Lee never disappointed hosts in declaring that Trump and his supporters are mentally ill and dangerous.  I was one of the first to call out Lee for violating the “Goldwater Rule” in such public diagnosis as she and others laid the foundation for a 25th Amendment removal of Trump within a year of his taking office. After numerous columns denouncing her, I should be relieved by the termination of Lee at Yale, as detailing in her recent  complaint, but free speech and academic freedom tend to make all such controversies more difficult. I actually have serious concerns about the termination.

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Free Speech, Media, Politics

Media Misinformation or Protection? Pro-Biden Media Figures Clash Over Pressing Biden On Immigration Surge

In the first White House press conference held with President Joe  Biden, many noted that the second question was given to “PBS NewsHour” correspondent Yamiche Alcindor who has been previously criticized for breathless accounts of Biden and what she called “the super heros” of his cabinet. Alcindor raised the issue of the crisis at the border with a massive increase in unaccompanied minors. However, she framed her question as to whether Biden can resolve the “tension” of having people come to the United States because he is such a “moral” and “decent” person. One critic however objected that the question was unfair to Biden and based on disinformation. That of course was Jennifer Rubin, who has been repeatedly criticized for false postings from congressional hearings to court decisions to even Shakespeare. She even once attacked me  for a theory that I did not agree with in a column that I did not write.  However, during the week of the House hearing on calls for expanded censorship on the Internet of “disinformation and misinformation,” the ensuing disagreement between Alcindor and Rubin shows how fluid these concepts have become where Alcindor could be accused of spreading misinformation for just asking the question.

Continue reading “Media Misinformation or Protection? Pro-Biden Media Figures Clash Over Pressing Biden On Immigration Surge” →

Criminal law, Lawyering, Politics

Michigan AG Nessel Unleashes Political Diatribe Against Defiant Restaurant Owner

We previously discussed the controversial threats of Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) against those who were raising electoral fraud allegations. She is currently in another controversy involving the arrest of restaurant owner Marlena Pavlos-Hackney. Fox Host Tucker Carlson has alleged that the owner was arrested due to her appearance on his show. (For full disclosure, I am a contributor to Fox News). Nessel can certainly point to a long history of noncompliance to justify the arrest but her statement issued in response to the allegations is, in my view, highly inappropriate and shows raw political bias. Continue reading “Michigan AG Nessel Unleashes Political Diatribe Against Defiant Restaurant Owner” →

Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics, Society

“Tomorrow It Could Be Somebody Else”: Bernie Sanders Comes Out Against Trump Twitter Ban

Twitter LogoSen Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) came out against the Twitter ban of former president Donald Trump yesterday.  Sanders expressed his discomfort with the role of Big Tech in censorship viewpoints, a sharp departure from his Democratic colleagues who have demanded more such corporate censorship. Continue reading ““Tomorrow It Could Be Somebody Else”: Bernie Sanders Comes Out Against Trump Twitter Ban” →

Columns, Constitutional Law, Politics

Warren’s Wealth Tax: How A New Bill Would Convert The Tax Code Into A Canned Hunt

Below is my column in The Hill on introduction of Elizabeth Warren’s wealth tax.  The bill contains two notable addition: a massive increase in the size of the IRS and what I call a “captivity tax” to try to keep the wealthy from fleeing. The odds are that Democratic leadership will see some of the same problems with this bill, but the danger is that such legislation will be difficult to oppose due to its public appeal. Moreover, there is a lack of honestly about the constitutional and practical issues surrounding a “wealth tax.” Such details are lost as Warren pledges to go after the “Rembrandts … diamonds and … yachts”  of the wealthy.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Warren’s Wealth Tax: How A New Bill Would Convert The Tax Code Into A Canned Hunt” →

Constitutional Law, Media, Politics, Torts

Project Veritas Wins Victory Against New York Times In Defamation Action
While it has received little coverage in the mainstream media, the conservative group Project Veritas won a major victory against the New York Times this week in a defamation case with potentially wide reach.  In a 16-page decision, New York Supreme Court Justice Charles Wood ruled against the newspaper’s motion to dismiss and found that Project Veritas had shown sufficient evidence that the New York Times might have been motivated by “actual malice” and acted with “reckless disregard” in several articles written by Maggie Astor and Tiffany Hsu. The decision will allow the Project access to discovery which can be extremely difficult for a news organization.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks