As Sen. Craig is attempting to withdraw his guilty plea in Minnesota, the former director of the Die Hard movies has failed to win on precisely the same claim in California. Continue reading “Die Hard Director’s Case is a Bad Omen for Craig”
Category: Politics
For years, Senator Ted Stevens has been the poster boy of congressional corruption. I have written for years about his very public effort to enrich himself and his family. He now appears to be in serious trouble, but the question is why Alaskan voters allowed him to continue so long after media and columnists raised such issues over and over again. For a prior column on Stevens, click here .
Only a day after the Meyer video, a new video shows Rev. Lennox Yearwood being thrown to the ground and arrested by Capitol Hill police outside of a hearing room. The incident occurred September 10th. For a video of the incident, click here. The video of the incident shows little beyond verbal resistance. It is particularly alarming to see that Capitol Hill police are charging him with assaulting an officer. No such assault appears on the tape. Historically, police has treated any contact as an assault — which is an abuse of this category of offense. Continue reading “Video: Rev. Lennox Yearwood Tackled, Arrested, and Injured on Capitol Hill”
Supporters of the D.C. vote bill have failed to secure the necessary 60 votes to move the measure to the floor for a vote. Continue reading “No Vote for D.C. After Failure in Senate to Secure 60 Votes”
Jusge Michael Mukasey, former chief of the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York, has been formally nominated by President Bush. Continue reading “Judge Mukasey is the New Bush Nominee for AG”
Published in Roll Call September 13, 2007
Cases Offer Insight On Congressional Investigations
For most of their careers, there were two men in Congress who could not be more different geographically, culturally or politically than Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) and Rep. William Jefferson (D-La.). Yet, both men are now making arguments to their respective houses that are virtually identical: Congress has no right to investigate or to punish them for their alleged misconduct outside of Congress. Putting aside the vitriol following their arrests, both men have actually raised some compelling arguments that have been largely ignored by the press. Continue reading “Craig and Jefferson: Congressional Investigations and The Need for Congressional Restraint”
The papers of Craig to withdraw his guilty plea are now public. For the papers, click here As expected, they argue that Craig’s decision (despite many days of consideration) was made without counsel and sufficient thought. This falls under the category of more stupidity and manifest injustice. The officers clearly misled Craig on the strength of the evidence but Craig is now trying to address a self-inflicted wound.
In the endless saga of Sen. Craig, his attorneys are now prepared to file as early as this week for the withdrawal of his plea. Continue reading “Craig Reportedly Ready to File to Withdraw Plea”
Below is a prior column on the Jefferson case from Roll Call. Continue reading “Jefferson Deserves Presumption of Innocence”
Rep. William Jefferson has filed motions challenging his criminal complaint and the venue of his trial. The motions are actually quite strong on their face, particularly the notion that the government failed to allege a connection between the alleged bribe and some official act. Continue reading “Jefferson Challenges Criminal Complaint in Alexandria”
It would be the world’s greatest irony. NBC is reporting that Sen. Craig is now reconsidering his decision to resign. Continue reading “NBC Reports that Craig is Reconsidering Decision to Resign”
In affluent Coral Gables, Florida, the city prohibited anyone from parking a truck overnight on a city street — defining these vehicles are “out of character” with the community. A court of appeals has now struck down the measure as discriminatory. This is one case where class discrimination was paramount — a rare criteria for such decision. For the story, click here
Reports today indicate that Sen. Craig has decided to resign, click here The question remains whether, in light of recent scandals and indictments of other members, this is a consistent result. Continue reading “Report: Craig to Resign”
Here is the audio tape of the Craig interview with police after his arrest, click here
The tape is a striking example of the pressures that are often put on people directly after their arrests to induce confessions and pleas.
The Iowa District Court for Polk County has ruled that the state constitution requires recognition of same-sex marriage. The decision will likely serve to fuel the presidential debates on the subject and force some candidates to embrace the constitutional marriage amendment. Continue reading “Iowa Court Rules In Favor of Same Sex Marriage”