After the sentencing of Trump strategist Steve Bannon to four months behind bars, obvious comparisons were raised with the slew of contempt cases that the Justice Department refused to even submit to grand juries during prior Administrations. The most cited was the contempt case against former Attorney General Eric Holder. That has led to various pundits insisting that there is no such comparison and nothing to see there. In my opinion, they are right to draw distinctions but wrong to dismiss the concern over selective prosecution of contempt cases. Continue reading “Degrees of Contempt: Pundits Seek to Excuse the Lack of Prior Contempt Prosecutions in the Wake of the Bannon Sentencing”
Category: Politics
We have been discussing personal attacks on conservative justices with figures like Vice President Kamala Harris and Berkeley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky calling them “partisans” and “partisan hacks.” Justices like recently retired Justice Stephen Breyer and the late Ruth Bader Ginsburg pushed back on such attacks on their conservative colleagues as well as calls for court packing. Now, Justice Sonia Sotomayor has defended her colleague and friend Justice Clarence Thomas as a compassionate and caring jurist. Continue reading ““He Cares about People”: Sotomayor Praises Thomas As Professors and Pundits Pile on Personal Attacks”
In what was billed as a major address yesterday by the White House, President Joe Biden declared that, if the Democrats prevail in the midterm elections, “here’s the promise I make to you and the American people: The first bill I will send to the Congress will be to codify Roe v. Wade. And when Congress passes it, I’ll sign it in January, 50 years after Roe was first decided the law of the land.” As previously discussed, the bill being referenced by the President and Democrats is not a codification of Roe v. Wade, but rather a significant expansion of the precedent. Biden also returned to his claim that the right can be based entirely on the Ninth Amendment. Continue reading “President Biden Pledges to Codify Roe with Bill that Goes Far Beyond Roe”
Former New York Times editorial page editor James Bennet has finally spoken publicly about his role in one of the most disgraceful chapters in American journalism: the Times’ cringing apology for running a 2020 column by Sen. Tom Cotton. Bennet said publisher AG Sulzberger “set me on fire and threw me in the garbage” to appease the mob. It was an early indicator of what would be a collapse of journalistic values across the industry as “advocacy journalism” swept away traditional reporters and editors. The interview comes in the same week of a new poll showing media at a near record low in trust from the public. Continue reading “Former New York Times Editor Lashes Out Against Paper Over Tom Cotton Controversy”
Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R., Ill.) went on CNN’s “The Situation Room” to declare he is very certain there is very likely “something going on at the Secret Service” … and it could “potentially [be] very criminal activity.” It is also very very late (as was the subpoena of former President Donald Trump) to be asking about the lack of preparation for Jan. 6th riot. Continue reading ““Potentially Very Criminal Activity”: Adam Kinzinger is Very Certain There is Very Likely “Something Going On at the Secret Service””
Among the many shady deals of Hunter Biden, one of the most intriguing was his arrangement with Yelena Baturina, wife of the former mayor of Moscow (who was previously tossed out for corruption). There is the reported $3.5 million fee Baturina paid Hunter’s real estate enterprise. However, according to the Daily Mail, Hunter also gathered $40 million in the deal for investments and his father may have known about it. It is another glaring disconnect with the new addiction defense being pushed by President Joe Biden. Continue reading “Report: Hunter Biden Secured $40 Million in Deal with Russians”
While it is unlikely to pass, new legislation criminalizing the refusal of parents to affirm their children’s LGBT identity would trigger a likely successful constitutional challenge. WJLA reported that Democratic Virginia Delegate Elizabeth Guzman will introduce a bill that will expand the state’s definition of child abuse and neglect to include parents and guardians who do not affirm the gender identity declared by their children. In the meantime, a journalist, David Leavitt, reported Virginia state senate candidate Tina Ramirez to Child Protective Services over a tweet celebrating Columbus Day as creating an abusive environment for her children. Such unhinged efforts are further pushing parental rights higher among the top concerns for voters. Continue reading “Virginia Becomes Ground Zero in Battles Over Parental Rights”
Below is my column in The Hill on issuance of a subpoena for former President Donald J. Trump by the January 6th Select Committee. It brought together two obsessions: the Bears and the law. The final scheduled play in both the Bears game and the Committee hearings had one striking similarity. In both cases, the throw was solid but it came too late and the reception was much in doubt.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Trump Subpoena: Why the Jan 6 Committee’s Timing is both Terrible and Telling”
“Denial is not just a river in Africa.” Those sage words from SNL character Stuart Smalley seemed prophetic this week as ex-MSNBC boss Phil Griffin and ex-CNN boss Jeff Zucker were confronted about their burying of the Hunter Biden story. Their tortured and transparent rationalizations caused an immediate response from some of us who have written about the scandal since its inception. That included Griffin’s almost laughable claim that their approach before the election was justified because “he was never arrested.” Continue reading ““He was not Arrested”: CNN and MSNBC Ex-Bosses Struggle to Justify Burying the Hunter Biden Story”
Bexar County Sheriff Javier Salazar made national headlines by opening a criminal investigation into the recent flights arranged by Florida of undocumented migrants to Martha’s Vineyard. I have previously written about the dubious claims of kidnapping and human trafficking made by figures like Hillary Clinton. Now, however, Salazar is certifying the roughly 50 individuals as “crime victims” despite the lack of any criminal charges in order to qualify them for visas. While this is clearly not human trafficking, Salazar is working with immigration advocates to use a law designed to protect victims of human trafficking and other crimes, even before any such charge is brought by prosecutors. The move could be denounced as itself an inducement, even a political exploitation, of migrants who must cooperate with an investigation to qualify. Immigration advocates were only able to get three migrants to join the initial challenge.
Continue reading “Texas Sheriff Declares Undocumented Migrants “Crime Victims” to Secure Visas”
There is a bizarre political controversy out of Colorado that may raise some interesting defamation and criminal law questions. Both the Colorado GOP and Rep. Lauren Boebert (R-CO) are calling for Democrat Adam Frisch to withdraw from the race. The basis for the demand is a Breitbart story detailing the claim of a local businessman that he successfully blackmailed Frisch to change his vote on a key bill in order to avoid the disclosure of a sexual affair. Local media has reported a denial from Frisch. If untrue, this businessman could face a major defamation action, but Frisch has not indicated whether he will contest the allegation in court. Continue reading “Colorado Candidate Accused of Yielding to Blackmail While on the Aspen City Council”
For those of us who have closely followed the Hunter Biden scandal, one figure remains mysterious in his role in the possible tax violations by the President’s son. Kevin Morris is a wealthy entertainment lawyer who reportedly paid off as much as $2.8 million in back taxes for Hunter. I have previously discussed the relationship and expressed uncertainty as to whether Morris was acting as a friend or a lawyer (use of personal funds in a representational matter can present ethical issues). Now, Morris is the subject of an ethics complaint by the conservative group Marco Polo, which lured him into a hoax exchange over disproving the laptop allegations.
Continue reading “Lawyer Linked to Hunter Biden Hit With Ethics Complaint”
Below is my column in USA Today on the panic among political and media figures at the prospect that Elon Musk might return free speech protections to Twitter. I have long advocated what I call the “First Amendment model” for social media to replicate the standards applied to the government. While I am often called a “free speech absolutist,” I recognize that a social media company (like the government) has some ability to curtail speech containing elements like threats. The question is the baseline, which is far lower when modeled on the First Amendment. This admittedly means that some offensive or false claims will be allowed on social media, which will function closer to a common carrier or other means of communications like telephones. Rather than continue the expanding level of censorship and biased “content modification,” free speech can address such bad speech with better speech.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Will Musk “End Twitter As We Know it”? I Sincerely Hope So”
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas has finally crossed the line into infamy. No, it is not because of the record level of border crossings with millions pouring into the country. It is not the obvious lack of confidence of the rank and file officers in Mayorkas. It is not even past controversies like his Orwellian “Disinformation Governance Board.” Continue reading ““Something That Horrified Us All”: Emails Reveal Mayorkas was Warned that Migrant Whipping Story was False”
This week I wrote a column on a notable shift by political and media figures on the Hunter Biden scandal toward a last line of defense: the addiction defense. This shift is most obvious with President Joe Biden who spent years insisting that his son “did nothing wrong,” even bizarrely claiming that “no one has suggested that my son did anything wrong.” That defense was picked up by the White House. Continue reading “President Biden Pushes Hunter’s Addiction as CNN Omits Questions on Influence Peddling and Contradictions”