It may be the single least self-aware statement of the year. Prince Turki al-Faisal has insisted that the CIA assessment that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman ordered the killing of journalist Jamal Khashoggi can be dismissed because “the CIA is not necessarily the highest standard of veracity or accuracy in assessing situations.” This is coming from a government that has issued a series of bold-faced lies about its murdering of the journalist from claiming that Khashoggi was actually alive to blaming him for a brawl in the consulate to now insisting that a group of men (including those closely tied to the Crown Prince) carried out the murder without his knowledge. Of course, even President Trump cannot decide if he will believe his own intelligence officials or the Crown Prince. Trump said continued to say that it is not clear that the Crown Prince ordered the killing despite incriminating tapes and overwhelming evidence to the contrary — as well as leading Republicans saying that continued denials are unbelievable and embarrassing for the country. Continue reading “Saudi Prince: “The CIA Is Not Necessarily The Highest Standard of Veracity””
Category: Society
We have been discussing the often inconsistent approach taken to controversial statements or postings of students and faculty at our universities and colleges. The latest such case involves Rutgers University history professor James Livingston, who stated in a post that he hated all white people and wanted them out of his neighborhood. The school has now cleared him of all wrongdoing and that is a victory for free speech. However, it is not clear if the same result would have occurred if the content of the hateful message were directed at blacks or minorities. The concern is the inconsistency of a content-based approach to such sanctions.Continue reading “Rutgers Reverses Ruling Against Professor Who Wrote About Hating All White People”
In celebration of Thanksgiving, I give you our annual Turkey Torts of civil and criminal cases that add liability to libations on this special day (with past cases at the bottom). Many criminal defense attorneys and torts attorneys give special thanks for a holiday that can involve copious amounts of alcohol, strained family relations, over-the-hill amateur football players, “Black Friday” sale stampedes, and novice cooks. These cases are why Johnny Carson said “Thanksgiving is an emotional holiday. People travel thousands of miles to be with people they only see once a year. And then discover once a year is way too often.”
Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!
Happy Thanksgiving to everyone. We begin this day with the Turley Turkey bowl with our tradition of a rousing football game with our neighbors and family. The Turkey bowl is a tradition that has been held for over 50 years. It is an early game with copious amounts of hot chocolate, donuts, and treats. (It was 19 degrees this morning but blue skies). We then follow with my favorite meal of the year with roughly a large assemblage of friends and family.
We previously discussed whether England was becoming a “Nanny State,” including the effective banning of nannies. The concern is that well-intentioned measures are creating climate of governmental control and the gradual reduction of rights in England, here, here, here, here, here, and here. Now a school in England has been students from wearing “expensive” jackets because it may “poverty shame” other students. It is not clear who will make the judgment of a jacket that is too expensive to wear or wear parents are to shop to guarantee that they are not dressing their kids too well. Continue reading “English School Bans Expensive Coats To Prevent “Poverty Shaming””
There is a growing concern about University’s treating students like emotional wrecks triggered by any routine terms or opposing views. Leed’s Trinity journalism department however has reached a new level of manic mollycoddling with a warning to all faculty that they need to avoid using capital letters because uppercase letters may “scare them into failure.”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on reported completion of answers to the questions given to President Donald Trump by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. The White House anticipated giving the answers to the Special Counsel before Thanksgiving. As noted below, that could put the collusion part of the investigation into high gear toward a report to Congress.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““I Answered Them Very Easily”: The Five Most Chilling Words In The Russian Investigation”
We have yet another disturbing account of a trophy hunt. This time the victim is still breathing. His name is Mufasa and he is a rare white lion who was rescued and sent to a rehab center. Now tribal leaders are refusing to give him back and instead want to sell the right to shoot the young lion among eager trophy hunters. Continue reading “Rare White Lion To Be Auctioned Off To Be Shot In South Africa”
While President Donald Trump repeatedly denounces the “witch hunt” in Washington, it may becoming more and more easy to find them. According to a report from the Christian Post, the number of witches and wiccans has increased dramatically since the 1990s. Indeed, the figures is taken from studies from a Trinity College and the Pew Research Cente that found that there are at least 1.5 million witches in the United States,. That would put them 100,000 over the 1.4 million mainline Presbyterians in the country. Continue reading “Report: Witches Now Outnumber Presbyterians In The United States”
While President Donald Trump has expressed reluctance to confront Saudi Arabia on the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi and noted that Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman assured him that he was not involved, the CIA has now reached what it considers a clear finding that the Crown Prince ordered the savage murder and then lied to Trump and the world (while having all of his own henchmen arrested). Continue reading “CIA: The Crown Prince Did It”
There is an interesting case heading to Ottawa before the Supreme Court of Canada. Bela Kosoian was arrested for failing to hold onto to an escalator handrail at a subway station in Montreal. The officer maintained that sign encouraging the practice was a binding law and issued a citation after she declined to hold on to the handrail. In the earlier Court of Appeal decision, Justice Julie Dutil concluded that, even though the officer was mistaken on the law, he still had grounds to arrest her after she dismissed his instructions and failed to give her name. That highly problematic ruling will now be reviewed. Continue reading “Canadian Supreme Court To Review Case Of Woman Arrested For Not Holding Handrail”
Broward County continues to struggle with the most basic demands of being a functioning democratic system. In fairness to Florida, all but a couple counties showed that they are prepared for democracy. However, Broward (which has been accused of mismanagement for years) fulfilled the worst expectations by filing its recount results two minutes late. It might have been two days for all that it matters. That is the problem with legal deadlines. There are generally no mulligans. Broward released an announcement that none of its recount would count. Despite the defense of Brenda Snipes by Democratic leaders like Debbie Wasserman-Schultz, the latest failure of her office removes any question about the level of mismanagement of the county (as well as those responsible for Palm Beach and Hillsborough counties). Snipes recently boasted that she never missed deadlines. To miss a deadline by minutes just shows a complete lack of supervisory competence.
Continue reading “Broward County Recount Results Tossed For Being Filed Late By Two Minutes”
One of the year’s most bizarre stories just got even more so. You may recall the lawsuit of a homeless man against a New Jersey couple who raised $400,000 off a heart-warming story of how Johnny Bobbitt supposedly gave Kate McClure his last $20 when she was stranded on a road in Philadelphia. Kate McClure and her boyfriend Mark D’Amico then went public with the GoFundMe effort — only to be accused by Bobbitt of using the money for themselves. Police now say it was all a cynical hoax on the public. If so, this could prove a case of “when thieves fall out, honest men come by their own.” Donors will be given back their money.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the next possible wave of indictments and specifically the targeting of Roger Stone. This includes possible charges of false statements and more recent indications that Mueller is mulling witness tampering charges. As Mueller prepares what may be his final set of indictments, there remains the absence of a direct U.S. figure connecting Trump to any collusion with Russia. With Stone and former associate Jerome Corsi expecting indictments, there is a reasonable question of whether Mueller has truly run down a major figure or whether he is merely shooting the wounded at this point in his investigation.
Here is the column: Continue reading ““Everybody Must Get Stone”: Mueller Moves Closer To The Possible Indictment Of Trump Confidant”
The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel is issued an opinion that states that the appointment of Matthew G. Whitaker as acting attorney general is in fact constitutional. I previously wrote that I believe that the federal Vacancies Reform Act does allow for the appointment. However, I have long viewed the Act itself as constitutionally questionable in its provision for a non-confirmed individual taking over an agency. Moreover, I recently wrote how this move could present a novel way to undermine the position of Special Counsel Robert Mueller. One fact revealed in the OLC memo is that, despite media suggestions that Whitaker was an impulsive move by President Trump, there was a request for review of legality of a Whitaker appointment before Sessions was pushed to resign. Continue reading “OLC Declares Whitaker Appointment As Constitutional”