Below is my column in USA Today on the assertion of President Donald Trump that he can pardon himself. Since such an act would be the most profoundly disgraceful moment in the history of the American presidency, it is chilling to have a president to even engage in such a public debate. However, I believe that such a power does exist in the Constitution. It is a long and unresolved debate that turns on how you interpret silence. Since the Constitution is silent on any bar against a president benefitting from this power, I believe that a self-pardon is indeed constitutional, even if distasteful. Continue reading “Trump Can Indeed Pardon Himself . . . And We Should Now Never Speak Of This Again”
Category: Society
I will be testifying today in the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee’s Subcommittee on Federal Spending Oversight and Emergency Management. The hearing is entitled “War Powers and the Effects of Unauthorized Military Engagements on Federal Spending” and will address the new proposed Authorization for Use of Military Force (AUMF) proposed by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Tim Kaine (D-VA). As my testimony below discusses, the new legislation would represent an unprecedented change in the law governing war powers. The new AUMF amounts to a statutory revision of one of the most defining elements of the United States Constitution. Putting aside the constitutionality of such a change absent a formal amendment, the proposed legislation completes a long history of this body abdicating its core responsibilities over the declaration of war. Continue reading “Turley To Testify On War Powers In Senate Today”
Just days after President Donald Trump was seen as sending a message to Mueller targets that he could still help them with pardons, Special Counsel Bob Mueller could be sending a message of his own: your future may belong to the President but your present belongs to me. In a major move, Mueller has accused Paul Manafort of witness tampering and is seeking his possible jailing in an adjustment of his pre-trial status. For someone like Manafort, jail can be a panic-inducing element in an already nightmarish case. The motion seeks to “revoke or revise” his current status of home confinement before trial.
Continue reading “Mueller Accuses Manafort Of Witness Tampering And Seeks Jail”
An off-duty FBI agent shot a bar patron in the leg after he did a dance move in the Mile High Spirits Distillery and Tasting Bar that allowed his service weapon to fall to the floor. When he picked it up, it discharged striking the patron. This could make for an interesting tort action.
Continue reading “FBI Agent Shoots Bar Patron After Weapon Falls From Pants During Dance Move”
As I discussed on Morning Joe this morning, I was surprised when President Trump’s counsel Rudolf Giuliani declared in an interview that Trump could have shot James Comey in the Oval Office and not faced indictment under the Constitution. For those of us who have long argued against sweeping immunity arguments in favor of presidents, this is the hypothetical that we often raise to prove our point. It is bizarre to hear someone use it as an argument in favor of such immunity claims. I have previously written that I believe a sitting president can be indicted. Article II is not where the homicidal meets the constitutional.
Continue reading “Guiliani: Trump Could Have Shot Comey In Oval Office And Not Face Indictment”
Below is my column in USA Today on one of the lines of inquiry by Special Counsel Robert Mueller: the stated desire of President Donald Trump to fire Attorney General Jeff Sessions and his poor public criticism of the Attorney General for recusing. That inquiry has become more damaging with recent disclosures of an effort by Trump to convince or coerce Sessions to reverse his decision to recuse himself. Despite renewed calls for obstruction charges or impeachment counts, there is a clear defense emerging for Trump based on recent comments. Indeed, it may be the only viable defense that accepts these facts while rejecting the claim of criminal obstruction (other than the untested claim that Trump is effectively immune from such a charge).
Here is the column:
According to the Los Angeles Times, Carmen Puliafito, 67, the former Dean at the University of Southern California’s Keck School of Medicine, was pushed into drug use by a 21-year-old former prostitute named Sarah Warren. His counsel argued that the Harvard-trained ophthalmologist is bipolar and became “addicted” to the young woman who led him into perdition.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the decision to investigate the alleged informant targeting Trump associations and the criticism from former Acting Attorney General Sally Yates. As noted below, I believe that Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein did the right thing in referring this issue to the Inspector General for investigation. That does not mean that a finding of wrongdoing is likely. To the contrary, my expectation is that the use of the informant will be viewed as appropriate absent additional unknown facts. However, as this piece discusses, there is a strong public interest in resolving this question either way.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Third Option: Rather Than Pick Sides, The Public Can Pick The Truth”
We recently discussed the disruption of a speaker at a university that was led in part by a professor who believed that she had a right to prevent other faculty or students from hearing the views of speaker Dave Rubin, a Democrat online talk show host who has called for free speech protections on campuses. University of New Hampshire Professor Dr. Joelle Ruby Ryan screamed profanities and refused to respond to Rubin’s invitation to have a dialogue. She is part of a growing number of faculty who rally their students against free speech values and seek to prevent those with opposing views from being heard.
George Washington University is embroiled in a federal challenge against its handling of a case by one of our students accused of sexual assault. The case raises troubling questions of the school’s actions following the disclosure of alleged false statements by an accuser. Many years ago, I wrote a letter to the GW faculty objecting to changes in our rules governing the investigation and adjudication of sexual harassment and assault cases. Like many universities during the Obama Administration, GW was reducing protections for students accused of such misconduct under pressure from the Department of Education (here and here), Now, a “John Doe” has raised some of those very concerns in the alleged refusal of the school to allow an appeal in his case following the discovery of potentially exculpatory evidence. Continue reading “GWU Sued For Refusing Appeal In Sexual Assault Case Despite Allegations of False Testimony”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the calls for a constitutional challenge to the new NFL policy against protests during the National Anthem. While many have claimed that the policy violates free speech rights of the players, there is actually little support for such a challenge under constitutional law. The best shot might be procedural in nature in arguing that the collective bargaining agreement requires conferral on such rules with the players. Putting aside the strong defenses to this claim, it would likely only require consultation and not a change in the ultimate policy.
Here is the column: Continue reading “No, NFL Players Do Not Have A Constitutional Right To Protest During The National Anthem”
To quote the Sesame Street theme song, characters in Melissa McCarthy’s new movie “Come and play” but everything is certainly not “A-OK.” McCarthy is about to release her movie The Happytime Murders, a R-rated production that reportedly depicts puppets engaging in lewd acts. The movie proclaims “No Sesame. All Street.” Sesame Street’s parent company objects that its brand will be tarnished by “explicit, profane, drug-using, misogynistic, violent, copulating, and even ejaculating puppets.”
Well, this explains it. Religious author Paul McGuire appeared on the Jim Bakker Show to claim that President Donald Trump is being pursued by a “Luciferian rulership system” set on his destruction and all of mankind. It turns out it is not Robert Mueller but “advanced beings” with “supernatural multidimensional” powers. And I thought his greatest threat came from beings with subpoena powers. Continue reading “Religious Writer: Trump Is Being Undermined By “Luciferian” Beings With “Supernatural Multidimensional” Powers”
Emmet Flood, the latest lawyer added to the White House as part of its defense to the Russian investigation, was meant to bring experience and order to the chaotic legal team around President Donald Trump. However, his first public move can only be described as a blunder of the first order. Flood went to yesterday’s much discussed briefing to speak with members of Congress. Two highly classified briefings were scheduled to discuss the use of informants by the FBI in its investigation of Trump campaign associates. It was precisely the type of thoughtless act that has baffled many of us for months. Little would be achieved by Flood briefly addressing the members but, in appearing, Flood undermined the integrity and stated purpose of the meeting. He created the impression that the briefing was first and foremost about the defense of the President personally. In doing so, he undermined the entire exercise with virtually nothing to gain from his attending the meeting. None of this was criminal or unethical. The concern is that it shows a continued failure to mind critical lines of separation as well as a dumbfounding lack of judgment.