The Democrats continue to go “all in” on immigration in resisting enforcement, supporting sanctuary cities, and opposing increased deportations. This however may be an issue that Trump is right about politically as a wedge for voters and the Democratic party. A new survey by UC Berkeley’s Haas Institute for a Fair and Inclusive Society shows that roughly half of Californians support the Trump travel ban and greater enforcement (and deportations) under immigration laws.
Below is my column on the Comey book and ABC interview. Comey continues to paint the book as a calling for him to supply an account of ethical leadership — himself — as opposed to cashing in on a tell-all book. The book and the interview speak for themselves.
Continue reading “Comey’s Tell-All Book Tells All You Need To Know About Comey”
I will be speaking this morning at the plenary session of the Sixth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference of the Federalist Society. The panel on The Deregulatory Landscape will be composed of myself, the Hon. W. Neil Eggleston, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP (and former Obama White House Counsel); Todd Gaziano, Director, Center for the Separation of Powers, Pacific Legal Foundation; Philip A. Hamburger, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School; and Prof. Jonathan Turley, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law, George Washington University. The panel will be moderated by the Hon. Greg Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. The panel will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 at the Mayflower Hotel and will be live streamed.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak At Plenary Session Of Federalist Society Conference”
Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe responded angrily to the finding of the Inspector General report and notably attacked the recollection of former FBI Director James Comey as a witness. As I discussed in an earlier column, McCabe raised over a half million dollars on GoFundMe before the release of the report showing that he repeatedly made false statements to investigators as well as Comey. The report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, appointed by President Barack Obama is blistering and says that McCabe intentionally lied to protect his image and record. McCabe lashed out at the career officials behind the report and said Comey’s countervailing memory should not be given much credence.
I am in New Orleans this week to speak at the Academy of American Appellate Lawyers (on Saturday) and celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of this great city. I lived in this wonderful when I taught at Tulane Law School. It is always a joy to be back but particularly fun on this historical anniversary with my son, Jack, with me to enjoy the food and culture.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the greatest danger for President Donald Trump in the raids on his personal attorney’s office, home, and hotel room. Michael Cohen’s real threat may be as bait — either by design or default. It is the perfect Wolf Pit and Trump could prove the ultimate prize if he is not restrained in his reaction to the raid. The most significant blows for his Administration has been the result of Trump’s responses to events. The most obvious was his disastrous decision to fire Comey in the middle of the Russian investigation. Already, the Cohen raid has reportedly pushed Trump away from speaking with Mueller. Cohen has already maximized the damage to himself and his client. He may now have derailed the effort of Trump’s D.C. legal team to prepare him for a sitdown with Mueller on four categories. At the same time, Trump is reportedly back to threatening that he might fire Mueller or Rosenstein or Sessions. Despite the overwhelming view of experts and Republican leaders that such a move would highly damaging to his Administration and could trigger impeachment proceedings, there is still a palpable fear that that Trump could take such a self-defeated course.
Here is the column:
McKinley cannot catch a break. First, they took off his name from Mount McKinley during the Obama Administration on what is now known as Denali. Now towns like Arcata, California are moving to remove his statue as offensive to Native Americans. The use of Denali as the name for the mountain is understandable given its long usage by natives. However, the action in Arcara is the latest example of cleansing public areas of any historical images or figures deemed offensive by any group instead of placing these monuments into historical context.Continue reading “California Town Votes To Remove Statue Of William McKinley As Offensive”
I am admittedly a budget hawk when it comes to our burgeoning debt and runaway spending. However, I remain astonished that there was not more of an uproar over the massive budget just passed after lifting debt ceilings by both parties. Now, the Congressional Budget Office is projecting that the combination of the new tax bill and our massive budget will push the national debt to nearly the same size as gross domestic product by 2028. That is with an economic growth rate of 3.3 percent this year.
Continue reading “National Debt Set To Roughly Equal The Gross Domestic Product By 2028”
The Joint Committee on Taxation in Congress has issued a new report on tax burdens across the United States. The Committee used data from the Tax Policy Center and divided the public into five income groups. What they found was that the top 20 percent of earners paid 87 percent of the taxes in the country. The remaining 80 percent covered 13 percent of the burden. The data could challenge the common mantra of politicians that the top earners do not pay their fair share. Though the concentration of wealth should be considered (and a recent study found that one percent of the world’s wealthiest individuals control two-thirds of the world’s wealth), the figures in the United States shows an increasing tax burden in the top 20 percent range. We have previously discussed such studies and the disconnect between the rhetorical and the statistical in tax debates.
Continue reading “Study: Top 20 Percent of Income Households Pay 87 Percent Of Taxes”
According to police in Masury, Ohio, Kenneth Evans, 24, “was highly intoxicated and his mood was rapidly shifting” when he was arrested. His mug-shot might have been taken during the happy mood swing. Evans is charged with hitting his girlfriend in the face with pizza.
Continue reading “Ohio Man Charged With Assault By Pizza On Girlfriend”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the recent disclosure of the investigation of Roger Stone by Special Counsel Robert Mueller and his links to WikiLeaks. Whether it is his bizarre rantings on Instagram or continually changing accounts. Despite the recent focus of the media, neither Stone nor his account offer a strong basis for a criminal allegations. Absent more evidence, the curious case of Roger Stone is likely to remain precisely that: a curiosity.
Here is the column:
I recently posted a column in the Hill on the curious case of Roger Stone who has caused himself and the President endless trouble with prior emails claiming to have had dinner with WikiLeaks’ head Julian Assange. Stone’s best defense is that he is something of a buffoon or political trickster. He is not the most credible source for giving advice to Trump on what to do with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. However, he is back on the news (after a respite following his calling his former protegé Sam Nunberg a “coke head” and “a**shole”) warning Trump that the interview is a perjury trap. Indeed, as shown in his recent video with his grandson smoking giant cigars, Stone seems to specialize in a type of obnoxious theater of the bizarre.
Continue reading “Roger Stone Warns President Not To Speak With Mueller”
After declaring that Democrats who want her to be quiet are sexist, Hillary Clinton is back on her speaking tour blaming her defeat on everyone from the James Comey, self-hating women, Russians, Bernie Sanders, and misogynists for her defeat. Everyone except herself. Now Clinton has added “Pizzagate” to the lengthening reasons for her defeat.
Clinton continues (with Nancy Pelosi) to be the rallying cry for independents and Republicans moving into the midterm elections. Clinton has been told that she is hurting Democratic efforts to retake Congress but has refused to yield to the calls of various Democratic leaders as we discussed earlier. In the meantime, Clinton now stands alone among former presidential candidates who have uniformly become more popular after their losses. Clinton is the only one who has become even more unpopular. The reason is likely her unsuccessful effort to shift the blame for her loss against the second more unpopular person to ever run for the White House. In the meantime, Clinton has warned that, with Trump, “I Don’t Think We’ve Seen The Bottom Yet” Those are chilling words for Democrats growing increasingly alarmed over her impact on marginal voters needed to retake Congress.
California reached a milestone recently in its immigration laws: the state has now given over one million illegal or undocumented immigrants driver’s licenses. Passed in 2013 by sponsor Luis Alejo, Assembly Bill 60 required the California Department of Motor Vehicles to issue driver’s licenses to undocumented immigrants as long as they can prove their identity and residence within the state. As of March 31st, some 1,001,000 undocumented immigrants have received licenses. The state has reached this goal at a time when it is on a collision course with the Trump Administration on immigration enforcement as well as some of its own cities. The result is rising rhetoric on both sides and an inevitable court fight.
Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the curious timing of a legal defense fund for Andrew McCabe — started and closed before the release of a report on his conduct. With the sentencing of the first Mueller defendant, Dutch lawyer Alex van der Zwaan, there are obvious questions of why people like Flynn and van der Zwaan should face prison for single false statements while McCabe is accused of lying four times, including twice under oath. Mueller’s office insisted that anyone who lies to investigators deserves to be sentenced and punished, but that standard appears to change be somewhat fluid when a former high-ranking FBI official is implicated. Nevertheless, I can certainly understand McCabe’s interest in a legal defense fund given the ongoing IG investigation and addition of a prosecutor to the team. However, the money was raised before donors could know the full account of the allegations against McCabe. Moreover, McCabe can use this money for any legal needs as he enters private life.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Curious Case of The Andrew McCabe Legal Defense Fund”