Below is my column in the New York Post on the continued drama in Manhattan over the possible Trump indictment. Alvin Bragg may still secure an indictment, but the reports of divisions on the grand jury have captivated the press. Donald Trump remains Bragg’s political manifest destiny even if there is no legal landfall in sight.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Manifest Destiny: Alvin Bragg Searches for His Criminal Kailasa”
We have been following the controversy at Stanford Law School in the aftermath of a disgraceful cancellation of remarks by federal appellate judge Stuart Kyle Duncan. The center of this controversy was Associate Dean for Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) dean Tirien Steinbach, who seemingly joined the mob in denouncing the judge for his views. She was later publicly reprimanded by Law School Dean Jenny Martinez, who apologized to Judge Duncan and put Steinbach on leave. Now, Steinbach has publicly responded and appears to be doubling down on her actions in a Wall Street Journal opinion column. Continue reading “Stanford’s DEI Dean Doubles Down on Duncan Controversy”
For years, President Joe Biden has maintained a Sgt. Schultz defense to allegations that his family has profiteered on influence peddling with foreign countries and companies. Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Biden maintains that he “knows nothing, nothing” about Hunter Biden’s business deals. He recently doubled down on this defense by even denying that family members received money from foreign sources. He repeated his denial even after the release of financial transfer reports from his own administration showing millions transferred from China. Now, emails have emerged that show that Biden personally helped draft responses to the controversial deals in 2015 when he was Vice President. It also appears that Biden officials like former Biden Communications Director Kate Bedingfield knew of his role as the President continued to deny any involvement. Continue reading ““I Know Nothing, Nothing!” : The National Archives Just Torpedoed Biden’s Sgt. Schultz Defense”
This week, Stanford Law School dean Jenny Martinez released a powerful defense of free speech in a 10-page letter to the entire school. The letter also revealed that Associate Dean Tirien Steinbach has been put on leave after her disgraceful condemnation of conservative appellate judge Stuart Duncan. Martinez chastised the students responsible for cancelling Duncan’s remarks by shouting him down. The letter follows an intimidating protest at Martinez’s class and demands that she withdraw an earlier apology. However, Martinez still refuses to hold the students personally accountable for their stopping the event. Continue reading “Stanford Orders Mandatory Free Speech Sessions for the Law School But Will Not Hold Students Accountable for Disrupting Judge’s Remarks”
Below is my column in USA Today on the expected indictment of former President Donald Trump and the prospect of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg putting Michael Cohen on the stand as his star witness. Yesterday, I wrote about the early skirmish between Cohen and his former counsel. That is only a taste of what is to come in the target rich environment of a Cohen cross examination.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Return of Michael Cohen: A Disbarred Attorney Takes Center Stage in a Dubious Prosecution”
We have been discussing a comprehensive effort by the Biden Administration to blacklist or censor citizens accused of “disinformation” or “misinformation.” This effort includes dozens of FBI agents and other agency employees who worked with social media companies to bar or suspend accounts. It also included grants to academic and third party organizations to create blacklists or pressure advertisers to withdrew support for conservative sites. Now, another such grant through the National Science Foundation has been identified, which gave millions to professors to develop a misinformation fact-checking tool called “Course Correct.” The tool will help fight “skepticism” and reinforce “trust” in what the government and the programmers define as true or reliable viewpoints.
Continue reading “Combating “Skepticism”: Federal Grant Funds New Effort to Combat “Misinformation””
Below is my column in the New York Post on the expected indictment against former President Donald Trump. It is an effort to reanimate a long dead legal claim against Trump, but could reanimate his presidential campaign.
Here is the column:
Yesterday, I ran a column in USA Today on the unpalatable prospect of Manhattan District Attorney Alvin Bragg putting disbarred attorney Michael Cohen on the stand as his star witness in the case against former president Donald Trump. Given Cohen’s past lies and conduct, it will be a target rich environment for cross examination. As if on cue, Cohen just added another potential item for a withering cross: he denied any memory of a waiver of attorney-client privilege in a public tiff with Robert Costello. Continue reading “Cohen v. Costello: Coming Soon to a Cable Show–and Courtroom–Near You”
Below is my column in The Hill on the expected indictment this week of former President Donald Trump and the danger of prosecution by plebiscite. I have been critical of the indictment, which is reportedly based on a highly dubious use of a New York misdemeanor charge to revise a long dormant federal election law charge. We will have to wait to confirm the details on the indictment but this remains, in my view, a blatantly political prosecution.
Continue reading ““America’s Got Trump”: Get Ready for a Truly Made-for-TV Prosecution”
President Joe Biden this weekend proved the truth to the old adage that there are “lies, damned lies, and statistics.” Biden is again arguing that the wealthy do not pay their fair share of taxes. However, on Saturday, he made this whopper of a claim: “You know the average tax billionaires pay? Three percent. No billionaire should be paying a lower tax than somebody working as a schoolteacher or a firefighter.” There is no indication where that figure came from, but prior low figures have been based on a highly dubious method of counting unrealized gains as income — a highly controversial proposal for a new massive tax increase.
President Joe Biden has repeatedly denied that his family received money from China. He has also denied any knowledge of his son’s foreign dealings despite direct evidence to the contrary, including a recorded message from the President to Hunter referencing the deals. The White House has simply refused to address the recording or photographs contradicting the President. Now, there is confirmation that millions were sent from China and then money from a third-party account was distributed to at least three, and possibly four, Biden family members. However, when confronted with the evidence on the way to Marine One, the President again declared “that’s not true.” Given that these are suspicious activity reports (SARs) from Biden’s own Treasury Department, it is unclear now what the President is suggesting beyond the possibility of an evil twin Biden family that is besmirching his good name. Continue reading ““That’s Not True”: President Biden Moves Toward the Evil Twin Family Defense”
While lost in the explosive news about Donald Trump’s expected arrest, journalist Matt Taibbi released new details on previously undisclosed censorship efforts on social media. The latest Twitter Files revealed a breathtaking effort from Stanford’s Virality Project to censor even true stories. After all, the project insisted “true stories … could fuel hesitancy” over taking the vaccine or other measures. The effort included suppressing stories that we now know are legitimate such as natural immunity defenses, the exaggerated value of masks, and questions over vaccine efficacy in preventing second illnesses. The work of the Virality Project to censor even true stories should result in the severance of any connection with Stanford University.
There is an interesting development in the controversy at Stanford Law School where U.S. Circuit Court Judge Kyle Duncan was shouted down by law students and condemned by a law school dean for discussing his conservative judicial views. Student protesters reportedly published the names of students in the Federalist Society online as part of their cancel campaign. However, Aaron Sibarium, a journalist for the Washington Free Beacon has said that a board member of the Stanford National Lawyers Guild, sent an email demanding the Free Beacon remove her name and those of other students from their reporting because it is threatening and dangerous. Continue reading “Stanford Students Demand Journalist Remove Their Names from Stories … After Targeting Other Students By Name”
Happy St. Patrick’s Day to all of the leprechauns of the blog from the Turley Clan. The leprechauns came to bring treats and tricks to the Turley house this morning. While our kids are older, they still enjoy our traditions (or humor their aging father). Continue reading “HAPPY ST. PATRICK’S DAY!!!”
We have been discussing the scorched earth campaign by Hunter Biden’s new legal team as well as a type of legion of Doom of Democratic activists. That included seeking criminal investigations of critics while threatening a wide array of journalists and potential witnesses with civil lawsuits. Today, Biden moved against John Paul Mac Isaac, the repairman who revealed the laptop and its contents. The lawsuit, in my view, has serious flaws, but reflects the new “dark Biden” stage of this saga. The effort to go on offense against key figures and witnesses could well backfire for the Hunter Biden team and his family. Continue reading “Hunter Biden Countersues Over Laptop Files . . . That May or Might Not Be His”