Criminal law

Washington Post: Top FBI Officials Opposed Mar-a-Lago Raid

The Washington Post is reporting that there was a heated debate in the Justice Department over the decision to raid Mar-a-Lago in July 2022. The senior FBI agents objected that they believe that a consensual search was possible without the necessity of a raid. It was main Justice officials who overruled them and insisted on the raid. What is most striking about the account is that FBI agents were raising the very concerns that some of us voiced after the unprecedented raid on the home of a former president. Continue reading “Washington Post: Top FBI Officials Opposed Mar-a-Lago Raid” →

Academia, Free Speech

Linfield University Settles Free Speech Case with Professor Who Complained of Antisemitism

Linfield University has agreed to settle a lawsuit filed by former Professor Daniel Pollack-Pelzner for $1,037,500 in compensation for emotional distress, lost wages, and attorney fees. Pollack-Pelzner was a tenured professor who was fired after he accused President Miles Davis of making antisemitic remarks, including jokes about Jewish noses and the gas chambers. He also accused the board of trustees of sexual misconduct. Rather than simply rebut the allegations, Davis and the school stripped Pollack-Pelzner of tenure and fired him with little due process or warning. Indeed, Pollack-Pelzner was not even aware of his termination until he tried to access his work account and received an automated response that he was no longer employed at Linfield. Continue reading “Linfield University Settles Free Speech Case with Professor Who Complained of Antisemitism” →

Congress, Criminal law, Politics

Wray Confirms that FBI Accepted Lab Theory as Likely “For Quite Some Time Now”

Yesterday, FBI Director Christopher Wray confirmed that the FBI believes that Covid-19 did originate from a lab in China. While liberal pundits have tried to dismiss the similar finding of the Department of Energy, the public attention of the FBI will make it more difficult to spin out of this major story. Yet, the most interesting moment with Wray came in an interview with Fox News host Bret Baier. Wray told Baier that the agency has, “for quite some time now, assessed that the origins of the pandemic are most likely a potential lab incident in Wuhan.” The notion that the FBI has held this belief for “quite some time now” is unnerving since it remained stoney silent as experts and commentators were censored and shunned for even uttering the theory. Continue reading “Wray Confirms that FBI Accepted Lab Theory as Likely “For Quite Some Time Now”” →

Academia, Free Speech, Religion

Trent College Minister Fired as Threat to Students After Criticizing LGBTQ Values

There is an interesting case out of England this month where a chaplain has sued after he was fired and reported as a threat to young students for questioning LGBTQ activists. What is most alarming is the initial response of the courts in dismissing his free speech rights and effectively ratifying the cancel campaign against Rev. Dr. Bernard Randall, an ordained Church of England minister, after he spoke out against LGBTQ identity policies. Continue reading “Trent College Minister Fired as Threat to Students After Criticizing LGBTQ Values” →

Media, Politics

Buttigieg’s Derailment: NTSB Exposes East Palestine Claim as “Misinformation”

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg has been repeatedly criticized for transportation problems, including the holiday pile up at our ports that slowed delivery of goods in December. He was also criticized for his response to the recent airport shutdown. I have not joined in that criticism because I am not sure that he has direct responsibility for some of these problems. However, Buttigieg recently raised a legal claim to blame the Trump Administration for the train disaster in East Palestine, Ohio. The claim was not only manifestly false but Buttigieg knew or should have known it was false. The implications are deeply disturbing. When confronted with a disaster, Buttigieg not only made a false claim but attempted to weaponize a tragedy against political opponents. That is a serious problem for a public figure and worthy of condemnation. Continue reading “Buttigieg’s Derailment: NTSB Exposes East Palestine Claim as “Misinformation”” →

Constitutional Law, Politics, Society

A House Divided: The Right and Left Call for Boycotts, Secessions, and “Divorces” in the Age of Rage

Fran Drescher, SAG-AFTRA president, appears to taking her signature role as The Nanny to heart. Actress Fran Drescher used the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards to call for a host of initiatives from eliminating all single-use plastics to boycotting any states that do not meet SAG’s view of supporting “freedom, diversity, inclusion and democracy.” That latter proposal follows cities like San Francisco imposing similar boycotts. It also follows calls from Rep. Marjorie Greene (R., Ga.) for a “national divorce,” including limiting the rights of people to move from northern states to southern states for their lower crime and lower taxes. It is the ultimate expression of our age of rage where we seek separation rather than interaction with those who hold different views and values.

Continue reading “A House Divided: The Right and Left Call for Boycotts, Secessions, and “Divorces” in the Age of Rage” →

Uncategorized

Res Ipsa Hits 68,000,000

crowd vj dayYesterday, Res Ipsa passed the 68,000,000 mark in views on the blog.  Given the significant increase in traffic, we may have to go to 5 million mark updates. However, we have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and share our traffic data to give you an idea of the current profile of readers around the world. We do not have a running data page so these periodic postings allow our community to see the traffic profile of our blog. So let’s get at it. Continue reading “Res Ipsa Hits 68,000,000” →

Columns, Media, Politics

The Covid Lab Leak is a Scandal of Media and Government Censorship

Below is my column in the New York Post on the Wall Street Journal revealing that the Department of Energy has concluded that Covid-19 likely originated from a Chinese lab. According to the report, American intelligence has found evidence to support the long-dismissed “lab theory.” This has led to another media “my bad” moment where news outlets are shrugging that the theory may not be a conspiracy or racist theory after all. As usual, there is little attention to the experts who were shredded for raising the theory or the reporters who insisted that this was a debunked conspiracy theory.

Here is the column:

Continue reading “The Covid Lab Leak is a Scandal of Media and Government Censorship” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Politics

Yes, Hate Speech Is Protected Under the First Amendment
Salman Rushie with Sen. Bernie Sanders

Below is my column in The Hill on the increasing claims that hate speech is not protected by the First Amendment. Even dictionaries are now repeating this false claim and polls show that a majority of students believe that hate speech falls outside of the scope of protected speech. For those who often rail against “disinformation,” this is a particularly dangerous false narrative meant to support expanded censorship and speech controls. Even Salman Rushdie has been been invoked in the campaign against hate speech.  We should all denounce hate speech but that is not a license for the government to censor or ban such speech.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Yes, Hate Speech Is Protected Under the First Amendment” →

Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

Texas Supreme Court Rejects Defamation Claims of Pro-Choice Group

The Texas Supreme Court has handed down a major ruling in defense of free speech this week. The decision Lilith Fund for Reproductive Equity v. Dickson by Justice Jane Bland rejected an effort by pro-choose groups to use defamation lawsuits against pro-life advocates. What was particularly chilling is that one appellate court agreed with the absurd argument that characterizing abortion as murder is an actionable basis for defamation as opposed to protected opinion.  Continue reading “Texas Supreme Court Rejects Defamation Claims of Pro-Choice Group” →

Academia, International

Unmasking Prejudice? Professor Denounces Maskless People as “Racist, Ableist, and Classist.”

George Washington University (where I teach) this week became one of the last major universities to drop its mask mandate. Many students had long declined to follow the mandate, but the decision was met with relief by many at the school. Yet, some are vivid about the lifting of such mandates in various schools. One is a professor at the University of British Columbia who has participated in roundtable discussions as an expert with Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.  Dr. Amy Tan is a Clinical Associate Professor in Palliative Care and Family Practice at UBC’s Faculty of Medicine and an Adjunct Professor at the University of Calgary. She recently issued a blistering attack on those going maskless as being “racist, ableist, and classist.” The comments raise long-standing concerns that masks have become a vehicle for social and political rather than medical agendas.

Continue reading “Unmasking Prejudice? Professor Denounces Maskless People as “Racist, Ableist, and Classist.”” →

Criminal law, Torts

Grosskreutz v. Grosskreutz? Survivor from 2020 Kenosha Shooting Sues Kyle Rittenhouse
YouTube screengrab

Just when you thought that the Kyle Rittenhouse case was over . . . it is back. Gaige Grosskreutz who was shot in the arm by Kyle Rittenhouse during the Kenosha riots in 2020 is now suing him as well as Wisconsin police and officials. Grosskreutz effectively repeats his earlier rejected claims that he was merely trying to protect others and had his hands up when Rittenhouse shot him. The difference is that this civil lawsuit will be resolved under the lower standard of proof by a preponderance of the evidence (rather than beyond a reasonable doubt). Nevertheless, the case could prove messy for Grosskreutz whose criminal background and actions that night could undermine his claims. Indeed, the most damaging witness against Grosskreutz may prove to be himself. Continue reading “Grosskreutz v. Grosskreutz? Survivor from 2020 Kenosha Shooting Sues Kyle Rittenhouse” →

Columns, Criminal law, Politics

The Dark Biden Rises: The Reinvention of Hunter in a New and Menacing Image

Below is an expanded version of my New York Post column this week on the latest moves by Hunter Biden and his team. It is the latest reinvention of Hunter but it is unlikely to succeed any more than the earlier incarnations. Yesterday, the deadline to turn over evidence passed for Hunter, his uncle, and one of his associates. They have decided to go full Bannon, even though this course took the former Trump adviser to a speedy conviction for contempt.

Here is the column:
Continue reading “The Dark Biden Rises: The Reinvention of Hunter in a New and Menacing Image” →

Academia, Constitutional Law, Events, Supreme Court

Turley to Speak at University of Maryland Law School Symposium on the Supreme Court

I have the pleasure of speaking this morning at the University of Maryland Law School as part of the Law Review’s annual symposium on constitutional law. To the Law Review’s great credit, the students sought to bring together a wide range of views on the evolution of constitutional law in a well-balanced selection of academics. I will be on the first panel at 10:15 at the law school. That is the first of three panels and there will be a keynote address by the Honorable Judge Greenaway of the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit. Continue reading “Turley to Speak at University of Maryland Law School Symposium on the Supreme Court” →

Free Speech, International

The Rise of the Woke Whangdoodles: English Company Rewrites Dahl Classics to Remove Offensive Words

Where are the Oompa Loompas when you need them. Willy Wonka’s helpers asked “who do you blame when your kid is a brat? Pampered and spoiled like a Siamese cat?” The same question could be asked about publishers after Puffin Books hired sensitivity readers to “update” portions of Roald Dahl’s classic books. The changes include dropping references to Augustus Gloop being “fat.”  Yet, unlike the Oompa Loompas, who found sanctuary “from hornswogglers and snozzwangers and those terrible wicked whangdoodles,” there is no safe place from woke whangdoodles today.

Continue reading “The Rise of the Woke Whangdoodles: English Company Rewrites Dahl Classics to Remove Offensive Words” →