Congress, Politics, Society

Debtor Nation: Treasury Quietly Adds Another $1 Trillion In Debt

As many on the blog are aware, I am a fiscal conservative and social liberal (the profile of many a libertarian). I have previously railed against our soaring debt and the continued inability of our presidents and members of Congress to exercise a modicum of fiscal responsibility. This is a new low with the Treasury Department taking on $1trillion in more debt — for a second year in a row. We are saddling our children with this crippling level of debt to avoid our politicians to escape their responsibility to make tough decisions. With the start of the 2020 presidential election, politicians are lining up with expansive new spending proposals to entice supporters as our government plunges deeper into debt.

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Columns, Criminal law, Media

Mueller’s Roadkill Trophy: A Hunt For Collusion Bags A Circus Clown

Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the Stone memorandum and the specific counts indicted by Special Counsel Robert Mueller. Notably, after investigating Stone for much of two years, Mueller ended up indicting Stone overlapping false statements from a transcript that he secured just weeks ago from Congress. The coverage has been wildly out of sync with the substance of the indictment. There were many people, including journalists, who were trying to review the Wikileaks materials. That is not a crime. The stated desire to see any Wikileaks material is neither surprising nor illegal. Moreover, we already knew that Stone wanted to see the Wikileaks material and that he was seeking information from Wikileaks. He stated so publicly.

Here is the column:

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Criminal law, International

Report: Saudi Arabia Has Systematically Helped Saudi Felons To Flee The United States

There is a disturbing account in The Oregonian/OregonLive that raises a long-standing issue that few people want to talk about in Washington: the long record of Saudi Arabia in violating our laws and helping felons flee the country before trial or sentencing. The article addresses just a few cases but it is a problem nationwide as Saudi Arabian nationals kill or injure Americans only to have the government help the culprits post bond and then flee. For example, Abdulrahman Ali Al-Plaies was accused of killing a 79-year-old woman in the center of Xenia, Ohio, a small Ohio town. Just days before trial, the Saudis allegedly sent a military officer to whisk him away.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

St. Louis Officer Charged After Shooting Fellow Officer In Game of Russian Roulette

In a truly bizarre arrest, St. Louis police officer Nathaniel Hendren, 29, has been charged with allegedly shooting fellow officer, Katlyn Alix (left), 24, in a game of Russian Roulette. The third officer was involved in the bizarre crime.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, Media

The Stone Indictment: Mueller Continues To Build A Case Of Non-Collusion

Below is my column in USA Today on the Roger Stone indictment. I have been frankly astonished by the coverage, which has focused on simply the fact that he was charged as opposed to what he was charged with. Once again, the indictment’s significance has been uniformly over-played with little objective analysis of the specific counts themselves. From any objective perspective it is underwhelming in both the underlying conduct and the scope of the allegations.

Here is the column:

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Free Speech, International, Justice, Politics

Turkish Courts Release Imprisoned Politician After Hunger Strike In Protest To Isolation Of Abdulla Öcalan

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor

On January 13th I posted an article featuring PKK Leader Abdullah Öcalan being held without access to visitation by family and attorneys since 2016. The government’s reversal of policy occurred after a two month long hunger strike staged by imprisoned Kurdish sympathizers including pro-Kurdish Turkish Member of Parliament Leyla Guven, 55. MP Guven’s condition was described as “grave” and in the end considerable concern was that her life was in danger. Now, at least for the time being, Ms. Guven is no longer in custody and hopes are high for her recovery.

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Criminal law, Politics, Society

Roger Stone Indicted
YouTube

Months ago, I wrote about how Special Counsel Robert Mueller was clearly gunning for Stone with an increasing intensity (here and here and here). Stone was arrested early Friday morning in another signature raid on his home by the FBI. Once again, as with the treatment of Paul Manafort, it is unclear why prosecutors wanted to have a night raid on his home (captured by awaiting media) for non-violent crimes. It was entirely unnecessary in my view. The criminal counts themselves are additional counts of false statements and witness tampering. These type of process crimes are the majority of charged conduct against non-Russians in the investigation other than the unrelated crimes against figures like Manafort.

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Academia, Constitutional Law, Criminal law, International, Justice, Lawyering

Legal Groups Around The World Rally Behind Turkey’s Dwindling Bar On The International Day Of The Endangered Lawyer

Today, the global bar groups rallied in support of the rule of law on the “International Day of the Endangered Lawyer.” The international effort is designed to draw attention to the thousands of lawyers and judges killed or imprisoned each year as they fight for basic legal rights in countries from China to Iran to Venezuela. However, no bar is more devastated than the one in Turkey where thousands of lawyers have been imprisoned and tortured for fighting the authoritarian regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Despite the praise from our president, Erdogan has continued a comprehensive campaign against the free press and political dissidents. This campaign however first required the elimination of thousands of lawyers to eradicate the rule of law to make way for his brutal religious-based authoritarian rule.

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Bizarre, Congress, Media

SOTU Games: Trump Drops Speech After Pelosi Drops Pretense

We previously discussed the controversy over the State of the Union. I view both sides as irresponsible in this dispute. I previously objected to Speaker Nancy Pelosi using a clearly manufactured excuse of security. After Trump confirmed that security was not an issue, Pelosi simply dropped the pretense and disinvited the President. The media was virtually silent about the earlier misrepresentation and misuse of the security rationale. Trump then dropped plans to give the speech and seemed to morph into Jack Nicholson and saying that “Nancy” cannot handle the truth. The problem is that that line was given by a trapped, unhinged perjurer in A Few Good Men. We are left not only without a SOTU but no leader in sight on this issue. Frankly, most of us cannot handle the truth about both parties and their apparent priorities.

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Congress, Criminal law, Politics

Congress Should Subpoena Cohen
Congressional Seal

President Donald Trump’s former lawyer fixer, Michael Cohen, has declined to appear at this scheduled hearing on February 7th, citing
“ongoing threats” against his family by President Donald Trump and his current counsel Rudy Giuliani. I have previously criticized Trump for his highly inappropriate references to Cohen’s father-in-law and the warning Cohen that his family could be investigated. The comments looked like an obvious threat and an effort to intimidate a witness who has accused Trump of knowing violations of federal law. However, Cohen’s explanation is hardly convincing, though it is highly ironic. Cohen made his living as a legal thug who threatened anyone who presented a risk to Trump. However, the more likely reason is that recently new stories implicated Cohen in additional criminal conduct and Cohen was afraid that he might be asked about possible criminal conduct by his family, including his father-in-law.

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Bizarre

Meet Nathan Sutherland: Nurse Who Allegedly Impregnated A Vegetative Patient

We previously discussed the horrific crime of the impregnating of a woman in a vegetative state at the Hacienda Healthcare facility in Phoenix. It was only after the woman went into labor that the staff learned of the rape. Using DNA evidence, the police have made an arrest in what could be the easiest criminal case in the history of criminal law. Licensed practical nurse Nathan Sutherland is the match and, as we discussed, he stood out as someone who would not cooperate in giving over his DNA sample. He has been charged with one count of sexual assault and one count of vulnerable adult abuse.

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Criminal law, International, Religion, Society

Saudi Sisters Commit Suicide After Reportedly Seeking Asylum
First photos of Saudi sisters found duct-taped together released

We previously discussed the plight of a young teenage girl who fought for asylum rather than return to the medieval laws of Saudi Arabia where women must live without equal rights or opportunities. The case for asylum of woman from our “close ally” is strong given the violence meted out to women who seek to express their own views or pick their own future, let alone their own religion. The stark choice for women was tragically evident this week when a medical examiner confirmed that two young sisters chose to die together rather than return to Saudi Arabia. Tala Farea, 16, and Rotana Farea, 22, reportedly wanted asylum but when their credit card ran out of money, they bound themselves together and threw themselves into the Hudson River, according to chief Medical Examiner Barbara Sampson as said in an official statement.

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Academia, Bizarre

Notre Dame To Cover Up Historic Painting Of Columbus
YouTube screenshot

I have been writing and speaking about the movement to remove statues that range from confederate leaders to Columbus to Supreme Court justices to Founders (here and here and here and here).  This includes the calls for the removal of monuments to George Washington and Columbus. Now, the University of Notre Dame President John Jenkins has announced that a historic mural by Luigi Gregori will be covered up due to objections to the harm caused to Native Americans by Columbus and those who followed him. The famous mural depicting Columbus’ life and exploration was completed in around 1882. As should not come as a surprise to many on this blog, I view the decision as a mistake and a missed opportunity.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Wisconsin Man Chops Up His Own Home When He Thinks His Wife Damaged His Action Figures

I guess you can call it The Adventures of Axe Man. In Madison, Wisconsin, a 34-year-old man went into a rage when he believed that his wife had damaged his collection of action figures. He grabbed an axe and proceeded to destroy much of his house and car. He then called police on himself. This all makes the charges rather interesting.

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Bizarre, Lawyering, Politics

Giuliani: I Am Afraid My Gravestone Will Read “He Lied For Trump”

I have been critical of interviews given by Trump’s counsel Rudy Giuliani and the continued need to walk back from comments that either undermine or contradict his client. This weekend was no exception, though some of the coverage was unfair as I previously discussed. Now he is facing questions after an interview with the New Yorker where he observed “I am afraid it will be on my gravestone… ‘Rudy Giuliani: He lied for Trump.’” Even as a joke, it was not the type of statement that advances the interests of your client. Trump himself is an unpredictable client but that is not an excuse to mirror your client as an unpredictable counsel.

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