Bizarre, Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Supreme Court

Dial H for Homicide? MSNBC Commentator Accuses Sen. Hawley of Trying To Murder Judge Jackson
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In the movie “Dial M for Murder,” the character Mark Halliday explained how he writes about murders: “I usually put myself in the criminal’s shoes and then I keep asking myself, uh, what do I do next?” He admitted, however, that “I’m afraid my murders would be something like my bridge: I’d make some stupid mistake and never realize it until I found everybody was looking at me.”

That appears to be the fate of MSNBC commentator and the Nation’s Justice Correspondent Elie Mystal, who recently accused Sen. Josh Hawley of trying to kill Supreme Court nominee Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. His weapon: a question about her prior legal positions.

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Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, Media, Politics

Will Senate Apply the Ginsburg or the Barrett Rule to Judge Jackson?

Below is my column in the Hill on the confirmation hearings that start today for Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson. The question is whether there will be a substantive discussion of Jackson’s  approach to judicial interpretation and judicial ethics.

Here is the column:

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Free Speech, International

Zelenskyy Bans Opposition Parties in Ukraine in Blow to Free Speech

Many of us strongly support the fight of Ukraine against the Russian invasion and have commended Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy for the heroic leadership that he has shown in the face of this unprovoked and savage attack. Yet, that support should not shield the country or Zelenskyy from criticism whether it involves filming POWs or cracking down on free speech. The latter concern has arisen after Zelenskyy banned Ukraine’s main opposition party and ten other parties. It is hard to criticize the actions of a nation facing annihilation at the hands of a tyrant. However, Putin is carrying out precisely this type of anti-free speech, counter-democratic crackdown in Russia. Ukraine has the moral high ground in this struggle and should not surrender that ground through its own acts of political censorship and suppression. Continue reading “Zelenskyy Bans Opposition Parties in Ukraine in Blow to Free Speech” →

Columns, Congress, Constitutional Law, International, Politics

Choosing Sides: The Congress Should Freeze Aid to Countries Buying Russian Gas

Below is my column in the Hill on a proposal for legislation to address allies supporting Russia through gas contracts. Congress can constitutionally freeze aid to countries undermining sanctions by buying cut-rate gas from the Putin regime. In the meantime, India’s major gas contract pumping money into the Russian economy will not be treated by the Biden Administration as a sanctions violation. Congress can force a bright line on foreign aid that aligns with our public and moral positions on Ukraine. Under its Article I powers, Congress can condition such foreign aid and, if necessary, override a veto from President Joe Biden.

Here is the column: Continue reading “Choosing Sides: The Congress Should Freeze Aid to Countries Buying Russian Gas” →

Media

Will the New York Times Apologize to Sen. Cotton?

Every recovery program starts with the mantra that the first step in dealing with a problem is to admit that you have a problem.

That cathartic moment seems to have escaped the editors of the New York Times in denouncing a cancel culture that they helped spread in the media. Many of us were both bemused and bothered by the editorial in the New York Times opposing cancel culture. The Times has not been some dedicated antagonist of this culture but rather one of its most unabashed ambassadors.  Indeed, one of the most outrageous acts of cancellation by the media was the treatment of Sen. Tom Cotton over his 2020 Times editorial.

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Criminal law, Media, Politics

White House Mum on Hunter Biden Story as DOJ Acquires Additional Financial Records

In the aftermath of the New York Times admitting that the Hunter Biden laptop was authentic all along, the Biden White House has gone into radio silence — and few reporters are pressing the President for an answer. White House press secretary Jen Psaki  previously spread the false claim that the laptop was Russian disinformation (as did President Biden). She is now saying that it would be inappropriate for her to address her prior comments on the scandal. Thankfully, there has been no run to the local ice cream store but this cone of silence is occurring as reports come out of additional evidence acquired on Hunter Biden in the ongoing criminal investigation.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

The War on Free Speech: Politicians and Commentators Label War Critics “Traitors”

It is often said that “the first casualty of War is Truth.” It is a powerful but slightly inaccurate statement. The first casualty before truth is free speech. Lies only triumph when unchallenged. That is why one of the most consistent responses to war, including in the United States, has been an attack on the free speech of dissenters. This anti-free speech impulse rests like a dormant virus in the body politic and it has emerged, once again, like a fever during the Ukrainian War. From Congress to the arts, critics of the war are being labeled “traitors” and “agents of Russia.”

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Academia, Bizarre, Media, Politics

Teachers’ Union Teams Up With Steven Brill’s NewsGuard to Flag “Misinformation” for Children

Under the leadership of Randi Weingarten, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) has long been criticized by conservatives for its support of far left policies and support for Democratic candidates. Nevertheless, as a union, it is entitled to be political and most unions favor the Democrats due to their pro-union policies. However, the concern over the AFT’s agenda become far greater when it announced that it would team up with NewsGuard to start to flag news sources deemed “misinformation.” NewsGuard is co-founded by Steve Brill who has been accused of bias against Republicans and conservatives. Conservative sites have previously tagged NewGuard as “heavily skewed” in favor of the left. The “misinformation” label has been used extensively by liberal media to kill stories like the Hunter Biden laptop stories as unreliable. Indeed, Brill is under fire for being one of the voices falsely claiming that the Hunter Biden laptop was likely false Russian disinformation. His company will now put “traffic lights” on information for children on what sources they rely upon.

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Criminal law, Media, Politics

The New York Times Admits Hunter Laptop was Authentic and Possible Basis for Charges

There are some things that are just painful to watch. For some of us, the Bears offensive line in the last couple of years would force us to look the other way for four quick downs. For others, it is cringeworthy dancing and singing of politicians to appeal to younger voters.  However, there is nothing more painful than watching the media forced to recognize long-buried scandals related to the Biden family.

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Academia, Free Speech

Yale Law Students Disrupt Conservative Speaker . . . Then Object to the Presence of Police as Creating an Unsafe Environment

We have been discussing how academics and students now define blocking speech or shouting down speakers to be an exercise of free speech. It is the very denial of free speech but also violates the rules of many universities. Yet, administrators are either supportive of such cancelling efforts or fearful in being tagged the next racist or reactionary by a mob. So we have scenes like the one at Yale Law School where students disrupted a conservative speaker and required the intervention of campus police to safely remove the speakers. It is particularly distressing to see such scenes unfold at law schools where free speech was once taught as a defining right in our system. As shown recently at Georgetown Law School, free speech is often portrayed today more as a threat rather than a guarantee in our system. Indeed, Yale students later complained that the police presence at the event created an unsafe space for students as they disrupted the event. Police were needed to escort the speakers safely out of the event.

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Academia, Criminal law, Media, Politics

Washington Post Column: Jussie Smollett is “Just Another Black Man Serving Time-in a System More Perverted than his Crime.”
Cook County Sheriff’s Office
The Washington Post yesterday ran a column by MSNBC Legal Analyst and Georgetown Law Professor Paul Butler that argued that the incarceration of actor Jussie Smollett for 150 days is a miscarriage of justice fueled by racism. Butler declares that Smollett is “just another Black man serving time — in a system more perverted than his crime.” The Washington Post column repeats a number of legal assertions that have been refuted by the special investigator, prosecutors, the court, and others about the case. Continue reading “Washington Post Column: Jussie Smollett is “Just Another Black Man Serving Time-in a System More Perverted than his Crime.”” →
Academia, Media

Northwestern Student Government Bars The Press from Some Meetings

We have regularly discussed the rising attacks on free speech on college campuses, including Northwestern University.  Protesters at Northwestern have blocked speakers while maintaining that there is “no free speech for overtly racist white dudes.” They have stopped classes from discussing ICE policies. However, the student government has now added an attack on the free press by voting to block media from meetings to protect students from criticism over their advocacy. Even the dean of the school’s prestigious journalism school called out the action as inimical to the free press.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics, Testimony

Turley to Testify before the Senate on Presidential Records

Twenty years ago, I testified in Congress on the Presidential Records Act and the need for reforms to preserve these records for history. This morning I will testify again on this subject before the Senate Committee on Homeland and Governmental Affairs in a hearing entitled “Correcting the Public Record: Reforming Federal and Presidential Records Management.”  

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