Environmental Protection Agency administrator Scott Pruitt seems a virtual perpetual motion machine of scandals. With 11 different federal probes into his conduct, two of his top aides quit their jobs in the middle of the investigations, according to the New York Times. I certainly will not deny my opposition to many of the actions taken by Pruitt, who is widely viewed as one of the most anti-environmental EPA chiefs in history. However, this is not about policy differences. Trump is fulfilling his campaign promise to reduce regulations and he is entitled to take the EPA in a different direction. Rather this is about fundamental values of good government. Pruitt continues to be an embarrassment in his relations with lobbyists and alleged spending of public funds — a sharp and glaring contradiction to the pledge of Donald Trump to “drain the swamp.” Continue reading “Pruitt Goes For An Even Dozen: EPA Chief Is Now Facing 11 Federal Probes Into Excessive Spending, Special Dealing, and Ethical Violations”
One of the great qualities of art is that it can transcend social, political, and ethnic divisions in appealing to the aesthetic and concepts of beauty or meaning. While the backgrounds and periods of artists often inform the viewing of their work, it is the art not the artist that it is focus most people. The Baltimore Museum of Art, however, cannot separate the race of the artist from the art. It is selling masterpieces by white painters to buy art of non-white artists in a move that its own director, Christopher Bedford calls “an unusual and radical act to take.” This will include work by by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, and other masterpieces because the artists are white.
President Nixon’s White House counsel John Dean claimed that if the Trump administration leaked questions from special counsel Robert Mueller it could qualify as obstruction of justice. Once again, I disagree with such sweeping interpretations of the crime of obstruction of justice. Leaking such questions or topics would not be a crime under any case that I am aware of in defining the crime of obstruction.
Continue reading “John Dean Calls Leaking The Questions A Possible Basis For Obstruction Of Justice”
President Donald Trump lashed out at the leaking of the questions that Special Counsel Robert Mueller wants to ask him in an interview as “so disgraceful.” In the meantime, various news organizations (including Fox News) pointed fingers at former counsel John Dowd. Since the New York Times said that the leak did not come from “current counsel,” Dowd instantly became the leading suspect. Dowd however has denied the allegations and maintained “I was not the source.” Continue reading “Trump Denounces Leaked Questions As “Disgraceful” and Dowd Denies Being The Source”
Dr. Harold Bornstein has caused a firestorm of controversy after describing a “raid’ of his office by Trump’s longtime personal bodyguard, a top lawyer at the Trump Organization, and an unidentified third man. Bornstein said that he felt “raped, frightened and sad” from the encounter. Bornstein’s description however not only conflicts with the description of the Trump aides but stains credulity. It is common for newly elected presidents to have such records collected. Moreover, Bornstein in my view showed appalling judgment in disclosing a medication used by his former client. In the meantime, Bornstein has struck back by disclosing that he did not write his controversial letter during the campaign declaring Trump’s health as “astonishingly excellent” and his “physical strength and stamina are extraordinary.” He now says that Trump dictated the letter to him. Continue reading “Former Trump Doctor Assails “Raid” By Trump Lawyer and Aide”
The United States continues to fail our children in public schools in cranking out children who are below basic proficiency in both math and English. With an increasingly competitive economy demanding higher levels of skills, we are leaving most of our children in a position with dwindling opportunities and futures. According to the National Assessment of Educational Progress test results released by the U.S. Department of Education, sixty-five percent of the eighth graders in American public schools in 2017 were not proficient in reading and 67 percent were not proficient in mathematics. That dire situation is even worse in cities like Detroit.
Former FBI Director James Comey continues to market his book – and himself – as a lesson in “ethical leadership.” However, the historical record is proving increasingly at odds with Comey’s account and image. After months of spins and swerves by defenders, a consensus is emerging that Comey is indeed a leaker. The most damaging evidence, however, comes not from Comey’s critics but Comey himself. Indeed, Comey v. Comey could be the most telling conflict in this still unfolding scandal. However, at issue, is not simply whether Comey will be viewed as a leaker or a liar, but a perjurer.
I will have the pleasure today of serving as a keynote speaker at the Connect: ID 2018 conference in Washington. Connect:ID is an international conference on identity technologies including biometrics, mobile applications and secure credentials. I will be speaking on identity, privacy, and anonymity. The speech will be at 8:30 am at the Washington Convention Center.
Continue reading “Turley To Give Keynote At Connect:ID Conference”
Police have been looking for a rather unique felon. A woman was caught on security cameras at the Krohn Conservatory in Cincinnati stealing a rare blue morpho butterfly. According to The Cincinnati Enquirer, they have now arrested Jamie Revis, 36. Without deciding guilt, I must confess that, if I was to guess at a butterfly thief in a line up, I just might pick Revis.
Blue morpho butterflies only live for 115 days. They are native to Central and South American rainforests. It also means that the removal of the butterfly likely resulted in its death due to the change in environment.
The surveillance tape shows the suspect going into the exhibit and being confronted by a woman at the facility:
For the purposes of a theft charge, it would be interesting to see how they put a price on the butterfly. There is likely no market for the rare butterfly but there is a market for butterflies for collectors. In any case, it should be easy to satisfy a felony charge based on value.
Below is my column in the Hill Newspaper on the finding by The House Intelligence Committee with regard to the allegation that Director of National Intelligence (DNI) James Clapper may have leaked information on the Steele dossier. The record is still surprisingly muddled on what Clapper is saying about his media contacts during this period. At best, it appears that he may have confirmed elements of the dossier after leaving office on January 20, 2017, but his comments have been (as described by the Committee) “inconsistent.” At worse, he could be accused (again) of perjury.
Here is the column:
We have been discussing the increasing practice of students interrupting classes or speeches to prevent others from hearing opposing views. This has included protests where students have been prevented from studying as other students accuse them of privilege or racism. Administrators at schools like Dartmouth have allowed such abusive conduct to occur without disciplinary action, even apologizing to the protesters. Now, twenty students were allowed to storm the Columbia University library Wednesday to protest the fact that College Republicans were allowed to exercise their free speech in bringing conservative speakers to campus. It was a demonstration that not only sought to deny other students free speech but did so in a way to deny students their right to study. Columbia has been silent on any effort to discipline the students. The Liberation Coalition occupied the library staircase while holding signs proclaiming “Decolonize Columbia” and “Divest from White Supremacy Now.”
In criminal law, defense attorneys occasionally refer to a poor sap in a corporation as the “designated defendant” — the guy who by design will take the fall for the company after signing reports or submitting false statements. For Michael Cohen, his possible indictment is not by design but his own hand — a notoriously poor lawyer with reckless inclinations. However, according to federal judge S. James Otero of United States District Court in Los Angeles, Cohen appears to be the designated defendant for the Southern District of New York’s U.S. Attorney’s Office. In staying the proceedings in California started by counsel for former porn star Stormy Daniels, Otero has referred to the indictment of Cohen as “likely.” It is a view shared by many in the criminal law field, but it must be chilling when it comes from a federal judge.
Below is my column in The Hill on the speech by French President Emmanuel Macron and his calling for the United States to join France in a crackdown on “fake news.” Our members were either clueless or complicit in this thinly veiled call for speech regulation on the Internet. However, there is growing pressure from Europe for the United States to abandon its long commitment to free speech — a call that is being heard by a rising number of academics and politicians. I love the oak (which has disappeared) but the advice in far more invasive for this country.
I ran a column yesterday discussing one of findings of the House Intelligence Committee dealing with James Clapper. The report was largely well-supported and was even critical of Trump’s calling for Wikileaks and the Russians to release hacked material. However, one element of the Democratic rebuttal also struck me as equally credible. The Democrats objected, among various shortcomings in the Committee investigation, that a critical call was never pursued by the majority. The timing of the call strikes me as raising a legitimate question and, absent countervailing facts from the majority, would seem to constitute a glaring omission. It is not clear why the majority did not try to determine the identity of the “blocked caller” before the infamous meeting of Donald Trump Jr., Paul Manafort, Jared Kushner, and Russians in Trump Tower.