This weekend, the New York bar lost one of its most accomplished lawyers, David Buckel, 60. Buckel reportedly burned himself to death in Brooklyn’s Prospect Park on Saturday morning. Buckel was the lead attorney in the lawsuit brought by Teena Brandon, a transgender man who was raped and slain in 1993 in Nebraska. The case inspired the 1999 movie “Boys Don’t Cry.” He left a suicide note reading “I am David Buckel and I just killed myself by fire as a protest suicide. I apologize to you for the mess.”
I will be speaking this morning at the plenary session of the Sixth Annual Executive Branch Review Conference of the Federalist Society. The panel on The Deregulatory Landscape will be composed of myself, the Hon. W. Neil Eggleston, Partner, Kirkland & Ellis LLP (and former Obama White House Counsel); Todd Gaziano, Director, Center for the Separation of Powers, Pacific Legal Foundation; Philip A. Hamburger, Maurice and Hilda Friedman Professor of Law, Columbia Law School; and Prof. Jonathan Turley, J.B. and Maurice C. Shapiro Professor of Public Interest Law, George Washington University. The panel will be moderated by the Hon. Greg Katsas, U.S. Court of Appeals, District of Columbia Circuit. The panel will be held from 9:30 to 10:30 at the Mayflower Hotel and will be live streamed.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak At Plenary Session Of Federalist Society Conference”
Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz has released his watchdog report on the conduct of former Deputy FBI Director Andrew McCabe and it is scathing. As I discussed in an earlier column, McCabe took the unprecedented step of a top former FBI officer of asking for donations on GoFundMe and racked in more than half a million dollars. He notably raised the money and then closed the site not long before the release of the report showing that he repeatedly made false statements to investigators as well as Comey. It was like creating a victim fund before police concludes whether you were attacked or the attacker. Horowitz did not convey any doubt as to McCabe being the culprit. He and his career staff found that McCabe not only lied but did so to advance his personal — the public’s — interest. If that is the case, it only magnifies the concerns over the treatment of McCabe as opposed to the Trump officials (like Michael Flynn) who he once investigated. The fact that he had the audacity to raise a half million dollars before the facts were made public only heightens these concerns.
Former acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe responded angrily to the finding of the Inspector General report and notably attacked the recollection of former FBI Director James Comey as a witness. As I discussed in an earlier column, McCabe raised over a half million dollars on GoFundMe before the release of the report showing that he repeatedly made false statements to investigators as well as Comey. The report by Inspector General Michael Horowitz, appointed by President Barack Obama is blistering and says that McCabe intentionally lied to protect his image and record. McCabe lashed out at the career officials behind the report and said Comey’s countervailing memory should not be given much credence.
Texas attorney Mark Benavides will spend the rest of his life in jail for coercing female clients to have sex him in exchange for legal services. A jury has now sentenced him to 80 years in prison. Benavides was running for a judgeship as a Democrat when he was arrested. He was disbarred in 2016.
I have been a long critic of Michael Cohen, who has a reputation of a reckless and unprofessional lawyer. Cohen could not have taken a more disastrous course for his client, Donald Trump, and he has maximized the potential costs for both himself and his client. Now, as a judge was holding a hearing on his motion to protect his files, Cohen took upon himself to not only skip the hearing but sit outside in New York smoking a cigar. He even joked that he wanted the pictures snapped by the awaiting reporters. The judge in the meantime was reportedly irritated by his absence at this critical hearing over his allegedly confidential files.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the danger of President Donald Trump firing Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein. Reports still indicate that Trump is pushing to fire Rosenstein — a move that would seriously undermine both his political and legal position.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “Bang, Bang, Boom: The Risks Of Firing Rod Rosenstein”
On Saturday, I will address a conference at the Loews Hotel in New Orleans, speaking before the Association of American Appellate Lawyers. I will be speaking with The Hon. Judge Jennifer Walker Elrod of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit on “Trends on Civil Rights in the Supreme Court of the United States in the 21st Century”. The event will be moderated by Barry W. Ashe, a partner at Stone Pigman Walther Wittmann LLC and a pending nominee for federal district court in the Eastern District.
Continue reading “Turley To Speak in New Orleans To Conference Of Appellate Lawyers”
I am in New Orleans this week to speak at the Academy of American Appellate Lawyers (on Saturday) and celebrate the 300th anniversary of the founding of this great city. I lived in this wonderful when I taught at Tulane Law School. It is always a joy to be back but particularly fun on this historical anniversary with my son, Jack, with me to enjoy the food and culture.
President Donald Trump has reportedly signed a full pardon for Scooter J. Libby, the former chief of staff to Vice President Dick Cheney. Given the conviction for allegations against Libby, it is hard not to draw an analogy to figures like Michael Flynn or even Michael Cohen.
Continue reading “Prelude For Pardons Yet To Come? Trump To Pardon Scooter Libby”
This incredible picture is from NOAA and shows the sun which is going through an extremely low activity period — the lowest since 2009. The picture is breathtaking. There is a discussion of whether we are into what scientists call a “grand minimum,” which could cause global cooling.
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the greatest danger for President Donald Trump in the raids on his personal attorney’s office, home, and hotel room. Michael Cohen’s real threat may be as bait — either by design or default. It is the perfect Wolf Pit and Trump could prove the ultimate prize if he is not restrained in his reaction to the raid. The most significant blows for his Administration has been the result of Trump’s responses to events. The most obvious was his disastrous decision to fire Comey in the middle of the Russian investigation. Already, the Cohen raid has reportedly pushed Trump away from speaking with Mueller. Cohen has already maximized the damage to himself and his client. He may now have derailed the effort of Trump’s D.C. legal team to prepare him for a sitdown with Mueller on four categories. At the same time, Trump is reportedly back to threatening that he might fire Mueller or Rosenstein or Sessions. Despite the overwhelming view of experts and Republican leaders that such a move would highly damaging to his Administration and could trigger impeachment proceedings, there is still a palpable fear that that Trump could take such a self-defeated course.
Here is the column:
McKinley cannot catch a break. First, they took off his name from Mount McKinley during the Obama Administration on what is now known as Denali. Now towns like Arcata, California are moving to remove his statue as offensive to Native Americans. The use of Denali as the name for the mountain is understandable given its long usage by natives. However, the action in Arcara is the latest example of cleansing public areas of any historical images or figures deemed offensive by any group instead of placing these monuments into historical context.Continue reading “California Town Votes To Remove Statue Of William McKinley As Offensive”
I have previously noted that the ultimate strategy for Michael Cohen, the personal lawyer of President Donald Trump, could be a presidential pardon. With a search warrant covering everything from Stormy Daniels to Ukrainian transactions to Russian deals to taxi medallions, the situation looks pretty bleak for Cohen (who was also allegedly today to be in arrears on his taxes for his medallion business). As I noted in my recent column, two men are in a position to get Cohen out of the quagmire of his own creation: Trump and Mueller. If there was any question of whether Cohen is more likely to pursue a pardon than a deal, it was in his comment yesterday to a radio show host: “I’d rather jump out of a building than turn on Donald Trump.”Continue reading “Cohen: “I’d Rather Jump Out Of Building Than Turn On Donald Trump””
Yesterday, it was disclosed that Manhattan U.S. Attorney Geoffrey Berman recused himself in the probe of President Donald Trump’s personal lawyer Michael Cohen before the raids on his home, office, and hotel. The recusal raises obvious concerns and a range of theories. Given the overarching public interest in this investigation, Berman should disclose the general basis for the recusal.
Continue reading “A Plot Thickens: Berman Recused Himself From Cohen Investigation”