The rollback on civil liberties and press freedoms continues in Egypt where our close ally is arresting journalists for insulting the government or police. Now even pro-government media figures are being arrested. The arrest of prominent television host Khairy Ramadan is an example of how, once censorship and the criminalization of speech starts, the appetite for speech control becomes insatiable.
Continue reading “Prominent Egyptian Television Host Arrested For Disrespecting The Police”
We recently discussed the criminal case against three day care workers accused of giving drugged Gummy Bears to children. They are unlikely to take much encouragement from the case of January Neatherlin, 32, who was just sentenced to 21 years and four months for drugging kids at an illegal day care facility in Bend, Oregon so she could go tan and do Cross-Fit training. Neatherlin pleaded guilty to 11 counts of first-degree criminal mistreatment and a count of third-degree assault.
My alma mater University of Chicago was the scene of a curious event recently. Students held a “Rally for Reparations” to demand money for African Americans to pay the unpaid debt from the use of slave labor at the founding of the University of Chicago in 1856. Activists denounced the school as “drenched in the blood of enslaved African Americans.” The only problem is that University of Chicago is not related to the University of Chicago, which was founded in 1890. That did not seem to matter as part of the event.
We previously discussed the bizarre case of Rachel Dolezal, the former NAACP leader who claimed to be African-American yet turned out to be white. She later insisted that she chose to be black. Now she has a Netflix special (doesn’t everyone?). In the final irony, the company giving Dolezal a special has been denounced as promoting “white privilege.”
Continue reading “Rachel Dolezal Special Declared “White Privilege””
Hong Kong movie star Jackie Chan has long been known to harbor authoritarian and anti-free speech views. Now, the action movie star is calling for other artists to be arrested for art that is deemed insulting to China, particularly in advancing favorable images of the Japanese. Chan and his 37 other members of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference called on then government to punish fellow artists who insult “national integrity and dignity.” The call follows Chinese artists who wee criticized for showing the Japanese in World War II in a positive light. This by the way was part of the propaganda issued by the U.S. government against the Japanese. The racist elements are quite evident and shocking. Hollywood was a critical part in our propaganda efforts during the war. Now, over 50 years later, Chan and other artists and authors however are seeking to criminalize speech that is viewed as sympathetic or favorable to the Japanese.
There is an interesting lawsuit in Oregon where Tyler Watson is suing Dick’s Sporting Goods for age discrimination after the store (and Walmart) declared that they would no longer sell guns to people below 21 years old. Since he is entitled to buy guns under state law, he is claiming that the store policy discriminates against him on the basis of age in refusing to sell him a .22 caliber Ruger rifle.
According to Hartford police, Jonathan Rivera, 25, has curious way of contesting charges of car theft. Rivera is accused of driving in a stolen vehicle to Superior Court.
Continue reading “Accused Car Thief Is Arrested After Driving To Court In Stolen Car”
Yesterday, there was a troubling story in the New York Times that President Donald Trump had two conversations with witnesses in the Mueller investigation about matters touching on their statements to investigators. Both former Chief of Staff Reince Priebus and White House CounselDonald F. McGahn II reportedly were the subjects of inquiries by Trump that raised concerns over witness tampering and, in McGahn’s case, eliciting a false public statement. As I explained this morning on MSNBC’s Morning Joe program, I do not view the accounts as establishing witness tampering violations but the conversations were clearly inappropriate and ill-advised. Moreover, they can be legitimately pursued by the Special Counsel and fit a narrative that is being advanced by critics. The failure to respect legal and ethical boundaries has been a constant and continuing problem for this White House. Nevertheless, there is an obvious defense to such charges and, as I explained on MSNBC, people are again ignoring the actual criminal elements to this offense. Putting that aside, there should be concern that this is yet another tripped wire that should have been avoided.
Continue reading “Report: McGahn Refused To Issue Statement Denying Trump’s Desire To Fire Mueller”
Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the reported determination of the Inspector General that former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe misled investigators about a leak to the media. There may be a question of consistency in criminally charging Michael Flynn for the same alleged act. People continue to spin this issue by noting (as the piece states) that Flynn agreed to this false statement crime as part of a plea bargain with more serious potential crimes. However, that misses the point. Prosecutors are required to apply the criminal code evenly. They are not allowed the luxury of a criminal charge that can be easily applied to a wide array of people at their discretion. It makes it very difficult for people to contest a criminal charge when prosecutors can simply criminalize any inaccurate or misleading statement while ignoring the same conduct in others. It is particularly concerning when the favorable parties are fellow prosecutors or government officials. My argument is not that we should have more false statement charges. Rather, there has long been a problem in the use of this provision which has been applied in an arbitrary manner.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “If Andrew McCabe Lied, Could He Be Charged Like Michael Flynn?”
The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso has thrown out the conviction of Terry Lee Morris after Judge George Gallagher ordered him to be shocked with a stun belt to induce him to “follow the rules.” Gallagher’s actions were a disgrace and constitutes at a minimum assault upon a defendant. He should be removed from the bench for his actions in the 2014 trial. It is astonishing that he remains on the bench after such abuse of a criminal defendant. I have been a long critic of stun belts in court.
I previously wrote about how the payments to both a former porn star and a former Playboy bunny could prove a greater threat to President Donald Trump than the still unsubstantiated collusion allegations that led to the appointment of the Special Counsel. Now, one of those woman is formally in court after Stormy Daniels (AKA Stephanie Clifford) filed an action against President Trump. I have previously criticized counsel for both Trump and Daniels for bizarre actions in this controversy and this lawsuit is no exception. The lawsuit introduces new facts including the allegation that President Trump’s lawyer used a fake name for the President, David Dennison, as part of this effort to pay what the complaint calls “hush money.” After differing accounts by Daniels, she has not only stated that she did have a year long affair (something Trump’s counsel has denied) but stated it in a court filing as opposed to a tabloid newspaper.
Continue reading “Stormy Daniels Sues Trump Over “Hush Money” Agreement”
We previously discussed the complaint filed by Walter Shaub, the former director of the Office of Government Ethics against White House Counselor Kellyanne Conway for violating the Hatch Act. At the time, I discussed my view that the statements of Conway concerning the special Senate election in Alabama were clear violations of the Act. The new report by OSC special counsel, Henry Kerner found two violations in Conway’s making highly political statements in her “official capacity” in November and December of last year in supporting Alabama candidate Roy Moore. Kerner, a Trump appointee, in a letter to President Donald Trump, called on President Trump to take “appropriate disciplinary action.” However, the White House issued an almost immediate dismissal of the findings. That was a mistake in my view. The President can justify not firing Conway but, particularly for an Administration fighting what it considers politicized actions in the Executive Branch, the President should reaffirm the need to comply with the Hatch Act, Some have criticized the act, but it remains federal law.
Continue reading “Conway Found In Violation Of The Hatch Act By Special Counsel”
Nashville mayor Megan Barry has resigned and pleaded guilty to felony theft as part of her affair with her police bodyguard. We often debate whether a politician should give a smiling mugshot (and risk looking non-contrite) or a frowning mugshot (and risk looking guilty). Barry went with the smiling option. She will now face three years probation and a criminal fine.
Continue reading “Nashville Mayor Resigns And Pleads Guilty To Felony Theft”
While people of good faith can still debate whether Hillary Clinton and her staff received considerably deference in the criminal investigation into the email scandal, there remains troubling cases where the Justice Department has shown no such deference or restraint told less powerful individuals. The most glaring example was the ridiculous treatment of former Navy sailor Kristian Saucier. Saucier was sentenced to a year in prison for simply taking pictures on a nuclear submarine without any intention of compromising national security. Last week,