There remains an intense debate over the legal and ethical implications of former FBI Director James Comey removing FBI memos and leaking the information to the press. Despite serious allegations of unethical conduct, Comey has been chosen to teach a course on “ethical leadership” at William and Mary in the Fall.
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One of the elements to the recent tax bill that drew considerable opposition was the move to a neutral tax system that no longer allowed for the writing off of state taxes. However, there is a valid argument for such an approach since many citizens in low tax states do not benefit to the same degree. Indeed, those taxpayers have complained that they are effectively subsidizing taxpayers in states like New York and California even though they often make considerably less. I have come to support the approach for a different reason. It forces local politicians to bear the true costs of tax hikes since they can no longer dismiss objections by saying that their increases will simply be recovered as a deduction on federal taxes. Now, however, California legislators have pushed legislation to force businesses to give back half of their federal tax savings.
Continue reading “California Moves To Force Businesses To Give Half Of Tax Cut To The State”
As the proud owner of a goldendoodle (Luna), I could not resist posting this story about two hero labradoodles named Adam and Eva. While St. Bernards get all of the rescue press, these two canine superheroes just saved an elderly woman from freezing to death in Michigan.
Continue reading “Meet Adam and Eva: America’s New Canine Heroes”
Below is an expanded version of my column that ran in USA Today on the approaching expiration of the statute of limitations for prosecuting former National Intelligence Director James Clapper for perjury. This is a city that protects its own and Clapper is the Beltway equivalent of a made man. People like Clapper do not get prosecuted. We do not call them criminal; just complicated.
Here is the column:
Judge Jack Robison appears to be channeling a higher authority recently in Comal County, Texas. Robison interrupted jurors during deliberations to inform the panel that God told him to acquit Gloria Romero-Perez of trafficking a teenage girl for sex. It appears that divine judgment did not track well with the jury, which proceeded to find Perez guilty as charged.
There is nothing so frustrating as pulling up to a Taco Bell only to have the drive thru person repeatedly refuse to take your order . . . unless of course it is a bank. That was the dilemma of Douglas Francisco, 28, who is accused of being drunk when he pulled into the Bank of America in Tampa and demanded a burrito. If Francisco wants to fulfill the chain’s slogan of “Live Mas,” he might want to drive less.
Lawrence Lessig, the Roy L. Furman professor of law and leadership at Harvard Law School, offered hope recently for those still in denial over the 2017 presidential election. Lessig, seriously, argued in Newsweek that it is not too late. Hillary Clinton could still be president if things break in the right way. It would only require the removal of both Trump and Pence as well as a cooperation and resignation of a President Speaker Paul Ryan. That is all it would take to make for those who believe that there is no price too great to get the Clintons back into power. Even Lessig’s Rube Goldberg machine of presidential succession.
Continue reading “Harvard Professor: Hillary Clinton Could Still Be President”
President Trump‘s personal lawyer Michael Cohen is under fire this week after The Wall Street Journal reported that Cohen used what appear to be shell companies and fake names to pay a porn star called Stormy Daniels $130,000 as part of a nondisclosure agreement. Daniels states in a prior but unpublished interview that she had an affair with Trump that began shortly after Trump married Melania Trump and had their son Baron. She said that the affair lasted roughly a year and the money was paid during the campaign around the time of the release of the disturbing Access Hollywood tape. Cohen has previously denied any affair and insisted that both Daniels (whose real name is Stephanie Clifford) and Trump deny any sexual relationship. The new information has led some to question Cohen’s veracity and the role of an attorney in maintaining such a denial if the representation is untrue. I am less confident that a clear ethical line was crossed by Cohen simply because he used such companies or has maintained the denial of any relationship.
I have previously written about the endless calls for impeachment from Democratic members for everything from Trump criticizing NFL players to comments made about protesters. The Framers saw the great abuses caused not only by tyranny of nobility, but tyranny of the majority. They sought to insulate our government from the transient impulses of politics. The danger has been repeatedly shown by members who see virtually any act or comment by Donald Trump as a case for impeachment. The latest such example comes from Texas Representative Al Green, who declared that Trump’s alleged reference to “shithole countries” is sufficient grounds for impeachment. The last time I checked, pottymouth was not included in Article II with “Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.”
There are various techniques to evading sobriety tests from burping to vomiting to claiming medications. Brian Fogg however had a more hands on approach. According to police in Belfast, Maine, Fogg repeatedly punched himself in the face to force the officers to attend to his injuries rather than administer the breathalyzer. It did not work.
The famous proverb stated that “the wicked flee though no one pursues, but the righteous are as bold as a lion.” That appears born out in a recent athlete competition in Siberia. Russian Anti-Doping Agency (RUSADA) showed up unannounced at the regional competition in the Siberian city of Irkutsk and dozens of athletes immediately withdrew to avoid testing.
President Donald Trump made a reference in an interview yesterday about his “highest score” on his cognitive testing. He told Reuters that former Presidents Obama, George W. Bush and Clinton failed to deal with North Korea and added “I guess they all realized they were going to have to leave it to a president that scored the highest on tests.” Trump is referring to the fact that he is the first president to agree to a cognitive test (which was a good idea and he received a perfect score). For many of us who are unfamiliar with the test, I looked into it. The test is elementary but it does have a high accuracy in detecting problems like dementia. However, for those not familiar with the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA), the test details are below.
Continue reading “Trump’s Test: Here Is The Montreal Cognitive Assessment”
The day after the dubious refusal of Steve Bannon to answer questions before the House Intelligence Committee, Corey Lewandowski refused to answer lawmakers’ questions after pledging to answer any and all questions. Lewandowski said that he was not prepared to answer questions concerning the period following his campaign tenure. That is not a recognized basis to refuse to answer congressional questions. It ranks with “my dog ate my notes” as a basis for remaining silent. He can always answer questions by saying that he does not recall but the basis for refusing to answer is highly problematic.
We have previously discussed the harsh limitations on free speech and free press in Thailand. Now, a leader scholar, Sulak Sivaraksa, 85, has been arrested for simply questioning the factual accuracy of the famed “elephant battle” held over 400 years ago. He merely responded to questions from fellow academics by cautioning “not to easily believe in things. Otherwise, you will fall prey to propaganda.” For that, he was charged with “lèse-majesté,” or defaming the monarchy — a ludicrous charge that could bring a 15-year prison sentence.
Steve Bannon is now under subpoena by both House investigators and the Special Counsel after he refused to answer questions before Congress. Following a problematic pattern of current and former Administration figures, Bannon reportedly did not invoke executive privilege (which must be asserted by the White House) but refused to answer questions about his work on the transition team and White House. There is no basis for such a broad assertion of executive privilege and, unless Bannon changes course, he could be looking at contempt sanctions down the road. Despite his refusal to cooperate with the committee, he has reached a deal to speak with the Special Counsel investigators outside of a grand jury.
Update: The White House is now asserting that there were prior discussions with the Committee and the Committee violated the agreement on scope. Notably however the agreement was to discuss only matters from the campaign and not the transition or White House periods. That would be an astonishingly limited scope for the Committee staff to agree to given the material events after the campaign, including the time periods covered by statements made by Bannon in the Wolff book.