President Donald Trump is finding friends in all the wrong places this week. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov seemingly came to his defense by outright denying that he and Trump ever discussed the Comey firing in their controversial visit to the Oval Office. After all, who are you going to trust if you are not going to take the word of dictator-loving, soulless apparatchik serving Vladimir Putin?
I have previously criticized Northwestern University President Morton Schapiro for his lack of support for free speech on campus. Unlike the University of Chicago across town, Schapiro has been leading the calls for limiting speech deemed to be a “microaggression” or offensive. (For full disclosure, I am a graduate of both Northwestern and Chicago). His lack of commitment to free speech has made him popular with some groups while alarming free speech advocates. That concern was heightened this week when Schapiro defended his efforts to give protected “safe spaces” on campus and said that some offensive speech should be considered a form of “assault.” The comments further distinguish Schapiro was one of the most hostile university presidents toward free speech principles in the country. His pandering to those demanding speech codes and regulations should be an embarrassment for the university, which remains one of the world’s premiere academic institutions. He has taught his students well. Soon after the publication of his latest remarks, student groups shutdown a speaker and a class on immigration. It appears that even classes must now adhere to the mob rule at Northwestern.
We have been following the demands made by students as part of Black Lives Matter and other groups calling for racial justice. Few would top the demands of the Afrikan Student Union at the University of California which has issued a list of demands including a $40 million endowment. The group claims a pattern of “racial attacks” on campus.
In Kentucky, Leah Ann Vick, 26, probably does not want her case to go to a jury. She is accused of stealing $26,000 . . . . from the Girl Scouts. Notably, the theft was in cookies and the Girl Scouts are not sure if she kept the cookies or sold them on the side. Either way, the aggravating element of alleging stealing from the venerable charity is enough to guarantee more time on sentencing.
Continue reading “Kentucky Woman Accused Of Stealing $26,000 In Girl Scout Cookies”
A GW law student, Andrew Miller, 23, is being celebrated as a hero this week after he came to the aid of John Rowley, 62. Rowley was attacked by a group of teens in a D.C. Metro station and Miller ran to his aid. Miller suffered a concussion in the incident while Rowley was left with facial swelling and bruises.
Continue reading “GW Student Heralded As Hero After Intervening In Assault Of Lawyer”
The annual GW charity competition between torts and contracts was held this week and I am saddened to report that contracts prevailed on the field of paintball. Each year, the students bid for positions on the two teams and all of the money goes to support public interest work by our law students at George Washington. (The Contracts team is in the back with Professor Greg Maggs in the middle; the Torts Team is sitting in front).
Continue reading “CONTRACTS DEFEATS TORTS IN ANNUAL GW PAINTBALL COMPETITION”
Last weekend we featured two articles (HERE and HERE) describing a controversy involving the forced use of chemical herbicides on an organic farm that according to County officials was out of compliance in controlling noxious weeds that were threatening neighboring farms and crops.
The 2,000 acre organic farm in North Central Oregon is facing what could be an existential threat to its operations after county weed control authorities sent notice mandating that the farm use chemical herbicides to eradicate weed growth.
I attended the public hearing held at the Sherman County seat located in Moro, Oregon. Due to a very high volume of interest expressed by residents and those outside the community, the venue was changed from the County Courthouse to a gymnasium at the Sherman County High School. There was a great deal of uncertainty manifest in this hearing with strongly held opinions on many sides and one can say with near certainty that the publicity generated caused turmoil in this small community. In fact, the concern was so great, that a number of law enforcement officials were dispatched to the area to provide security to address a worry that things might get out of hand. But in the end the two sides reached an agreement that precludes the forced use of herbicides–and offered both a carrot and stick for both parties to strongly consider.
The New York Times is reporting (and the White House has reportedly confirmed) that President Donald Trump made some truly disturbing comments in his controversial meeting with the Russians. Not only did Trump call former FBI Director James Comey “a real nut job” but told the Russians that the firing has taken pressure off of him in terms of Russia. The leaked summary will fuel the allegations that Trump fired Comey to try to shutdown the Russian investigation to relieve pressure on himself. While I have discussed my skepticism over the evidence of an actual crime by the President, Trump appears committed to leaving the greatest incriminating impression possible in such meeting.
Below is my column in The Hill Newspaper on the chorus of commentators suggesting that the Comey memo is compelling evidence for either a charge of obstruction of justice or an actual impeachment. I have been cautioning against such sweeping assumptions. Obstruction is a crime and crimes have elements. The elements are not satisfied by this memorandum. Yesterday senators revealed that Rod Rosenstein suggested that he was already informed that Comey would be fired before he wrote his memorandum supporting termination. That would not materially alter the legal analysis. Rosenstein’s memo confirms that he believed that Comey should be fired. He had met with Comey and clearly left with reservations over his continued fitness for the position. The fact that Trump may have made what Rosenstein thought was the right decision for the wrong reason is marginally relevant. Comey’s immediate boss was not supporting his retention. Moreover, Trump’s conflicting statements do not improve the case for prosecution. It it true that Trump has contradicted his staff and seemingly himself. Yet, Trump has insisted that he felt Comey was doing a poor job and yesterday he reaffirmed his position that he never asked Comey to drop the Flynn investigation. However, even if he said such an incredibly inappropriate thing, it would not meet the standards of obstruction for the purposes of a criminal charge in my view. In other words, this is a question of law not fact and the law is not on the side of those calling for criminal counts or articles of impeachment.
Critics increasingly sound like my kids when we drive across country and start to chant “are we there yet?” before we are even a block from the house. Many view a criminal charge or impeachment as the only hope for America. However, neither the criminal code nor Article II were meant as post hoc political options for unpopular presidents. Indeed, both are designed to be insulated from public distempers and passions.
None of this means that this is not a valid basis for investigation. It is. Moreover, the White House staff appears encircled like a wagon train on the Plains with no ammunition and no nearby fort. The difference is that they seem encircled by their own president who continued to prevent any movement to better ground. What is fascinating is that Trump appears intent on creating the most self-incriminating appearance without evidence of an actual crime on his part.
Here is the column:
Pierson College Dean June Chu has been a successful academic and administrator at Yale University. However, that stellar record came to a halt — and Chu was put on leave — after it was discovered that she had written reviews on Yelp deemed offensive. The controversy again raises the question of whether teachers should be subject to discipline for their comments outside of schools. Chu is not accused of saying anything offensive to students or even on campus. Yet her Yelp comments were enough to force her into a leave of absence.
Continue reading “Yale College Dean Placed On Leave For “Reprehensible” Yelp Reviews”
We have been writing about the enculturation of anti-free speech values in college students across the country. The most recent incident occurred at the California State University where assistant professor of public health professor Greg Thatcher is shown on a videotape wiping out the pro-life statements written in chalk by members of Fresno State Students for Life. Thatcher supports his students who destroyed the messages before his arrival (those students said that their teacher gave them permission to destroy the free speech of other students). Thatcher’s attitude and open contempt for free speech is chilling. It is also now the subject of a free speech lawsuit filed against him in his personal capacity.
Most IT specialists tend to avoid mixing water with computers, but Russia pulled out their biggest gun this week to combat the WannaCry ransomware attack targeted Microsoft Windows systems. Orthodox Church’s Patriarch Kirill went to the Ministry of Internal Affairs and sprayed holy water on the computers. It could be a new approach to stopping malware. If you trigger an electrical failure with water, the malware is technically stopped with the now dead computer. Continue reading “The Patriarch Patch: Orthodox Leader Called Into To Combat WannaCry With Holy Water At Russian Ministry”
One of the most conspicuous aspects of the controversy over President Donald Trump’s sharing information with the Russians was the virtually complete silence of defenders on the Hill. Faced with yet another scandal GOP members distanced themselves from Trump. Most senators declined to support Trump’s disclosure of high sensitive Israeli intelligence. The one exception was Idaho Sen. Jim Risch. Risch made headlines in not only supporting the widely denounced disclosure of the intelligence but he called on the government to find and prosecute the person who disclosed the information.
Below is my column in USA Today on President Donald Trump’s disclosure of highly classified information to the Russians in his controversial meeting after the firing of James Comey. While the Administration issued a series of categorical denials of the underlying stories as “false,” the next day it appeared to acknowledge that Trump did in fact reveal the information. As discussed below, it was a wise decision not to repeat the initially misleading statements to Congress. The intelligence was reportedly generated by Israel, which did not give permission to the President to make the disclosure to the Russians. Since the New York Times and Washington Post did not say that Trump released “sources and methods,” it now appears that the White House is not claiming that the stories were false. It is the latest example of denials from the White House which then lead to embarrassing reversals over the course of the coverage. The only good sign is that the White House saw that the false account was raising serious problems and reversed course the next morning. However, the familiar pattern has taken its toll on the Hill where members were conspicuously absent this time in defending the President.
Continue reading “The Russian Disclosure: Trump’s Game of Truth or Dare”
In what may be the most curious police APB, detectives in Leeds are looking for the witness to an assault. The only description however is that the man was dressed as a giant penis.
Continue reading “Cock of the Walk: English Police Seek Witness Dressed As Large . . .”