Politics, Society

Trump Fires The State Department’s Inspector General [Updated]

Trump-fires-State-Department-inspector-generalOn Friday night, President Donald Trump fired the State Department’s Inspector General Steve Linick in a troubling and potentially unlawful act.  We previously discussed the President’s firing of then-Inspector General for the Intelligence Community Michael Atkinson for his role in the whistleblower complaint that prompted the Ukraine probe — a move that I criticized. He also fired the inspector general overseeing pandemic relief, Glenn Fine. The firing of Linick when his office was reportedly investigating the alleged misuse of public resources by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is arguably in violation of federal law and in my view worthy of investigation by both houses.  The Inspector General system plays a vital role in combatting corruption and abuse. The President’s actions against multiple inspectors general constitute one of the greatest challenges to that system since its founding.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics

CNN and Other Media Outlets To Feature Bill Clinton Despite A History Of Sexual Misconduct
225px-Bill_ClintonWe have previously discussed how the media and many Democrats have struggled to address not only their largely muted response to the sexual assault allegation against former Vice President Joe Biden but also the support shown Bill Clinton who was accused by a long list of women for everything from sexual harassment to rape. Many have noted that the Clinton allegations were before the “MeToo” movement as if rape allegations were shrugged off in the late 1990s and early 2000s. Many insist that they would oppose him today based on the accounts of these women. The media however continues to contradict these claims by featuring Clinton prominently.  Today CNN will feature Clinton as role model for young people across the country as part of a graduation special.  A+E Networks Group President Paul Buccieri has announced that the company has given Clinton a series on how presidents show leadership in times of crisis. Clinton was also featured as part of the “Call to Unite” special with Oprah. Thus, despite the spin on the Biden allegations, it really does not matter how many women come forward or a proven case of an affair with a young intern in the White House.  Clinton remains someone that the media feels should be emulated by young and old alike.

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Constitutional Law, Politics, Torts

WA Parents File Lawsuit Against Gov. Inslee Alleging Emergency School Closures Are Unconstitutional

By Darren Smith, Weekend Contributor.

Washington Governor Jay Inslee

Last week several parents on behalf of themselves and their minor children filed a lawsuit in the Superior Court of the State of Washington seeking injunctive relief and for the Court to declare the closures unconstitutional as the governor’s proclamations violate the “paramount duty on the part of the state to make ‘ample provision for the education of all children residing within its borders.”

The underlying information alleged within the lawsuit presents facts that Plaintiffs assert demonstrate that the current state of the COVID-19 virus’ threat no longer credibly constitutes an actual emergency and that the governor’s Proclamations as a result lack a foundational basis to remove children from schools. The suit further states the governor applied a wide brush to declare all Washingtonians as being at risk when the epidemiological evidence shows that the COVID-19 infection and death rate mirrors that of Influenza and Pneumonia infection rates of past years yet no public emergency was declared then. Furthermore, the illness and death rate for those less than twenty years in age is non-existent in the state and nearly everywhere else sampled. Plaintiffs proffer that the failing of the governor to limit the scope of application of the Proclamations to those actually vulnerable to the virus, the elderly and sick, infringed upon the constitutional rights of the plaintiffs and other children who have physiologically shown no significant vulnerability to the virus yet suffered the violation of their right to education resulting from an overly-broad inclusion under the declarations of state of emergency.

The complaint also mentions the sub-par nature of the education provided the minor Plaintiffs by the state, equating in one example only an hour of education and that much of what is expected is for grade school children to self-initiate and self direct their own education. One child, resides at times with a parent who has no Internet service at his residence and thus cannot facilitate an ample accomodation to meet the child’s special educational needs.

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Media

RES IPSA HITS 41,000,000

1474px-V-J_Day_Times_Square_NYWTSToday, we passed the 41,000,000 mark in views on the blog. In the last year, the blog has grown at its fastest rate. The continued growth is due primarily to our loyal readers who return every day to discuss contemporary legal, political, and occasionally bizarre stories. We have used these moments to give thanks for our many regular readers around the world and give you an idea of the current profile of readers on the blog. We continue to rank in the top legal blogs in the world and I am particularly proud of our growing international readership. As always, I want to offer special thanks for Darren Smith who has continued to help manage the blog and help out folks who encounter posting problems. Continue reading “RES IPSA HITS 41,000,000” →

Bizarre, Media, Politics

Washington Post’s Rubin Misrepresents Emoluments Ruling In Latest Trump-Fueled Gaffe

jenrubinWashington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin is being ridiculed for a column in which she claims that the “walls are closing in” on President Donald Trump.  Critics have noted that in May 2017 Rubin declared the “walls are closing in” on Trump due to his firing of FBI Director James Comey. Then last October, she declared the “walls are closing in” due to impeachment.  Now the walls are back as if this is one long struggle of transferred claustrophobic anxiety.

The more important aspect however is not the fear of moving walls but the misrepresentation of the recent ruling of the United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit.  We previously discussed how some have misrepresented the ruling, but Rubin, again, appears entirely untethered by any editorial (or ethical) requirements of accuracy. Rubin’s column is based on another misrepresentation of the underlying facts.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, Media, Politics

Hungary Shows How Fake News Is The Rallying Cry Of A New Generation Of Censors

Coat_of_arms_of_Hungary.svgI recently criticized the calls of Democratic leaders like House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff for greater censorship of the Internet and social media. Such calls have been growing for years but leaders like Schiff are citing the pandemic as a basis for speech monitoring and censorship.  That opportunity has not been missed by countries like China which has used “fake news” on the pandemic to arrest dissident scientists trying to share suppressed information. Most recently, Hungary has started jailing people for up to five years, which political dissidents say is targeting political critics.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics

Polling Angst: CNN Poll Shows Trump Rising Battleground States But CNN Warns Viewers Against Trusting Its Own Poll

This-is-cnn-New polling shows President Donald Trump rising in battleground states.  The polling has frustrated some, particularly at CNN where viewers were told not to put much stake in its own polling. CNN conducted a poll that showed that Trump had a seven-point lead over Joe Biden in some battleground states with 52 percent over 45 percent for Biden.  On “CNN Newsroom” John King cautioned viewers not to “overinvest” in CNN’s own polling.  The polls do not fit the narrative of a president who is tanking due to his mishandling of the pandemic.  Other polls are showing Trump rising and even leading in states like Ohio.  I actually agree with King that we should be leery of all polls as demonstrated by 2016. It is just the caution on this poll that seems a tad out of the norm.

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Torts

Zoom and Doom: Company Accused Of Corrupting Bible Class Through Pornographic Zoombombing

downloadThere is an interesting case out of San Francisco where one of the oldest churches is suing Zoom Video Communications, Inc. after bible classes were interrupted by pranksters “zoombombing” with pornographic images.  Saint Paulus Lutheran Church filed a complaint in federal court to lay the foundation for a class action.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Lawyering, Politics

The Fourth Circuit Rejects Trump Appeal To Dismiss Emoluments Case

US-CourtOfAppeals-4thCircuit-SealThe United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit has rejected the effort by President Donald Trump to dismiss a lawsuit alleging a violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution due to his accepting foreign government money through his luxury Washington hotel in Washington.  I have been highly skeptical of these lawsuits, a view shared by other courts. The 9-6 opinion, below, however has been misrepresented or misunderstood by some.  It is not a ruling on the merits but rather the technical standard for what is called an interlocutory appeal.  It essentially blocks a Hail Mary play to shutdown the lawsuit.  Nevertheless, the dissenting judges denounced the lawsuit as based on a “wholly novel and nakedly political cause of action.”

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Criminal law, Politics

Judge Sullivan To Consider Perjury Charge Against Flynn

1280px-Emmet_G._Sullivan_2012Federal Judge Emmet Sullivan has issued a couple of extraordinary orders in the case of former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn after the Justice Department moved to dismiss the case.  Sullivan has not only decided to allow third parties to argue against an uncontested motion in a criminal case, but he has appointed retired judge John Gleeson to argue against dismissal and address whether Flynn should face a perjury charge from the Court itself. I have practiced in front of Judge Sullivan for many years.  I have repeatedly praised him and expressed my respect for his demeanor and directness. However, these orders raised deeply troubling questions of judicial overreach and enmity.  Despite my admiration for Judge Sullivan, I believe he is moving well outside of the navigational beacons for judicial action and could be committing reversible errors if he denies the unopposed motion or moves forward on this perjury claim.

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Media, Politics

“Please Stop Trying To Gaslight Us”: MSNBC Host Dismisses Biden “Unmasking” Story

Blessed_effects_of_gas_lights_(1814)In a tweet that reflects a common spin in the media, MSNBC anchor Andrea Mitchell yesterday dismissed the importance of the disclosure that former Vice President Joe Biden requested the “unmasking” of former national security advisor Michael Flynn. Mitchell called Biden’s action “routine” and the story “gaslighting.”  What is striking about this spin is that ignores the fact that Biden, only the day before, denied any involvement in the Flynn investigation or more than passing knowledge of its existence. It also adopts a misleading statistic on the occurrence of such unmasking requests. (I had to share this cartoon entitled “The Blessed Effects of Gas Lights” from London in 1813 on the perceived dangers of gaslighting. It appears the danger remains much the same in the 21st Century).

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Bizarre, Criminal law, Politics

Serving Like The One Percent: Manafort Released From Prison Under Pandemic Order

ManafortFormer Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort is the latest high-profile inmate to be a beneficiary of the pandemic.  Manafort was released from prison today due to the danger of his contracting the virus. He will now be serving his 7.5 year sentence in the considerable luxury of his residence.  That is hardly hard time but Manafort, who is 71 with a history of liver and respiratory issues, is clearly a high-risk for a lethal exposure of the coronavirus.

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Bizarre, Media, Politics

“We Were In A Headless-Chicken Phase”: New York Times Reporter Rebuked By Paper For Anti-Trump Tirade on CNN

EX1ktDjXkAEIZyVThe New York Times’s Science and Health reporter, Donald McNeil Jr. is under fire for a tirade against President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence and others in an interview on CNN.  The comments were so political that the paper itself issued a rebuke and told McNeil to stick with science in the future. McNeil’s statement that “we were in a headless-chicken phase” could as easily describe the status of journalistic ethics.

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Bizarre, Constitutional Law, Politics

“Too Far In The Future To Tell”: Kushner Expresses Uncertainty Over The November Election

936px-Jared_Kushner_June_2019A Time interview by Jared Kushner this week brought an unexpected windfall for the Biden campaign on one of the most embarrassing stories this month. Recently, former Vice President Joe Biden peddled a bizarre conspiracy theory that President Donald Trump had decided to halt the November election.  As I pointed out in a column, the theory showed a striking lack of constitutional knowledge and was legally impossible.  Yet, as if on cue from the Biden campaign, Kushner yesterday swept in and offered critics exactly what they were seeking in saying that it is “too far in the future to tell” whether the November election would be held.  The answer is that it is not “too far” if you have a modicum of constitutional knowledge.  The November election will be held unless there is a coup or an act of collective congressional insanity.

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Politics, Society

Loans For The Little Darlings? Strip Clubs Win Another Ruling For Pandemic Relief

downloadWe have been discussing litigation of strip clubs denied pandemic relief, including a recent ruling in favor of such clubs in Nevada.  I have been highly critical of such denials.  Now, another judge, has ruled correctly in favor of these businesses. District Judge Matthew Leitman in Flint, Michigan, issued a preliminary injunction barring the Small Business Administration from excluding businesses that present live performances or sell products of a “prurient sexual nature” from loans under the Paycheck Protection Program. Businessman Jason Mohney who owns various clubs including Little Darlings (left) brought the action.  The Trump Administration is dead wrong in litigating these cases to use the pandemic funds to impose a moral judgment on certain lawful businesses.

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Res ipsa loquitur – The thing itself speaks