The 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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Federal 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
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
Former 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.
The 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
A 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.
We have been discussing litigation of strip clubs denied pandemic relief, including
Speaking as an “experienced prosecutor,” President Donald Trump’s attorney, Rudy Giuliani, accused former FBI Director James Comey of treason. In an interview with John Catsimatidis on “The Cat’s Roundtable,”
In the last three years, various experts have made what they called dispositive cases for crimes by President Donald Trump ranging from hate crimes to treason to inciting violence. Now
Below is my column in The Hill on a largely overlooked part of the recent material to be released in the Flynn case as well as the testimony released by the House Intelligence Committee: the focus on the Logan Act as the way to charge former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn. Indeed, 

Below is my column in The Hill on the legal foundation for an economic recovery in reopening businesses in the United States. While some often seem to assume a zero tolerance approach for any risk of spread, we have no choice but to try to get this economy out of the current disastrous conditions. Unless we want to reintroduce a barter economy, we need to stop the exponential growth of debt coupled with the perilous decline of employment. The key may be individual choice and an ancient legal doctrine.
Happy Mother’s Day to all! This holiday holds particular meaning to many of us as we all weather this pandemic by pulling our family closer and tighter. I am still in Chicago with my 92-year-old mother, Angela Piazza Turley. We will be celebrating today on Zoom with the rest of the family.