International, Media, Politics

CNN Reporter Asks About Censorship At NBA Press Conference . . . The NBA Takes Away Her Mike

I have previously written about the disgraceful way that the NBA has kowtowed to the Chinese government after a single team manager sent a harmless expression of personal support for the protesters in Hong Kong. The cringing subservience of the NBA was on display in Japan when CNN’s Christina Macfarlane asked an obvious and reasonable questions at a press conference about whether players felt that the NBA response had sent a clear message not to criticize China’s human rights violations. In other words, do they feel censored on social issues? The NBA’s response was fast and clear: they took away MacFarlane’s microphone. They then announced that there would be no press conferences during the China trip. Problem solved.

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Criminal law, Politics

Two Giuliani Associates Arrested While Leaving The Country

Two Florida businessmen and associated for Rudy Giuliani, president Donald Trump’s personal lawyer, were arrested at Dulles International Airport with one-way tickets out of the country. Lev Parnas and Igor Fruman are charged with campaign finance violations and the prosecution could prove a further complication for the Trump legal team. Some media outlets are reporting that the men had lunch with Giuliani only hours before their arrest. Trump has said “I don’t know them” and told reporters to “ask Rudy.”

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Courts, Society

Will June Medical Deliver A Fatal Dose Of Reality For Precedent?

Below is my column in the Hill newspaper on the late addition of the Louisiana abortion case to an already impactful Supreme Court docket. The most interesting aspect of June Medical however may be what it will ultimately say about the doctrine of Stare Decisis and the respect for precedent.

Here is the column:

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Politics

Fox: Over Half Of Voters Want Trump Impeached and Removed

Polls are showing significant increases in citizens, including Republicans, who want to see President Donald Trump impeached. One of the most unsettling polls must be the one in Fox News which has generally tracked more favorably for Trump. The most recent Fox News Poll shows a new high of 51 percent in favor of both impeachment and removal.

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Bizarre, Politics, Religion

“Render To God And Trump”: Ralph Reed Rallies Evangelicals To Support Trump As A “Moral Obligation”

Faith and Freedom Coalition founder Ralph Reed is out with a book that was written in part to rally evangelicals behind President Donald Trump. it was the original title of the book that first caught my notice, “Render to God and Trump.” It is, of course, a reference to the well-known biblical verse, “Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s.” The use of the Matthew 22 is curious in that Caesar was ultimately brought to his end as a dictator by the hands of multiple Senators. Not exactly the image that one would relish going into a possible impeachment.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Lawyering, Politics

White House Issues Defiant Letter Refusing To Cooperate In Impeachment Proceedings

The White House continued along its ill-considered strategy of refusing to cooperate in an impeachment inquiry. I have previously written that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has made a fundamental error in not securing a vote of the House to commence an impeachment investigation. However, the letter issued by the White House counsel further undermines the case for executive privilege arguments and could reinforce obstruction allegations in any final articles of impeachment.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Tlaib Calls For Banning Facial Recognition After Detroit Police Chief Calls Her Earlier Comments Racist

Rep. Rashida Tlaib (D, Mich.) doubled down on her uninformed and controversial statements about facial recognition technology (FRT). We discussed Tlaib’s earlier call for the Detroit Police Chief to hire only African Americans to use FRT. That bizarre call was denounced as racist by Detroit Police Chief James Craig, who is black, and said that he would not adopt a race-based hiring program for FRT. Now, Tlaib has written an oped going further and demanding a ban on the use of FRT. In her  op-ed in The Detroit News, Tlaib denounced FRT as “racist technology.”

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Academia, Criminal law

Former Drexel Professor Allegedly Spent Government Grant Money On Strip Clubs and Personal Expenses . . . Drexel Agrees To Repay Costs

Academics often struggle with the confining language of grants, particularly federal grants, in purchasing equipment and hiring staff. Former Drexel University professor, Dr. Chikaodinaka D. Nwankpa, has been accused of an alleged departure from any reasonable interpretation. The former head of Drexel’s Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering allegedly spent nearly $200,000 in federal grant funds on trips to strip clubs and sports bars in Philadelphia. Worse yet for Drexel, the school will now have to pay for the strip club parties. What is fascinating is that Nwankpa has not been criminally charged and he has only been barred from government contracting for six months.

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Congress, Constitutional Law, Lawyering, Media, Politics

Trump Tweet Undermines Privilege Claims For Barring Testimony

Today, President Trump tweeted on the decision to bar EU Ambassador Gordon Sondland from testifying since it would be in front of a “a totally compromised kangaroo court.” The problem is that any fight would be on the basis for executive privilege, not the disagreement with the Committee agenda or fairness. Executive privilege is based on protecting confidential communications and diplomatic relations. Trump seems to be saying is that he simply does not trust the Committee, which is not a ground for refusal if a subpoena is now issued.

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Academia, Free Speech, Politics, Society

Georgetown Law Students Shutdown Acting Homeland Security Secretary Speech . . . Law School Silent On Any Action To Be Taken

We have previously discussed the trend of students and faculty preventing speakers from being heard on campus without any disciplinary action taken by universities. The latest example occur at Georgetown University Law School where students and faculty opposed an invitation of Acting Homeland Security Secretary Kevin McAleenan to speak on campus. It was a wonderful opportunity for an exchange of views but both students and faculty wanted opposing views to be silenced. When the school went forward with the event, protesters immediately stopped the event. CREDO Action – the advocacy arm of the progressive nonprofit group CREDO — has admitted that Georgetown students participated in the action and videotapes clearly show those responsible. However, Georgetown would not commit to taking disciplinary action despite repeated inquiries.

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Constitutional Law, Free Speech, International, Media, Politics

NBA Kowtows To China After A Manager Expresses Support For Hong Kong Protesters

The National Basketball Association debased itself in public as it heaped praise on the authoritarian regime of China after a manager simply tweeted support for Hong Kong protesters. China has canceled plans for a NBA exhibition game and is threatening a lucrative expansion deal into China. Basketball player James Harden profusely apologized to China for a manager simply expressing a view in favor of human rights. The league and top players have shown how money is an easy substitute for principle. Morey was forced to delete his innocent tweet and apologize. Harden is shown proclaiming “We apologize. You know, we love China. We love playing there. For both of us individually, we go there once or twice a year. They show us the most important love.” As the NBA heaps fawning praise on the Chinese regime, Amnesty International is calling for world action over its crackdown on protesters seeking simple forms of democracy and free speech. They however give no money to the NBA or its stars.

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International, Military, Politics

Trump Orders U.S. Troops To Pull Back In Syria. . . Leaving Kurdish Allies To Mercy of The Turks

In a move that reportedly shocked U.S. military and diplomatic officials, President Donald Trump suddenly caved to Turkish demands and ordered U.S. troops to pull back from the areas held by our Kurdish allies. The move is being widely denounced by both Democrats and Republicans as an abandonment of allies who have fought along side with us for years. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., denounced the “impulsive decision” by Trump and said that this could be “a disaster in the making.” The authoritarian president of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdogan is of course delighted and is expected to invade Syria now that U.S. troops are pulling back. Nikki Haley, Trump’s former United Nation ambassador, put it bluntly in saying that Trump was leaving our Kurdish allies “to die.” Likewise, Senate Majority Leader denounced the move and declared that it “would only benefit Russia, Iran, and the Assad regime. And it would increase the risk that ISIS and other terrorist groups regroup.”

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Constitutional Law, Courts, Criminal law, Politics

Federal Court Rejects Trump Effort To Block Release Of Tax Returns

U.S. District Judge Victor Marrero in New York has rejected the effort of President Donald Trump to block a subpoena of Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance, Jr., for his tax returns. As I noted when the action was filed, the position of the President that he cannot be subject to any criminal process of any kind while in office is extreme and unsupportable in the Constitution. The full opinion is below.

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Columns, Constitutional Law, Politics

Casual or Cowardly? Pelosi Takes Dangerous Road To Impeachment

Below is my column on the curious footing of the impeachment “inquiry” against President Donald Trump. The failure to hold a vote of the full house has left many of us wondering what Speaker Nancy Pelosi was actually announcing in her press conference. The Judiciary Committee had been calling their proceedings an “impeachment inquiry” for weeks but Pelosi held a press conference with great fanfare to announce the commencement of an inquiry. Now Pelosi has finally responded to criticism and said that she may still hold a floor vote — again fueling questions of what the press conference was about to being with.

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Bizarre, Criminal law

Oregon Woman Slashes Throat Of Man At Taco Bell . . . Receives Only Seven Years

Oregon seems to have a rather generous criminal code. Caley Mason, 22, tried to murder a man by slitting his throat at a Taco Bill. She then fled the scene and left 48-year-old Jason Luczkow to die with an 8-inch gash across his face and throat. He survived with the help of 100 stitches. Her boyfriend was also arrested. Mason however was given just seven years after pleading guilty to second-degree assault. I fail to see the justice in that sentence for the victim.

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