Below is my column in The Hill newspaper on the reported determination of the Inspector General that former Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe misled investigators about a leak to the media. There may be a question of consistency in criminally charging Michael Flynn for the same alleged act. People continue to spin this issue by noting (as the piece states) that Flynn agreed to this false statement crime as part of a plea bargain with more serious potential crimes. However, that misses the point. Prosecutors are required to apply the criminal code evenly. They are not allowed the luxury of a criminal charge that can be easily applied to a wide array of people at their discretion. It makes it very difficult for people to contest a criminal charge when prosecutors can simply criminalize any inaccurate or misleading statement while ignoring the same conduct in others. It is particularly concerning when the favorable parties are fellow prosecutors or government officials. My argument is not that we should have more false statement charges. Rather, there has long been a problem in the use of this provision which has been applied in an arbitrary manner.
Here is the column:
Continue reading “If Andrew McCabe Lied, Could He Be Charged Like Michael Flynn?”
The Texas Eighth Court of Appeals in El Paso has thrown out the conviction of Terry Lee Morris after Judge George Gallagher ordered him to be shocked with a stun belt to induce him to “follow the rules.” Gallagher’s actions were a disgrace and constitutes at a minimum assault upon a defendant. He should be removed from the bench for his actions in the 2014 trial. It is astonishing that he remains on the bench after such abuse of a criminal defendant. I have been a 
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Nashville mayor Megan Barry has resigned and pleaded guilty to felony theft as part of her affair with her police bodyguard. We often debate whether a politician should give a smiling mugshot (and risk looking non-contrite) or a frowning mugshot (and risk looking guilty). Barry went with the smiling option. She will now face three years probation and a criminal fine.
In Illinois, the Des Plaines Police Department has arrested three employees of the Kiddie Junction day care facility after allegedly discovering that the women gave children gummy bears laced with the sleep aid melatonin without parental consent. Ashley Helfenbein, 25, Jessica Heyse, 19, and Kristen Lauletta, 32, were charged with endangering children and battery. The battery charge is clear since the parents thought that they were paying for Kiddie Junction, not Kiddie Junkies. The endangerment charge could result in some challenges.
Chris Bourg, director of libraries at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 
On Tuesday, March 6, at noon, I will have the pleasure of speaking as part of the screening of 
Below is my column in USA Today on the legislation proposed to combat Russian trolling and Internet campaigns. There is a serious threat to free speech in these measures, which mirror efforts from (ironically) countries like Russia and China. The serious threat is not a handful of Russians playing on our deep divisions, but rather the hacking operations and attempt to interfere with voting systems.
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We have been discussing the rollback of free speech in France where writers and speakers are now routinely prosecuted for what would be protected political or religious speech in the United States, including the
With South Africa’s 
There are moments in life that are so perfect and magical that one can only sit back and just bask in its glory. That moment came for Ardsley High School basketball player Julian McGarvey who intercepted a pass with only 2.4 seconds left to play and won the championship for his school in an incredible 70 foot throw.