A terrible tragedy has befallen the University of South Carolina after sophomore Nicholas Anthony Donofrio, 20, was shot and killed on the front porch of a house in Columbia. He was reportedly trying to enter the wrong home near the campus around 2 am. Donofrio lived at a house on the same street. It is an all-too-familiar pattern that we often discuss in my torts class where people are confused and try to enter the wrong home. Continue reading “University of South Carolina Student Killed in Possible Castle Doctrine Case”
Below is an expanded version of my Hill column on the Georgia call at the center of the recent indictment and the attack in the Washington Post by columnist Philip Bump, someone I have repeatedly criticized in the past for false and misleading stories. The column attacked me for suggesting that the Georgia call was not strong evidence of a crime and that Trump was seeking another recount or investigation. While I disagreed with Trump’s claims and supported the decisions of the Georgia officials (and still do), many campaigns have sought such investigations or launched challenges based on flimsy evidence. I have covered such challenges for years as a legal analyst for CBS, NBC, BBC, and Fox. Unsupported legal claims may be sanctionable in court, but they have not been treated as crimes.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Yes, Trump was Seeking Another Recount or Investigation in Georgia: A Response to the Washington Post”
Below is my column in The Messenger on the expanding evidence in the Biden corruption scandal and the need for Congress to take commensurate action to investigate the matter. After this column ran, Fox’s Brian Kilmeade conducted an interview with Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. What was striking about the interview is not just the contradiction with other accounts (like insisting that he was investigating Burisma and the investigation was expanding when he was fired), but that he claimed that Kilmeade was the first to seek to interview him. This is just Shokin’s account and many question his veracity. However, it is astonishing that this is the first interview that I have seen of one of the key figures in this scandal. It highlights the need to still fully investigate a scandal that the media has largely avoided in prior years. However, the greatest case for an impeachment inquiry was made by Attorney General Merrick Garland himself.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Why the House Has No Alternative to an Impeachment Inquiry into President Biden”
In 2017, Denmark took a historic step in favor of free speech by rescinding its blasphemy law after 334 years. For those of us in the free speech community, it was an important moment in Europe where free speech is being rapidly reduced. Now, however, the liberal government is moving to reinstate the blasphemy crime with a new law barring the burning of the Qur’an, the Bible, and other religous texts. Continue reading “Denmark Restores Blasphemy Prosecutions”
We often discuss the long-standing question of whether it is better for your client to smile or not smile in a mugshot. Some believe a smile conveys a lack of contrition while others view a frown as looking guilty. In the first mugshot of a former American president, Trump (or now Inmate P01135809) rejected both the “carefree smile” and the “disapproving frown” and went with seething scowl. It is a mugshot that unfortunately will resonate with both extremes in our political system. Continue reading “The Snap and the Scowl: The Trump Mugshot Ignites a Tinderbox Nation”
Below is my column on the search for the true identity of Robert L. Peters, the name Republicans believe was used by then Vice President Joe Biden in emails that contradict his past claims on the influence peddling scandal.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Search for Robert L. Peters: He Goes By Various Names…The Question is Why”
Below is my column in the New York Post on new evidence contradicting the account of President Joe Biden on his role in forcing the firing of Ukrainian prosecutor general Viktor Shokin. Biden’s boast about forcing the termination could become a defining moment in the corruption scandal.
Here is the column:
I previously wrote a column on what I described as Alex Baldwin’s greatest imitation of Donald Trump . . . in a lawsuit. Baldwin was sued for a reprehensible attack on on the family of Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee J. McCollum, killed in the Aug. 26 suicide attack in Kabul during the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan.. He falsely accused the marine’s sister Roice McCollum of being an “insurrectionist” but insisted that his rhetoric was protected political speech and that he was not responsible for how third parties responded to his inflammatory postings on social media. Baldwin’s channeling of Trump arguments in court has proven equally successful. As expected, a court has ruled for Baldwin after finding that the sister of the fallen Marine was a limited public figure.
Continue reading “Alec Baldwin’s Trump Defense: A Torts Case Where Imitation Merged With Litigation”
Below is my column in the New York Post on the expanding scandal surrounding the Hunter Biden investigation. Even CNN legal analysts are now calling the handling of the investigation at the Justice Department an “unholy mess.” The responsibility for this theater of the absurd is Attorney General Merrick Garland who has again shown a lack of strength and leadership at a key moment for his department.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Garland’s Theater of The Absurd: Why the Hunter Biden Scandal is No Longer a Laughing Matter”
There is a spirited debate growing among law professors over the claim that former president Donald Trump is disqualified under the 14th Amendment from holding office. Various law professors have argued that Trump is already barred, even without a charge or conviction for insurrection or even incitement. I have previously discussed my disagreement with this theory, including a column this week. A number of critics have cited a New Mexico case where such a disqualification of a local politician named Couy Griffen was approved by a court and then upheld by the New Mexico Supreme Court. Such a ruling, even if true, would not negate the basis for these objections. It would be one state case to the contrary in what is likely to be an array of such challenges. Yet, it is untrue that “the New Mexico Supreme Court upheld the decision to disqualify” and established counter precedent on the issue.
Below is a slightly expanded version of my column in The Hill on the increasingly popular theory that former president Donald Trump is already barred from office under the 14th Amendment. It is a theory that, in my view, has a political appeal that outstrips its constitutional support. In a constitution designed to protect free speech and prevent the concentration of power, this theory would allow for the banning of candidates based on fluid definitions of aiding and abetting insurrection. Such ballot cleansing is common in countries like Iran where citizens await to learn which opposition candidates will be allowed to run. While we are thankfully far from the authoritarianism of these other countries, the implications of this theory for our constitutional system are still chilling.
Here is the column: Continue reading “The Disqualification of Donald Trump and Other Legal Urban Legends”
The World Chess Foundation has ruled that transgender women cannot compete in its competitions for women. The decision by FIDE, the Switzerland-based federation, is perplexing and disturbing. FIDE is setting a two-year period for review. Frankly, I do not understand why there are male and female competitions in chess where relative strength is not an issue. Yet, even assuming that there is some reason to have separate competitions, the ban on transgender women seems entirely gratuitous and wrong. Continue reading “The World Chess Foundation Bars Transgender Women in Competitions”
In the last few weeks, we have seen a disturbing uptick of reported threats against public figures, grand jurors, and judges. One of the most disturbing and disgraceful are threats against Judge Tanya S. Chutkan, who will be presiding in the trial of former president Donald Trump. Abigail Jo Shry, 43, of Alvin, Tex., allegedly left an Aug. 5 voice mail at Chutkan’s chambers in which she called her a racial slur and threatened her, saying, “If Trump doesn’t get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you, so tread lightly, b—-.” That same week, there was also a sentencing in a prior case where the threat led to an attempt on the life of Trump. Pascale Cecile Veronique Ferrier, 56, has been sentenced to 262 months or roughly 22 years for mailing ricin to Trump. What makes her case even more striking is the defense raised by her lawyer. Continue reading ““Inordinately Intelligent”: Canadian Woman Sentenced to 22 Years in Attempt on Trump’s Life”
Below is my column in USA Today on the growing excitement among pundits on the prospect that former President Donald Trump could be going to jail. The celebration is a tad premature. Indeed, Trump could be convicted before the election and not be sent to prison for years, if ever. This is not to say that Trump will not go to prison. He most certainly could go to jail. However, the prospect of prison depends on the specific conviction, long appellate challenges, and pardons.
Here is the column: Continue reading “Lock Him Up! The Excitement over Trump in Prison is Tellingly Premature”
There is a bizarre case out of California where Calese Carron Crowder was arrested after crouching down behind women and appearing to “sniff” them from behind at a Burbank Barnes & Noble store. Putting aside the bizarre fetish, the criminal charges in the case present equally novel elements. Continue reading “California Police Arrest “The Sniffer,” But What Will Be the Charge?”