As I posted here last week, Michael Flynn pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about conversations he had with Russian Ambassador Sergey Kislyak during the presidential transition last December. Flynn is the fourth Trump associate to be charged in Robert Mueller’s investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election. As I also posted, Flynn promised “full cooperation” with Mueller’s investigation and … Read More
Can A Sitting President Be Indicted?
The conventional wisdom has always said that a sitting president cannot be indicted. Under current law, a President is immune from civil lawsuits in federal court, when it comes to his official acts as president. This is because of Nixon v. Fitzgerald, a 1982 Supreme Court ruling. There, the Supreme Court wrote: “The ‘singular importance of the President’s duties’ warrants a stay … Read More
Supreme Court Notes
Some US Supreme Court news this morning: (1) North Carolina has – um, HAD — a law that said registered sex offenders could not go to certain sites on the Intertubes. The Supreme Court struck down that law, saying it violated First Amendment. The decision was 8-0, although there was sharp disagreement about how much states can regulate Internet … Read More
The Sessions Sessions
Ok, I’ll liveblog SOME of Sessions hearing before the Senate Intel Committee, but again, I expect he’ll talk about what he wants to talk about and then filibuster (or rely on executive privilege) when trapped in a corner. 2:56 pm Sessions has no recollection of meeting, talking to Russian ambassador or other Russian official at the Mayflower hotel. Here’s a notable … Read More
Maryland And DC Attorneys General File Lawsuit Against Trump Under Emoluments Clause
Although CREW currently has a lawsuit going, the attorneys general of Maryland and DC have filed a lawsuit today against President Trump, citing a constitutional violation of the Emoluments Clause of the Constitution. The damage? Well, they claim, the US is effectively not living up to the Constitution, a document that Maryland signed onto in part because of the Emoluments Clause. Also, … Read More
Ninth Circuit Strikes Down Trump Travel Ban
They write “Immigration, even for the president, is not a one-person show” and bring up last week’s tweets as evidence AGAINST his own lawyer’s argument (on page 40)
The Comey Memos — Part Two
So some idiot at Redstate is making the argument that the Comey Memos were leaked in contravention of the law: The documents leaked by Comey were official government records. Period. They were created by a government employee (Comey) while acting in his official capacity (FBI director) on a government-issued laptop while sitting in a government car driven by another government … Read More
Trump’s Tweets Today Are The Most Unhinged And SELF-Destructive (And It’s Only 10:00 AM)
God knows why they just don’t take his phone away. Or give him a fake phone with a fake Twitter account. This is how bad it has gotten: Trump’s own advisers have gone on television and stated that Trump’s tweets are not his policy. Well, who knows? How can we tell? Would Trump agree with that? Even this morning, Kellyanne … Read More
7th Circuit: LGBTQ Discrimination IS Sex Discrimination
It’s not definitive, but this is a huge step. The Seventh Circuit ruled 8-3 that a woman who was denied a job because she was a lesbian had a cause of action under Title VII. Title VII is the civil rights law which prevents workplace discrimination on the basis of sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. It generally applies to … Read More
The HB2 Repeal: Is It As Bad As Everyone Says?
Well, I find myself in the awkward position of disagreeing with friends, colleagues, and organizations that I respect (like the ACLU, of which I have been an active member for 24 years). That’s not fun. The issue? House Bill 142. For those living under a rock, HB142 is the bill passed by the North Carolina General Assembly and signed into … Read More
Redstate’s Patterico’s Analysis of the 9th Circuit Decision Against Trump
Don’t normally quote from the conservative Redstate blog, and I rarely agree with Patterico (the author) on anything. But this analysis is so good — so spot on — that I am reprinting it in full: As you have no doubt heard, the Ninth Circuit today issued an opinion upholding the District Court’s TRO halting much of Trump’s order on … Read More
Former NC Governor Pat McCrory Needs Protection From Words
News & Observer: Does former North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory need protection? Do all current and former public officials? At least one state senator thinks so. After a video was posted on Facebook Friday showing a group of people following McCrory during a trip to Washington, D.C., for inaugural weekend, chanting “Shame!” and calling him a bigot, Sen. Dan Bishop … Read More
Does Korematsu Provide Precedent For A Muslim Registry?
No. No, it doesn’t. Not even a close call. Let’s just all get on the same page. This is happening: Trump surrogates are already citing Japanese internment camps from WW II as “precedent” for Muslim registry pic.twitter.com/DVnjtom0mc — Brendan Karet (@bad_takes) November 17, 2016 And the obvious question is…. would it be constitutional for the government to require citizens to … Read More
Judge Roy Moore Is Toast
Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has been suspended from the bench for telling probate judges to defy federal orders regarding gay marriage. The Alabama Court of the Judiciary (COJ) issued the order Friday suspending Moore from the bench for the remainder of his term. “For these violations, Chief Justice Moore is hereby suspended from office without pay for the remainder … Read More
Breaking: Big Victory For Voter Rights — No Voter ID In Upcoming NC Elections
NC voter ID law will NOT be enforced in fall election after the U.S. Supreme Court denies stay request (in a 4-4 split — obviously, had Scalia lived, it would have been a loss for voting rights advocates, but he didn’t so……) The stay was a request by Republican Gov. Pat McCrory and state officials to delay a permanent injunction blocking provisions in … Read More