Trump v. Mazars LLP: Can US House committee subpoena financial records of Trump and his businesses? 7-2 (same 7-2 as below). Yes if for a proper legislative purpose. Court below must decide if there is a proper legislative purpose, taking into account separation of powers issues. Basically a punt. Win for libs because Trump has no absolute immunity, but good … Read More
Supreme Court Issues Landmark Ruling On LGBTQ Discrimination
The opinion: 6-3, with Roberts and Gorsuch joining the lefties. Gorsuch wrote the opinion. Justice Gorsuch says, essentially, that when Congress outlawed discrimination “because of” sex in Title VII, Congress must have meant to include gays and transgenders “because it is impossible to discriminate against a person for being homosexual or transgender without discriminating against that individual based on sex.” Gorsuch is … Read More
SCOTUS Will Not Take Up Case Against Gun Manufacturer
In March, the Connecticut Supreme Court put the gun industry on notice: If you advertise your weapons as alluring tools for mass slaughter, you will face consequences—at least in this state. By a 4–3 vote, the court revived a lawsuit by the families of Sandy Hook victims alleging that Remington recklessly marketed its Bushmaster AR-15–style weapon for “illegal, offensive purposes,” contributing to … Read More
The Case Against Rudy And How Citizens United Got Us Here
Since the NYT revealed that SDNY is investigating Rudy Giuliani for what they call “lobbying” laws, Mr. Lutsenko initially asked Mr. Giuliani to represent him, according to the former mayor, who said he declined because it would have posed a conflict with his work for the president. Instead, Mr. Giuliani said, he interviewed Mr. Lutsenko for hours, then had one of his … Read More
Kavanaugh Barely Vetted By FBI
As Justice Brett M. Kavanaugh prepares for his second year on the Supreme Court, new reporting has detailed how the limits ordered by the White House and Senate Republicans last year constrained the FBI investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct when he was a college freshman. The FBI was informed of allegations that Kavanaugh, while drunk during his freshman year … Read More
DOJ Swaps Out Lawyers In The Citizenship/Census Case
The Department of Justice switched up the team of lawyers representing the Trump administration in its push to get a citizenship question on the 2020 census, according to the Washington Post. The DOJ announced the decision in a statement after the Post asked the department about the move. A person familiar with the matter told the Post that some career lawyers … Read More
Trump Administration Flips Again On Citizenship Question As Lawyers Scramble For A Justification
The news Tuesday that the Trump Administration was giving up on adding a citizenship question to the census came as a surprise, it seems, to Trump, who tweeted a denial: And Trump’s assertion that the news was “fake” cam as a surprise to the judge overseeing the case, who was told differently. Justice Department lawyers told United States District Judge … Read More
Trump Administration Caves On Citizenship Question On 2020 Census
And like that, they lose: There will not be a question asking about citizenship on the 2020 census, the Trump administration said Tuesday. The decision comes less than a week after the Supreme Court temporarily blocked the administration from adding the question, saying it did not provide an adequate explanation for the addition. “We can confirm that the decision has … Read More
SCOTUS WrapUp: Trump Denied Citizenship Question In 2020 Census; On The Other Hand, Democracy Is Screwed
The last day of the term meant the handing down of two critical and important opinions. The first, Department of Commerce v New York, was a blow to the Trump administration. The issue involves the inclusion of a question non the census about citizenship. It was challenged on the grounds that it was arbitrary and capricious — in essence, that … Read More
The Alabama Abortion Bill: Too Much Too Soon
Alabama’s state Senate passed a bill on Tuesday to outlaw nearly all abortions, creating exceptions only to protect the mother’s health, as part of a multistate effort to have the US Supreme Court reconsider a woman’s constitutional right to an abortion. The country’s strictest abortion bill was previously approved by the Alabama House of Representatives and will now go to … Read More
Breaking: Mystery Foreign Company Gets No Help From SCOTUS
A few weeks ago, there was a super-secret hearing in DC Court regarding a subpeona issued to an unknown foreign company from the Mueller investigation. The company was fighting the subpoena. This just happened: "(Bloomberg)—The U.S. Supreme Court refused to shield a mystery company from having to provide information in what’s believed to be the criminal investigation being conducted by … Read More
A Scary Time For Men
Trump apologized “on behalf of America” to Brett Kavanaugh last night at his induction ceremony. It marked the end of one of the ugliest chapters in Supreme Court history — ugly in the sense that this asshole got on the court despite his obvious lying and political manipulation, made worse by Trump’s victory lap. Trump framed this as a victory … Read More
Kavanaugh Pens Op-Ed; Tensions Fly [UPDATE: It’s done]
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh, who last week accused Democrats of plotting a political hit job against him on behalf of Bill and Hillary Clinton to smear his good name as he faces sexual assault allegations, wants America to know he is an impartial judge. Kavanaugh wrote a column in the Wall Street Journal published last night with the self-serving headline: “I … Read More
Kavanaugh Supplemental Investigation Is Over: Report Being Read
Guess what? The White House has found no corroboration of the allegations of sexual misconduct against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh after examining interview reports from the FBI’s latest probe into the judge’s background. Neither has the GOP majority on the Senate Judiciary Committee. This leaves senators in much the same position as last week—faced with two witnesses providing mutually exclusive … Read More
FBI Report On Kavanaugh Will Be Kept Secret (For A While)
Greg Sargeant: As early as today, the FBI may conclude its renewed background investigation of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh — and predictably enough, Senate Republicans are already insisting that the report will never see the light of day. The FBI’s report will be given to all Senators, but it will not be released publicly, because, as Republican Senate Majority … Read More