Category Archives: Law
Supreme Court Slants Toward Free Speech
Last week the U.S. Supreme Court spoke up for free speech. The kind that offends.
The Court ruled unanimously in favor of The Slants. The Slants are an Asian rock band whose federal trademark application was rejected on the grounds that its name is offensive.
Justice Alito took offense at that. Here’s what he had to say about the Trademark Office rule: “It offends a bedrock First Amendment principle: Speech may not be banned on the ground that it expresses ideas that offend.”
That should please the Washington Redskins and Cleveland Indians.
Four liberal and three conservative justices agreed with Alito. Rookie Justice Gorsuch sat this one out.
Comey Mind Over Matter
Former FBI Director Comey told President Trump three times that he was not under investigation.
But Hillary Clinton was. Sort of.
Then Attorney General Loretta Lynch told Comey to refer to what he was doing with Hillary as a “matter“, not an “investigation.” Comey went along but said the order “confused and concerned” him. He also said it made him “queasy“.
But it apparently didn’t reach the “mildly nauseous” threshold.
Comey Takes a Leak
Turns out Comey likes to leak too. He testified to the Senate Intelligence Committee that he leaked his own memos about a meeting with Trump. The leak was in response to Trump’s tweet that Comey had better hope there are no tapes of their meeting.
Comey woke up in the middle of the night and decided to pass along the memos to a friend who then leaked them to the NYT.His goal was to sic a special prosecutor on Trump.
Mission accomplished.
Special Counsel Robert Mueller Crime Search
The Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller special counsel this week. His mission is to investigate suspected collusion between Team Trump and Russia. And pretty much anything else that strikes his fancy once he gets going.
Mueller’s a career creature of the Washington Swamp. But, as swamp creatures go, he’s one of the most respected. He served as FBI Director for 12 years without scandal. It also doesn’t hurt that he earned a Bronze Star and Purple heart as a Marine rifle platoon leader in Vietnam.
Mueller Crime Search
Another Washington swamp creature, Rep. Maxine Waters, looks forward to the Mueller crime search. She anticipates a thorough and fair investigation. Ending with the impeachment of Donald Trump.
The only problem is, so far, there’s no evidence of a crime.
Unaccountable Washington Politics
Deputy U.S. Attorney General Rod Rosenstein wrote a memo laying the groundwork for the firing of FBI Director Comey. He says Comey was unaccountable. Here’s a version of Rosenstein’s memo published in The Atlantic.
But Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe writes in the The Washington Post that Trump obstructed justice when he fired Comey. He thinks Trump should be impeached.
Meanwhile, Senat minority leader Chuck Schumer is demanding a special prosecutor to investigate any possible Trump/Russian caper.
No Accounting for the Unaccountable
Gerald Seib calls this a “troubling undercurrent for Trump.” He quotes a WSJ/NBC poll saying, “The survey found a strong desire, cutting across political affiliations, for an independent commission or a special prosecutor to get to the bottom of Russia’s role in the 2016 election.”
