Law
August 17, 2017 — Scott Johnson
We are awash in the spirit of the mob and mob violence. It feels something like the defining feature of the present moment. The true home of such mob violence is on the left and embodied, for example in the forces of Antifa. These forces have been abetted and indulged by authorities on the left. We need to plant a flag of principled resistance. The spirit of the mob permeates
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August 10, 2017 — John Hinderaker
Sarah Palin has sued the New York Times for defamation, on account of a Times editorial that falsely claimed there was a “clear” and “direct” causal connection between Palin’s PAC’s “targeting” of Gabrielle Giffords’ district and Jared Loughner’s murder of six people in Tucson. The paper now calls its smear of Palin an “honest mistake.” I wrote here that Palin has a strong case, despite the extraordinary burden of proof
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August 3, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
The Wall Street Journal reports that Robert Mueller has impaneled a grand jury in Washington, D.C. A grand jury has already been impaneled in Virginia to investigate Michael Flynn and his work in the private sector on behalf of foreign interests. The new grand jury apparently will focus on Russia and the 2016 election and, quite possibly, on claims of obstruction of justice. The existence of the D.C. grand jury
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July 27, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
The New York Post reports that Sarah Palin plans to subpoena nearly two dozen New York Times reporters, editors, and other workers in her defamation lawsuit against the newspaper. John wrote about Palin’s suit here and here. News of the scope of Palin’s planned discovery surfaced in a motion by the Times arguing that the case should be dismissed. The paper’s lawyers complain that Palin’s legal team has served notice
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July 24, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Many conservatives believe that voter fraud exists on a significant scale in this country. The left insists that it does not. Indeed, says Roger Clegg, some on the left deny that voter fraud exists at all. The Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity wants to find out whether, and to what extent, voter fraud exists. To do so, it needs data, specifically voter data from the states. The left filed
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July 24, 2017 — Scott Johnson
In a June 2 story by Matthew Rosenberg and Adam Goldman, the New York Times blew the identity of the new CIA chief of operations against Iran. The Times’s decision to do so was deliberate, willful and deeply dishonorable. It may have been illegal as well. The special counsel investigation of the Bush administration was predicated on possible criminal violations in the unauthorized disclosure of Valerie Plame. Possible criminal violations
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July 23, 2017 — John Hinderaker
A month ago, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled unanimously that a federal law prohibiting registration of trademarks that “may disparage … persons, living or dead, institutions, beliefs or national symbols” violates the First Amendment. Liberal media wasted no time in finding baleful consequences of the ruling. Reuters writes: “Supreme Court ruling leads to offensive trademark requests.” A small group of companies and individuals are looking to register racially charged words
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July 23, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Since the inauguration of President Trump we have been inundated by leaks of classified information attributed to current and former government officials. These current and former government officials have leaked classified information to their friends at the New York Times, the Washington Post and other mainstream media organs. The leaks have become a flood of crisis proportions. Two months ago, for example, New York Times reporters Matthew Rosenberg and Adam
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July 18, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Harry Reid’s decision to end the judicial filibuster of nominees for U.S. courts of appeals may have paved the way for Republicans to confirm Justice Gorsuch by ending the same practice at the Supreme Court level. But that doesn’t mean Reid’s decision isn’t paying off for the left. In fact, it’s paying off with some regularity at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, the second
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July 12, 2017 — Scott Johnson
The Eighth Circuit Judicial Conference convenes today in Fargo. Driving into Fargo on Monday I heard Rush Limbaugh take his first call of the day from Fargo and note the impending Eighth Circuit Conference, which he said his cousin would be attending. Rush was on top of it. In advance of the conference the court held a memorial session on Tuesday in the beautiful courtroom on the fourth floor of
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July 9, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Janice Rogers Brown has notified officials that she will step down from the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. Judge Brown, age 68, has served on that Court since 2005. The Wall Street Journal story says, in its headline, that Judge Brown’s retirement will give President Trump the opportunity to appoint a conservative to this powerful court. He’ll be hard-pressed, however, to appoint a more solid
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July 8, 2017 — John Hinderaker
We have noted here and elsewhere Sarah Palin’s libel case against the New York Times. In a June 14 editorial, the Times accused Palin of being responsible for Jared Loughner’s murder of six people in Tucson, Arizona. Since then, the Times has issued two corrections to the editorial. Lawyers for Ms. Palin and the newspaper were in court yesterday. The New York Post’s brief account does not make clear the
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June 26, 2017 — Scott Johnson
Reading the Supreme Court’s per curiam (unsigned) opinion in the Trump v. IRAP (Fourth Circuit) and Trump v. Hawaii (Ninth Circuit) “travel ban” cases today, I was struck by this. The Court unanimously stayed most of the injunctive relief granted by the lower courts in the two cases. In doing so, however, the Court doesn’t even address the usually key factor of likelihood of success on the merits. Apart from
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June 23, 2017 — Scott Johnson
President Trump is now in a death struggle with Robert Mueller and James Comey. That’s the conclusion I draw from former Assistant United States Attorney Andrew McCarthy’s gimlet-eyed American Greatness column “Mueller’s empire.” Andy’s column makes several important points on which I have slightly expanded: • Mueller’s appointment as Special Counsel by Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein fundamentally violates the applicable regulation. The regulation requires that the Attorney General or
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June 21, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
Last August, Dominique Heaggan-Brown, an African-American police officer in Milwaukee, shot and killed Sylville Smith, an African-American suspect with a lengthy record who was armed and fleeing the police. Anti-police rioting ensued. Four officers were injured. It was clear from the beginning that the African-American policeman did not shoot Smith for reasons having anything to do with race. But this didn’t matter to the local rioters or to Black Lives
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June 21, 2017 — Scott Johnson
I’ve got a pen and I’ve got notes, to borrow a phrase. I have notes of comments made by President Trump at the White House reception for conservative media on April 24. I used my notes to write up my account of the reception for Power Line readers in “At the White House with Trump.” Now in a scenario out of Twilight Zone or The Outer Limits, I am awaiting
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June 19, 2017 — Paul Mirengoff
The Supreme Court ruled this morning that the government cannot deny full trademark protection to allegedly racially offensive trademarks. The opinions are here. The case involved an Asian-American band called “The Slants.” It sought federal registration of that mark. The Patent and Trademark Office denied the application under a Lanham Act provision prohibiting trademarks that may “disparage. . .or bring. . .into contemp[t] or disrepute” any “persons, living or dead.”
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