Trump Justice Department
September 3, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
The Washington Post reports that the Justice Department “is expected to file an antitrust lawsuit against Google as soon as this month.” The Post claims that Attorney General Barr has “overruled dozens of federal attorneys who initially signaled the U.S. government was not ready to bring such a landmark case.” Such a suit would be the product of a “competition inquiry” that, in the Post’s words, “focuses on Google’s sprawling
»
August 30, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Janice Dean reports on the weather for Fox News. She lost both of her in-laws to the Wuhan coronavirus. Both contracted the disease at long-term care facilities, but her mother in-law died at a hospital. New York apparently does not include cases like the mother-in-law’s in totaling up the nursing home death count. Thus, New York is under counting the number of deaths that arose at such facilities. Dean has
»
August 26, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Today, the Justice Department requested data from the governors of states that issued orders that may have resulted in the deaths of thousands of elderly nursing home residents. New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Michigan required nursing homes to add Wuhan coronavirus patients to their vulnerable populations, often without adequate testing. Accordingly, the Justice Department is evaluating whether to initiate investigations under the federal Civil Rights of Institutionalized Persons Act
»
August 19, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Attorney General Barr announced today that at least 217 people have been charged with a federal crime, and more than 1,000 have been arrested in major metropolitan cities, since the Department of Justice launched Operation Legend in July. The operation is named after 4-year-old LeGend Taliferro, who was shot and killed in his sleep on June 29 in Kansas City, Missouri. The Kansas City police announced the arrest of a
»
August 17, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Asian-Americans comprise the group most acutely victimized when colleges and universities dole out preferences in admission to African-Americans. The reason is obvious. Racial preferences minimize merit, as it has always been judged in this context — grades, test scores, and extra-curricular activities — and Asian-American students as a group are the most meritorious large racial/ethnic group of high school students. Thus, it’s not surprising when lawsuits challenging preferential admission policies
»
August 10, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Attorney General William Barr sat down with Mark Levin for an outstanding interview that aired last night on Life, Liberty and Levin. The interview covered subjects and themes that are among our regular preoccupations, including the secular religion of the Democrats, Antifa and related media coverage, and the Russia hoax. In the interview Barr is performing a teaching function. He knows what he’s talking about and he wants Americans to
»
July 28, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Attorney General Barr testifies this morning before the House Judiciary Committee. His opening statement has been uploaded to Scrbid. I have embedded it below. The whole thing is worth reading. Here are two paragraphs that I would like to highlight: Unfortunately, some have chosen to respond to George Floyd’s death …by demonizing the police, promoting slogans like ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards), and making grossly irresponsible proposals to defund the
»
July 11, 2020 — Scott Johnson
The case brought by Team Mueller in the name of the United States against Michael Flynn constitutes a sidebar to the biggest political scandal in American history by far. While the United States now seeks to dismiss the case, Judge Sullivan resists. His resistance now extends to the The D.C. Circuit opinion granting Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus ordering him to dismiss the case. While the D.C. Circuit
»
June 24, 2020 — Scott Johnson
In a 2-1 opinion, the United States Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit has granted Michael Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus ordering Judge Emmet Sullivan to dismiss the case against General Flynn. I commented on the oral argument before the court here on June 12. I have embedded the panel opinion below along with the dissent. Judge Rao’s opinion for the panel responds in detail to Judge
»
June 22, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Over the weekend, a flap arose about the removal of Geoffrey Berman, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York. On Friday evening, Attorney General Barr announced that Berman had resigned. As Andy McCarthy has said, “it is a conventional indulgence to [a] dumped public official to frame the removal as a resignation, or to couch it ambiguously, so it is unclear whether the official decided to leave
»
June 19, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Earlier this year, Idaho enacted the Fairness in Women’s Sports Act. It goes into effect next month. The Act contains two main provisions. First, covered athletic teams shall be expressly designated as one of the following based on biological sex: (a) Males, men, or boys; (b) Females, women, or girls; or (c) Coed or mixed. Second, “[a]thletic teams or sports designated for females, women, or girls shall not be open
»
June 18, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
As Solicitor General of the United States, Noel Francisco is responsible for upholding the government’s positions before the U.S. Supreme Court. He does so ably, in my opinion. It’s not Francisco’s fault that Chief Justice Roberts decided to become the new Justice Kennedy or that Justice Gorsuch botched textualism. Francisco has announced that he will step down as SG when the Supreme Court’s term ends this month. To my knowledge,
»
June 12, 2020 — Scott Johnson
Michael Flynn’s petition for a writ of mandamus in his criminal case before will be argued in the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals this morning at 9:30 a.m. (Easterm) before Judges Henderson, Wilkins, and Rao. It appears that the court will live stream the 30-minute oral argument via a link accessible here (and here on YouTube). I know that many will want to tune in. The Flynn case is a
»
May 30, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
The Department of Justice has filed a statement of interest in a lawsuit filed by seven Michigan businesses challenging restrictions imposed by Governor Whitmer in response to the Wuhan coronavirus pandemic. The plaintiffs are a real estate brokerage, a lawn and property maintenance company, an automotive glass exporter, an engine oil and auto parts distributor, a small jewelry store, a dental office, and an association of car washes. They brought
»
May 20, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
The Department of Justice, under the leadership of Attorney General Barr, has moved aggressively to make sure that state and local measures to contain the Wuhan coronavirus do not violate the First Amendment’s guarantee of religious freedom. We discussed some of the DOJ’s actions here, here, and here. Now, the New York Times reports that Justice Department has “warned California’s governor that his COVID-19 restrictions discriminate[] against places of worship
»
May 12, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
Jonathan Kravis was one of the attorneys who prosecuted Roger Stone. He resigned after the Trump/Barr DOJ recommended a lighter sentence for Stone than the attorneys who prosecuted Stone recommended. (I discussed Stone’s sentence here.) In this Washington Post op-ed, Kravis attacks the revised Stone sentencing recommendation and the decision to drop the case against Michael Flynn. He calls both decisions “disastrous.” But Kravis neglects to discuss the merits of
»
May 11, 2020 — Paul Mirengoff
In response to the Wuhan coronavirus, Breea Clark, the Democrat mayor of Norman Oklahoma, locked the city down. When she decided gradually to reopen Norman, the ban on churches and other houses of worship from holding religious services — as well as a general ban on “large gatherings” — remained in place. Restaurants, retail stores, and salons were allowed to reopen if they adhered to social distancing policies, but regular
»
