The New York Times Again Worries That Free Speech Endangers Democracy
The newspaper portrays the constitutional challenge to the government's social media meddling as a conspiracy by Donald Trump's supporters.
Election 2020
Oregon Legislators Overwhelmingly Vote To Recriminalize Low-Level Drug Possession
The reversal of a landmark reform was driven by unrealistic expectations and unproven assertions.
Supreme Court Unanimously Rules That States May Not Disqualify Trump As an Insurrectionist
Three justices who concurred in that judgment accuse the majority of trying to "insulate all alleged insurrectionists from future challenges" by going further than necessary.
Commander in Chains: 7 Scenarios If Trump Is Jailed and Wins the Election
There is nothing in the Constitution that prevents an inmate from winning the presidency.
SCOTUS Takes on Trump
Plus: Balkan begging, California corruption, Russian gravediggers, and more...
A Bad Week for Team Kraken in Court
The Supreme Court snubbed Sidney Powell and a court orders Mike Lindell to pay up.
Conservative Group Concedes It Can't Back Up Its Election Fraud Charges
True the Vote told a Georgia court that it can't produce any evidence to support claims of widespread ballot fraud in Georgia.
SCOTUS Is Troubled by the Claim That States Can Disqualify Trump From the Election As an Insurrectionist
Most of the justices are clearly inclined to reject a Colorado Supreme Court decision asserting that power under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment.
The D.C. Circuit Unanimously Rejects Trump's Audacious Presidential Immunity Claim
The appeals court says it "cannot accept that the office of the Presidency places its former occupants above the law for all time thereafter."
Muller on Yoo and Delahunty on the Twelfth Amendment and the Counting of Electoral Votes
A critique of John Yoo and Robert Delahunty's suggestion that the Vice President has a role in counting electoral votes.
Trump's Supreme Court Brief Rebuts the Claim That He 'Engaged in Insurrection'
He is asking the justices to reject the Colorado Supreme Court's conclusion that he is disqualified from running for president.
January 6 and Insurrection—a Response to Ross Douthat
On Douthat's reasoning, published in the NY Times, Confederate secession wasn't an insurrection either.
D.C. Circuit Seems Skeptical of Trump's Alarmingly Broad Presidential Immunity Claim
As one appeals court judge pointed out, Trump's defense could literally let a president get away with murder.
Bedlam in the Country
Plus: Migrant shelter stabbing, Hollywood doom, Cuban spies, and more...
Insurrection, Rebellion, and January 6: Rejoinder to Steve Calabresi [updated with brief further rejoinder]
"Insurrection" and "rebellion" should not be conflated. But the events of January 6 readily meet the criteria for both.
'I Relied on Others,' 'Documents Were Filed in the Wrong Place,' and Other Memorable Excuses
The year's highlights in blame shifting.
The Best of Reason: How Florida Fixed Its Vote-Counting Problem After the 2000 Election
Ballots should be counted quickly and accurately.
The D.C. Circuit Mulls Trump's Alarmingly Broad Claim of Presidential Immunity From Prosecution
His lawyers say no jury can ever consider charges based on his "official acts" as president, which include his efforts to reverse Joe Biden's election.
Was the Capitol Riot an 'Insurrection,' and Did Trump 'Engage in' It?
The Colorado Supreme Court's reasoning in deciding that Trump is constitutionally disqualified from running for president seems iffy.
Giuliani Never Puts Up, but He Never Shuts Up Either
The former Trump lawyer could have avoided a massive defamation verdict by presenting his "definitively clear" evidence of election fraud.
How Florida Fixed Its Vote-Counting Problem After the 2000 Election
Ballots should be counted quickly and accurately.
'Everything I Said About Them Is True,' Giuliani Insisted Days Before a Jury Debated His Defamation Debt
The former Trump campaign lawyer re-upped his false claims about two Georgia election workers in the middle of a trial aimed at determining the damages he owes them.
My New Bulwark Article on Trump and Section 3 of the 14th Amendment
The article makes the case for disqualification on moral and pragmatic grounds, as well as legal ones.
Trump Gag Order Raises Unsettled Constitutional Questions
A D.C. Circuit judge says the government’s defense of the order gives short shrift to "the First Amendment’s vigorous protection of political speech."
Colorado Court Rules Trump Engaged in Insurrection, but Cannot Be Disqualified Under Section Three Because the President is not an "Officer of the United States"
The court ruled against Trump on his strongest arguments, but accepted a weak one.
Why Is Trump Worried About What Mark Meadows Might Say in the Election Interference Cases?
The former White House chief of staff is one of several former Trump advisers who are cooperating with prosecutors.
Mike Johnson Is the Unlikely New Speaker of the House
Johnson is a relative newcomer to Congress who has never even chaired a committee, and he is a close ally of former President Donald Trump.
Trump's Stooges Flip
Plus: Greta Thunberg gets booted from Israeli schools, Spain gets even less serious about work, regulating skyline views, and more...
How Sidney Powell's Plea Deal Could Hurt Trump in the Georgia Racketeering Case
The election conspiracy theorist struck a deal that allows her to avoid prison by testifying for the prosecution.
The Georgia Case Against Trump Relies on a Dangerous Application of RICO Law
District Attorney Fani Willis’ preferred weapon wasn’t designed to be used this way.
Insurrectionists Who Think they are Upholding the Constitution are Still Insurrectionists—and Still Subject to Disqualification Under Section 3 the Fourteenth Amendment
If false beliefs about legality exempt people from Section 3 disqualification, leading Confederates would have been exempt as well.
MSNBC Debate with Michael McConnell on Trump and Disqualification Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment
The debate aired on the Mehdi Hasan show.
Why President Trump is an "Officer" who Can be Disqualified From Holding Public Office Under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment [Updated]
The opposing view is contrary to the original meaning, and leads to absurd conclusions.
Joint Trial of Sidney Powell and Kenneth Chesebro Illustrates the Fuzziness of Georgia's RICO Law
The two alleged racketeers complain that irrelevant evidence concerning distinct, uncoordinated conduct aimed at keeping Donald Trump in office will impair their defense.
With 22-Year Sentence, Ex-Proud Boys Leader Enrique Tarrio Pays Hefty 'Trial Penalty'
Plus: New York City's crackdown on short-term rentals, Brazil's UFO investigations, and more...
Do the Proud Boys Deserve To Be in Prison Forever?
Plus: A listener question concerning porn verification laws.
How Rudy Giuliani's Drinking Habits Could Hurt Trump's Defense
Special Counsel Jack Smith reportedly is keenly interested in whether the former New York mayor gave Trump legal advice while intoxicated.
GOP Debate Stuff We Didn't Hate
Plus: A listener question about the continued absurdity of sports stadium subsidies
Stop Publishing Mug Shots—Even Donald Trump's
Mug shots are not taken to humiliate a defendant before they've been convicted. But that's the purpose they widely serve now.
Tucker Carlson's Sycophantic Interview With Trump Illustrates the Advantages of Skipping the Debates
It's no mystery why the former president preferred a forum in which his record and positions would face no serious challenge.
Fani Willis Is Abusing Georgia's Terrible RICO Law
Trump and his acolytes' conduct was indefensible, but the state's RICO law is overly broad and makes it too easy for prosecutors to bring charges.
The Georgia Case Against Trump
Trump's Georgia indictment has much in common with the most recent federal case against him. But also breaks some new ground.
Trump's Georgia Indictment Raises Familiar Questions of Knowledge and Intent
The defendants will claim their alleged "racketeering activity" was a sincere effort to rectify election fraud.
Trump and 18 Others Charged With Election-Related Crimes in Georgia
Plus: The beauty of microschools, the futility of link taxes, and more...
Jack Goldsmith Responds to Critics on the Dangers of Prosecuting (or not Prosecuting) Trump for Trying to Overturn the 2020 Election
I was one of the critics he responded to, and in this post I offer a rejoinder.
Hunter Biden and Donald Trump Should Both Have Jury Trials
End the government’s plea-bargaining racket with open and adversarial jury trials.