NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE A ndrew Cuomo forced vaccine doses to be thrown away. It can’t be stated often enough or loudly enough: After the miraculous and heroic efforts of great pharmaceutical companies to develop vaccines before the first American had even been infected, and after the usual testing and regulatory hurdles consumed nearly eleven months,

Democratic vice-presidential nominee Kamala Harris and Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden greet supporters at an election rally, after news media announced that Biden has won the 2020 presidential election, in Wilmington, Del., November 7, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/Reuters) Behold the hilarious enthusiasm among the nation’s biggest media outlets to hurl themselves at the feet of power

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos speaks at the United States Conference of Mayors winter meeting in Washington, D.C., January 24, 2019. (Yuri Gripas/Reuters) The reaction to DeVos’s resignation underscores how her critics have taken a torch to the basic standards of public discourse and democratic civility. Last Wednesday, President Trump incited a mob to assault the

Trump loyalists gather at the U.S. Capitol on the fateful day of January 6, 2021. (Jim Bourg / Reuters) There have always been coat-and-tie Marxists, who would never get their hands dirty — who would never smash heads themselves — but who encourage it in others, to one degree or another. Obviously, there are such

Acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf at the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee during his confirmation hearing on Capitol Hill, September 23, 2020. (Greg Nash/Pool via Reuters) Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf resigned on Monday, making him the third Cabinet-level official to quit the Trump administration since the violence at the

NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE A s I wrote last Thursday, Donald Trump should be held morally and politically responsible for the riot that interrupted Congress from counting the electoral votes as mandated by the Constitution and forced his own vice president and members of Congress to flee for their lives. True, the rioters are also responsible

Members of the National Guard arrive to the Capitol days after it was stormed by supporters of President Trump in Washington, D.C., January 11, 2021. (Erin Scott/Reuters) The National Guard said Monday that it will increase the number of troops in Washington, D.C. to at least 10,000 by Saturday ahead of President-elect Joe Biden’s inauguration

New England Patriots head coach Bill Belichick after the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio, December 15, 2019. (Joe Maiorana-USA TODAY Sports) At least as of this writing, President Trump is scheduled to give the Presidential Medal of Freedom to New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick Thursday. The event

Healthcare workers prepare Pfizer coronavirus vaccinations in Los Angeles, Calif., January 7, 2021. (Lucy Nicholson/Reuters) While government struggled mightily to steer us through the coronavirus pandemic, the free market got to work. Popular culture most often portrays businessmen and the corporations they head as greedy and ruthless. A lightly regulated free market and the profit

This is not the most important observation that one might make after what happened last week, but it’s one that stands out to me: A lot of people seem very keen on litigating whether the attack on the Capitol was worse than last summer’s rioting. That says something depressing about political polarization in this country.

I generally try to confine my Bench Memos posts to judicial topics, but in light of the severe gravity of the Capitol attack I think it important to make an exception here and to restate positions that I have vigorously stated on Twitter. Briefly put: 1. The MAGA attack on the Capitol was an outrage

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., Ga.) indicated that the House may not send articles of impeachment against President Trump to the Senate during the first 100 days of Joe Biden’s presidency, in an interview on CNN. Congressional Democrats have called for removing Trump from office after the

Senator Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) walks from Senate Republican weekly policy luncheon on Capitol Hill in Washington, March 6, 2018. (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) Senator Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) said on Sunday that President Trump could face “criminal liability” after inciting a mob of supporters to head to the Capitol while Congress was in the process of

(Jason Reed/Reuters) 2006—Less than eight years out of law school, Berkeley law professor Goodwin Liu submits his written testimony to the Senate Judiciary Committee opposing the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito. Liu concludes his testimony with this demagogic rant: Judge Alito’s record envisions an America where police may shoot and kill an unarmed

NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE O n August 7, 1974, a trio of Capitol Hill’s Republican eminences, led by Senator Barry Goldwater, called on a beleaguered President Richard Nixon at the Old Executive Office Building on the White House flank. The Watergate scandal was in its end stages. Consequently, the meeting was not about presidential decorum, evidence

A pregnant woman receives an ultrasound. (Carlos Barria/Reuters) 1979—In Colautti v. Franklin, the Supreme Court rules unconstitutional, by a vote of 6 to 3, a Pennsylvania statute that requires that if an abortionist determines that a human fetus “is viable” or “if there is sufficient reason to believe that the fetus may be viable,” the

California governor Gavin Newsom waits to speak at a news conference in San Diego, Calif., October 9, 2019. (Mike Blake/Reuters) The latest effort to recall California governor Gavin Newsom has gained more than 1 million signatures, with nine weeks left to collect the additional 500,000 that would enable the measure to be placed on the

House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D-SC) (Joshua Roberts/Reuters) House Majority Whip James Clyburn (D., S.C.) on Friday called for an investigation into how rioters who stormed the U.S. Capitol earlier this week knew where to find his office. In an interview with SiriusXM Radio’s Joe Madison, Clyburn said that he had never before seen such

Jamaal Bowman speaks at a watch party in Yonkers, New York, June 23, 2020. (Lucas Jackson/Reuters) Representative Jamaal Bowman (D., N.Y.) celebrated the news that Twitter had permanently suspended President Trump’s account on Friday by posting video footage of a U.S. official announcing the detention of former dictator Saddam Hussein during the Iraq War.  Bowman

Protesters tear down a barricade as they clash with Capitol police at the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021. (Shannon Stapleton/Reuters) The Federal Bureau of Investigation said Friday that there was “no indication” that members of Antifa had gone undercover as pro-Trump supporters to spark chaos during Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol

My understanding is that, since the Senate is in recess, it would take unanimous consent for the Senate to start a trial before January 20. Assuming the House moves ahead with impeachment, Chuck Schumer might try to get unanimous consent at a scheduled Senate pro forma session next Thursday, but if so, a Republican will

The U.S. Supreme Court granted certiorari late Friday to hear Americans for Prosperity Foundation v. Becerra and its companion case, Thomas More Law Center v. Becerra. The two cases challenge significant First Amendment violations against conservative nonprofits by the California attorney general’s office, violations which started under Jerry Brown and flourished under his successors, Kamala

Jacob Angeli Chansley says he traveled to Washington, D.C., this week to oppose tyranny. He went, he said, to protest governments that have shuttered businesses during the pandemic, told citizens to avoid their own family members, and mandated that people wear masks. He went to oppose the recent coronavirus stimulus package and omnibus spending bill

Rep. Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas) questions witnesses during committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., September 17, 2020. (Chip Somodevilla/Reuters) Representative Dan Crenshaw (R., Texas) on Thursday criticized fellow Republicans for “lying to millions” of people about the significance of Wednesday’s electoral vote count, which was delayed for hours after Trump supporters stormed the

Police officers stand guard as supporters of President Donald Trump gather in front of the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., January 6, 2021. (Leah Millis/Reuters) A Capitol police officer died on Thursday after he was reportedly hit in the head with a fire extinguisher while confronting a pro-Trump mob that stormed Congress during the Electoral

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos participates in a meeting at the White House in Washington, D.C., June 26, 2020. (Tom Brenner/Reuters) Education Secretary Betsy DeVos resigned from the Trump administration Thursday night, a day after pro-Trump protesters descended on the Capitol, breaking through security barriers and forcing lawmakers to evacuate the Senate floor. DeVos is the

As for the chief instigator, the president of the United States, he should be removed from office by the 25th Amendment or impeachment, whichever is faster. This, with only a week and a half to go, would be a most extraordinary action, but this has been an extraordinary time. Mike Pence is a normal American

As I’ve mentioned previously, Lisa Montgomery brutally murdered a pregnant Bobbie Jo Stinnett and stole her daughter (the baby amazingly survived and is 16). Lisa Montgomery was severely mentally ill and was abused her entire life in multiple diabolical ways. Her lawyers are asking for the president to commute her sentence to life in prison

NRPLUS MEMBER ARTICLE A t about half past midnight, as senators walked back from the House to the Senate to vote on Missouri senator Josh Hawley’s objection to the certification of Pennsylvania’s Electoral College votes, Lisa Murkowski (R., Alaska.) stopped and talked about the day’s events. “You could hear the sounds. You can hear it

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.y.) stands with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R., Ky.) as they attend the Electoral College vote certification in Washington, U.S., January 6, 2021. (Kevin Dietsch/Reuters) Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D., N.Y.) called for President Trump’s removal on Thursday, saying that “this president should not hold office one