Section: New Republic (USA)
Trump Conscripts the DOJ Into His Reelection Campaign
Four federal prosecutors quit the case against President Donald Trump’s dirty-trickster ally Roger Stone on Tuesday afternoon, after the Justice Department intervened in Stone’s favor by recommending a reduced sentence, per the president’s wishes. The seismic blow to the department’s tradition of independence was somewhat...
Trump Conscripts the DOJ Into His Re-Election Campaign
Four federal prosecutors quit the case against President Donald Trump’s dirty-trickster ally Roger Stone on Tuesday afternoon after the Justice Department intervened in Stone’s favor by recommending a reduced sentence per the president’s wishes. The seismic blow to the department’s tradition of independence was somewhat...
Is the CIA’s Director Going Full MAGA?
When President Trump called in his State of the Union address for legislation that would allow crime victims to sue sanctuary cities for offenses committed by undocumented immigrants, CIA Director Gina Haspel rose to her feet, clapping. It was an unusual display of partisan spirit for the nation’s top intelligence officer, especially as it...
Trump’s Conquest of the Department of Justice is Complete
“You know, the saddest thing is that because I’m the president of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department,” President Donald Trump said in a radio interview in November 2017. “I am not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things that I would love to be...
The Empire Strikes Back
One day after the Senate acquitted him in 1999, Bill Clinton spoke from the White House about the grueling impeachment battle. It had been a bitter ordeal. He had lied to the country and broken the law. Congress defied the American people’s wishes to try to remove him from office. The House saw fit to impeach him; the Senate could not...
The Senate Has Convicted Itself
There was never much hope that Republican senators would vote in large enough numbers to remove President Donald Trump from office this week. So in his closing statement on Monday, California Representative Adam Schiff set his sights a little lower. “Every single vote, even a single vote by a single member, can change the course of history,” he...
The U.S. Senate Embraces Trumpian Nihilism
A question came up during the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump this week: What matters? To Alan Dershowitz, the answer was power. The Harvard University law professor emeritus argued on Wednesday night that Trump’s actions don’t actually matter as long as the president believes he did them for the right...
The Senate Embraces Nihilism
A question came up during the Senate’s impeachment trial of President Donald Trump this week: What matters? To Alan Dershowitz, the answer was power. The Harvard University law professor emeritus argued on Wednesday night that Trump’s actions don’t actually matter as long as the president believes he did them for the right...
Alan Dershowitz to Senators: L’Etat, C’est Trump
For the Senate’s first day of questioning on Wednesday, President Donald Trump’s legal team tapped Patrick Philbin to answer most of the questions. Philbin, a deputy White House counsel, largely gave concise and sober answers to the senators’ queries. It was a refreshing change from the likes of Jay Sekulow, who addresses the...
The Impeachment Trial Isn’t a Legal Process. It’s a Proxy War.
The impeachment trial of President Trump has been short on drama. The rules which govern the proceedings effectively preclude it—senators observing the trial sit testily, but quietly, through presentations from either side and submit their questions in writing directly to Chief Justice John Roberts. It’s been left to the two legal teams in...
