Can the President Legally Break the Law?
"When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." — Richard M. Nixon (1913-94) Legal scholars have been fascinated for two centuries about whether an American president…
"When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." — Richard M. Nixon (1913-94)
Legal scholars have been fascinated for two centuries about whether an American president can break the law and remain immune from prosecution. During the Civil War, Abraham Lincoln ordered troops to arrest, without warrant, and incarcerate, without due process, many peaceful, law-abiding journalists and newspaper editors — and even a member of Congress — in the Northern states. Wasn't that kidnapping?
During World War I, Woodrow Wilson ordered federal agents to arrest people who sang German beer. . .
"When the president does it, that means that it is not illegal." — Richard M. Nixon (1913-94) Legal scholars have been fascinated for two centuries about whether an American president…
"Emergency does not create power. Emergency does not increase granted power or remove or diminish the restrictions imposed upon power granted or reserved. The Constitution was adopted in a period…
In an ideal world, the president of the United States would succeed in negotiating a nuclear arms treaty with a foreign government — and do so with full congressional support;…
Earlier this week, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told a group of supporters and journalists that in her view, gun violence is the real emergency. Such a statement, in the context…
Last week, President Donald Trump followed through on a threat he had been making for months. It was not a blistering or insulting tweet. It was not an attack on…
While the public discourse has been consumed over the realization that abortion physicians actually let viable babies who survive late-term abortions die — as well as whether President Donald Trump…
Much has been made lately of language in a recently enacted New York state statute that permits abortion up to the time of birth if necessary to preserve the life…
Last Friday, on a quiet residential street at 6 in the morning, the neighborhood exploded in light, noise and terror. Seventeen SUVs and two armored vehicles arrived in front of…
Last week, the investigative arm of BuzzFeed sparked a media frenzy with a report claiming that two federal law enforcement sources had informed its reporters that Michael Cohen, President Donald…
Last weekend, The New York Times reported that senior FBI officials were so concerned about whatever President Donald Trump's true motivation for firing FBI Director James Comey was that they…