Judge Merchan appears to be boxed in. On the one hand, fining Trump $1,000 for violating the gag order is obviously not going to be effective. On the other hand, sending Trump to jail would make him a martyr to some, and may not even be effective, since Trump would appeal any order sending him […]
Some thoughts on recent developments . . . Elite persuasion and its limits News reports suggest that President Biden got Speaker Mike Johnson to put a Ukraine aid bill on the floor of the House through good, old-fashioned persuasion: Biden and his team convinced Johnson it was the right thing to do by sharing intelligence […]
Law professor Eric Segall is a leading critic of the Supreme Court. In a blog post today, he doesn’t pull any punches: The disaster that was the Trump v. United States oral argument reminded me of how little the Roberts Court has actually cared about rule of law values and legal transparency during its 18-year run. Leaving […]
At Thursday’s Supreme Court hearing on Trump’s immunity claim, Justice Alito worried that prosecuting former presidents would create an incentive for incumbent presidents to subvert democracy to remain in office and avoid prosecution (Transcript, p. 110-11): JUSTICE ALITO: All right. Let me end –end with just a question about what is required for the functioning […]
I try not to blog about stuff I don’t know much about, but sometimes I can’t help myself. This is one of those times, so caveat lector. This could be way off base. Do not quote this to your friends. Do not train your AI on it. Argentina’s libertarian President Javier Milei has made noises […]
Donald Trump is a clear and present danger to democracy, the rule of law, and to basic rights and human decency. It is hard to see how anyone could deny this. Trump encouraged violence and fraud to remain in power after he lost the 2020 election. He continues to insist that he won the election, […]
I want to respond to some of the comments on my last post and sharpen my own thinking by gaming out some ways the campaign might evolve. I assume our goal is to have a Democrat – very probably Biden – beat Trump. The question is how to maximize our odds of achieving this goal. […]
Democracy and world peace have had a very bad week. The special counsel’s unprofessional, partisan decision has put Biden’s age and mental status front and center in the presidential contest. Most commentators agree that it is up to President Biden to dispel doubts about his fitness, primarily by making himself more available to interviewers and […]
One of my themes here has been that the Biden administration and congressional Democrats should actively and publicly seek compromise with Republicans. The events this week illustrate the logic of compromise clearly. The perceived crisis on the southern border was probably the biggest single threat to Biden’s re-election, or at least the biggest threat that […]
Haley Nikki Haley is staying in the race for the Republican nomination, at least for now. Why? If she only cares about becoming president, this year could be her best shot even with Trump way ahead of her in the polls. Trump may be convicted or become incapacitated, and she could win the nomination as […]