Recent Justice Commentaries

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The United States vs. Donald Trump
If Attorney General Merrick Garland is looking for grounds for bringing criminal charges against Donald Trump and his allies in their attempts to overthrow the 2020 presidential election, he should begin with Tuesday’s compelling testimony from Wandrea “Shaye” Moss, a former local elections worker in Fulton County, Georgia, and end with the shocking statement Trump made to former Acting Deputy...
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June 24, 2022
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How Frighteningly Close We Came on January 6
Tonight, at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time, the House select committee investigating the January 6 attack on the Capitol will present its case to the public. Over the next few days, the presentation will lay out a timeline of events before and after the attack took place using testimony by many with direct knowledge of events. A New York Times story...
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June 9, 2022
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Caesar’s Wife
When Julius Caesar learned that Publius Clodius—a rakish ladies’ man who held great affection for Caesar’s wife, Pompeia—snuck into Caesar’s house and allegedly canoodled with his wife, Caesar divorced Pompeia. According to the historian Suetonius, when asked about his decision, Caesar answered “My wife should be as much free from suspicion of a crime as she is from a crime...
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March 29, 2022
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Hard to Ignore
It’s hard to ignore what’s happening in Ukraine. What’s more frightening: what would happen if Donald Trump were still president? “This is genius,” Trump said, recently. “Putin declares a big portion of the Ukraine — of Ukraine. Putin declares it as independent… I said, ‘How smart is that?’ “And he’s gonna go in and be a peacekeeper. That’s strongest peace...
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March 4, 2022
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The Way Forward, Conclusion: Where We Need to Be
Moral courage is a rare commodity, rarer still today. Those who stand up—frequently alone—to shine a light on corruption, deceit, and discrimination at the risk of their reputations and livelihoods are worthy of admiration. Republican representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, singer-songwriters Joni Mitchell and Neil Young, football coach Brian Flores—all have gone it alone in standing against reprehensible behavior,...
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February 4, 2022
Will We?
“I’m suggesting, Mr. President, that there’s a military plot to take over the government.” —Seven Days in May “People have got to understand the danger of President Trump and the danger that he posed on that day.” —Wyoming Republican congresswoman Liz Cheney Embed from Getty Images After the Cuban Missile Crisis, where America came within inches of a nuclear war...
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January 7, 2022
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…And Justice for All?
Why has Missouri Attorney General Attorney Eric Schmitt declined to release Lamar Johnson despite “overwhelming evidence of innocence”? Why has Kevin Strickland remained behind bars even though “the real killers pleaded guilty, and have already served their time for the murders”? Why has Missouri Governor Mike Parson declined to pardon either man? In an episode of the CBS news show,...
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July 19, 2021
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Heroes are in Short Supply
“If it’s naïve to want peace instead of war, let ‘em make sure they say, I’m naïve. Because I want peace instead of war.” — Benjamin Ferencz Right now, I can’t think of a more important time in the country and the world where we need heroes , ethical heroes, men and women of principle. Ben Ferencz is one of...
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June 30, 2021
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This is Where We Are
This is what irresponsibility looks like, where dishonesty thrives and “loyalty” trumps rationality. This isn’t a close call. This isn’t, well, you know, it might have been this, or maybe that. No. The January 6 attack on the Capitol building by fervent Trump supporters and armed extreme right insurrectionists is not opinion. It’s fact. Many of those who didn’t see...
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June 28, 2021
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The Storm After the Storming
The assault on Capitol Hill yesterday that the entire world witnessed was nothing less than a 9/11-like domestic insurgency willfully initiated by a president whose words of derision and division lit the match of anarchy akin to the Civil War. American history has endured irrational demagogues before – Joseph R. McCarthy, George Wallace. Now, we are experiencing the diseased, unhinged-from-reality...
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January 8, 2021

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The Latest... And Often Greatest
The Purpose and Course of Our Lives
About once a year, the American Film Institute invites filmgoers to vote on the greatest heroes in cinema. Indiana Jones, James Bond, and Superman typically...
Two Greeks Walk into an A.I. Bar . . .
They spot Donald Trump holding court. Curious, they approach and begin a conversation. Socrates: Tell me, sir, what is the nature of leadership? Is it...
Dispatches From the Front
Let me get this straight: … the Senate will vote to approve a woman with ties to authoritarian leaders, a man who has pushed vaccine...
Godfather, Part Now
“I don’t feel I have to wipe everyone out, Tom, just my enemies.”—Michael Corleone, The Godfather Note: I must pause my earlier commentary suggesting how...
The Political System Explained (from the opening of my doctoral thesis)
(Note: this is a rough draft and still undergoing revisions.) Welcome, esteemed colleagues, to a comprehensive exploration of one of the most perplexing and confounding...
Something Like a War
I’ve been revisiting Ken Burns’ series on the history of baseball, and it sparked some interesting comparisons to a subject that headlines the news daily....