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Judicial activist, Leonard Leo, directed fees to Clarence Thomas’s wife, urged ‘no mention of Ginni’

Judicial activist, Leonard Leo, directed fees to Clarence Thomas’s wife, urged ‘no mention of Ginni’

The Washington Post reports: Conservative judicial activist Leonard Leo arranged for the wife of Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas to be paid tens of thousands of dollars for consulting work just over a decade ago, specifying that her name be left off billing paperwork, according to documents reviewed by The Washington Post. In January 2012, Leo instructed the GOP pollster Kellyanne Conway to bill a nonprofit group he advises and use that money to pay Virginia “Ginni” Thomas, the documents…

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America’s lowest standard for its highest office

America’s lowest standard for its highest office

Charles Sykes writes: In one of his rare moments of naivete, Alexander Hamilton imagined that the Electoral College would afford “a moral certainty” that the office of the presidency would not “fall to the lot of any man, who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.” He hoped that the electors would be a bulwark against men who had a talent “for low intrigue and the little arts of popularity.” “It will not be too strong…

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Trump 2024: Bring back the ‘Muslim ban’ — and expand it

Trump 2024: Bring back the ‘Muslim ban’ — and expand it

Rolling Stone reports: Donald Trump for months has been telling people close to him that he plans to bring back his infamous “Muslim ban” if he’s reelected in 2024, according to two sources with direct knowledge of the matter. “Gotta bring it back,” Trump has said of the policy, according to the two sources, who added he regularly calls the idea “beautiful.” Banning Muslims from entering the United States is a longstanding obsession of Trump’s. In December 2015, during the…

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At least eight Trump electors have accepted immunity in Georgia investigation

At least eight Trump electors have accepted immunity in Georgia investigation

The Wall Street Journal reports: Special counsel Jack Smith is racing through a roster of interviews in his wide-ranging investigations related to former President Donald Trump, including with former Vice President Mike Pence and other top aides, as he contemplates filing charges, according to people familiar with the matter. The steps prosecutors are taking, the people say, suggest Mr. Smith is in the late stages of his inquiry into Mr. Trump’s efforts to remain in power after the 2020 election….

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How Rep. James Clyburn protected his district at a cost to Black Democrats

How Rep. James Clyburn protected his district at a cost to Black Democrats

ProPublica reports: The meeting was arranged in secret. On Nov. 19, 2021, the chief of staff for South Carolina’s Senate Judiciary Committee texted Dalton Tresvant, a key aide to Rep. Jim Clyburn, the state’s most powerful Democrat. “Hey Dalton – Andy Fiffick here,” he said. “We wrapped up some morning things quicker than we thought, so if you want/can come earlier than 1:30 we’re available.” The state legislature had begun the crucial task of redrawing voting district lines after the…

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Kremlin cronies compare alleged drone attack to 9/11

Kremlin cronies compare alleged drone attack to 9/11

Julia Davis writes: Russian officials and state media breathlessly proclaimed that Ukraine launched an alleged drone strike on the Kremlin in an attempt to assassinate Russian President Vladimir Putin, who wasn’t even there. Anticipating that this incident will be perceived as Moscow’s false flag operation, the head of state-owned news channel RT, Margarita Simonyan, tweeted a short thread asserting that Russia would have done it more skillfully. She concluded, “No, it wasn’t us. Unfortunately.” Simonyan’s suspicions that Russia would be accused of staging the…

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Russians seem very interested in my book about how dictatorships end

Russians seem very interested in my book about how dictatorships end

Alexander Baunov writes: It’s a little embarrassing. Normally, I write about various aspects of Russian politics — the basis of Vladimir Putin’s support, the Kremlin’s media strategy, Russia’s foreign policy. Now, to my surprise, I’m writing about something else: my own book. Three years in the making, the book came out at the end of January and quickly became a best seller across Russia. The first print run disappeared almost immediately, and since then, there have been three more. While…

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Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse speaks on the necessity for Supreme Court ethics reform

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse speaks on the necessity for Supreme Court ethics reform

  Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), in his capacity as Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Federal Courts, Oversight, Agency Action, and Federal Rights, co-led a hearing of the full Judiciary Committee entitled, “Supreme Court Ethics Reform.” The hearing explored the recent torrent of media reports detailing unethical conduct by Justices of the Supreme Court and legislative solutions to improve ethics, accountability, and transparency at the highest Court. Whitehouse’s Supreme Court Ethics, Recusal, and Transparency (SCERT) Act would require the…

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Clarence Thomas had a child in private school. Harlan Crow paid the tuition

Clarence Thomas had a child in private school. Harlan Crow paid the tuition

ProPublica reports: In 2008, Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas decided to send his teenage grandnephew to Hidden Lake Academy, a private boarding school in the foothills of northern Georgia. The boy, Mark Martin, was far from home. For the previous decade, he had lived with the justice and his wife in the suburbs of Washington, D.C. Thomas had taken legal custody of Martin when he was 6 years old and had recently told an interviewer he was “raising him as…

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In deposition played in court, Trump says stars often sexually assault women ‘unfortunately or fortunately’

In deposition played in court, Trump says stars often sexually assault women ‘unfortunately or fortunately’

Politico reports: In the deposition, conducted at Mar-a-Lago in October, [E. Jean Carroll’s attorney, Roberta] Kaplan asked Trump about the “Access Hollywood” tape, a recording from 2005 in which Trump can be heard saying, “When you’re a star, they let you do it. You can do anything,” adding: “Grab them by the pussy. You can do anything.” “Well, historically that’s true with stars,” Trump replied after watching a clip of his comments. When Kaplan pressed him on whether he stood…

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The GOP megadonors with buyer’s remorse

The GOP megadonors with buyer’s remorse

Charlie Sykes writes: Peter Thiel is (allegedly) having second thoughts. The billionaire, right-wing megadonor reportedly has decided that he’s done bankrolling political candidates because Republicans are too focused on fighting cultural battles over abortion and transgender rights. If true, he’s not alone. Billionaire GOP donor Thomas Peterffy similarly told the Financial Times in April that he had qualms about Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ relentless crusade against abortion, drag queens and “woke” books. “I have put myself on hold,” he said. “Myself, and a bunch of friends, are holding our…

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‘Nothing with Russia is as it seems’

‘Nothing with Russia is as it seems’

“Nothing with Russia is as it seems,” warns fmr. NATO deputy commander @RichardShirreff about the apparent drone strikes on the Kremlin. “Of course Russia would like to portray it is an attack on President Putin… it’s a way of causing division between” Ukraine and its allies. pic.twitter.com/uEQY0qo8iW — Christiane Amanpour (@amanpour) May 3, 2023 On Vladimir Solovyov's show, Biden was blamed for an alleged Kremlin drone attack, which is being used to justify pulling out of the grain deal, reneging…

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E. Jean Carroll’s quest for justice and the carnage of Donald Trump’s misogyny

E. Jean Carroll’s quest for justice and the carnage of Donald Trump’s misogyny

Molly Jong-Fast writes: Last week, my friend, 79-year-old writer E. Jean Carroll, began testifying in her civil case against the 45th president of the United States, Donald Trump. She was able to bring these accusations of rape to court because of a new New York state law, the Adult Survivors Act, which gave Carroll a yearlong window to sue despite her case being out of the statute of limitations. Governor Kathy Hochul signed the law in 2022; it’s hard to…

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Federal Trade Commission chair: We must regulate AI. Here’s how

Federal Trade Commission chair: We must regulate AI. Here’s how

Lina M. Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission, writes: It’s both exciting and unsettling to have a realistic conversation with a computer. Thanks to the rapid advance of generative artificial intelligence, many of us have now experienced this potentially revolutionary technology with vast implications for how people live, work and communicate around the world. The full extent of generative A.I.’s potential is still up for debate, but there’s little doubt it will be highly disruptive. The last time we found ourselves…

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Carlson’s text that alarmed Fox leaders: ‘It’s not how white men fight’

Carlson’s text that alarmed Fox leaders: ‘It’s not how white men fight’

The New York Times reports: A text message sent by Tucker Carlson that set off a panic at the highest levels of Fox on the eve of its billion-dollar defamation trial showed its most popular host sharing his private, inflammatory views about violence and race. The discovery of the message contributed to a chain of events that ultimately led to Mr. Carlson’s firing. In the message, sent to one of his producers in the hours after violent Trump supporters stormed…

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New documents show how Sandra Day O’Connor helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election

New documents show how Sandra Day O’Connor helped George W. Bush win the 2000 election

CNN reports: Justice Sandra Day O’Connor provided the early framework that steered the outcome in the dispute over the 2000 presidential election and ensured George W. Bush would win the White House over Al Gore, Supreme Court documents released on Tuesday show. Memos found in the newly opened files of the late Justice John Paul Stevens offer a first-ever view of the behind-the-scenes negotiations on Bush v. Gore at the court. They also demonstrate the tension among the nine justices…

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