Outside the Beltway

A Federal Judge in Texas has declined to grant a request to bring the DACA program to an end, but its days appear to be numbered unless Congress acts.

Alex Jones lost a bid to dismiss a lawsuit filed by families of children killed in the Sandy Hook massacre.

California is taking a major step in Criminal Justice reform by eliminating cash bail.

The West Virginia Supreme Court has ruled that a candidate who lost the GOP primary for Senate cannot run as the nominee of another party due to the state’s “sore loser” law.

For the second time this year, a three-judge panel of Federal Judges has struck down North Carolina’s Congressional District map. The immediate question is what impact, if any, this will have on November’s election.

President Trump’s much-hyped replacement for NAFTA doesn’t really amount to much and won’t amount to anything unless he can get Canada, and the U.S. Congress, on board.

A top Vatican official is alleging that Pope Francis and Pope Benedict XVI were both aware of previously unknown allegations of sexual abuse and chose to allow them to be covered up rather than bringing them to light.

Recently indicted Congressman Duncan Hunter Jr. is blaming his apparently estranged wife and the so-called “Deep State” for the fact that he’s charged with embezzling a quarter million dollars from his campaign.

Tom Nichols argues it should. I disagree.

No matter how long Donald Trump remains in office, August 21, 2018 will be the day that everything changed.

Judge Brett Kavanaugh reportedly told Senator Susan Collins that he considers Roe v. Wade
“settled law.” This will likely be enough to get her support and that of another holdout Republican Senator.

California Republican Duncan Hunter Jr, who was an early backer of President Trump’s campaign, has been indicted on charges he used massive amounts of campaign funds to pay for personal expenses.

It’s not obvious that two more felons in the Trump inner circle will have any immediate impact.

Robert Mueller and his legal team get their first victories in court.

The President’s former lawyer and “fixer” is pleading guilty to a number of charges, including apparent campaign finance law violations related to the Stormy Daniels payment.

The latest reports about the circumstances surrounding the payoff to Stormy Daniels could pose big problems for Michael Cohen and his client.

Once again, the President has thrown the Rule of Law under the bus.

The Virginia case against Paul Manafort went to the jury on Thursday, and now everyone waits for their verdict.

Another step forward in the seemingly unstoppable movement toward nationwide legalization.

In what appears to be a move based purely on vindictiveness, President Trump has revoked the security clearance of former CIA Director John Brennan.

A Pennsylvania Grand Jury report reveals decades of abuse by some 300 Catholic Priests impacting more than 1,000 children and 26 of the state’s Roman Catholic Diocese.

A group of lawsuits filed across the country are seeking to challenge the predominant method for allocation of Electoral College votes. These lawsuits appear to have little merit.

A Florida man who shot and killed an African-American male amid a parking lot confrontation will face manslaughter charges after all.

White supremacists held a rally in Washington on Sunday, and almost no one but their opponents and the police showed up.

Just days after being indicted on insider trading charges, New York Congressman Chris Collins is suspending his campaign for re-election.

Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination appears to be on track for confirmation before the new Supreme Court term begins in October.

Another Federal Judge has ruled in favor of a transgender student seeking the right to use the gender that conforms to the gender they identify with.

Andy Bitter has taken a new job but his former employer thinks it owns his social media account.

Facebook, Google, and several other companies have closed down accounts associated with conspiracy theorist Alex Jones.

Another Federal Judge has dealt a legal blow to President Trump’s effort to shut down the DACA program.

The noose around the Trump Administration just keeps getting tighter.

Next week, some of the same groups that rallied in Charlottesville last year will be gathering in Washington, D.C. and the D.C. Metro is considering a transportation plan that is causing controversy.

A Federal Appeals Court has found that a Trump Administration policy purporting to punish so-called sanctuary cities is unconstitutional.

In what amounts to a significant, albeit not surprising, change in Catholic doctrine, Pope Francis has declared that the death penalty is unacceptable in all circumstances.

President Trump says he wants to talk to Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but his own lawyers clearly don’t trust him enough to allow that to go forward.

A Federal Judge in Washington State has, at least temporarily, blocked the release of files that would allow anyone to make a 3-D printed gun. The First Amendment seems to clearly indicate that this ruling is wrong.

A Federal Judge in Oregon has rejected an efforts by a parent’s group to block a school district policy that allows transgender students to use the restroom facilities that conform to their gender identity.

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg says she’d like to stay on the Court at least until she turns 90, but it’s unlikely she’ll go anywhere voluntarily as long as Donald Trump is President.

Senate Democrats appear to be recognizing that there’s basically nothing they can do to stop the confirmation of Judge Brett Kavanaugh to the Supreme Court.

A Federal Judge in Maryland ruled last week that a lawsuit against the President based on a rather obscure provision of the Constitution could go forward.

One of the most prominent members of the American Catholic hierarchy has been removed from office in the face of mounting allegations of sexual abuse that stretch back decades.

Special Counsel Robert Mueller is reportedly looking at the President’s Twitter feed as part of his ongoing investigation.

Former Trump lawyer and “fixer” Michael Cohen is reportedly ready to tell investigators that the President is lying about his knowledge regarding the June 2016 meeting at Trump Tower between Trump campaign officials and a Russian lawyer.

A three-judge panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals struck down part of a Hawaii law barring open carry of weapons, but this win for gun rights advocates may turn out to be short-lived.

A new recording of a conversation between Donald Trump and his one-time attorney/”fixer” Michael Cohen appears to put the President in a more difficult position than he has already been in.

A fourth poll in less than a month shows that most Americans support keeping the rights protected in Roe v. Wade alive.

New York and several other states have filed an incredibly dubious lawsuit against the Republican’s new tax law.

Donald Trump’s longtime attorney and “fixer” Michael Cohen apparently recorded a conversation where the two men discussed paying off a Playboy model who claims she had an affair with him.

An initiative that would have purported to split California into three separate states has been barred by the California Supreme Court from appearing on the November ballot.