Outside the Beltway

I’m not the only one confused on what to do about the allegations against President Trump’s nominee to replace Anthony Kennedy.

Several days after detailed sexual assault allegations against the Supreme Court nominee, I’m not fully sure what to believe.

Attorneys for Christine Blasey Ford want the F.B.I. to investigate the charges she has made against Judge Kavanaugh before she testifies, but it’s entirely unclear what such an investigation would accomplish.

After a day of political pressure, Senate Republicans have agreed to hold a hearing regarding the sexual assault allegations against Judge Brett Kavanaugh next week.

Cracks are beginning to show in the previously united Republican front on the Brett Kavanaugh confirmation notwithstanding what appear to be credible allegations of sexual assault.

A woman accusing Brett Kavanaugh of having assaulted her when he was 17 and she was 15 has come forward. What happens next is anyone’s guess.

The Twenty-Fifth Amendment has been in the news a lot lately, but what would it actually take to use it to remove a President from power?

The shooting of Botham Jean by off-duty Dallas Police Officer Amber Guyger earlier this month seems like a clear cut murder. So why is she only charged with manslaughter?

Another day, another plea agreement in the Mueller investigation. This one could prove to be problematic for the President.

Some last minute dramatics in the Kavanaugh nomination fight, but it seems unlikely to impact the outcome of the nomination fight.

With a new trial set to start in Washington at the end of the month, reports are circulating that President Trump’s former campaign manager is looking to cut a plea deal.

Several states are opening new investigations of the Catholic Church abuse scandal. It’s about time.

Kevin Drum makes an important point.

The nomination of Judge Brett Kavanaugh is, effectively, assured. Democrats should be careful about how much further they push their opposition.

A significant advance for LGBT rights in the world’s most populous democracy.

President Trump wants Jeff Sessions and the Justice Department to investigate the anonymous Op-Ed published earlier this week even though there doesn’t appear to have been a crime committed.

Former Trump campaign aide George Papadopoulos received a very generous sentence in return for his guilty plea.

After four days of hearings, the fate of Brett Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court seems assured.

A Federal Court has ruled that North Carolina can use its current Congressional District map for this year’s midterms notwithstanding a ruling that it is an impermissible gerrymander.

The second day of questioning for Judge Brett Kavanaugh was a bit rockier than the first, but nothing happened that seriously threatens his eventual confirmation.

Donald Trump is a bad, inept, and potentially dangerous President. That doesn’t mean that a ‘soft coup’ inside the White House is the answer to the problem he presents to our democratic republic.

British authorities have charged two members of Russian military intelligence in connection with a poisoning attack on British attack.

Day One of questions for Judge Brett Kavanaugh went about as you’d expect.

Donald Trump spent part of Labor Day engaged in yet another unhinged attack on his own Justice Department.

The first day of the Kavanaugh confirmation hearings was much ado about pretty much nothing, but then that can be used to describe a process whose outcome is pretty much foreordained.

Chicago won’t have Rahm Emanuel to kick around anymore.

An Oregon state agency is suggesting that Walmart’s decision to restrict arms sales to bar people under 21, but over 18, from being able to purchase firearms violates state law.

The confirmation hearings for Judge Brett Kavanaugh begin today, but the outcome seems foreordained.

The military regime in Myanmar has sentenced two reporters to prison for reporting on the repression of the Rohingya Muslims.

Author Sam Anderson puts forward a rather strange hypothesis in Politico.

A good excuse to consider reform.

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.