Outside the Beltway

A Federal Appeals Court has reversed a lower court ruling that struck down Texas’s Voter ID law as discriminatory against minority voters.

The tragedy of Bill Cosby lies not in the downfall of a man once known as “America’s Dad,” but in the fact that a man who was, in fact, a sexual predator was allowed to evade justice for far too long.

Republicans joined with Democrats to advance a bill to protect Special Counsel Robert Mueller, but it’s unlikely to go anywhere beyond that.

Marking the end of a long fall from grace, the man once known as “America’s Dad” has been found guilty on three counts of sexual assault.

Michael Cohen will invoke his rights under the Fifth Amendment in response to any questions asked in discovery in the civil suit filed against him by Stormy Daniels. That’s really the only option he has.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the challenge to President Trump’s Muslim Travel Ban. It didn’t appear to go well for the challengers.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument yesterday in a case alleging that Texas’s Congressional and state legislative districts were drawn with the intent to discriminate based on race.

The Trump Administration has suffered another setback in its efforts to repeal DACA.

Travis Reinking shot four people dead in Nashville over the weekend with a gun that he wasn’t supposed to have access to. Thanks to what seem to be loopholes in existing gun laws, he had one anyway.

Republicans are planning on pushing judicial nominees through the Senate in case they lose control in November. Meanwhile, the possibility of a Supreme Court vacancy raises the stakes.

Based on his recent behavior, it’s clear that the President is worried about how loyal Michael Cohen might actually turn out to be.

The Democratic National Committee has filed a lawsuit alleging a wide-ranging conspiracy to influence the 2016 election. As a legal document, it appears to be little more than a political stunt.

The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has struck down a Trump Administration Order that purported to punish so-called ‘sanctuary cities.’

Republicans on Capitol Hill and in positions of power are slavishly backing their President over their country. They should be ashamed.

Rudy Giuliani is joining President Trump’s legal team but it’s unclear what he actually brings to that team.

Former F.B.I, Director James Comey’s memos regarding his meeting with Donald Trump early in 2017 have been released, and they corroborate everything Comey has said about those conversations.

If we’re going to have a death penalty, he was its poster boy.

Former Playboy model Karen McDougal will be free to speak about her relationship with the President.

Unable to get his way with the legislature, New York’s governor is taking a provocative step.

The Supreme Court heard argument yesterday on the issue of whether online sellers can be required to collect sales taxes, and the status of the issue remains as confused as ever.

Sean Hannity was Michael Cohen’s “secret client,” but it’s not clear that should matter to anyone.

The parents of two of the victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre are suing Alex Jones for falsely accusing them of lying about the deaths of their children.

Membership has its privileges.

Get a will, people.

For intelligence and law enforcement to function, their leaders must remain outside the partisan fray—even in recent retirement.

A Federal Judge has struck down the revised version of the ban on transgender members of the military from serving openly, and the ruling has significance that goes well beyond the issue at hand.

Running for and being President of the United States has been very lucrative for the family business.

A Federal Judge in Texas has ruled that discrimination based on sexual orientation or gender identity is barred by Federal Law. Legally speaking, this is a tenuous argument at best.

Donald Trump could have more to worry about regarding the investigation of Michael Cohen than he does regarding the Mueller investigation.

Out of the blue, President Trump plans to pardon Dick Cheney’s former Chief of Staff, but the move seems to have more to do with James Comey than it does Scooter Libby.

A decryption device called GrayKey is being used by all manner of government agencies.

Stormy Daniels is talking to the Feds

Not surprisingly, a joint Senate Committee failed to really lay a glove on Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at yesterday’s hearing.

Late last week, Hawaii became the seventh state and eighth major American jurisdiction to legalize assisted suicide.

President Trump isn’t reacting well to the raid on his attorney’s office.

In a move apparently connected to the Stormy Daniels affair, Federal authorities have raided the office of longtime Trump attorney Michael Cohen.

Bill Cosby heads back to court for a retrial on the sexual assault allegations against him but it’s not going to be the same as the first.

Another Federal Court loss for gun rights activists challenging state laws banning “assault weapons.”

Donald Trump broke his silence on Stormy Daniels. That was a bad idea.

A woman who was fired after a photograph of her giving the middle finger to President Trump’s motorcade went viral is suing her former employer. She doesn’t have much of a case.

The FBI committed gross malfeasance in building a case against the widow of Omar Mateen. She nonetheless bears significant blame for 53 deaths.

Robert Mueller is telling the President’s lawyers that Trump is a “subject” of his investigation, but not a “target,” that’s not as significant a distinction as it may seem to be.

The woman who wounded three people at the video company before killing herself posted insane rants all over social media.

New York and nearly two dozen other jurisdictions have filed a lawsuit seeking to bar the Trump Administration from asking about citizenship in the 2020 Census.

He cooperated with the FBI. He was arrested by ICE.

A Federal Judge In New York City is allowing a lawsuit against the President’s DACA order to go forward, and he based part of his ruling on the President’s own rhetoric.

Stephon Clark died after being shot eight times in the back and side by police in Sacramento. So far, the authorities haven’t acted.

A Federal Judge is allowing a lawsuit alleging that President Trump is improperly benefiting from business being done at the hotel in Washington, D.C. bearing his name to go forward.

The Supreme Court heard oral argument in the second partisan gerrymandering case of the term, and once again they appear to be divided.

John Dowd allegedly raised the possibility while the Mueller investigation was closing in on the two presidential advisors.