Outside the Beltway

The Saudis tortured an American citizen, but the Trump Administration doesn’t care.

For the second time in a week, reports indicate that the President intervened to get a family member a security clearance.

It turns out there actually is a crisis on the US-Mexico border.

There’s a political scandal brewing in Canada just as that nation starts looking ahead to elections later this year.

President Trump personally overrode the objections of security officials, the White House Counsel, and the Chief of Staff to make sure his son-in-law got a security clearance.

Five things I think I think after the hearings.

Michael Cohen, the President’s former lawyer and “fixer,” is set to deliver several bombshells in his testimony before Congress today.

Republicans face a choice in the coming days. Do they support the Constitution, or do they support Donald Trump? You can count on them making the wrong choice.

While not subject to filibuster, it’s still subject to Presidential veto.

Cardinal George Pell, the top Catholic Cleric in Australia, has been convicted of sexually abusing boys in the 1990s.

Steve King isn’t backing down from his history of white supremacy and racism. And he’s also running for re-election.

And I’d still prefer her to Donald Trump.

Justice Clarence Thomas argues that a 55-year-old precedent should be overturned.

While I’m sympathetic to his plight, he has no case.

Gender bias is real. Most examples cited, though, aren’t.

The Trump Administration continues to drive a wedge between the United States and Europe, can it ever be repaired?

The NYT has a useful classification of previous declarations (which does show the odd nature of Trump’s wall declaration).

Two months after being named, Heather Nauert withdrew her name as U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations due to a ‘Nannygate’ problem.

Levitsky and Ziblatt on emergency powers.

Walter Jones, a former supporter of the Iraq War who became one of the most prominent anti-war voices in Congress, has passed away at the age of 76. He will be missed.

President Trump’s impending decision to declare a national emergency to get funding for his border wall will quickly face serious legal challenges. It may be more vulnerable than the White House suspects.

A Federal Judge found that former Trump Campaign Manager Paul Manafort lied repeatedly after entering into a plea agreement with Special Counsel Robert Mueller. This either makes him incredibly stupid or willing to sacrifice himself to hide the truth from Federal investigators.

The former #2 official at the FBI is trying to sell a book.

In a rare display of assertiveness in the foreign policy arena, the House voted yesterday to bar U.S. assistance in Saudi Arabia’s genocidal war on Yemen.

Is 50 percent too high a take? Or the best deal in town?

The National Debt officially topped $22 trillion, marking a $2 trillion increase since President Trump took office.

It was only a matter of time before Trump’s rhetoric against the press would lead to something violent. Last night in El Paso, it happened.

Minnesota Senator Amy Klobuchar became the latest Democrat to enter the 2020 race on Sunday.

A death penalty case from Alabama raises First Amendment issues that the Supreme Court chose to brush aside.

The publisher of the National Enquirer is learning that it may have been a mistake to go to war against Jeff Bezos.

The longest-serving member of Congress in American history has passed away at the age of 92.

In his business career Donald Trump relied largely on fear and intimidation to get his way on business deals. As President, he’s finding that nobody is afraid of him.

The date and location of the next summit between President Trump and Kim Jong Un have been set, but it’s hard to see what can really be accomplished.

President Trump’s detailed schedules reveal a man who doesn’t seem to spend a lot of time actually working.

National and Virginia Democratic officials are calling on Virginia Governor Ralph Northam to resign over racist photos in his 1984 medical school yearbook.

Despite the government shutdown, employment growth in January was far above expectations.

A new study reveals that the Republican tax cut package passed at the end of 2017 has not had the economic impact the GOP claimed it would.

Two more defections from the stable of writers at RedState provide further proof of the extent to which conservative media has become a pro-Trump echo chamber.

While much of the attention in the race for the Democratic nomination to date has been on the left, there is a path forward for a more centrist candidate.

Starbucks Founder Howard Schultz is considering an independent run for the Presidency. This would likely be good news for President Trump.

Having two presidents sounds like a terrible sitcom idea. In reality, the situation is just plain terrible.

After an essentially pointless 35 day shutdown, some members of the House and Senate are proposing bills that would make government shutdowns impossible.

The Speaker was dealt a winning hand and played it with the skill of a seasoned pro. But the outcome was all but inevitable.

The government shutdown is beginning to negatively impact the public’s perception of the health of the economy.

The longer video and deeper investigation of the incident reveals a very different story.

Could Maryland Governor Larry Hogan be just the kind of Republican to challenge Trump in 2020?

In a rare public statement, the office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller is disputing reports that the President directed Michael Cohen to lie to Congress.

As the government shutdown continues, Washington is coming to resemble a fight between toddlers. Except the toddlers have the excuse of not knowing any better.

Once again, Rudy Giuliani is contradicting his client.

RIP, Dolly.