Prosecutor accuses Skelos of ‘shakedown’

A former New York state Senate leader and his son got business executives to arrange no-show jobs for the son in a brazen "family shakedown" that corrupted the senator's office, a federal prosecutor said Tuesday at the retrial of the pair on bribery and extortion charges. Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas McKay called the once-powerful Long Island Republican and his son, Adam, "partners in crime" who strong-armed the businesses into funneling hundreds of thousands of dollars to the son for various fake projects.

Trump’s Kavanaugh : ‘presidents should be shielded from incitement’

Trump's Court pick came out for law that would shield sitting presidents from prosecution or investigation - saying a presidential indictment would 'cripple' the federal government President Donald Trump 's nominee for the Supreme Court has concluded that the presidency is such a unique and challenging job that the White House occupant should be shielded from indictment, prosecution, or interrogation while in office. Trump, who has inveighed repeatedly against the 'witch hunt' of special counsel Robert Mueller's probe, selected Judge Brett Kavanaugh to fill the seat of retiring Justice Anthony Kennedy.

Judge denies US claim on 2 of 3 California immigration laws Source: AP

A judge on Monday dismissed the federal government's claim that U.S. law trumps two California laws intended to protect immigrants who are in the country illegally, affirming his ruling last week that California was within its rights to pass two of its three so-called sanctuary laws. U.S. District Judge John Mendez rejected the U.S. government's argument on two of the laws that the U.S. Constitution gives the federal government pre-eminent power over states to regulate immigration.

Brett Kavanaugh no stranger to D.C. legal, political circles Source: Cox Media Group

As President Donald Trump on Monday night selected federal appeals court judge Brett Kavanaugh for a vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court, Mr. Trump not only tapped a judge considered to have a strong conservative credentials, but also one whose roots run deep in Washington, D.C., in both the political and legal arena. "Judge Kavanaugh has impeccable credentials, unsurpassed qualifications and a proven commitment to equal justice under law," the President said in the East Room of the White House.

Manslaughter trial beginning again

By the time Richard Tom's conviction of vehicular manslaughter in a crash on Woodside Road that left an 8-year-old girl dead was overturned for the second time in 2015, more than eight years had passed since the tragic night. Originally convicted of the felony charge by a jury in 2008, Tom's status as criminally responsible for killing Sydney Ng has wavered on the question of whether he proved himself guilty by not asking about the welfare of the other car's occupants after the crash Feb. 19, 2007.

Supreme Court contender Kethledge enters spotlight as…

Raymond Kethledge was working on his book about leadership and solitude in 2016 when the phone rang. It was the landline, because in the office of his northern Michigan barn, situated in a densely forested area overlooking Lake Huron, Kethledge had no cell service or internet access.

Calls To “Abolish ICE” Could End Up Being A Gift To Trump And The Republicans

Democrats are rallying around the "Abolish ICE" slogan in response to the Trump Administration's immigration policies, but it could end up backfiring on them. In the wake of the Trump Administration's "zero tolerance" policy in dealing with people attempting to illegally enter the United States at the Mexican border, which at least for a time led to the separation of parents and children in apparent violation of existing law, many on the left have taken up the cause of abolishing Immigration and Customs Enforcement , the agency charged with enforcing the nation's immigration laws and the policies aimed at doing so from the incumbent President.

Alan Dershowitz Is Enjoying This

Alan Dershowitz is holding court on the front porch of the Chilmark General Store, talking to old friends and complete strangers, nearly all of whom stop to tell him, between sips of their iced coffee, to keep doing what he's doing. A young girl compliments his T-shirt .

Defiant Indiana attorney general won’t step down

An Indiana lawmaker at the center of groping allegations against Attorney General Curtis Hill came forward Friday to accuse him publicly of groping her twice during a party earlier this year, increasing pressure on the embattled Republican to resign. Democratic state Rep. Mara Candelaria Reardon published her own account of the March 15 incident, which occurred at an Indianapolis bar, in The Times newspaper.

Indiana GOP leaders call on AG to resign amid groping claims

Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb and the two GOP Statehouse leaders have called for Republican Attorney General Curtis Hill to resign amid what they say are credible claims that Hill drunkenly groped four women, including a lawmaker, at an Indianapolis bar. "Four women had the courage to step forward to report sexual harassment by the Indiana attorney general," the Republican governor said in a statement Thursday night.

EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt resigns

Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt walks during an Independence Day picnic for military families on the South Lawn of the White House July 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. President Trump tweeted that he had accepted Pruitt's resignation but added that "within the Agency Scott has done an outstanding job, and I will always be thankful to him for this."

(AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster). President Donald Trump boards Air Force…

California can limit police cooperation with immigration officials and require inspections of detention facilities but can't enforce a key part of a third state sanctuary law barring private employers from allowing immigration officials on their premises without a warrant, a U.S. judge ruled Thursday. The decision came in a lawsuit filed against the state by the Trump administration seeking to block all three laws.

Breaking Now: Embattled Epa chief Pruitt quits amid numerous ethics scandals

After months of controversy and ethical questions, Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt has resigned from the agency, President Trump tweeted on Thursday. Over the several months, Pruitt has increasingly come under fire for multiple allegations of abusing his power from spending hundreds of thousands of dollars on first-class travel to a sweetheart real estate deal tied to a lobbyist with EPA business and attempting to secure a private business deal for his wife among numerous allegations.

Credit Suisse pays US$77 million to settle US probes ‘after it…

Credit Suisse Group has agreed to pay about US$77 million to settle US criminal and civil probes into its Asia-Pacific hiring practices, including efforts to win banking business by awarding jobs to friends and family of Chinese government officials. The Swiss bank agreed to a US$47.03 million criminal fine and to enter a non-prosecution agreement under a settlement with the US Department of Justice announced on Thursday.

Reviewing Justice Kennedy’s contributions to sentencing and…

The University of California Press Blog has this new posting titled "Justice Kennedy's Contributions to Sentencing and Corrections Reform: An Appreciation." The piece is authored by Margaret Colgate Love, and here are extended excerpts: In 2003, Justice Anthony Kennedy made a dramatic and surprising presentation to the American Bar Association's Annual Meeting in San Francisco in which he raised fundamental questions about the fairness and efficacy of criminal punishment in the United States.

Why Michael Cohen should flip and the damage he will do to Donald Trump

After federal agents' search of Cohen's New York properties earlier this year, Trump described the actions as a break-in - "attack on our country, in a true sense." But Cohen told Stephanopoulos in an off-camera interview over the weekend that he didn't agree with "those who demonise or vilify the FBI," according to a story posted Monday by ABC News.

Special prosecutor named in probe of Greitens investigator

A special prosecutor has been appointed to assist St. Louis police looking into whether an investigator for the prosecutor's office committed perjury in his investigation of then-Missouri Gov. Eric Greitens. Democratic Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner hired Tisaby, a former FBI agent, to assist in investigating whether Greitens took an unauthorized cellphone photo of a woman during a sexual encounter in 2015.

As thousands prepare to rally, here’s where things stand on…

Saturday's protests will focus on the 'zero tolerance' policy that has resulted in the separation of more than 2,000 children from their parents. Hundreds of thousands of people are expected to march in dozens of U.S. cities on Saturday to protest family separations carried out by the Trump administration, according to organizers.