US government is ‘dangerously off kilter’ because of growing administrative state, law prof says

The administrative state is a growing fourth branch of government that is negating our constitutional system of checks and balances, according to George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley. Writing in the Washington Post, Turley asserts that the federal government “is not just bigger, it is dangerously off-kilter.” The fourth…

May 29, 2013 10:40 AM CDT

Reports: AG Eric Holder vetted search of Fox News reporter’s personal email

The decision to issue a federal search warrant for a Fox News reporter’s personal email account was made by a magistrate judge. However, the Department of Justice said it was vetted at the highest levels, including by Attorney General Eric Holder, leading Republicans in Congress to object Sunday to having…

May 28, 2013 4:46 PM CDT

A filibuster dare? Obama reportedly plans three simultaneous nominations to DC Circuit

President Obama is reportedly planning a bold move after winning approval for Srikanth “Sri” Srinivasan for a spot on the influential U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. In a “more aggressive” strategy, Obama plans to nominate three people simultaneously to the federal appeals court, the New…

May 28, 2013 2:04 PM CDT

IRS official took Fifth in House testimony, but did she waive right to do so?

After invoking her Fifth Amendment right not to testify Wednesday, when she was called before a House committee looking into special Internal Revenue Service scrutiny of tax exemptions sought by conservative groups, an IRS official was put on administrative leave Thursday. But some observers are questioning whether Lois Lerner, who…

May 24, 2013 12:20 PM CDT

8 protestors arrested outside Holder’s former firm

Eight individuals were arrested Wednesday as they protested the U.S. government’s lack of prosecution of bank mortgage foreclosure activities in the lobby of Covington & Burling’s office building in Washington, D.C. Seven were charged with unlawful entry and one was charged with assaulting a police officer, reports NBC4 Washington. The…

May 23, 2013 2:47 PM CDT

Feds secretly got warrant for Fox reporter’s email, claimed news-gathering was likely a crime

News that federal authorities had apparently looked at the personal email of the chief Washington correspondent for Fox News under a search warrant secretly obtained in a criminal investigation of his 2009 news-gathering activities elicited outrage Monday from media organizations and others. The warrant, which was both issued and unsealed…

May 21, 2013 11:50 AM CDT

Obama says acting IRS chief will resign amid news that conservative groups were scrutinized

Responding to widespread criticism after news that the Internal Revenue Service had targeted groups with “tea party” and “patriot” in their names for extra scrutiny in their applications for tax-exempt status, President Barack Obama said Wednesday that the acting commissioner of the Internal Revenue Service, Steve T. Miller, would resign.…

May 15, 2013 11:10 PM CDT

State Dept. tells Texas law student to take down Web blueprints for 3-D printer to make plastic gun

A University of Texas law student says he has complied but is reviewing his legal options after being ordered by the U.S. State Department to take down blueprints posted online that show how a 3-D printer can be used to create a plastic gun. Cody Wilson is a founder of…

May 10, 2013 8:08 PM CDT

New federal agency sues 2 law firms over debt-relief fees; one attorney is also criminally charged

A new federal agency filed a lawsuit Tuesday against two New York City area law firms and an attorney who owns a related business. It contends that they charged illegal advance fees for so-called debt-relief services that provided little or no benefit to consumers, who routinely lost amounts ranging from…

May 7, 2013 9:37 PM CDT

Justice Thomas: Any black president must be approved by ‘elites’

Justice Clarence Thomas says he expected to see a black president win election in his lifetime, as long as the candidate got the approval of “the elites and the media.” Thomas offered his views in comments at Duquesne Law School last month that are just now being picked up by…

May 6, 2013 12:32 PM CDT

Obama is using drone strikes to replace Gitmo detentions, says ex-Bush administration lawyer

A former Bush administration lawyer claims President Barack Obama is relying on drone strikes to kill terrorists because he doesn’t want to capture them and send them to Guantanamo Bay. Lawyer John Bellinger made the accusation at a conference in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday discussing the legality of drone killings,…

May 6, 2013 11:00 AM CDT

Sovereignty showdown: Kansas plans to defend law shielding state guns from US regulation

Kansas officials are readying for a clash with the federal government after Attorney General Eric Holder declared that the state’s new gun law is unconstitutional. The state’s attorney general is seeking $225,000 to defend the state’s Second Amendment Protection Act, signed into law on April 17, the Kansas City Star…

May 3, 2013 6:29 PM CDT

In ‘truly bizarre’ situation, FDA, DOJ and federal judge differ on ‘Plan B’ pill sale to teens

In the latest round of a hard-fought political battle over the issue of whether the so-called morning-after birth control pill should be available without a prescription to 15- and 16-year-olds, a federal regulatory agency has told pharmacies they are free to sell one brand, Plan B One-Step, over the counter,…

May 2, 2013 4:15 PM CDT

O’Connor: Maybe SCOTUS should have declined cert in Bush v. Gore

Apr 29, 2013 4:43 PM CDT

Elvis impersonator dismissed from ricin case over letters to Obama, lawmaker and judge

All charges were dropped Tuesday in a federal case over suspected ricin-laced letters reportedly sent to President Barack Obama, a U.S. senator from Mississippi and a state-court judge. As the day began, a preliminary hearing against defendant Paul Kevin Curtis was continuing. Then he was released from custody and the…

Apr 23, 2013 10:42 PM CDT