An insurance product could have saved billions of dollars in pandemic-related foreclosures. The pandemic-related economic shutdown has created a crisis for many low- and moderate-income homeowners who are out of work. The loss of a job can take a terrible personal toll on a family. But unemployment is also the primary cause of foreclosure, ...

More than a year ago, I wrote a series of columns that made the point that former national security adviser Michael Flynn had been set up by the FBI and may have committed no crime. I repeated these arguments in several interviews, and this led the professional Donald Trump bashers, who care more about “getting” the president than protecting ...

Harsh punishments for defendants who exercise their right to trial violate the Sixth Amendment. When is a constitutional right not a right? When you’re punished for exercising it. If the government arrests or fines you for something you say, everyone recognizes a violation of the First Amendment, even though you had your say. Yet when ...

The House vote to establish procedures for a possible impeachment of President Trump, along party lines with two Democrats opposing and no Republicans favoring, was exactly was Alexander Hamilton feared in discussing the impeachment provisions laid out in the Constitution. Hamilton warned of the “greatest danger” that the decision to move ...

He didn’t say the process of impeachment is entirely political. He said the offense has to be political. What is an impeachable offense? Rep. Maxine Waters, chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, says the definition is purely political: “whatever Congress says it is—there is no law.” She’s wrong. At the Constitutional Convention ...

Be wary of denying individual rights based on predictions. President Trump’s proposal to “red flag” potential mass shooters is well-intentioned. If we could prevent even one mass killing by identifying and disarming the potential perpetrator beforehand, it would be worthwhile. But do we have the tools to do it, and at what cost to ...

Former special counsel not only went beyond the report but also created a direct conflict between himself and Attorney General William Barr. Robert Mueller began his testimony by affirming the rule that prosecutors should not comment about decisions not to prosecute any subject of an investigation. The former special counsel said he would ...

The controversy over the selective editing of a voicemail message from President Trump’s former attorney in the report by Robert Mueller has added fuel to the arguments against the appointment of special counsels.

The Mueller report says that attorney John Dowd reached out to Robert Kelner, Gen. Michael Flynn’s lawyer, after Flynn withdrew from a joint defense agreement with the Trump legal team and asked Kelner to give him a “heads up.” The report characterized the voicemail message ...

The Robert Mueller report is finally out, with very few redactions. As I have long predicted, it includes serious criticisms of President Trump and his associates, but it does not conclude that the president committed any crimes. The report is divided into two volumes. The first deals with the investigation of the relationship between the ...

The letter from Attorney General William Barr to congressional leaders regarding the Mueller report related three important conclusions. The first is that the president is completely off the hook with respect to any illegal conspiracy with Russian influence in the 2016 election. The special counsel found no evidence and has concluded that ...

In the age of #MeToo, a claim of innocence—even a provable one—is itself treated as an offense. If you are accused of a crime, you are entitled to the presumption of innocence. But in the age of #MeToo, people accused of sexual misconduct are subjected, at least in the court of public opinion, to a presumption of guilt. Worse, a claim ...

Because it is a prosecutor’s product, it will inevitably be one-sided. Trump ought to be allowed to respond. Special counsel Robert Mueller is likely to wrap up his investigation soon and issue a confidential report to the attorney general. It is important to understand the legal status of such a report and how it should be released and ...

Without a congressional majority vote and public backing, next president can just abandon it. The Framers of our constitution probably would have regarded the nuclear deal with Iran as a "treaty," subject to a two thirds ratification by the Senate. At the very least they would have required Congress to approve the agreement by a majority vote. ...

Laws distinguishing between constitutionally protected activities and illegal payments are vague. Whenever a prominent politician is indicted for corruption, questions arise. Is the prosecution part of a dangerous trend toward criminalizing policy differences? Does it endanger free speech rights of contributors? Will it constrain the ...

Congress has every right, and even an obligation, to hear the Israeli leader speak about the Iranian threat. As a liberal Democrat who twice campaigned for President Barack Obama , I am appalled that some Democratic members of Congress are planning to boycott the speech of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 3 to a joint session ...

The Obama administration admits its rule on civilian casualties is unworkable in fighting ISIS. Fighting Hamas is no different. Last year the Obama administration issued, with considerable fanfare, a new military policy designed to reduce civilian casualties when U.S. forces are attacking enemy targets. This policy required "near certainty" ...