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June 2017

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 24, 2017 11 Comments
I recently reported that California Senate Bill 562, which would establish a single payer healthcare system within the state, had recently cleared a major hurdle by passing through a state legislative committee. However, the measure died upon entering the California Assembly.
A high-profile effort to establish a single-payer healthcare system in California sputtered Friday when Assembly Speaker Anthony Rendon (D-Paramount) decided to shelve the proposal.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 24, 2017 14 Comments
For the debut of his MSNBC show this morning, Hugh Hewitt scored the first news network interview with CIA Director Mike Pompeo. Debunking an assertion made by some, Pompeo said he couldn't "imagine a statement that is anymore false" than the notion that Trump isn't interested in intel. Pompeo stated that he personally meets with Trump for 35-40 minutes virtually every day, that Trump is an "avid consumer" of intel, and asks great questions.

Posted by William A. Jacobson on June 23, 2017 38 Comments
When Robert Mueller was first appointed Special Counsel, I thought, given his generally good reputation, that this might be a streamlined process with fewer leaks, focused on either proving or disproving allegations of Russian interference. But I did acknowledge, for example in this radio interview, that there was a risk that in the wrong hands the powers vested under the Order appointing Mueller could be abused:

Posted by Fuzzy Slippers on June 23, 2017 23 Comments
The April 2015 Baltimore riots caused a great deal of damage to local businesses.  Former Baltimore mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake is reported to have told police to stand down and insisted that the lawless mobs be given "space" to destroy private property unimpeded. Baltimore businesses are now suing city officials, including the former mayor and local police, for failing to prevent the rampant looting and rioting that resulted in nearly $13 million in damages. The Baltimore Sun reports:
Dozens of Baltimore business owners are suing city officials, including the police department and former Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, saying they mishandled the city's response to the rioting in 2015.

Posted by Miriam Elman on June 23, 2017 8 Comments
What happens when an Israeli leftist activist confesses publicly to beating a Palestinian in order to prove how bad Israel is? In this case, described below, the activist finds himself the subject of an investigation because he either is lying to damage Israel, or telling the truth, in which case he's a criminal. Israeli authorities are not allowing the activist to have it both ways, claiming he's a criminal for political purposes, but evading criminal responsibility. We’ve written before about the Israeli radical leftist NGO Breaking the Silence (BtS).

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 23, 2017 24 Comments
The top Republicans and Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee have launched an investigation into former Attorney General Loretta Lynch to find out if she interfered with the FBI's probe into Hillary's email server. Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA), Ranking Member Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) sent Lynch a letter asking for answers after news outlets reported that she told people within the campaign that the FBI's investigation would not dig too deep.

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 23, 2017 12 Comments
Nebraska Democratic Party Chair Jane Kleeb has ousted Phil Montag, a volunteer for the party's technology committee, after a recording surfaced of him saying he was glad House Majority Whip Steve Scalise was shot and wished he died. Scalise and four others were shot last week while practicing for the congressional baseball game. From The Omaha World-Herald:
On Thursday, Kleeb acted immediately upon hearing the recording. “This is the first I am hearing this,” Kleeb said by email Thursday morning. “As soon as I heard it, I sent it to the (party) officers and then sent an email to Phil Montag informing him I am removing him from his appointed position as Co-Chair of the Technology Committee. ... Wishing a Member of Congress or any individual dead is disgusting and has no place in our party.”

Posted by Mary Chastain on June 23, 2017 37 Comments
In February, California decided to ban state-funded travel to Kansas, Mississippi, North Carolina, and Tennessee after officials deemed laws in these states discriminate against the LGBT community. California has now added Texas, Alabama, South Dakota, and Kentucky to that list for the same reasons.

Posted by Leslie Eastman on June 23, 2017 22 Comments

Among the trending news items this week is the tale of a freak accident that took the life of a French model and aspiring social media star.

From the Daily Mail:
A French fitness blogger has been killed by an exploding whipped cream dispenser which hit her in the chest, giving her a heart attack. Rebecca Burger's family announced her death on social media, where she has amassed a following of more than 200,000 with her fitness focused posts.

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 23, 2017 10 Comments
Interviewed by Alisyn Camerota on CNN this morning, Kellyanne Conway wanted to discuss the progress that the Trump admin has made on a variety of fronts, from job creation to regulation roll-back to health care. But Camerota cared about one thing only: Russia, and a just-published Washinton Post report that Putin ordered efforts to hurt Hillary and help Trump. Eventually, Conway had enough:

"Alisyn, I know that we just like to say the word "Russia, Russia" to try to mislead the voters. And I know that CNN is aiding and abetting this nonsense as well."

Posted by Mark Finkelstein on June 23, 2017 34 Comments
One of our categories here at Legal Insurrection is "Trump Derangement Syndrome." Over at Morning Joe, Mika Brzezinski provides a prime example of the malady. We noted yesterday how Mika was pushing poor Jon Meacham into drawing parallels between President Trump, the Nazis, and North Korea. Brzezinski ratcheted things up a notch this morning, suddenly blurting out that it "feels like a dictatorship developing." Joe Scarborough tried to talk his partner off the ledge, saying "that's an inside voice saying what you just said. You want to be like Greta. Greta pulls back before she says things like that."
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