The decision of Joe Biden to withdraw from his reelection bid raises the obvious question of how he can continue as president if he is incapable of running for that office. The Democratic Party seems to have created its own 25th Amendment, but ... ...there remains the "other" 25th Amendment. This is a type of 25th-lite option where you lack capacity to run but not to serve for an office...

The conviction of Sen. Menendez in Washington is monumental. He was one of the untouchables. Despite long being viewed as corrupt, Menendez wielded power with abandon for his own benefit... ...The problem was the defense theory. Menendez tried to convince the jury that this was a "Cuban thing." They clearly viewed it as a "corruption thing"...

The dismissal of the classified documents case is a seismic development. From the beginning of all of these cases, I have said that the Mar-a-Lago case was the greatest threat to the former president. It is now dismissed. ...This was the three-point shot for Trump. The easier basket was the D.C. case despite a far more favorable judge for Jack Smith. That case is inundated with presumptively privileged evidence and challenged charges...

President Biden just referred to "former Trump" but said that he is doing well... ...The address hit the right tone to bring the temperature of the country down. It was the right message at the right time...

Karine Jean-Pierre has the makings of a full riot in the press room as she tries to explain misleading past statements... ...KJP is continuing to read the same two lines over and over again rather than answer if the reports are true that Parkinson's specialists have been consulted with repeatedly...

The exodus continues. Rob Reiner who just dismissed critics of Biden has called for him to step aside while adding "It’s time to stop f***ing around." At this rate, even Commander will looking for a local dog shelter for adoption.
jonathanturley.org/2024/07/07/get… ...The question is how the establishment is planning to thread this needle if it is successful in pushing Biden out. There is the federal election laws governing past contributions but also state laws on changing ballots that must be addressed...

President Biden just refused to take a neurological test and instead repeated his call for people to watch him. The public could do so if he waived his meritless privilege assertions over the Hur videotape... ...The refusal to take a neurological test is troubling and will only reinforce calls for initiating a 25th Amendment process. I have long questioned the necessity or viability of a 25th Amendment effort. It is designed to be difficult and demanding... jonathanturley.org/2024/02/12/can…

We are at the ten minute window. Immunity may come after two other cases, particularly if Chief Justice Roberts is the author. We still have Corner Post (a technical case on when a claim under the Administrative Procedure Act "first accrues") and Moody (content moderation standard for social media)... ...Five minute warning...Buckle up...

I expect that Smith will push for a trial on the remaining counts rather than seek a superseding indictment. The court might allow it. Yet, there still remains the immunity decision for Monday. If the immunity decision is sent back, he may have ample time to seek an superseding indictment given the need for further proceedings... ...Smith has made a trial before the election an overriding priority. The court has pushed to achieve that result. However, they are fast running out of runway and this decision rips the wings off the plane for Smith in my view...

We are within minutes of the release of the new opinions. The Supreme Court has reduced the docket to a roux of huge cases touching on the authority of federal agencies (Loper) to the 2024 election (Trump) to the J6 defendants (Fischer) to the right to be homeless (City of Grants Pass)... ...As I mentioned yesterday, we still do not have certainty that all of the decisions will be released today. If they are, Roberts has decided to hold the World Series, the World Cup. and the Super Bowl on the same day...

There is a great deal of discussion about the 25th amendment after the chilling moments in last night's debate with President Biden. As I have previously written, the amendment was written primarily with physical disabilities in mind. It is far more difficult with mental decline. ...The 25th Amendment effectively requires the Vice President and cabinet to defy a president. Last night's debate confirms that the White House has been shielding evidence of the president's decline from the public...jonathanturley.org/2024/02/12/can…

President Biden just refused to say that there are any restrictions and it is put to the doctor. He also said that he believes in the three trimester system under Roe. However, that approach has not been the law such Casey in 1992... ...Biden also said that the question of an abortion in the final months is left up to the doctors. It is left to the mother if there are no restrictions...

There are only two boxes today. We are less than five minutes away on the release of new opinions from the Supreme Court... ...Two minutes. Buckle up....

Two minute warning... ...There is reportedly one box. That would seem to make another added day more likely...

We are now 30 minutes away from the release of new opinions. We are still awaiting a number of blockbuster decisions, including Fischer (limits on the use of obstruction charges in J6 case); Loper Bright Enterprises (continued viability of the Chevron doctrine); Moody (censorship on the Internet); Moyle (abortion and state rights); Murthy (censorship in social media); Trump (presidential immunity); and Rahimi (gun rights)... ...Ok, buckle up boys and girls ... two-minute warning...

We are 30 minutes away from the new releases from the Supreme Court. Here are some of “big ticket” cases to watch for: Fischer (limits on the use of obstruction charges in J6 case); Loper Bright Enterprises (continued viability of the Chevron doctrine); Moody (censorship on the Internet); Moore (scope of tax powers); Moyle (abortion and state rights); Murthy (censorship in social media); Trump (presidential immunity); and Rahimi (gun rights)... ...This term has so many such major cases that we ran out of days in my Supreme Court case in reviewing the full array...

Professor McQuade’s call to limit free speech is justified as needed to combat disinformation, misinformation, and malinformation. Yet, McQuade just went public with a full-throated defense of what the U.S. government now calls a “conspiracy theory.”... jonathanturley.org/2024/06/14/msn… ...It is a variation on proving a negative. McQaude and others appear to be arguing that you must prove that there was no Russian involvement before giving weight to the damaging contents of the laptop.

We are now 15 minutes away from the release of new opinions by the Supreme Court. (Friday has also been added for the release of new opinions). There are two abortion cases on the mifepristone pill access and emergency room care. There is a major gun case in Rahimi on the scope of 2A protections as well as bump stock ban case. There are cases on the Trump immunity challenge as well as a case on the validity of obstruction charges linked to the J6 riots. So buckle up... ...Five minute warning...

The Hunter Biden verdict is in. This is ordinarily a bad sign for a defendant since one would have expected at least a hung jury on this evidence. That would have produced an Allen charge where the court would send them back for additional deliberations... ...Of course, this is a Biden being tried in Wilmington so predictions are a bit more difficult with a clear nullification strategy...

Wow. The judge was mistaken. The jury has a verdict. They are not asking to leave early. They have a final decision. ...It is hard to see this as positive for Trump. If there were a hung jury, it was expected to be a minority of hold outs. We will have to wait to see. However, those who bet on Thursday appear prophetic. The judge seemed surprised and was waiting to dismiss them for the day.

Judge Merchan is saying that the jury will be excused at 4:30. ...no verdict today.