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SCOTUS and Trump

The essential moment in Jack Smith’s 2020 election obstruction case against Donald Trump might have arrived — and, oddly, the substance of the charges has nothing to do with it. The special counsel this week filed a motion asking the Supreme Court to speedily review the former president’s claims that he is immune from prosecution, rather than allow an appeals court to do so first. The strategy is gutsy, but it might be necessary to get the case to trial before the general election — and that is a wholly legitimate goal for Mr. Trump’s prosecutor. Mr. Smith has asked the ...

A more realistic approach to Ukraine

Ayear ago, Volodymyr Zelenskiy arrived in Washington as not merely the respected leader of a courageous nation, but as a global star. His address to Congress was greeted with thunderous cheers. As he returned for a third trip on Dec. 12, he has sought to win over key legislators, and the public, after Republican senators blocked $106bn in aid, primarily for Ukraine and also Israel. They have tied the spending to US immigration measures. The administration has warned that funding could run out by the end of the year. Kyiv is also trying to shore up support from its other main ally, the ...

Inquiry on Biden impeachment

The politically inspired impeachment inquiry into President Biden has failed to produce any convincing evidence that Biden has committed the “ high crimes and misdemeanors ” required by the U.S. Constitution for the conviction and removal of a chief executive. So naturally Speaker Mike Johnson is proposing a floor vote, likely next week, to authorize the inquiry as a “necessary step.” ohnson attempted to justify a vote by the full House — which should have been taken months ago as a procedural matter — as a response to supposed White House stonewalling. But it’s hard not ...

A border solution

Given the never-ending partisan brawl over the southern U.S. border, it is not surprising that American voters would believe that the United States faces a wave of migration with little precedent in the history of the world. And yet, of some 22 million displaced people on the move in the Americas last year, maybe more than 3 million came to the United States. Colombia has received more than one-third of the 7.7 million migrants who have fled Venezuela. The United States has received about 500,000. This fact should reshape the immigration debate in Washington. If the Biden ...

Abbott’s buoys in Rio Grande

Gov. Greg Abbott’s orange buoys might float his political aspirations, but they have no place in the Rio Grande. They are a grotesque display of government overreach, and the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals was right Friday to uphold a lower court’s decision ordering their removal. If the aim was deterrence of illegal immigration, then the buoys are a failure. Eagle Pass, about 150 miles southwest of San Antonio, remains one of the busiest entry points for immigrants despite the buoys and the fearsome razor wire that lines the Rio Grande’s banks. In October, U.S. Customs ...

Holidays tough for fire victims

“There’s no place like home for the holidays.” It’s as true now as back in 1954 when Perry Como released the song on RCA Victor records. “For the holidays, you can’t beat home sweet home.” Depending on beliefs and traditions, the celebrations start with Hanukkah and carry on through Christmas, Kwanzaa and New Year’s Day. Each holiday espouses goodwill, sharing and gathering with those you love. They’re about kitchens filled with laughter and seeing how tall everybody’s kids have grown over the past year. Some folks revere the special days as excuses to curl up ...