Does the Supreme Court nomination process work? That was the topic of an Issues Forum held at the Brookings Institute following the conclusion of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr.’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee, as Senate members performed their constitutionally mandated duty of providing “advice and consent” in the President’s selection of a Supreme

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The Washington Post reports that Rep. John T. Doolittle (R-CA) is unapologetic that he helped steer $37 million for defense funding to a California company, whose officials and lobbyists helped raise at least $85,000 for Doolittle and his leadership political action committee. Doolittle’s statement comes despite the fact that the director of this California company

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Every year thousands of American citizens smuggle Mexicans into this country for cash and, even when they get caught, most face no consequences. Last year alone, 4,078 U.S. citizens were arrested at the two main gateways (San Ysidro and Otay Mesa) into California from Mexico yet only 279 faced alien smuggling charges. Since 2000 the

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If any doubt remained with respect to the erosion of sanity occurring at the New York Times, it was erased with this morning’s meandering, nonsensical editorial on the Alito nomination. Entitled, “Senators in Need of a Spine,” the article criticized Senate Democrats for “rolling over and playing dead” during Judge Alito’s confirmation hearings and urged

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The United States Government has for years denied the visa of a renowned Muslim scholar (Tariq Ramadan) with documented terrorist ties, citing a Patriot Act clause that denies entry to aliens who have used a position of prominence within any country to endorse or espouse terrorist activity. This week the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

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A new FBI whistleblower lawsuit has led a senior senator to write a letter to the bureau’s director questioning a chronic “double standard” of discipline at the agency. The six-page letter from Iowa Senator Charles Grassley to FBI Director Robert Mueller prominently mentions the case of Judicial Watch client Robert Wright, a veteran FBI agent

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More than 70 witnesses have testified in the four-month long corruption trial of former Illinois Governor George Ryan and, for the first time, we will hear Ryan’s version. His attorneys plan to put him on the stand next week. Prosecutors say that while Ryan served as Illinois secretary of state and governor (1991 to 2003),

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Most states have a strict judicial code of conduct that limits the political activity of sitting judges, making the election of state judge’s nonpartisan and low key. A Supreme Court decision, however, will probably transform them into big-money contests that resemble partisan political races with lots of special interest money. The justices let stand a

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When Hillary Clinton criticized the Bush Administration for “downplaying” the threats of Iran’s nuclear program and for letting European nations take the lead in negotiations, she forgot to mention that she has taken thousands of dollars from Iranian-Americans sympathetic to the radical Iranian regime of President Mahmoud Amhadinejad. Federal Election Commission (FEC) records show that

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During his eight years as Atlanta Mayor, Democrat Bill Campbell managed City Hall as a criminal enterprise and a seven-year federal corruption probe has already led to the convictions of 10 city officials tied to his administration. Now it’s Campbell’s turn to answer to a seven-count indictment that accuses him of racketeering, accepting bribes and

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