Newsweek  The Don(ald) Turns the Presidency Into a Protection Racket | Opinion Published Feb 05, 2025 at 5:11 AM EST Thomas Moukawsher   You’ve seen it in the movies. Late one night, the heavies from the local don throw a few bricks through the window of an honest shopkeeper. The next day while he is sweeping…

Newsweek  Inspectors General Firings Are a Presidential Power Grab | Opinion Published Jan 29, 2025 at 12:06 PM EST Thomas G. Moukawsher When President Donald Trump fired at least 12 inspectors general without notifying Congress as required by law, it was only partly about the inspectors. In reality he was firing the first shot in the battle over the “unitary executive.”…

Newsweek  President Trump’s Pardons Create His Own Private Army | Opinion Published Jan 22, 2025 at 11:55 AM EST Thomas G. Moukawsher Cast your mind back to Jan. 6, 2021. You saw it all on television. The United States Capitol was attacked by an angry mob. Remember what you thought at the time. It was a…

Newsweek Justice John Roberts Isn’t the Partisan Hack You May Think He Is | Opinion Thomas Moukawsher Published Jan 15, 2025 at 4:22 AM EST   President-elect Donald Trump’s recent defeat at the Supreme Court tells us important things about the high court. By a 5-4 vote the Supremes refused to block Trump’s sentencing in the New York hush…

Newsweek The U.S. Is Up for Auction and You’re Paying the Fees | Opinion Thomas Moukawsher Published Jan 07, 2025 at 6:11 AM EST   It’s beginning to feel a lot like AD 193 again. That year the rich bargained in plain sight to buy the job of Roman emperor. An auction was held before the cronies…

Newsweek ABC’s $15 Million Obeisance to Donald Trump | Opinion Thomas G. Moukawsher Published Dec 16, 2024 at 11:48 AM EST Donald Trump has always been America’s Lawfare King. He delayed and defeated cases against him for using fraud, threats, and force to try to steal the 2020 election and for absconding with vital U.S. secrets. He exploited the…

Newsweek What the Outcry Against United Healthcare Tells Us About Musk’s DOGE  Thomas Moukawsher December 11, 2024   In the wake of the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, a cri de coeur has risen from the American public. While those of us who love the rule of law might have expected it to be against murder, the…

Newsweek Pardon Power May Turn Lawfare Nuclear Under Donald Trump | Opinion Published Dec 03, 2024 at 3:45 AM EST By Thomas G. Moukawsher Retired Judge and Author   Forget Hunter Biden‘s pardon. Whatever President Joe Biden said earlier about it, anybody who didn’t see that coming doesn’t know anything about him. Above all, he loves his family. The pardon…

Newsweek Will Pam Bondi Save Us From Fentanyl or Dole Out Trump’s Vengeance? | Opinion Published Nov 27, 2024 at 1:39 PM EST By Thomas G. Moukawsher Retired Judge and Author There are two encouraging signs about the incoming Trump administration. The first is that the United States still has a Senate. Its members’ firm repudiation of the unqualified and clownish Matt Gaetz for…

Newsweek The Supreme Court Could Easily Strike Down Trump Recess Appointments | Opinion Published Nov 19, 2024 at 2:41 PM EST By Thomas G. Moukawsher Retired Judge and Author   The Supreme Court could easily strike down President-elect Donald Trump‘s cabinet picks if he tries to kneecap the Senate confirmation process with recess appointments. Knowing that some of his most important nominees—think Matt…