Sunday’s NBC Meet the Press interview of the former president by new host, Kristen Welker, was failed journalism. No news was made, and there was no strong pushback or meaningful real-time fact-checking against a guest known for compulsive lying. Indeed, there seemed to be no point...other than to try to boost ratings for a new host.

An executive official who uses a laudable end to justify means of questionable constitutionality sets a precedent that could easily come back to haunt us all." This article on MSNBC by our colleague, Dennis Aftergut, illustrates with important nuance that even the best-intentioned efforts by government officials must be carefully crafted to keep constitutional principles and the rule of law central to their actions.

After surrendering to authorities in Georgia, Rudy Giuliani claimed that prosecutors were infringing on his “right” to be a lawyer. 

He’s wrong. 

Last week, a Federal District Court Judge held Donald Trump accountable for his habitual misuse of the justice system to threaten and punish his business competitors and political enemies. Judge Donald Middlebrooks, of the Southern District of Florida, presided over the former president’s suit against Hillary Clinton, James Comey, and the Democratic National Committee, among others, for conspiring to spread allegations that Trump had colluded with Russia in the 2016 campaign. 

On December 7^th, the Supreme Court heard oral arguments on Moore v. Harper, a case presenting one of the greatest threats to American democracy in the last 250 years. The Petitioners, North Carolina state legislators, are asking the Court, in effect, to interpret the U.S. Constitution in a way that would authorize partisan-controlled state legislatures to enact laws in their partisan self-interest, even if the laws violate their state’s constitution. 

In September, Lawyers Defending American Democracy reported on the unexpected and unprecedented actions of Florida District Court Judge Aileen Cannon for her rulings in a criminal investigation into former President Trump’s handling of presidential documents, including many designated as top secret. LDAD concluded that Judge Cannon’s ruling appointing a Special Master and effectively halting a criminal investigation was unprecedented and gave the appearance of partiality to the former President.  

Though it will not be the end of the election for the workers, Election Day finally arrived.

I returned to Reno on Sunday afternoon, after a recuperative weekend at home.  On Monday, I worked on “ballot cure,” a process that varies widely by state.  In Nevada, if a mailed ballot has a problem (e.g., the signature does not match the one on file), the voter is allowed to “cure” it by providing other identifying information or emailing a copy of an ID.  This must be done by close of business the following Tuesday.