Two councilmen supporting an anti-leaker ordinance defended their stance this weekend on Twitter amid concerns of trampling on the Constitution. The legislation, sponsored by Garry Bredefeld and Mike Karbassi in conjunction with Mayor Lee Brand, would create penalties for those leaking confidential information out of City Hall, especially from the...
Democrats Push Impeachment Rules Package Through House
WASHINGTON — Democrats rammed a package of ground rules for their impeachment inquiry of President Donald Trump through a sharply divided House Thursday, the chamber's first formal vote in a fight that could stretch into the 2020 election year. The vote was 232-196, with all Republicans against the resolution and two Democratic...
Trump Likens House Impeachment Inquiry to 'A Lynching'
WASHINGTON — President Donald Trump triggered outrage Tuesday by comparing the Democrat-led impeachment inquiry to a lynching, assigning the horrors of a deadly and racist chapter in U.S. history to a process laid out in the Constitution. "That is one word no president ought to apply to himself," said Democratic Rep. James...
For 1st Time, Joe Biden Calls for Trump to Be Impeached
ROCHESTER, N.H. — Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Wednesday for the first time that President Donald Trump must be impeached for abusing the powers of his office to help his own reelection. Biden made the remarks as part of a blistering 25-minute speech in New Hampshire, departing from his...
White House and Democrats Clash Over Rules for Impeachment
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Constitution gives the House "the sole power of impeachment" — but it confers that authority without an instruction manual. Now comes the battle royal over exactly what it means. In vowing to halt all cooperation with House Democrats' impeachment inquiry, the White House on Tuesday labeled the investigation...
Newsom Signs Tax-Returns Law Aimed at Trump
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a law Tuesday requiring presidential candidates to release their tax returns to appear on the state's primary ballot, a move aimed squarely at Republican President Donald Trump. Even if the law withstands a likely legal challenge, Trump could avoid the requirements by choosing not...
Judge Blocks Trump Policy Keeping Asylum-Seekers Locked Up
SEATTLE — A federal judge in Seattle on Tuesday blocked a Trump administration policy that would keep thousands of asylum-seekers locked up while they pursue their cases, saying the Constitution demands that such migrants have a chance to be released from custody. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled Tuesday that...
Supreme Court Gives Land Owners Freedom to Sue on Federal Level
A little family cemetery in rural Pennsylvania triggered a legal earthquake that might be felt in land disputes and coastal-access battles up and down California. Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that property owners can go straight to federal court to fight claims that local or state government prevented...
Rediscovering America: A Quiz on Women’s Suffrage
One hundred years ago, on June 4, 1919, the U.S. Congress passed a joint resolution in support of a 19th Amendment to the Constitution, which would give women the right to vote. The resolution was sent to the states and eventually was ratified in August 1920. The quiz below, from...
Rediscovering America: A Quiz on the Bill of Rights
Many citizens have a limited understanding of American history and our unique form of constitutional government. Without this knowledge, how can we expect them to exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship? Bill of Rights Day, commemorating the adoption of the first 10 amendments to the Constitution, is December 15....