Author: Paul Mirengoff

When is it okay to represent a client accused of discrimination?

(Paul Mirengoff) The National Football League has enlisted former U.S. Attorney General Loretta Lynch to defend it in the class action race discrimination suit filed by former Miami Dolphins head coach Brian Flores. I wrote about Flores’ case here. It strikes me as weak, at least as to his individual claim. Lynch is a partner at Paul Weiss, the prestigious New York law firm. Paul Weiss frequently represents the NFL in lawsuits,

Palin jury finds in favor of New York Times

(Paul Mirengoff) Yesterday, the jury in the Sarah Palin case found that the New York Times is not liable for the false claim it made against Palin in an editorial. The judge had already ruled in favor of the Times but, in an unusual move, he allowed the jury to continue deliberating to a verdict. Palin always faced an uphill battle because of the high level of protection current law affords journalists

Biden’s delay in nominating a Justice produces discord

(Paul Mirengoff) The Hill reports that Senate Democrats are urging Joe Biden to “speed up his process for picking a nominee to the Supreme Court.” It has been about three weeks since Justice Breyer announced he will retire. It took only a month to confirm Amy Coney Barrett. Confirming Barrett was a matter of great urgency because Republicans were well on their way to losing control of the Senate. Democrats aren’t up

Trump’s document destruction, another look

(Paul Mirengoff) I want to respond to the objections Steve Hayward presented to what I’ve written about Donald Trump’s handling of presidential documents. He objects to my statement that media reports of Trump tearing up documents “seem to be accurate.” However, his main objection is that there wouldn’t be anything wrong with Trump destroying documents because “every White House document going back to the 1980s is composed on a computer.” I’ll start

Morgan Stanley and Princeton warned

(Paul Mirengoff) I wrote here about what I called “a Princeton-Morgan Stanley joint venture in discrimination.” My reference was to Morgan Stanley’s Freshman Enhancement Program, which is available only to Blacks, Hispanics, Native Americans, and/or LGBTQ college freshmen. All other freshmen need not apply. Princeton participates in the program. Today, former White House Counsel Boyden Gray sent a letter on behalf of the Project on Fair Representation to Morgan Stanley and Princeton

Biden gets friendly but conflicting advice

(Paul Mirengoff) It’s a bad sign for Joe Biden and the Democrats that their friends are urgently appealing for a course correction. It’s an even worse sign that the corrections being offered are mutually exclusive. Washington Post columnist Greg Sargent advises Biden and the Democrats to tout their alleged achievements in bolstering the U.S. economy. Sargent acknowledges that right now the American public doesn’t see it that way. He cites poll results

Judge tosses Palin’s case, allows jury to continue deliberating

(Paul Mirengoff) Judge Jed Rakoff has ruled that Sarah Palin’s libel suit against the New York Times over a 2017 editorial that falsely said she incited violence against Gabby Giffords and others fails due to lack of evidence that the Times knew what it wrote about her was false or that it acted recklessly in publishing the editorial. Judge Rakoff will allow the jury, which is in its second day of deliberations,

Enes Kanter Freedom is out of an NBA job

(Paul Mirengoff) Last week, just before the NBA reached its deadline for trades, the Boston Celtics dealt Enes Kanter Freedom to the Houston Rockets. The Rockets then cut the outspoken critic of Red China. Kanter Freedom went to Houston in a multi-player deal. To me it looks like Houston got more value in terms of player personnel than Boston did. The center Boston obtained in the deal, Daniel Theis, has less impressive

What does a National Conservative foreign policy look like in practice?

(Paul Mirengoff) In this post, I linked to a New York Times op-ed by three leading National (or Common Good) Conservatives on foreign policy. The piece, called “Hawks Are Standing in the Way of a New Republican Party,” was written by Sohrab Ahmari, Patrick Deneen, and Gladden Pappin. My post didn’t discuss the merits of the New York Times op-ed. Instead, I cited it as an example of what looks like a

A Princeton-Morgan Stanley joint venture in discrimination

(Paul Mirengoff) Last week, Princeton freshmen received an email regarding Morgan Stanley’s Freshman Enhancement Program. That program “is designed to help diverse rising sophomores in college gain a better understanding of the various businesses and career paths Morgan Stanley provides.” If selected for the program, rising sophomores “will participate in a hybrid program consisting of virtual learning and an in-person component.” They will also receive what Morgan Stanley describes as “valuable training,