The Trump Department of Justice under Attorney General Jeff Sessions continues to restore the rule of law and undo years of politicization of DOJ, and the entire Executive Branch, that occurred under President Obama.  For example, consider last week's settlement with Z Street, one of the many organizations in which the IRS engaged in viewpoint discrimination when evaluating its application for recognition of tax exempt status.  Z Street's challenge to the IRS' discrimination was the first "IRS scandal" case filed, back in August 2010.  

Earlier today, President Trump declassified a House Intelligence Committee memorandum regarding "Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act Abuses at the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation" that has been the subject of the recently trending social media hashtag #ReleasetheMemo.  Key parts of the memo include:

In their latest efforts to quietly change the campaign finance rules for internet communications ex post, the Democrats on the Federal Election Commission voted last month to dismiss a complaint against a non-profit organization, Illinois Family Action, for tweeting a YouTube video from a congressional candidate.  They voted to dismiss the complaint not because communicating for free on the internet has been exempt from federal campaign finance law since 2006 but because the amount spent on the tweet (in staff time, electricity, etc.) was de minimis.  It certainly was de minimis, as a tweet takes less than a minute to draft and send, but the fact that the Democrats would vote for, and the General Counsel's office would draft, a statement of facts and law that changed the rules applying to the tweet after the fact is deeply disturbing.

Last night, President Trump delivered his first State of the Union address.  It was a strong speech, focusing on his Administration's accomplishments in the first year and his policy goals to continue making American great again.  As many commentators have noticed, in contrast to President Obama's State of the Union speeches, President Trump focused on "we" instead of "I" and on the greatness of America and the American people.

This afternoon, the Senate confirmed Minnesota Supreme Court Justice David Stras to serve on the Eighth Circuit.  David Stras had been the target of a politically motivated refusal to return a blue slip by former Senator Al Franken of Minnesota, who complained that he was too conservative.  Franken's fellow Democratic Senator from Minnesota, Amy Klobuchar, returned her blue slip.   Despite Sen. Franken's protest,Chairman Chuck Grassley went ahead with a hearing for David Stras, noting that he will not allow senators to use the blue slip as a veto for circuit court nominees.   

David Harsanyi of the National Review posted a story noting all the hysteria by the left regarding the latest phase of the "Russia Probe" into the 2016 Election. His story, "The Russia ‘Fake News’ Scare Is All about Chilling Speech," highlights the troubling implications made by the left, if followed through to fruition. 

Today, the RNLA recognized the new officers and members of the Board of Governors elected at its recent annual board meeting:

Carrie Severino wrote a lengthy summary of what Attorney General Jeff Sessions has done to restore the rule of law at the Department of Justice in less than a year:

During today's Senate Judiciary Committee hearing for Michael Brennan, nominated for the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, the Democrats objected to Chairman Grassley holding a hearing for Judge Brennan even though Senator Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin did not return her blue slip.  There were even protesters in the gallery in blue shirts (part of an ongoing protest by the Center for American Progress and People for the American Way) and predictable gender-baiting by Democrats simply because Sen. Baldwin happens to be female.  

Yesterday, the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania handed down a per curiam order regarding a recent redistricting lawsuit that worked its way up through the Pennsylvania Courts: League of Women Voters of PA v. Pennsylvania.