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Ever since the Watergate scandal exposed Richard Nixon’s abuses of power 50 years ago, U.S. presidents have followed a central principle: They should not direct prosecutors to charge their political enemies.
President Donald Trump fractured that doctrine, argues law scholar Cassandra Burke Robertson, when he demanded that Justice Department officials indict former FBI Director James Comey. Yesterday, Comey pleaded not guilty to allegations that he lied to Congress in 2020.
Legal experts across the political spectrum have blasted Comey’s indictment as an unprecedented political prosecution that breaks core democratic norms, notes Robertson. And it mirrors tactics used by authoritarians in places like Russia, Venezuela and Hungary.
Former prosecutors and legal experts say the evidence against Comey is unusually weak, with some predicting he will be acquitted. But Robertson believes the damage is already done. “Future government officials now face an impossible choice: investigate powerful people, as Comey did, and risk prosecution, or decline to investigate and allow corruption to flourish,” she writes.
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Former FBI Director James Comey speaks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Dec. 7, 2018.
AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite
Cassandra Burke Robertson, Case Western Reserve University
The former FBI director’s indictment breaks a principle that has protected American democracy for 50 years.
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Science + Technology
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Eli Levenson-Falk, USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
The discovery that superconducting circuits can behave like quantum particles was a revolutionary development in the field of quantum technologies.
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Stavroula Alina Kampouri, Rice University
Just a gram of these tiny crystals can have an internal surface area as big as a soccer field. A materials expert explains the almost magical chemistry of MOFs.
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International
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Dana El Kurd, University of Richmond
The former British leader was tapped to lead redevelopment efforts in Gaza if a deal is agreed upon.
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Politics + Society
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Paul M. Collins Jr., UMass Amherst
Even when a prosecution fails to convict someone, the process of defending against charges can itself can be a form of punishment.
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Matthew Redmond, Université de Lille
‘In America, the law is king!’ ‘No King! No Tyranny!’ For a skeptical Thomas Paine, every day was ‘No Kings Day.’
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Environment + Energy
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Philip Steenstra, University of Michigan; Rachel O’Brien, University of Michigan; Stuart Batterman, University of Michigan
Because of the federal government shutdown and proposed budget, key federal investigations may stop, including into what happened at a Chevron refinery in California in October 2025.
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Health + Medicine
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Sarah Stella, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus
Homelessness is solvable through affordable and supportive housing. Hospitals should be part of the solution.
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Yewande O. Addie, University of Florida
The challenge in using either AI or traditional campaigns for health messaging remains designing accurate and culturally responsive health communication.
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