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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The Hill

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The SAVE America Act is Jim Crow’s comeback

If enacted, it will ride roughshod over the voting rights of millions of Americans.

yesterday 3

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

A Senate bill criminalizes sanctuary cities and diminishes states’ rights

This is a statute that would erode federalism, ironically a favorite doctrine of the right, and local accountability.

17.03.2026 1

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The May shootout at the Texas corral: RINO meets MAGA

Texas could, quite surprisingly, be the deciding state in the Democrats’ quest for Senate control.

10.03.2026 2

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s 2-hour diatribe doesn’t address America’s true status

The speech was too long, too garish, too exploitative, too vulgar and mostly uninformative.

03.03.2026 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Colbert and Talarico show the easiest way to promote speech is to suppress it

With his campaign trailing Crockett in the polls, Talarico needed a shot in the arm, and he got one.

24.02.2026 7

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

More and more ham sandwiches aren’t getting indicted nowadays

Grand juries have frequently refused to indict when they don’t believe a crime has been committed.

17.02.2026 3

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The Insurrection Act could be a dress rehearsal for interfering in the midterms

The legitimate fear is that the use of the Insurrection Act would be pretextual, starting us down the slippery slope to authoritarianism.

20.01.2026 6

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The Supreme Court’s Christmas switch on national guard deployment 

Is the “Trump Vibe Shift” now dead on the Supreme Court?

30.12.2025 6

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Jack Smith should be investigated for incompetence, not 'weaponization'

If Attorney General Merrick Garland “weaponized federal law-enforcement” under Biden, he was using a water-pistol against a howitzer.

23.12.2025 30

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Pardon me — Have presidential pardons run amok?

In extending pardons, even English kings showed some rationality, but Trump’s policies have gone from a breeze to a tornado.

09.12.2025 6

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

'Just following orders' excuse won’t wash in high-seas killings  

No civilized nation has ever thought that a member of the military is justified in obeying illegal or unconstitutional orders.

02.12.2025 7

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s 'Newspeak' makes Jan. 6 a lovefest and prosecutors enemies

Even if you do not qualify as a political enemy, in the Trumposphere, if you’ve offended, you’re suspended. 

18.11.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Clemency for George Santos and a pardon power run amok 

There can be no conceivable rationalization for extending clemency to Santos, apart from his political loyalty to Donald Trump.

28.10.2025 7

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Live updates: The Hill's Health Next Summit explores advances; Bondi testifies in Senate

The Hill on Tuesday morning convenes some of the top voices in health care, government and the private sector to look at how health policy has shifted...

07.10.2025 4

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump pivoted on Ukraine — birthright citizenship could be next

Trump’s executive order, despite the high court ruling, has been throttled by lower court rulings.

07.10.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Live updates: Patel faces senators amid mounting scrutiny; Trump heads to UK

FBI Director Kash Patel will appear Tuesday morning before the Senate Judiciary Committee for an oversight hearing, amid mounting criticism over his...

16.09.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The right-wing’s reaction to Kirk’s murder is a frightening sign for America

Trump, in announcing Robinson’s arrest, gave him a quick trial and execution in the court of public opinion.

16.09.2025 20

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump is imposing martial law in DC on the flimsiest pretext

With crime down in the District by any metric, the takeover is a grotesquely incompetent pretextual policy that sets a bad precedent.

19.08.2025 10

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Is there any reason to pardon Ghislaine Maxwell except to buy her silence?

Trump considers himself the master of the art of the deal, the quid pro quo.

12.08.2025 10

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump may rue the day he sued Murdoch for libel over Epstein’s birthday card

Murdoch’s lawyers will be able to bring out just where the Journal obtained the birthday card, as well as all the torrid details of the 15-year...

29.07.2025 10

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

‘Another wonderful secret’: What’s going on with Trump and the Epstein files?

There are too many unanswered questions.

21.07.2025 10

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Is Mamdani a Trump of the left?

Can it be that the two political programs are truly “gifts” to the rival party?

08.07.2025 10

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Hegseth stampedes through the Pentagon

It is baffling what Hegseth intended to accomplish with the purge. We do know that he has accomplished a decided weakening of national security.

31.05.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

If Trump flouts the Abrego Garcia rulings, the Constitution is done

The administration has so far defied the Supreme Court, hiding behind the autocratic government of El Salvador, which it claims is unwilling to send...

22.04.2025 9

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump literally wants these two men arrested for criticizing him

Selective prosecutions are destructive of the rule of law.

14.04.2025 6

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The Paul Weiss settlement is a disgrace

If a major, powerful and talented firm cannot fight Trump, with the law entirely on its side, it sets a terrible precedent that resistance is futile.

26.03.2025 8

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

The Eric Adams case may end in a corrupt miscarriage of justice

The strange official corruption case of New York City Mayor Eric Adams is about to draw to an abominable close.

17.03.2025 7

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s immigration policy: ‘Give me your oligarchs, your rich...’

What happened to America’s heart? Have we forgotten that we are a nation of immigrants?

08.03.2025 7

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

No, the DOJ didn’t cut a ‘good’ quid pro quo with Eric Adams

Almost everyone wants Adams to have a jury trial — at least everyone except Trump’s Justice Department and Alan Dershowitz, professor emeritus at...

25.02.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Who will stop Trump and Elon Musk from dismantling the US government?

Trump and Musk are playing fast and loose with presidential and constitutional norms.

18.02.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump DOJ forces a Bloody Thursday to save Eric Adams’s bacon

The decision by Justice to dismiss the case had nothing to do with the facts or the law, but was based wholly on political considerations.

15.02.2025 10

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James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Trump’s nitwitted Gaza plan

Let’s move the 2 million permanently out of Gaza. But where? And how? And who will take them? Unclear.

10.02.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Kennedy, Patel and Gabbard: Trump’s terrifying troika

Frankly, I am frightened.

04.02.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

At sentencing, Trump lied and got less than a slap on the wrist

Trump’s statements at the hearing were riddled with lies and irrelevancies. His only bit of remorse was saying that “this has been a very terrible...

13.01.2025 4

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

No one is above the law — except Trump

By artifice, luck, disinformation and extraordinary political success, Trump has shown that the only verdict that counts is in the court of public...

07.01.2025 10

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor

Farewell to a bad year

The unexpected happened at home and abroad, auguring a new year of chaos and civil unrest.

03.01.2025 7

The Hill

James D. Zirin, Opinion Contributor