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• William G. Otis in USA Today:

“There is no way Comey is anything but a central witness in this investigation — if not a subject. Even less is there a way Mueller can be expected to evaluate Comey’s credibility with the fresh neutrality, arm’s-length curiosity, and objective sharp eye his job demands.”

Given his longstanding and close relationship with James Comey, the fired F.B.I. director, can Robert Mueller be free of conflicts in his investigation of a potential obstruction of justice? For Mr. Otis, the answer is a resolute “no.” Though he finds the special counsel to be “an honest, no-nonsense” prosecutor, Mr. Otis, himself a former special counsel for the elder President George Bush, believes that Mr. Mueller should recuse himself for reasons similar to those that led Attorney General Jeff Sessions to recuse himself. Read more »

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• Ed Rogers in The Washington Post:

“If Trump is innocent, Mueller will say it. Trump and Co. should help him reach that conclusion, not make his job more difficult.”

Mr. Rogers doesn’t believe that the Trump campaign colluded with Russia. Nor does he believe that President Trump obstructed justice when he fired Mr. Comey. That’s why, despite his “immense respect” for administration surrogates like Newt Gingrich, he hopes the administration will stop disparaging the special counsel. He trusts that Mr. Mueller, an inveterate professional beyond partisan concerns, will conclude his investigation by exonerating the president. After all, he writes, “Mr. Mueller is not part of the resistance.” Read more »

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• Alice B. Lloyd in The Weekly Standard:

“Cultural appropriation complaints have grown increasingly common in critiques of art, literature, cuisine, pop culture, and fashion. These complaints ignore the reality that as long as different cultures interact with each other, they’ll poach each other’s rhythms, patterns, hairstyles, and iconic images.”