Judge Pulls Plug on Controversial Blog

U.S. District Judge Richard Knopf has decided to end his Hercules and the Umpire blog, saying he learned the employees of his federal court felt the blog has become an embarrassment. Knopf has quit blogging before, in 2014, but resumed posting after announcing he was receiving treatment for Hodgkin’s lymphoma. He recently wrote a controversial post calling Ted Cruz unfit for the office of President of the United States, which some said may violate the ethics code for federal judges that states a judge should not “publicly endorse or oppose a candidate for public office,” but said that did not factor into his decision.