Always a pleasure to speak with @thebradblog.bsky.social . I wish we had some happier topics to discuss.

This is a remarkable story of a longtime DOJ prosecutor, portrayed here as not especially competent, who has become a big star in this administration because he will eagerly do preposterous things for them. GIFT LINK: www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

My latest on Sidebars: Pam Bondi did incalculable damage to the Department of Justice and the rule of law. It's good news that she's gone. The bad news is things could get even worse if her successor is someone more competent but with the same corrupt motives. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/pam-bondis...

My latest on Sidebars: Pam Bondi leaves with the reputation and integrity of the Justice Department in tatters. Unfortunately, there is little reason to expect that things will improve under her successor. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/pam-bondis...

Now let's do Hegseth.

This was inevitable, and this DOJ will undoubtedly agree to pay the "victims" millions as part of the administration's efforts to rewrite the history of January 6.

Any pardoned Jan. 6 Capitol rioters who have not yet sued for wrongful prosecution will no doubt take note. In addition to a pardon, Trump’s DOJ will pay you off as part of the efforts to rewrite the history of his first term crimes. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/25/u...

RIP Bob Mueller. He was a decent, principled, skilled prosecutor who served his country with integrity. His biggest mistake was assuming that others around him, particularly Attorney General William Barr and Republicans in Congress, would be similarly decent and principled.

These were coveted positions, with dozens of applicants for each vacancy. Now DOJ is scrambling for new hires. For me, and for many of my students, it was a dream job. Now I can't recommend it to them. I never would have imagined that to be possible. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

My latest on Sidebars: a federal judge throwing out her grand jury subpoenas to the Federal Reserve is just the latest in a long line of embarrassing failures for D.C. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, as she tries to weaponize her office in Trump's favor. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/jeanine-pi...

My latest on Sidebars: Jeanine Pirro has done her best to punish Trump's enemies and pursue his political goals. But she has compiled an abysmal track record of failed political prosecutions. One wonders how long Trump, who abhors "losers," will put up with it. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/jeanine-pi...

Jeanine Pirro's remarkable winning streak as U.S. Attorney continues.

This is a good development. Bar sanctions against rogue prosecutors are one of the few checks against abuse of their power in an administration that has no regard for the rule of law. wapo.st/4rYFGjm

Moskowitz: "Let me congratulate the former Homeland Security Secretary on her appointment to be the Shield of Americas, which I'm pretty sure the president came up with when he watched the last Avengers movie"

Looks like Bondi got chewed out by Trump for dropping the appeal. Lots of ketchup flying in the Oval Office. www.nytimes.com/2026/03/03/u...

Alito is going to retire, and Trump is going to appoint Cannon, isn't he. 🤦

Even if Cannon's order is overturned, the regs leave it up to the AG whether a special counsel's report should be made public. How do we think that's going to go? Unless there's a Daniel Ellsberg among the former SC staff, we will need to wait for a Democrat AG to - maybe - see the report.

This was my argument more than a year ago - turned out to be right, unfortunately.

As Ryan notes, it’s potentially very important that three of the Court’s conservatives are not buying the notion that Trump can do whatever he wants simply by making up a fake “emergency.”

Someone let the penguins of the Heard and McDonald Islands know that their long ordeal is coming to an end.

Among the most important signs of how SCOTUS might rein in a President's claim to emergency powers is: Chief Justice Roberts with Justices Gorsuch and Barrett on the 'major questions' doctrine. The three express deep skepticism of claims to open-ended emergency powers: 1/

Not gonna lie, it’s kind of fun to see the conservative administration’s key economic policy hoisted on the “major questions doctrine” petard.

For years I've argued that the "ham sandwich" critique is wrong and that the discipline of having to go through the grand jury to obtain an indictment still acts as an important check on prosecutorial power. Grand juries under the Trump regime continue to prove it. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/10/u...

OK, the Dunkin’ ad and the singing toilets were pretty funny.

The curious thing, given the inroads Trump made with Hispanics last year, is Bannon's apparent assumption that keeping them away from the polls in November would be good for Republicans. Sort of like Trump's attacks on mail-in voting - may hurt R's as much or more than D's.

The renovations undoubtedly will include lots of gold trimmings and a giant bust of Trump’s head to go next to JFK’s - but slightly larger, of course.

WaPo’s editorial board STILL doesn’t grapple with why THREE trial judges, and THREE appellate courts found a gag order against Trump was necessary. It also sidesteps that Smith AVOIDED a 1A battle by selecting charges that didn’t require proving incitement.

It continues to amaze me that the Washington Post appears more concerned about whether Trump’s gag order (prompted by his own unhinged attacks) was too broad than it is about his efforts to overturn the election, including unleashing a mob on the Capitol. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

this photo. minneapolis. 💜 📷️ Alex Kormann/Star Tribune

To feed the narrative of "Trump as victim" Republicans had to make Smith appear to be a deranged, rogue prosecutor. Unfortunately for them, he was about as far from deranged as one can imagine. The same can't be said of some of the Republicans questioning him. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/jack-smith...

My latest on Sidebars: the Republican approach to the hearing can best be summed up as: “OK, so maybe Trump committed multiple felonies. But can we just talk for a minute about how you had the nerve to subpoena our phone records?” www.sidebarsblog.com/p/jack-smith...

A proud moment for the Washington Post: Jim Jordan quotes their editorial arguing that prosecuting Trump for Jan. 6 would have violated the First Amendment, and enters it into the record.

"Lindsey Halligan, tapped by President Trump to prosecute his enemies, has left the U.S. attorney’s office in the Eastern District of Virginia, Attorney General Pam Bondi said late Tuesday after a judge called Ms. Halligan’s bid to remain in office a “charade.”" www.nytimes.com/2026/01/20/u...

You’ve heard of fighting fire with fire? Well, this is Minnesota in January, so …

What they're not telling you is the "internal bleeding" was caused by other agents chest-bumping him and slapping him on the back to celebrate the shooting.

My latest on Sidebars: a Washington Post editorial parroted Trump's failed legal arguments and political talking points regarding his DC prosecution. These days, "Democracy Dies in Darkness" sounds less like a warning and more like a plan of action. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/the-washin...

My latest on Sidebars: a Washington Post editorial argued Jack Smith’s D.C. prosecution violated Trump’s free speech rights. It's wrong on the law, misrepresents the nature of the case, and parrots Trump talking points. Democracy dies in darkness, indeed. www.sidebarsblog.com/p/the-washin...

The Washington Post has published my letter to the editor in response to their bonkers editorial claiming that Jack Smith violated Trump's First Amendment rights. I'll have a blog post tomorrow that goes into the arguments in much greater detail. wapo.st/49E0F3a

That ought to separate the locals from the invaders.

More career prosecutors doing the honorable thing and resigning rather than submit to this Justice Department's corrupt commands. DOJ is being systematically purged of good people who respect the rule of law and believe in keeping politics out of criminal prosecutions.

This is good - but is Tillis really just figuring out now that the "independence and credibility of the Department of Justice ... are in question?" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Prosecutor: *Accurately summarizes the law* Washington Post Editorial Board: That’s a bold claim by the prosecutor!

Wait, now it's because of sex trafficking and child trafficking? Not crime, or immigration, or fraud? The rationale keeps shifting - they're just making stuff up. And "protecting kids" by storming their schools and arresting - or killing - their parents does not seem like a great strategy.

Yes they do. And they should proceed with their own investigation, regardless of whether the FBI cooperates with them.

Yeah, no kidding. When Trump, Vance, and Noem have already declared the officer did nothing wrong, and given how Trump retaliates, what FBI agent is going to conclude the shooting was unjustified and contradict the boss? www.nytimes.com/2026/01/10/u...

The regime that looks at the videos of the January 6 Capitol riot and tells you they show a peaceful protest by patriots will look at the videos of the Minnesota shooting and tell you they show an officer righteously acting in self-defense.

(State files homicide charges) Defense: "Where's the gun? Where's the car? Reasonable doubt!" Prosecution: "The feds would not give us access to them." I . . . don't think that ends well for the defense. I expect if there are state charges they will get all the evidence, one way or another.

Even if the FBI refuses to work together, the MN state authorities should be able to conduct their own criminal investigation. They can interview witnesses, gather video, and subpoena records such as an autopsy report. They can’t be “shut out” completely.

All they do is lie.