Wisconsin judge convicted of obstructing arrest of immigrant resigns as GOP threatens impeachment trib.al/eVAYqaT

But what if Maduro’s involvement in the drug trade was an “official act”?

Trump: "The oil business in Venezuela has been a bust…We're going to have our very large U.S. oil companies, the biggest anywhere in the world, go in, spend billions of dollars, fix the badly broken oil infrastructure, and start making money."

It's crystal clear: a pending criminal indictment does NOT cure the clear illegality of this attack under int'l law. It violated the UN Charter in just the same way Russia's attack on Ukraine did. And unlike our 1989 Panama invasion, there seems not even a pretense of a threat to Americans there.

Trump equating invading Venezuela with sending federal troops into US cities is a terrifying warning of how he hopes to use war powers. (also Grandpa going off the teleprompter. Rubio looks nervous)

Marco Rubio is reportedly saying Maduro will stand trial in US courts. Which means it’s now the US administration’s position that US courts can hold foreign presidents, but not the US president, accountable for crimes.

Curtis Yarvin, JD Vance’s friend & ideological influence, ended 2025 by claiming “only Hitler spoke the truth” about “too many subjects” & “Hitler was a genius.” Extremism isn’t fringe on the right. Once marginal online extremists like Yarvin are influential at the highest levels of government.

Harmeet Dhillon is in charge of voting rights for the Department of Justic.

"With astonishing speed, the administration has toppled the most cherished pillars of a free society." A must-read from @radleybalko.bsky.social , even if you've been following Trump's use of immigration enforcement to terrorize communities. newrepublic.com/article/2042...

WASH POST: “Corporate bankruptcies surged in 2025, rivaling levels not seen since the immediate aftermath of the Great Recession, as import-dependent businesses absorbed the highest tariffs in decades.” www.washingtonpost.com/business/202...

Up with the invaluable @mjsdc.bsky.social trying to explain what the MAGA Justices are doing this year and why, and what it portends for the future. slate.com/podcasts/ami...

BREAKING: WATCH the full 60 Minutes CECOT segment here. This was sent to me anonymously. It appears to be the segment CBS' Bari Weiss killed. www.muellershewrote.com/p/watch-the-...

Trump critic George Conway files to run for NY House seat

A fantastic NYT report: Donors to Trump get pardons, jobs, & access - and benefited from regulatory decisions the Trump admin has made. SUPER timely as SCOTUS is about to kill agency independence & give POTUS more control over agencies (likely to donors' benefit) www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

If you are a whistleblower and need legal representation, @lawyers4goodgov.bsky.social may be able to help Please contact us www.lawyersforgoodgovernment.org/pro-bono-lit...

endorse

The ACLU's Lee Gelernt has been at the front lines of immigration horrors for longer than most anyone. Here he's giving a map not only of what it means to fly hundreds of Venezuelans to a lawless prison, but more pointedly what it means to defy judicial commands. swap.fm/l/AmicusWith...

The White House claims the vote to rename the Kennedy Center was “unanimous.” That is false. I was muted on the call and denied the opportunity to speak or register my opposition. That is not consensus. That is censorship.

Thanks to @dahlialithwick.bsky.social @volokhc.bsky.social @marcusagadson.bsky.social @ucberkeleylaw.bsky.social Dean Erwin Chemerinsky @ilyasomin.bsky.social @miriamseifter.bsky.social @ijsanders.bsky.social @reprorights.org's Amy Myrick @kasiawolfkot.bsky.social & more for their contributions!

State Court Report asked some of the country's top legal thinkers about the most significant state constitutional cases of the year. Read answers from @dahlialithwick.bsky.social, Eugene Volokh, Erwin Chemerinsky, Justice Nathan Hecht, and many more! statecourtreport.org/our-work/ana...

Melissa Hortman Died in a Shocking Act of Political Violence. This Is the Story of Her Life The Minnesota Speaker’s closest friends and family open up for the first time. Read @stephenrodrick.bsky.social's exclusive: www.rollingstone.com/politics/pol...

This is extraordinary, heartbreaking, and a red alert warning sign for our democracy. These people are about to be federal judges, and they refuse to answer whether the U.S. Capitol was attacked on January 6. They say they can't comment because it's "a political controversy".

With @sifill.bsky.social on the 14th Amendment and why we can't dream of going backwards, but build toward the thing never achieved. She's a poem and a light. slate.com/news-and-pol...

"I think things are unraveling pretty fast and people will get on full alert. The only question is, when they get on full alert, will it be too late? That’s why I’m saying: 'You might want to do that now'.” @sifill.bsky.social with @dahlialithwick.bsky.social . slate.com/news-and-pol...

What Rao and Walker are trying to do here is create a mechanism where Trump can ignore court orders. You simply defy any order, insist that the court refer the investigation for contempt to Trump’s own DOJ, and then ignore the referral.

Usually @sifill.bsky.social anchors our New Years episode. But we needed her early this year. On the many ways it's too late to be indifferent but never ever too late to get in the fight for the Fourteenth Amendment and all that it promises. swap.fm/l/AmicusWith...

BREAKING Kilmar Abrego Garcia must be immediately RELEASED from immigration custody, a federal judge rules. Story soon on All Rise News www.allrisenews.com/subscribe

Every part of this is bonkers. The intro is bonkers. The transition to his health is bonkers. The mention that other presidents didn't need cognitive exams is bonkers. The claim that this screening test is somehow hard is bonkers. The idea that criticism of him is treason is bonkers. All of it.

Unlike Supreme Court Justices, the rest of the fed’l judiciary is governed by canons of ethics. Among other things, they’re not supposed to attend political events & should avoid even an appearance of impropriety. joycevance.substack.com/p/judicial-e...

BREAKING: At one point, the Pentagon considered sending boat strike survivors to CECOT torture prison in El Salvador to avoid discovery in US courts. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/u...

Brett Kavanaugh's "minor inconvience" now includes beating people up and cutting off their wedding rings for [checks notes] "observing ICE from a distance."

Another judge grants request to unseal Epstein grand jury files, @ashleymurray.bsky.social reports for @statesnewsroom.com:

Like I just don't think people want an AI podcast and I don't think an AI podcast can compete with a people podcast, like at all The narcissists running the show are confused and think everyone else is a narcissist and thankfully no they aren't digiday.com/media/the-wa...

Federal prosecutors tried to charge a guy with a felony because he closed a door a Border Patrol agent and it lightly scraped the agent's leg. (Grand jury said NOPE)

As we look ahead to the 2026 midterms, "for the first time in American history, the federal government is actively waging an effort to undermine the elections," @mawaldman.bsky.social tells @davidfrum.bsky.social:

GUARDIAN: “The richest .0001% hold 3x the wealth of the poorest half of humanity.” www.theguardian.com/inequality/2...

Democrats win the Miami mayor's race for the first time in 30 years -- and by a double-digit margin over the candidate Trump endorsed. Fox News this morning: DEMS IN DISARRAY

BREAKING Trump’s troops must get out of Los Angeles, a federal judge rules. (Ruling paused until Monday.) Look out for more coverage soon at All Rise News.

Gift article: wapo.st/4iIPha5

The Texas GOP orders that the TurningPoint USA Trump youth organization will be obligatory at all high schools and colleges in the Lone Star State.

Nicole Wallace breaks down every insult and abusive remark Trump has made to female journalists in the last few weeks. “We’re either going to normalize this and usher in an era of unprecedented misogyny, or that press corps is going to act as one and say no more” No More.

The best reading of this article: Trump is going to use FDA to restrict medication abortion, but he wants to wait until after the midterms so the Republicans don't experience blowback. But that just makes the midterms more important. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Bafflingly, Bondi now says they're appealing. I have no idea whether the case is now moot or not. Kudos to Alina Habba, who has managed to make even a resignation confusing

Habba out

Fed carve-out? Justice Brett Kavanaugh expressed interest in protecting the Federal Reserve’s independence, as the Supreme Court's conservative majority signaled it was leaning towards expanding President Trump's power to fire members of historically independent US agencies buff.ly/882ynWh

Supreme Court oral argument this morning, in sum Sotomayor: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (derogatory) Gorsuch: you're asking us to destroy the foundation of government (complimentary)

Justice Jackson nails it, but that this has to be spelled out is so depressing.

Wins 2025 hands down