A Utah-based federal judge has orderd the Trump administration to facilitate the return of a man who administration officials acknowledge was deported in violation of a court order. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: Jack Smith seemed in total command of the details of his probes and used his deposition to forcefully rebut claims of weaponization and reiterate his belief that Trump was guilty of historic crimes. Our 7 takeaways. w/ @Hailey_Fuchs @jordainc www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

BREAKING: The House Judiciary Committee has released Jack Smith's 255-page deposition transcript: judiciary.house.gov/sites/evo-su...

JUST IN: Jan. 6 pipe bomb suspect Brian Cole argues he should not be detained pending trial, that his confession doesn't negate presumption of innocence and pretrial detention requires more than just strong evidence. Says he is on the spetrum and OCD. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: The alleged J6 pipe bomber confessed, said he wanted to “speak up” for those who believed 2020 election was stolen, dislikes both parties and modeled his attack on the Troubles in Ireland. Says he wasn’t targeting the joint session of Congress storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Trump frustrated at never-ending Epstein saga, calls on DOJ to release names of only Dems connected to Epstein to “embarrass them” and suggests that despite legal requirement to release everything, DOJ should consider saying “no more.”

BREAKING: Huge loss for Trump administration at Supreme Court, which rules that the Trump administration had lacked authority to federalize and deploy the National Guard to execute laws in Illinois. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

NEW: Investigators described finding a photo of Trump and Ghislaine Maxwell on Steve Bannon's phone during the "We Build the Wall" investigation. This and other details from the latest Epstein Files release, w @eorden.bsky.social @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEW: Tens of thousands of documents appearing to be from "Dataset 8" of the Epstein files went live on a Justice Department website today, only to be pulled down hours later without explanation. w/ @eorden.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

BREAKING: Judge Cannon rules that her restriction on Jack Smith's classified documents report will end on Feb. 24. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: Judge Boasberg said the administration's goal in rushing to deport the men — after Trump's secret invocation of the Alien Enemies Act — was clearly meant to evade court review until they were in CECOT. w/ @joshgerstein www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEW: Welcome to Wikileaks 2.0. The Trump administration’s slow-drip release of the Epstein files guarantees a weeks-long feeding frenzy that will keep Washington on edge — and Trump’s relationship with Epstein in the news. w/ @hassankanu.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

JUST IN: The Justice Department has appealed the disqualification of Lindsey Halligan as U.S. attorney, a ruling that led to the disimssal of charges against James Comey and Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: Judge Cobb blocks ICE's policy that limited Congress' ability to visit immigration detention facilities, saying it imposed illegal restrictions by requiring 7-day advanced notice and excluding ICE field offices. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

NEW: A win for Trump’s guard deployment in DC comes with a major warning — from two of his own appointees — about his deployments to other cities. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

A unanimous D.C. Circuit panel clears the way for Trump's deployment of National Guard troops in Washington, D.C., staying a lower court's order that foudn the deployment illegal. The panel Millett: Obama Rao: Trump Katsas Trump. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: Jack Smith will make his case to Congress today while navigating a labyrinth of secrecy rules, laws and restrictions — and a room full of Republican lawmakers eager to trip him up and incriminate him. w/ @Hailey_Fuchs www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

The VF profile notes Wiles was incorrect about violent Jan. 6 defendants receiving greater-than-recommended sentences, but it doesn’t capture how wildly off base she was. I don’t think there was a single above-guidelines sentence given in a J6 felony case. www.vanityfair.com/news/story/t...

NEW: President Trump sued the BBC tonight, seeking $5 billion for what he claimed was deceptive editing of his Jan. 6 speech to a crowd that then marched to the Capitol and helped fuel a violent riot. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

Judges Rao/Katsas have iced Judge Boasberg's contempt hearings until at least the New Year. And they want to know whether he has the power to investigate contempt at all or must refer it to DOJ. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The 11th Circuit says Alabama's new law to prohibit third-party assistance with absentee balloting is "not a very clear law." So they're sending some Qs to the Alabama Supreme Court to understand what it is trying to criminalize. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

NEW: A judge ordered DOJ late Friday to return materials it seized from Comey friend Dan Richman, calling their rummaging through the documents a flagrant abuse of his constitutional rights. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

JUST IN: Judge Boasberg won’t back off his planned contempt hearings next week and says the crime-fraud exception would overcome potential privileges. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Judge Xinis ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s release in part bc ICE could not produce a final “order of removal” to deport him. So last night, they went out and got an immigration judge to issue one. Now, Abrego is urging Xinis to block his redetention. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: Federal prosecutors have failed, for the second time, to re-indict Letitia James. w/ @joshgerstein www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

BREAKING: A federal judge has ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia's immediate release from ICE custody. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: A federal judge has blocked DHS from enforcing a new prohibition on “unusual noise” outside a government building in Oregon, saying it unconstitutionally criminalizes and chills free speech storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

DOJ makes it clear: If Judge Boasberg wants to pursue a contempt case against Kristi Noem, he's going to have to pierce privileged conversations she had with Blanche, Bove and DHS lawyers – something DOJ says shoudl only happen at a trial. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Center for Biological Diversity is suing the Trump administration to have Trump's face removed from national parks passes. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

A D.C. Circuit panel sides with Hegseth on transgender military ban, saying Judge Reyes' attempt to block it didn't accord the seretary enough deference. Majority: Katsas (Trump) Rao (Trump) Dissent: Pillard (Obama) storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: DOJ confirms Trump asserted executive privilege to shield more than 4,100 documents form police and lawmakers suing him over the Jan. 6 riot. Our earlier story on the privilege claim: www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

JUST IN: A federal magistrate judge has turned down Tina Peters' habeas petition, saying it must work its way through state courts before federal courts get involved. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: Judge Boasberg says it'd be "premature" to refer Kristi Noem for a contempt prosecution but orders testimony next week from DOJ whistleblower Erez Rueveni and Deputy Assistant AG Drew Ensign. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: A judge tonight blocked the Justice Department from accessing the emails/hard drive of Comey adviser/former lawyer Dan Richman. The ruling on the docs is a blow to prosecutors as they consider bringing new charges against Comey w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

It happened again: The Trump administration has admitted illegally deporting a man to Guatemala despite an immigration judge's order that he was likely to be tortured there. A judge has ordered the administration to facilitate his return by next week.storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: Judge Sooknanan has rejected DOJ's effort to dismiss a lawsuit brought by immigration detainees at Guanatanamo Bay, saying the plaintiffs made a plausible claim that the policy is illegal and punitive. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

JUST IN: A 2-1 panel of the D.C. Circuit rules that Trump may remove members of the NLRB or MSPB regardless of laws meant to shield them from removal without cause. Majority: Rao (Trump), Katsas (Trump) Dissent: Pan (Biden) storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: A federal grand jury rejected DOJ’s latest bid to indict NY attorney general Letitia James, the latest black eye in Trump’s push to prosecute his adversaries w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social @hassankanu.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

BREAKING: The Supreme Court has permitted Texas to keep its newly redistricted, GOP-favorable congressional map in 2026. Kagan, Sotomayor and Jackson dissent. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

NEW: Donald Trump’s sweeping 2020 election pardon was unprecedented not just because it covered his alleged coconspirators. The language was so vague that it could cover an enormous range of activity — and he left it to his subordinates to sort out. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEWS: We’ve confirmed reports that there’s been an arrest in connection with the Jan. 6 pipe bombs. The man is expected to appear in court later today. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

JUST IN: The NY Times lawsuit names names, saying the Pentagon's new press restrictions violate the First Amendment by forcing out journalists who ask adversarial questions and replacing them with avowed MAGA supporters. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

NEW: President Trump has asserted executive privilege as he attempts to thwart a long-running lawsuit against him for his role in stoking the violence on Jan. 6. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

A federal judge has denied a woman's lawsuit claiming that when she was 11, she wrote letter to Starburst's parent company inventing the concept of the two-flavor "Duo" ... only for the company to steal it decades later. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...

NEW: Judge Howell barred the Trump administration from continuing to make warrantless immigration arrests in DC unless there is probable cause to believe there is a risk of flight. The admin illegally lowered the standard, she said. w/ @hassankanu.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEW: President Trump is urging Judge Aileen Cannon to keep Jack Smith's final report secret indefinitely. www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEW: DOJ is weighing whether to seek new indictments against Comey and James — but faces acute risks with any path prosecutors take. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

NEW: ICE’s policy of mass detaining immigrants w pending deportation proceedings has led to an avalanche of rejections in court. More than 220 judges — including 23 Trump appointees — have called it an illegal distortion of long-settled law. www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

Rep. Eric Swalwell's lawsuit against Bil PULTE has been assigned to ... Judge Boasberg.

BREAKING: The case against Donald Trump in Georgia is officially dead. The prosecutor who took it over recently has moved to drop it – and Judge McAfee has granted the motion. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...