NOW: SG Sauer tells SCOTUS the DOJ has decided to drop the contempt indictment against former Trump advisor Steve Bannon. DC USA Pirro filed a corresponding motion in district court. Bannon was convicted & served 4 months in prison for defying a Jan. 6 Committee subpoena.

NOW: The Supreme Court will allow California to use a new map in this year's midterm elections designed to counter gains from Republican redistricting efforts in Texas. The California GOP and the Trump administration had asked the court to block it.

Absolutely awful to see the gutting of the Washington Post. The Post's journalists are incredible, dedicated people. We are all better off for the work they do every day. And we will now be worse off for the work they won't get to do.

The justices will hear oral arguments on the Trump administration's former "metering" policy at the border on March 24.

SCOTUS will hear Ahmad Abouammo's case on March 30.

Justice Samuel Alito says he will recuse from a long-simmering environmental case out of Louisiana due to his oil company holdings. Chevron USA v. Plaquemines Parish is set for oral arguments on Monday.

I remain as proud as ever of the work my colleagues and I did reporting on Jan. 6, and forever grateful to the many officers, members of Congress and staffers who shared their stories with us. That lasting record stands, and will stand.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court DENIES a stay sought by the Trump administration that would allow the president to deploy the National Guard in Illinois. The court says at least at this stage the administration has not overcome the Posse Comitatus Act.

References to the late Justice Antonin Scalia surged this year during Supreme Court oral arguments -- a testament to his lasting influence over the institution nearly 10 years after his death. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Supreme Court says a Louisiana health emergency law can't immunize providers from Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) claims brought in state courts. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/supreme-court-voids-louisiana-health-law-barring-federal-claims

CERT GRANT: A Maryland woman says she agreed to a state court medical consent order to secure her release from involuntary hospitalization after a gluten-induced psychotic episode. SCOTUS will consider whether her federal lawsuit is DOA. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

CERT GRANT: The Supreme Court will hear the case of Ahmad Abouammo, a former Twitter employee convicted of spying for Saudi Arabia. Abouammo argues he was charged in the wrong venue w/ obstructing an FBI investigation into leaks about Saudi dissidents. news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and...

Here's the affidavit the DOJ has just unsealed against the Northern Virginia man they now say planted two pipe bombs near the RNC and DNC ahead of Jan. 6. Link: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The Supreme Court will hear the Trump administration's defense of its former "metering" policy, which allowed immigration officers to turn away asylum seekers at the border. news.bloomberglaw.com/litigation/j...

Oklahoma Gov. Kevin Stitt granted an 11th-hour reprieve today an hour after the Supreme Court declined to hear death row inmate Tremane Wood's appeal and minutes before his scheduled execution. news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and...

The Supreme Court seems wary of expanding the compassionate release "safety valve," with justices from both wings taking turns today pressing attorneys on what Congress really had in mind in the First Step Act. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Supreme Court conservatives appeared reluctant today to expand the right to sue state prison officials in federal court for violations of inmates’ religious liberties. news.bloomberglaw.com/white-collar...

The Trump admin says the Supreme Court should let a Rastafarian sue the Louisiana prison officials responsible for him being pinned down and forcibly shaved. That's 180-degrees from the position it took in another religious liberty case 5 years ago. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

There's now "more antisemitism on the right than at any time in my life," Sen. Ted Cruz told the Federalist Society today — urging conservatives to "stand up" to bigotry after Tucker Carlson interviewed white nationalist Nick Fuentes on his podcast. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Federal agencies' independent litigation powers may be next in President Trump's sights if SCOTUS agrees he has the right to fire executive branch employees at will, DOJ's Civil Division head said today. news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and...

The D.C. federal prosecutor's office is on a roll, with back-to-back losses in closely watched assault on a federal officer cases. More surge-era cases grand juries refused to indict are still pending in Superior Court. www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

The Supreme Court has asked for supplemental briefing in the Trump administration's request to lift the injunction currently blocking the deployment of the National Guard in Illinois amid an immigration enforcement surge in Chicago.

Justice Brett Kavanaugh's chambers have emerged as a big talent pipeline for President Trump's second-term judicial nominations. Three of his four confirmed appellate court nominees clerked for Kavanaugh on the D.C. Circuit. news.bloomberglaw.com/business-and...

My first at @bloomberglaw.com: 31 former federal judges today signed on to an amicus brief urging the U.S. Supreme Court to reject President Trump's sweeping tariffs. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Some (slightly belated) personal news: I began a new job this week at @bloomberglaw.com reporting on the U.S. Supreme Court. Add me to your SCOTUS-related media/mailing lists and keep an eye out for my byline soon!

An extraordinarily embarrassing case for the line prosecutors forced to pursue it, who spent two weeks getting yelled at from the bench over missing/incomplete evidence and evasive witnesses -- including at least one whose testimony was flatly contradicted by video evidence.

NOW: Three grand juries declined to indict Sidney Reid, and today a petit jury came to the same conclusion in less than 2 hours -- finding her NOT GUILTY of assaulting an FBI agent during an ICE arrest. (via @sophrosenthal) www.wusa9.com/article/news...

UPDATE: Judge Ana Reyes has set an April 12, 2027, trial date for the first wrongful death lawsuit filed in connection with the Flight 5342 disaster.

NEW: James Comey's attorneys say they plan to file their motion to disqualify interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan as unlawfully appointed on Monday. As in similar challenges in New Jersey and Nevada, an out-of-district judge will be tapped to decide that.

MORE: Attorneys for Kilmar Abrego Garcia say affirmatively if DHS decided to remove him to Costa Rica tomorrow he would go. That the Trump administration isn't trying to deport him there, they say, shows they're trying to punish him.

NEW: A senior ICE official testified today the WH Homeland Security Council — and not the State Department — informed him Uganda was the deportation target for Abrego Garcia. DOJ then asserted presidential privilege over any other details about the call. www.wusa9.com/article/news...

BREAKING: Following OMB Director Russ Vought's tweet today announcing RIFs, AFGE has filed an emergency motion seeking a TRO. They argue the RIFs violate the Antideficiency Act by requiring unlawful work during a government shutdown. Link: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

During an evidentiary hearing now for Kilmar Abrego Garcia, ICE Deputy Assistant Director for Removal Management John Schultz says Eswatini has not yet agreed to take him: “We’ve had initial conversations with Eswatini and we haven’t gotten to a ‘yes,’ but discussions are continuing.”

NEW: DOJ says it will turn over the resignation letter of the criminal division chief who resigned the same day Kilmar Abrego Garcia was indicted. It argues it shouldn't have to turn over any comms by high-level admin officials about the case. Link: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The government has responded to Sidney Reid's motion, saying officers didn't think there was much of anything on the video and that it was never really in their possession.

Former FBI director Jim Comey pleaded not guilty today to lying to Congress. In a rare move, his defense has laid out their strategy. They'll argue the case is politically motivated and that interim U.S. Attorney Lindsay Halligan was unlawfully appointed. www.wusa9.com/article/news...

Former FBI director James Comey pleaded not guilty this morning to two counts for alleged false statements to Congress. Jury trial set for Jan. 5. Before that: Motions from the defense to dismiss for vindictive prosecution and disqualify interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan.

In Alexandria this morning, where former FBI director Jim Comey is scheduled to be arraigned at 10 a.m. Lots of media here along with a few folks protesting the case.

As promised, U.S. Attorney Pirro's office has now refiled misdemeanor charges against attorney Paul Bryant in D.C. Superior Court. He was sent a citation to appear next month. Prosecutors had previously fought for pretrial detention.

A new wrinkle in the Sidney Reid case: Judge Sooknanan has scheduled an evidentiary hearing Thursday after Reid's attorneys filed a motion to dismiss today. They allege the government failed to to preserve potentially exculpatory video of the incident.

Interim U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan appears to have gone outside of the Eastern District of Virginia (EDVA) for help in the Comey prosecution. She's brought in two assistant U.S. attorneys from North Carolina — Nathaniel Tyler Lemons and Gabriel Diaz.

Former FBI director Jim Comey's arraignment has been moved up to 10 a.m. on Wednesday before Judge Michael Nachmanoff. www.wusa9.com/article/news...

This case has been assigned to Judge Beryl A. Howell, an Obama appointee who granted a previous PI seeking to block one of the Trump executive orders targeting a biglaw firm. Howell has ordered the parties to come up with a briefing schedule by tomorrow.

The Justice Department says in a release tonight it intends to appeal Roske's 8-year sentence, which it calls "woefully inadequate." Prosecutors asked today for 30 years in prison.

BREAKING: Dominion Voting Systems has reached a stipulated agreement to resolve its defamation lawsuit against One America News (OAN) and its owners. Motion comes days after Dominion reached a settlement in a similar suit against Rudy Giuliani.

BREAKING: Sophie Roske, the woman who traveled across the country with a plan to kill Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh — but ultimately turned herself in before acting — has been sentenced to 8 years in prison. www.wusa9.com/article/news...

BREAKING: The judge overseeing Kilmar Abrego Garcia's criminal case in Tennessee has ordered an evidentiary hearing, saying his attorneys have shown there is a "realistic likelihood of vindictiveness" in his prosecution. Opinion: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Heading to Greenbelt this morning for the Sophie Roske sentencing. Prosecutors are expected to call at least one witness. Roske submitted a letter to the court last month, but uncertain if she will speak today.

Tomorrow prosecutors will ask a judge for three decades in prison for Sophie Roske, who pleaded guilty earlier this year to the attempted assassination of Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh. The DOJ says the plot was "terrorism at its highest order." www.wusa9.com/article/news...

Federal prosecutors, who've already made it very clear they're worried about jury nullification when Sidney Reid goes on trial later this month, wants to ask potential jurors specifically about their feelings on ICE and the federal surge (even though the charges pre-date it).