The Supreme Court’s conservative supermajority applies originalism to interpret the Constitution. Our new guide shows lawyers how to defeat shoddy historical arguments in court. bit.ly/44yksPF

The president has no authority to change election rules. Wendy Weiser and other Brennan Center experts discuss how we challenged President Trump's power grabs on the latest episode of The Briefing with Michael Waldman: bit.ly/48SQYPc

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has stated that the 1918 flu pandemic was caused by a lab virus from vaccine research, a defective influenza vaccine. Let’s analyze what a lie this is. First, in 1918, 107 years ago, virology was in its infancy

Google is hosting a CBP app that uses facial recognition to identify immigrants, while simultaneously removing apps that report the location of ICE officials because Google sees ICE as a vulnerable group. “Big tech has made their choice.” www.404media.co/google-has-c...

ICE has long used the latest spy tech to pursue immigrants — but now it’s also targeting anti-ICE protesters and anyone who allegedly funds them. bit.ly/3Kq348R

It is international law 101 that a military blockade is not just a violation of the UN Charter, but a crime of aggression. Unless that blockade is in response to an 'armed attack.' None of President's Trump's list of complaints come close to an armed attack. 1/

Full show: Substack: lnk.thebulwark.com/4rZK5CY YouTube: lnk.thebulwark.com/4rUKbfn Apple: lnk.thebulwark.com/3LLwajw Spotify: lnk.thebulwark.com/4a8qqu7

The world's richest 0.001% now control 3x as much wealth as the entire bottom half of humanity combined. 56,000 wealthy individuals have more than roughly 4 billion people. Read that back.

Trump's executive order to block states from protecting their citizens from AI will almost certainly fail in court. Why issue it? It may still have a chilling effect if states cave. And that would make some of the largest political spenders very happy. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

The Department of Justice filed lawsuits against four more states — CO, HI, MA, and NV— for not providing their statewide voter registration lists in response to the department’s request. The total number of states being sued over their voter files now stands at 18, which we are tracking here:

Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/ (new piece) newrepublic.com/article/2043...

Yesterday, President Trump issued an executive order blocking state enforcement of AI regulation. This comes after a flood of donations from the AI industry to the Trump administration, as we map out in our money in politics roundup: bit.ly/42wEcSM

Seven conclusions about what we've learned about Trumpism and the resilience of American democracy across 2025 — the big one: Donald Trump is losing. www.doomsdayscenario.co/p/donald-tru...

The President of the United States has the exact same power to pardon a state-court conviction that you or I have—which is to say, none.

State courts shape daily life more than you think, but keeping up with the decisions that matter can be a challenge. From legal scholars to students to rights advocates, hear from some of our superusers about how they use State Court Report. Subscribe today: go.statecourtreport.org/subscribe.

If you're looking for a great read on the state of our space programs -- Moon, Mars, asteroids, robot probes, and don't forget the Oort Cloud -- check out this gem from @joelachenbach.bsky.social: slate.com/technology/2...

Yes. Please.

The Washington Post has a new deeply reported look into the September 2 boat strike. Balanced writing but disturbing details. wapo.st/4a6lypq

As we face up to SCOTUS arguments over birthright citizenship, understanding this constitutional guarantee has never been more important. @brennancenter.org & @oah.org have you covered with this video feat. @katemasur.bsky.social @marthasjones.bsky.social & Erika Lee: www.youtube.com/live/6QCIt0l...

Presidents can’t rescind birthright citizenship. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/ana... @brennancenter.org

political science

Elon Musk’s charitable foundation grew larger than ever in 2024. But, for the fourth year in a row, the huge charity failed to give away the minimum amount required by law — and the donations it did make went largely to charities closely tied to Musk himself, who is the world's richest man.

Much like our immigration system, there's so much shit that will make normal people go "but it shouldn't work like that!" in our prisons. Share Bolts widely.

Noem: You made it through the hurricane season without a hurricane—you kept the hurricanes away. We appreciate that.

Noem: You have saved hundreds of millions of lives with the Cocaine you’ve blown up in the Caribbean

Minneapolis Police Chief O'Hara notes the MPD will not work with federal agents & says "In moments like this, I know how real the fear is in our community. People are going to want to speak out, protest, & exercise their 1st Amendment rights. We will absolutely defend people's right to do just that"

Very good thread.

The fall semester has been SUPER busy for the members of the Historians Council on the Constitution. Walk with me through this 🧵for highlights from the historians' work on some of the most pressing legal issues of the day, from agency independence to voting rights... @brennancenter.org

Anyone I know going to be in Aspen December 18-22?

A Trump administration request to the Supreme Court to deploy troops in Chicago contains factual errors, mischaracterizing the responsiveness of local police and the actions of protesters, our Visual Investigations team found. nyti.ms/43T7qfn

We're now at the RE-PARDONS stage of this presidency www.politico.com/news/2025/11...

It's a revealing moment... J.D. Vance welcomes a two-legged robot helping on the job site. But if that helper is a person named Jose, he calls it a threat. Same tasks, same productivity boost. The inconsistency reveals this isn’t about economics.

NEW: Epstein survivors release the most powerful PSA I have ever seen. Make this go viral so every member of the House of Representatives sees it.

“The shock value is wearing off and, in fact, the targeted communities are fighting back faster and with a more tried-and-true playbook: Organize quickly, step up and document the abuses, protest loudly, and fight in the courtrooms.”

We’ve talked about how we in the media normalize (even incentivize) aberrant behavior by public figures who make it their brand. But just imagine if an official in your city or town had told a female reporter asking about a sex abuse scandal, “Quiet, piggy.” Headlines for days.

The fact that no one in the room stood up for her says a lot about how we got here bsky.app/profile/pale...

Can confirm that Fox News totally ignored the press conference where Epstein survivors and lawmakers called for the release of the Epstein files. Last week, they ignored key revelations from the Epstein emails. These omissions depict a false reality to their viewers.

Really ties all the threads together, this one

JUST IN: A federal appeals court panel (with 2/3 Trump appointees) calls his lawsuit against CNN — over use of the term Big Lie — "meritless" and affirms the decision by a lower court to throw it out. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/26...

“They’re trying to somehow tie President Trump to the scandal”

Here’s an example of journalistic dedication. My husband, @danfagin.bsky.social, wrote the butterfly story. To fact-check the rice grains analogy, he asked a rice scientist (yes, there are such a thing) to weigh a dozen grains so Dan could get the average weight of a single grain.

This opinion demands to be read in full. Among the problems with the grand jury proceedings: * The key evidence presented to the grand jury came from a search that may have violated the Fourth Amendment. * Lindsey Halligan apparently misstated the law to the grand jury, twice.

A federal judge ORDERS the disclosure of James Comey's grand jury minutes to the defense, citing a "disturbing pattern pattern of profound investigative missteps" and casting doubt on Lindsey Halligan's declaration about the gap in the record. Background www.allrisenews.com/p/halligan-c...

Todd Blanche would have had these emails before interviewing Maxwell. Why didn’t he question her directly about her exchanges? Why did he not follow up when she said things that were onviously a lie?? This shows that was a performance intended to dupe the public and benefit her (and Trump)

Reupping my look at Cheney’s legacy for those who sensibly spent time with friends and family over the weekend. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

First kids at a Halloween parade getting tear gassed and now this. Abhorrent and unacceptable.

Rebuttal from a very smart lawyer (and friend) to one of my arguments in @theatlantic.com piece on Cheney.

Nearly two decades after my book on Cheney, I took a shot at assessing his legacy. It’s more complicated than you might think. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/1...

so far, grand and petit juries are the institutions with the best track record in standing up to authoritarianism

President Trump’s troop deployments in Los Angeles, DC, Chicago, and other cities pose real threats to civil liberties and the rule of law.   Experts will discuss the legality of Trump's domestic military deployments. Join us for a virtual event on Mon., Nov. 10, at 3pm EST. RSVP: bit.ly/4hJjSnB