WOW: Jodi Kantor & Adam Liptak have the memos that describe the origins of SCOTUS shadow docket - the 2016 order halting Obama’s Clean Power Plan @jodikantor.bsky.social @adamliptak.bsky.social @nytimes.com www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...

ACTUAL MALICE STANDARD IS NOW WHAT SOME WOULD CALL A LEGAL LAYUP

WHO IS THE ADMINISTRATOR OF LEGAL LAYUPS

ACTUAL MALICE STANDARD IS NOW WHAT SOME WOULD CALL A LEGAL LAYUP

“actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up.” “actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up.” “actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up.” “actual malice standard is now what some would call a legal lay up.”

Wow I had no idea

extremely millennial dilemma: do i read the new lena dunham first or the new patrick radden keefe first?

Kash Patel advisor Erica Knight says a “lawsuit is being filed” over The Atlantic’s article alleging that the FBI director’s drinking has been “a recurring source of concern across the government.” Patel retweeted the post.

Gift article: www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...

👀👀👀 “Patel’s drinking has been a recurring source of concern across the government. They said that he is known to drink to the point of obvious intoxication….On multiple occasions in the past year, members of his security detail had difficulty waking Patel because he was seemingly intoxicated…”

I watch Lawfare live just to see @annabower.bsky.social puppy lucy..

OAH peeps: it appears my book is not at the Oxford University Press booth. But you can go by and order Migration and the Origins of American Citizenship by scanning the QR code for 40% off.

Meanwhile…. A new filing in Trump’s $10 billion dollar civil case against his own IRS signals that the parties are in settlement discussions. Trump sued over prior disclosure of his tax returns. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

If you appreciate the publication of primary source documents like this one, I hope you’ll consider donating to support our non-profit journalism and analysis. givebutter.com/journalism/a...

Nice (and infuriating) FOIA win from @annabower.bsky.social and @lawfaremedia.org!

The Trump administration gave $1.25 million of our tax dollars to Michael Flynn to "settle" a bogus lawsuit for wrongful prosecution in a case WHERE HE PLED GUILTY. Now, as Anna points out, the government might be gearing up to shovel even more money at him to settle another equally frivolous case.

We obtained the Flynn settlement through a FOIA lawsuit filed in federal court earlier this year. We’re seeking records related to settlement agreements executed by Trump’s DOJ. Many thanks to our lawyers at the Civil Service Law Center LLP for their assistance! bsky.app/profile/anna...

NEW: We obtained the government’s settlement agreement with Michael Flynn. As previously reported, DOJ agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle Flynn’s claims that he was wrongfully prosecuted. But docs suggest a separate settlement could be in the works: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/u.s....

Yeah, I think one of the most incredible things about the pope-off is that when previous popes have done similar things, it had to go through a translation barrier, but no nuance and no shade is lost when the American pope is being bitchy [complimentary]

The one in which @ericcolumbus.bsky.social takes up the “Hey, Ed!” mantle bsky.app/profile/anna...

As someone who was in the FBI while the investigations were ongoing, and who now works at @lawfaremedia.org I cannot overemphasize how thorough the site’s coverage of the events truly was — and is.

I wonder if, in my lifetime, DOJ will ever recover the integrity that it once held, to whatever extent it held it.

I’m especially proud of our work at @lawfaremedia.org because we’ve produced what is likely the most detailed contemporaneous reporting on J6 legal cases. Even as I watch history be rewritten in real time, I still hope it will serve future historians seeking truth. givebutter.com/journalism/a...

“The past was erased, the erasure was forgotten, the lie became the truth.”

The individuals referenced here are adjudicated terrorists. They were found guilty of conspiring to use force against their own government to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. A conservative, Trump-appointed judge applied terrorism enhancements to their sentences.

Days after the president blasted the Pope as “weak on Crime,” his own DOJ moved to dismiss criminal cases against individuals convicted of conspiring to use force to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Some of the conduct for which Rhodes was convicted: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/oath...

JD Vance/Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia

In which I finally got tired of DOJ passing off "we did XYZ super duper complicated sounding thing that we swear made sense trust us" and had an actual honest to God cyber expert beat them senseless. Legally speaking. @muellershewrote.com

JD Vance/Turning Point USA event in Athens, Georgia

This is an awesome series. And yes, do not bail on this episode even one second early.

Seconded. It's a master class in investigative reporting.

It's pretty fantastic. I think I'm one episode behind, but will remedy that tomorrow.

GUYS. I’M TELLING YOU. LISTEN TO “WHO BLEW UP THE GUIDESTONES?” OKAY???

Episode 6 of WHO BLEW UP THE GUIDESTONES? is called "Revelations," and it's out now. Trust me, you'll want to listen all the way to the very end of this one. Listen at the link below 👇🎧🍑🗿

The excerpt in this post is from my 2022 coverage of the Oath Keepers trial, which you can read here: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/oath... bsky.app/profile/anna...

Days after the president blasted the Pope as “weak on Crime,” his own DOJ moved to dismiss criminal cases against individuals convicted of conspiring to use force to prevent the peaceful transfer of power. Some of the conduct for which Rhodes was convicted: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/oath...

GOVT ASKS DC CIRCUIT TO VACATE CONVICTIONS AND REMAND FOR DISMISSAL IN OATH KEEPERS AND PROUD BOYS CASES. Stewart Rhodes, Ethan Nordean, everybody. ... www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

The FACE Act is the basis for DOJ’s dubious prosecution of Don Lemon and dozens more regarding a January protest in a St. Paul, MN church. @annabower.bsky.social and LT Edwards and I analyzed in @lawfaremedia.org the factual and legal problems with the case: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/minn...

This report on the “Biden Administration’s Weaponization of the FACE Act” repeatedly cites conduct that occurred…during the first Trump administration.

In its "weaponization" report on the FACE Act, DOJ once again struggles to answer the most difficult question of all: who was president in 2020? www.justice.gov/opa/pr/justi...

How 3 Trump-appointed judges have prevented Judge Boasberg from probing top DHS & DOJ officials (including a now fourth Trump-appointed judge, Emil Bove) for possible criminal contempt for 363 days.

Me reporting on Judge Boasberg investigating criminal contempt in 2028

Judge Boasberg investigating criminal contempt in 2028

At this point, there's a decent chance that Boasberg will either A) never be permitted to investigate the contempt, or B) the investigation won't even be able to begin in earnest until 2027 or 2028, after a Supreme Court ruling.

Opinions here: www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

Boasberg again runs into a Trump-majority DC Circuit panel that moves to block him from investigating possible contempt of court around the CECOT deportations. A majority of the DC Circuit previously suggested that contempt likely occurred, so this case is not remotely over yet.

Order comes nearly one year to the day after Boasberg found probable cause to hold the government in criminal contempt for failure to comply with his order prohibiting the removal of people to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador That order was issued by Boasberg on April 16, 2025

DC panel has (again) BLOCKED Judge Boasberg from investigating possible criminal contempt by DOJ and DHS officials, including Judge Bove, in connection with sending Venezuelans to CECOT against his order. (I can't access full ruling yet.) Panel: Judges Rao (Trump) Walker (Trump) & Childs (Obama)