A major defeat for conservatives in Kansas, who were hoping to make inroads on the state supreme court by switching the state to regular elections. Their measure was defeated 61/39. (I'll have more to say on what this means for the court going forward soon.)

With Paul Weiss’s settlement back in the news, re-upping @knightcolumbia.org's podcast, “Lawyering Without Law,” exploring the role and responsibility of lawyers in an era of authoritarianism. It’s *really* good. Please listen & share it with your lawyer friends. knightcolumbia.org/content/lawy...

Lawyering Without Law

knightcolumbia.org

Well, the FCC Commissioner has made the decision, first announced in an op-ed in Breitbart, stating that a regulatory body does not have to observe laws made by Congress if they don't feel like it. Every month is new and unprecedented territory. docs.fcc.gov/public/attac...

"FBI Director Kash Patel is planning to shrink his legal advisory office, deepening divisions with his general counsel...OGC encompasses several hundred lawyers responsible for advising top bureau execs and agents to ensure lawful investigations..." /1

Patel Aims to Cut FBI Lawyers as General Counsel Tensions Rise

FBI Director Kash Patel is planning to shrink his legal advisory office, deepening divisions with his general counsel as outside lawsuits challenge prior staff terminations, said people familiar with ...

news.bloomberglaw.com

"FBI Director Kash Patel is planning to shrink his legal advisory office, deepening divisions with his general counsel...OGC encompasses several hundred lawyers responsible for advising top bureau execs and agents to ensure lawful investigations..." /1

Patel Aims to Cut FBI Lawyers as General Counsel Tensions Rise

FBI Director Kash Patel is planning to shrink his legal advisory office, deepening divisions with his general counsel as outside lawsuits challenge prior staff terminations, said people familiar with ...

news.bloomberglaw.com

A top supervision examiner at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned staff they would face "most unpleasant" consequences if they were too aggressive in their oversight of financial firms, according to an internal email reviewed by Reuters.

EXCLUSIVE: US consumer watchdog supervisor warned staff of 'unpleasant' fallout if they go too hard on firms

A top supervision examiner at the U.S. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau warned staff they would face "most unpleasant" consequences if they were too aggressive in their oversight of financial firms, according ​to an internal email reviewed by Reuters.

reut.rs

They're probably hoping you won't hear about this. But tomorrow in TX, Tarrant County officials meet to vote on a GOP plan to cut almost HALF of Election Day voting locations, plus 8 early voting locations, some of them on campuses. Not hard to guess why. fortworthreport.org/2026/07/30/t...

Tarrant County considers cutting 140 Election Day polling sites for November

County commissioners vote Aug. 4 on proposed reductions to the number of early voting and day-of sites for the midterms.

fortworthreport.org

NOTE: The lawyer/law firm that represented Trump in his Capital One money laundering lawsuit is the same lawyer Judge Williams referred to the bar for disciplinary action in the bogus Trump IRS lawsuit that resulted in the slush fund and tax immunity.

Connecticut's highest state court issued a warning to lawyers that they remain responsible for the accuracy of court filings produced with generative AI, using a decision about fabricated case citations to underscore attorneys' ethical obligations .

Top Connecticut court warns lawyers on AI risks after fake citations

Connecticut's highest state court issued a warning to lawyers that they remain responsible for the accuracy of court filings produced with ​generative AI, using a decision about fabricated case citations to underscore ‌attorneys' ethical obligations .

reut.rs

All of the federal prosecutors based in the Reno branch of the U.S. Attorney's Office for Nevada have left in the past year.

All federal prosecutors have left DOJ's Reno office, as lawyers leave Trump admin en masse - The Nevada Independent

The Reno office typically has between five and six full-time attorneys overseeing prosecutions. But in the past year, the number of lawyers has dwindled from six to zero.

thenevadaindependent.com

This is one deeply reported, beautifully written (or edited) story, and you should find time this Sunday morning to read every word of it. 1/2 Gift link www.nytimes.com/2026/08/02/u...

How a Top Law Firm Went From Standing Up to Trump to Bending the Knee (Gift Article)

Paul Weiss was a progressive stalwart for decades and led the legal resistance against President Trump in his first term. Then it surrendered without a fight. This is the inside story of its transform...

nytimes.com

The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money laundering concerns to Trump's family business.

Capital One says it closed Trump Organization's accounts after anti-money laundering probe

The disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money laundering concerns to Trump's family business.

reut.rs

“Judges simply don’t believe the representations that are being made by United States attorneys, assistant United States attorneys and the like,” a former federal judge said. “I don’t think ... in the history of jurisprudence in the United States, we’ve ever seen anything close to this.”

Federal Judges Chastise Trump’s Justice Department for “Unlawful,” “Unethical” and “Unseemly” Conduct

ProPublica reviewed hundreds of cases in which judges criticized the actions of federal prosecutors. In many, judges expressed frustration that they can no longer take the government at its word.

propublica.org

DHS Gen Counsel posted a series on X titled the “Worst of the Worst, District Judge Edition,” modeled after DHS’ series highlighting the “worst of the worst” immigrants deported. The posts named 4 federal trial judges who’ve ruled against the administration in some way over an immigration issue.

Judges Urge DHS Lawyer to Remove Posts on ‘Worst’ of Judiciary

Federal judges called on the Department of Homeland Security’s top lawyer to remove social media posts naming judges who’ve ruled against the administration as the “worst of the worst.”

news.bloomberglaw.com

The story here isn't so much the prosecution failed (it was always going to once it got near a court) or even that DOJ dropped it (at least saves time/money) but why Pirro decided to detail publicly just how false the case really was. This is a notable shift in her behavior. Why?

Eric Columbus@ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 5d ago

Pirro’s motion to dismiss the Reflecting Pool indictment not only makes Trump look like a fool (see Chris’ screenshot) but also throws the Dept of the Interior (DOI) and the contractor under the bus. It’s quite rare to see DOJ tear into another agency like this.

The story here isn't so much the prosecution failed (it was always going to once it got near a court) or even that DOJ dropped it (at least saves time/money) but why Pirro decided to detail publicly just how false the case really was. This is a notable shift in her behavior. Why?

Eric Columbus@ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 5d ago

Pirro’s motion to dismiss the Reflecting Pool indictment not only makes Trump look like a fool (see Chris’ screenshot) but also throws the Dept of the Interior (DOI) and the contractor under the bus. It’s quite rare to see DOJ tear into another agency like this.

Yeah, standard judicial deference to executive branch national security judgments def not gonna cut it anymore.

Asperas Bompar@asperasbompar.bsky.social · 6d ago

Wakanda tariffs going to get doubled now

A U.S. government map of Africa — likely made with AI tools — mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation abroad this week.

US government map of Africa mislabels every country at global conference

A U.S. government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a State Department presentation at ‌a global conference taking place in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attendees who took screen...

reuters.com

Two additional points. One: This was at AIDS 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference, in Rio de Janeiro. And: "A Reuters analysis found the image of the map included ⁠in the presentation contained an artificial intelligence watermark that signals it was made with OpenAI tools."

Eric Geller@ericjgeller.com · 6d ago

"A US government map of Africa mislabeled every country during a state department presentation at a global conference in Brazil this week, causing a stir among attenders who took screenshots and posted them online."

The definition of “picking winners and losers.” @thehill.com thehill.com/policy/techn...

Half the planet is having a massive fight about how to correctly interpret an Ancient Greek poem but go ahead, close some more humanities departments.

NEW from me: A senior Trump official is using his govt social media account to attack sitting federal judges, sparking accusations he's putting their safety at risk as judges already face a spike in violent threats. This “puts a bullseye” on them, one judge told me. www.huffpost.com/entry/james-...

Senior Trump Official Using Government Account To Smear Sitting Federal Judges

This “puts a bullseye” on judges already facing a spike in violent threats, warned U.S. District Judge Esther Salas, whose son was killed by a disgruntled litigant.

huffpost.com

Vote on Blanche now postponed

Joyce White Vance@joycewhitevance.bsky.social · last wk.

This analysis from last night holds up very well in light of new reporting this morning that Senator Cornyn is holding out for more from DOJ & Todd Blanche on the slush fund/audit forgiveness agreements joycevance.substack.com/p/is-todd-bl...

"Secret Service agents who questioned the former FBI director James B. Comey were told to send details of the interview to Air Force One so President Trump could review them....One government document said that 'POTUS was requesting a copy of the interview notes to use in his 6pm press conference.'"

Trump Demanded Details of Agents’ Interview of Comey, New Filing Says

The demand suggests the intense personal involvement of President Trump in investigating one of his longtime critics, the former F.B.I. director James B. Comey.

nytimes.com

OpenAI and Anthropic employees are circulating a petition that calls on the US government to support a mechanism that would help “deliberately pace” AI development to prevent the technology from advancing too fast.

OpenAI, Anthropic Staff Share Letter Asking US to Help Pace AI Progress

OpenAI and Anthropic PBC employees are circulating a petition that calls on the US government to support a mechanism that would help “deliberately pace” AI development to prevent the technology from advancing too fast, days after the ChatGPT maker disclosed that its tools had mistakenly hacked another firm’s internal systems.

bloom.bg

Liz Oyer says she's received deaths threats since testifying against Todd Blanche's nomination for Attorney General — and that Missouri's Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt have helped fuel the violent threats against her.

Opinion | Former DOJ lawyer spotlights death threats after Blanche testimony

Liz Oyer says Missouri’s Josh Hawley and Eric Schmitt are helping fueling threats against her as Republicans try to confirm Blanche as AG.

ms.now

NEW: The government's own witness in the felony Reflecting Pool case couldn't represent that the damage cost $1K+, the core element of the crime.

Witness in Reflecting Pool case conceded damage before canoeist touched water

The only grand jury witness in David “Davey” Hearn’s case said the area was already damaged and could not represent that his alleged actions cost more than $1,000, his attorneys said.

nbcnews.com

Marc Rosenblum, head for statistics at DHS, resigns, saying he is delighted to no longer be involved in supporting the agency's war against facts and the truth. www.wired.com/story/dhs-of...

DHS Official Resigns, Citing ‘War on Immigrants’

The outgoing executive director of the Office of Homeland Security Statistics is one of very few federal officials to speak out against the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown.

wired.com

Marc was one of the most dedicated civil servants I’ve ever met, a man who wanted to make sure the government got the facts rights, and the public could understand what was going on. To see him driven out gives you a sense of how Orwellian this administration has become. Truth is their enemy.

Scott Horton@robertscotthorton.bsky.social · last wk.

Marc Rosenblum, head for statistics at DHS, resigns, saying he is delighted to no longer be involved in supporting the agency's war against facts and the truth. www.wired.com/story/dhs-of...

NEW via Politico: The Trump Justice Department has moved to drop its final charge against a California labor leader who protested immigration enforcement — the latest setback for the Trump administration's efforts to punish people who resist its deportation agenda.

DOJ moves to drop case against California labor leader

The arrest of SEIU leader David Huerta sparked outrage around the administration's immigration agenda.

politico.com