Mattathias Schwartz
@schwartzesque.bsky.social
legal affairs correspondent // The New York Times first dot last at n y times dot com
NEW: More drama between the branches. Federal judges say the executive branch's G.S.A. is a bad landlord. They're asking Congress to give them control of their own courthouses, some of which are falling apart... 🎁 >>> www.nytimes.com/2026/07/17/u...
Judges Ask Congress for Power to Fix Crumbling Courthouses (Gift Article)
Undrinkable water. Leaks. Mold. Federal courthouses need billions of dollars in repairs, and judges say the General Services Administration is a bad landlord.
nytimes.com
NEW >>> a profile of Judge Emil Bove and how he is acclimating to the Third Circuit
NEW: Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge’s Trysts Go Public We talked to three of Judge Eleanor Ross’s clerks. Gift link >> nytimes.com/2026/06/11/u... by Nick Bogel-Burroughs and myself
Sex, Lies and Secrets: A Federal Judge’s Trysts Go Public
nytimes.com
NEW: Losing Trust in Justice Dept., Judges Call Out Its Lawyers’ Behavior The federal courts have long assumed that the government’s lawyers are trustworthy. Now judges across the country are criticizing their lack of candor. Gift link: www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/u...
Losing Trust in Justice Dept., Judges Call Out Its Lawyers’ Behavior
nytimes.com
An important piece from @schwartzesque.bsky.social, about the destruction of DOJ norms in federal courts, and its costs. www.nytimes.com/2026/06/01/u...
Losing Trust in Justice Dept., Judges Call Out Its Lawyers’ Behavior
nytimes.com
NEW: First, DHS ordered that info be withheld from Judge Melissa DuBose. Now it is accusing her of an "intimidation campaign." Authorities still can't find the man who she ordered released. He's wanted overseas, for homicide. But DHS didn't tell DuBose that. 🎁 >> www.nytimes.com/2026/05/13/u...
Homeland Security Dept. Escalates Its Dispute With Federal Judge
nytimes.com
NEW: Special Counsel to Investigate Trump Administration Lawyer for Possible Misconduct 🎁https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/07/us/politics/special-counsel-lawyer-misconduct.html?unlocked_article_code=1.glA.Y3gx.ryzl8-8d84u2&smid=url-share
Special Counsel to Investigate Trump Administration Lawyer for Possible Misconduct
nytimes.com
NEWS: Federal judges in Rhode Island have chosen a special counsel to investigate possible misconduct by Kevin Bolan, a DOJ attorney.
Hegseth reads prayer at the Pentagon: • "Pour out your wrath" • "Let every round find its mark" • Asks for "overwhelming violence" • "Let justice be executed swiftly and without remorse — that evil may be driven back and wicked souls delivered to the eternal damnation"
NEW: Some Judges See Risks in Fiery Opinions Warning of Threats to Democracy Federal judges are weighing strategies for how to respond to the high stakes, anonymous threats and politicized atmosphere of the Trump era. gift link >> www.nytimes.com/2026/03/26/u...
Some Judges See Risks in Fiery Opinions Warning of Threats to Democracy
nytimes.com
Very grateful to get to speak with @schwartzesque.bsky.social about judicial opinions that are increasingly sounding the alarm — (🎁 link)
Some Judges See Risks in Fiery Opinions Warning of Threats to Democracy
nytimes.com
We spent hours talking to Greg Bovino in his final days as a Border Patrol official. He mocked Tom Homan. Criticized the current CBP chief. Acknowledged clashes with ICE and the National Guard. Lots more here: www.nytimes.com/2026/03/24/u...
Gregory Bovino’s Final Days: Harsh Words and Few Regrets
nytimes.com
Former CIA Director John Brennan comes pretty close to saying that Russian interference was decisive in 2016 From this newly-posted Miller Center interview... d1b57bn6yaf7zy.cloudfront.net/BHO-Brennan2...
My old write-around profile of Robert Mueller for @gqmagazine.bsky.social, RIP www.gq.com/story/robert...
Inside the Secret World of the Mysterious Robert Mueller
He runs the most disciplined shop in Washington, so we talked to the people who know him best to figure out what comes next—and what it means for Trump.
gq.com
Overnight: The Trump administration is making a renewed push to deport Kilmar Abrego Garcia, telling a judge they've sorted out logistics to send him to Liberia (and rejected his proposal to go to Costa Rica) assets.bwbx.io/documents/us...
“Those who drafted the First Amendment believed that the nation’s security requires a free press and an informed people and that such security is endangered by governmental suppression of political speech. That principle has preserved the nation’s security for almost 250 years.”
Steve Merelman@smerelman.bsky.social · 6mo ago
not to justify the therapist but if i had an affair i’d also want him to come x2/week during my office hours
Mattathias Schwartz@schwartzesque.bsky.social · 6mo agoSome good news! Jesse Barron's "Transference in the Afternoon" is now free to read at @grantamag.bsky.social. Is sex with a therapist an affair or abuse? A trove of emails may hold the answer. Gripping reading, best nonfiction I've read in a long time. 🎁 granta.com/transference...
Some good news! Jesse Barron's "Transference in the Afternoon" is now free to read at @grantamag.bsky.social. Is sex with a therapist an affair or abuse? A trove of emails may hold the answer. Gripping reading, best nonfiction I've read in a long time. 🎁 granta.com/transference...
Transference in the Afternoon
Jesse Barron on the destructive potential of transference.
granta.com
Significance: "It is a landmark case that tests both the limits of immunity for military contractors, as well as the ability of foreign citizens to pursue accountability in American courts for offenses that happened thousands of miles away."
Mattathias Schwartz@schwartzesque.bsky.social · 6mo agoOur story on the ruling, gift link — www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/u...
Our story on the ruling, gift link — www.nytimes.com/2026/03/12/u...
$42 Million Verdict for Iraqi Victims of U.S. Abuse Is Upheld on Appeal
nytimes.com
Gabriel Malor@gabrielmalor.bsky.social · 6mo ago4th Cir., 2-1, affirms a jury finding that the operators of the Abu Ghraib Prison in 2008 are liable for conspiracy to commit torture and conspiracy to commit cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment under the Alien Tort Statute. Damages awarded: $42 million. www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/251...
Justin Sun, a Chinese-born crypto billionaire, was accused by Biden’s SEC of making $31m+ through fraudulent crypto trades. After Trump won, Sun spent $75m on a cryptocurrency developed by the Trump family’s crypto company. Last week, Trump’s SEC settled the case against Sun for a $10m fine.
S.E.C. Settles Its Case Against Justin Sun, an Investor in the Trumps’ Crypto Coins
nytimes.com
I highly recommend Jesse Barron's "Transference in the Afternoon" ... you can find it in the new Granta granta.com/transference...
Transference in the Afternoon
Jesse Barron on the destructive potential of transference.
granta.com
A 20-year-old freshman at Babson College in Massachusetts said she would remain in Honduras on Friday, the deadline that a judge had given the Trump administration for facilitating her return to the US after it violated a court order by mistakenly deporting her. www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/u...
Student Remains in Honduras After ICE Vows to Deport Her Again
nytimes.com
🚨SCOOP: Perhaps you’re familiar with Changpeng Zhao, aka CZ, co-founder of Binance, Trump pardon recipient, crypto’s 60-billion-dollar man? Here’s what’s in his unpublished memoir… www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/t...
Crypto’s Richest Man Details His Secret Talks, Prison Time and Humbling Comedown
nytimes.com
NEW: Any Lucia López Belloza, a freshman at Babson College, was deported by mistake, in violation of a judicial order. A judge ordered her return by Friday. Now the Trump administration has said it will deport her again if she comes back. Free gift link >>> www.nytimes.com/2026/02/27/u...
Student Remains in Honduras After ICE Vows to Deport Her Again
nytimes.com
A Trump-aligned legal team, which includes attorneys from Stephen Miller’s America First Legal, has been filing lawsuits against DEI efforts in Philly. After challenging diversity in city contracting and school admissions, their latest is about police promotions. www.inquirer.com/news/philade...
Five Philly police officers sue over DEI, backed by a Trump-aligned legal team
The police officers say they were passed over for promotions in favor of candidates with lower civil service exam scores because of a 2021 policy change to promote diversity.
inquirer.com
And here's the @nytimes.com story by John Yoon, free gift link -- www.nytimes.com/2026/02/26/u...
Family of U.N. Expert Critical of Israel Sues Trump Over Sanctions
nytimes.com
Mattathias Schwartz@schwartzesque.bsky.social · 7mo agoThe daughter of Francesca Albanese, U.N. special rapporteur for the West Bank and Gaza, has sued the Trump admin. She claims that an EO imposing sanctions on people connected to the International Criminal Court violates amendments 1, 4, and 5. Complaint >> storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
