Trump tried to game the courts to bless an illegal scheme to siphon nearly $2 billion in taxpayer dollars into a slush fund and shield his family from tax audits. The courts saw through it, shut it down, and referred administration lawyers for possible disciplinary action.

Kyle Cheney@kyledcheney.bsky.social · 3w ago

NEW: A federal judge said President Trump attempted to manipulate the courts, concocting a lawsuit to justify the settlement that established the "anti-weaponization" fund and shielded his family from IRS scrutiny. w/ @hassankanu.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/07...

NEW: A federal judge said President Trump attempted to manipulate the courts, concocting a lawsuit to justify the settlement that established the "anti-weaponization" fund and shielded his family from IRS scrutiny. w/ @hassankanu.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/07...

BREAKING: By a 6-3 vote, #SCOTUS will allow Alabama to use its never-implemented 2023 districts in this year's elections. They're likely to result in a 6-1, R-D split and the loss of 1 of 2 majority Black AL districts. www.documentcloud.org/documents/28... Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

25A1314 Order

documentcloud.org

BREAKING: Judge opens inquiry into settlement of Trump-IRS lawsuit with $1.8B "Anti-Weaponization Fund." Judge Kathleen Williams (Obama/SDFL) says if fatally flawed suit was filed just to justify a settlement, it could merit sanctions. w/@kyledcheney www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Judge launches inquiry into Trump-IRS settlement that led to ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams asked Trump’s lawyers to respond to a call for her to explore the deal that led to the $1.8 billion fund.

politico.com

NEW: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from continuing to establish or operate its "anti-weaponization" fund, which has led to a bipartisan furor over potential payouts to Jan. 6 defendants. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social @hassankanu.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

NEW: A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from making any payouts from its "anti-weaponization" fund, which has led to a bipartisan furor over potential payments to Jan. 6 defendants. w @kyledcheney.bsky.social @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Judge pauses Trump administration’s ‘anti-weaponization’ fund

The temporary order halts any payments from the controversial fund.

politico.com

JUST IN: Another court filing obviously written by Trump, seeks to leverage shooting Saturday to end litigation over WH ballroom project. Calls latest episode "assassination attempt." Cites news reports, but no other proof/legal cases. Ends w/a '!' Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

JUST IN: DOJ opposes accused WHCA Dinner assailant Cole Allen's bid to disqualify Blanche, Pirro & US Atty ofc due to Blanche & Pirro being 'victims.' DOJ says public didn't know the two were even going. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

AllenDisqualOpp052226

documentcloud.org

NEW: A New Mexico judge is likely going to order Meta to make major changes to Facebook, Instagram & its other social media apps, with potentially far-reaching ripple effect on the $1.5 trillion tech giant and its multinational competitors. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Judge considers ordering Meta to revamp its apps

The expected order may set a precedent for states to compel structural changes to social media apps.

politico.com

NEW: The Trump admin could walk away from Anthropic's suit w sweeping new authority to effectively label U.S. AI (and other) companies as national security risks. And the admin will probably continue using Claude / Mythos, despite the purported current ban. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

DC Circuit eyes off-ramp in Trump’s national security feud with Anthropic

An eventual ruling could establish broad powers for the administration to designate domestic companies as threats.

politico.com

NEW: A federal jury in California took just a couple hours on Monday to unanimously dismiss Elon Musk’s claims alleging that Sam Altman and OpenAI deceived him into funding the company with promises to operate it as a nonprofit for the public welfare. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Jury rejects Musk’s claims against Sam Altman over OpenAI Founding

Musk is expected to appeal.

politico.com

JUST IN: Trump settles $10B suit over leaking of his tax returns, as well as Russia probe & Mar-a-Lago raid damages claims by setting up $1.8B "weaponization" fund at DOJ to issue payments to unspecified victims of "lawfare." w/Danny Nguyen www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

DOJ rolls out nearly $1.8B ‘anti-weaponization fund’ as part of Trump’s IRS settlement

The move comes after Trump, his sons and family business sued the IRS for $10 billion for failing to properly oversee a contractor who leaked the tax returns of the president.

politico.com

JUST IN: Mag. judge overseeing discovery in Don Lemon et al. MN church protest case says feds blew deadline to turn over relevant info to defense because prosecutors unilaterally deleted names of witnesses & law enf. Docs: www.documentcloud.org/documents/28... www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

Micko051426A

documentcloud.org

NEW: Justices Thomas and Alito imply #SCOTUS majority is countenancing crime by keeping abortion pill mifepristone available by mail order and telehealth while legal battle unfolds. w/ @alicemiranda.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Supreme Court extends order maintaining abortion pill access

Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito dissented from the majority decision.

politico.com

NEW: We've spent 10 months tracking the outcomes in tens of thousands of lawsuits brought by ICE detainees amid an unprecedented detention push. It's not a cose call: judges have ruled more than 10,000 times against ICE, a 9-1 ratio. See the database: www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

This is the second time in a week the Supreme Court has sidestepped process in a way that helps GOP adopt new maps to maximize partisan advantage even as election season is underway.

Lawrence Hurley@lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 3mo ago

Supreme Court grants Alabama request to speed up adoption of a congressional map that would eliminate one of the state's two majority-Black districts. Liberal justices dissent: www.nbcnews.com/politics/sup...

NEW: SCOTUS gives Alabama the go-ahead to use a congressional map that will likely remove a majority-Black district & Democratic incumbent from the state. via @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Supreme Court allows Alabama GOP to erase Black House district

The high court voted 6-3 to allow state to proceed with plan likely to squeeze Democrats to single seat

politico.com

SCOOP: RFK Jr. is driving a vast inquiry into vaccine safety, despite his recent silence on the topic. Public health experts fear the findings will be misused. Kennedy has long wanted "sufficient science" to lay the groundwork for lawsuits. w/@by-cjewett.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2026/05/11/h...

Kennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His New Silence on the Issue

nytimes.com

NEW: "When you watch Netflix, Netflix watches you," TX attorney general Ken Paxton says in suit accusing the company of deceptive practices/addiction-by-design. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Netflix sued by Texas AG for alleged surveillance, addictive features

The complaint follows a product liability playbook that has been successful against other big tech platforms.

politico.com

NEW: The 6th Circuit becomes the third federal appeals court to reject ICE’s mass detention push that targets people who have lived in the U.S. for years without criminal records. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Third federal appeals court rejects ICE’s mandatory detention push

The 6th Circuit said detainees must have a chance to argue for their release.

politico.com

BREAKING: Suit filed to block Trump's swimming-pool guys from continuing blue repainting of reflecting pool on National Mall. Preservation group's suit claims same sort of aesthetic injury that Trump ridiculed in ballroom case www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Lawsuit seeks halt to Trump’s reflecting pool makeover

A preservation group contends the “American flag blue” resurfacing on the National Mall feature violates federal law.

politico.com

@stevevladeck.bsky.social rebuts Justice Amy Coney Barrett's claim that the media makes #SCOTUS look more partisan through post hoc tinkering with which cases are 'big' ones open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...

Bonus 226: What Makes a Case "Big"?

Some thoughts on the (silly) efforts to push back against the voluminous evidence that, in most of its "big" rulings, the Supreme Court divides ideologically.

open.substack.com

"DOJ attorney Kevin Bolan profusely apologized...Bolan said that he didn’t tell the judge about the foreign arrest warrant because Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials instructed him not to."

Josh Gerstein@joshgerstein.bsky.social · 3mo ago

NEW: Feds in hot water with judge in RI after DHS denounces her for releasing a Dominican man wanted for murder in his home country. Judge Melissa DuBose mulls contempt because officials intentionally kept that fact from her. w/ @kyledcheney.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

BREAKING: 5th Circuit, 3-0, restores requirement abortion drug mifepristone only be prescribed in person, putting Trump back in middle of abortion wars/likely #SCOTUS fight. 3-0. Southwick (GWBush), Duncan (Trump), Englehardt (Trump). Via @alicemiranda.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/05...

Appeals court approves sweeping abortion pill restrictions, teeing up SCOTUS showdown

The temporary ruling will curtail access nationwide to a drug used in more than two-thirds of abortions.

politico.com

New research from North Carolina finds body-worn cameras reduced Black incarceration rates by 10.5%. When prosecutors see what actually happened instead of relying solely on police reports, racial disparities in convictions and sentencing shrink. https://ow.ly/RWsv50YR4Zq

Body-Worn Cameras, Prosecutors, and Racial Differences in Criminal Justice Outcomes

BWCs seem to “provide prosecutors with more accurate information about arrests, which reduces racial disparities in incarceration and changes prosecutors’ beliefs about the sources of racial disparities in the criminal justice system.”

ow.ly

BREAKING: Supreme Court rules 6-3 that Louisiana's map is an unconstitutional gerrymander. Majority by Alito rules that Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act, "properly construed," can provide a compelling reason for race-based redistricting, but that did not happen here.

NOTABLE: Prosecutors' memo drops any reference to a USSS officer being hit by a bullet. It now says an officer observed Allen fire in the direction of the staircase toward the WHCD. That officer then fired at Allen five times but did not hit him. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28...

NOTED: FBI Director Kash Patel helpfully explains to press that the grand jury that indicted Comey over alleged threat was told about him taking down the post and apologizing. I didn't get to follow up for other details on govt's grand jury presentation www.politico.com/news/2026/04...

James Comey indicted over 2025 seashell post

The charges stem from a photo of seashells.

politico.com

Stan Woodward's name appears at the bottom of this filing, but this appears to have been dictated by Trump himself. Hard to read it any other way. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

BREAKING: A 2nd Circuit court of appeals panel rejects ICE's mandatory detention policy, splitting with the 5th and 8th Circuits and putting the case on a likely trajectory to SCOTUS The 3-0 decision rejects "mass detention w/o bond for millions." www.politico.com/news/2026/04...