Marty Lederman
@martylederman.bsky.social
Professor at Georgetown University Law Center; former DOJ/OLC attorney
For some reason the @nytimes.com doesn't offer a link to the court's opinion. [1] www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/n...
N.Y. Law Barring ICE Agents From Wearing Masks Is Blocked by Judge
While the ruling dealt a blow to New York’s efforts to rein in ICE, a ban on formal cooperation with local police officers will move forward.
nytimes.com
The @nytimes inexplicably continues to assert that "the Justice Department ... gave [Trump] the audit protection as part of a deal to end the lawsuit." Nope. It wasn't included in the "deal." It's a unilateral--and blatantly unlawful--decree by the Acting AG. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/b...
Republicans Let Trump Keep Unparalleled Benefit: I.R.S. Immunity
The rebellion against Todd Blanche’s nomination to be attorney general, now seemingly contained, at no point fundamentally questioned President Trump’s new protections from the I.R.S.
nytimes.com
Not surprising at all that Cornyn & Tillis went for it, but it's kinda remarkable how credulous virtually every media outlet (@nytimes.com; @politico.com; @thehill.com; @bloomberg.com; etc.) has been in parroting Blanche's transparent nonsense about his May 19 immunity directive. [1]
justice.gov
Dear @politico.com: There is no "IRS audit immunity *deal* applying to the president and his family." There's only a unilateral, unlawful directive of Blanche to the executive branch conferring blanket immunity from investigation and sanctions. www.politico.com/news/2026/08...
Todd Blanche on track for confirmation after Cornyn strikes Trump settlement deal
The Texas senator is a crucial vote on the attorney general nominee in the Senate Judiciary Committee, which is set to vote Tuesday.
politico.com
Dear @thehill.com: There is no "settlement with Trump and his family granting them immunity from audits related to past tax returns." That is a function of Blanche's unilateral, unlawful May 19 directive. thehill.com/homenews/sen...
Cornyn reaches deal on ‘anti-weaponization fund’ to allow Blanche nomination to advance
Sen. John Cornyn (R-Texas) has reached a deal with the Justice Department to end the $1.8 billion “anti-weaponization” fund for President Trump’s allies, paving the way for Cornyn to vote to …
thehill.com
Hey, @nytimes.com! Please don't take the bait on Blanche's nonsense: His May 19 immunity order was not "under the same [settlement] agreement" or part of the DOJ "deal." It's a unilateral, unlawful directive, untied to the settlement of Trump's suit. www.nytimes.com/live/2026/08...
Trump Live Updates: Blanche Wins Over G.O.P. Holdouts; Iran Denies Direct U.S.-Iran Talks
nytimes.com
"Confronted with rare, *largely united* resistance from higher education leaders, the administration backed down." Fancy that. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
After Colleges Reject ‘Compact,’ Trump Officials Try a Letter
The open letter from Education Secretary Linda McMahon fell far short of the attempt at a compact last year that dangled research money in return for embracing the Trump administration’s agenda.
nytimes.com
Senator Cornyn can call it whatever he likes, but Blanche's May 19 directive prohibiting investigations or sanctions against Trump & Family is not an "audit settlement," or a settlement of any kind--it's a blatantly unlawful, unilateral immunity shield. www.texastribune.org/2026/08/03/t...
Cornyn reaches deal to scrap DOJ anti-weaponization fund
Cornyn said he will vote to advance Todd Blanche’s nomination after the acting attorney general formally rescinded the fund and clarified the scope of a tax audit shield for President Trump and his ci...
texastribune.org
The May 19 immunity order is *NOT* a "settlement" or (in Blanche's words) a "mutual release of claims." It is, instead, a *unilateral* grant of immunity to the President and his family from all investigations and liability. It's lawless, and the next AG should rescind it on 01/20/29.
MeidasTouch@meidastouch.com · 3d ago🚨NEW: Todd Blanche’s new order rescinds the May 18 Anti-Weaponization Fund—but quietly leaves the May 19 IRS immunity settlement intact. Instead of rescinding it, the accompanying memo reaffirms DOJ’s interpretation, arguing the immunity applies only retroactively and only to the parties involved.1/
I, too, dearly hope Yale doesn't capitulate. But who's doing the hard thinking about how it can then avoid the sort of devastating elimination of grants that Robert Post describes, which might well happen "quietly," whether or not the OMB rule is finalized? slate.com/news-and-pol...
Harvard Fought Trump’s Abuses. Yale May Fold. I Think I Know Why.
Seeking to set a new course for the conservative movement, J.D. Vance in 2021 declared war on institutions of American higher education.
slate.com
James Fallows@jfallows.bsky.social · 3d agoThe schools that stood up to Trump thug demands—first Wesleyan and Princeton, then Harvard, then many others who were emboldened—have won in court and earned honor in history and support from alums. Columbia showed that appeasement always loses. It's never enough. Don't do it, Yale.
The scandal w/r/t the Skubal trade isn't that the Dodgers increased their championship odds marginally, but that the Tigers got bubkis in return b/c no other teams were willing to match LA's pathetic offer. (Compare the Nats getting Wood/Abrams/Gore for Soto.) (Disclosure: Lifelong Tigers fan.)
Agreed. And of course smoking is just one example. Vaccines; the war; and so much more. "who knew not Joseph"
Sam Bagenstos@sbagen.bsky.social · 4d agoAlways read Sara Robinson. And she's right about this.
Another interesting (and short) Judge Pitts opinion in one of the gender-affirming-care grand jury subpoena cases. The gist is that DOJ has opportunity to show how the information would be relevant to a (Texas) grand jury investigation, but has offered nada. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Order on Motion to Stay – #108 in Z.A. v. Lucile Salter Packard Children's Hospital at Stanford (N.D. Cal., 5:26-cv-04998) – CourtListener.com
Order on Motion to Stay
storage.courtlistener.com
It's precisely *because* of the enormous risks of such outcomes that the Constitution precludes the President from unilaterally taking the U.S. into such a war in the first place. Your daily reminder: Even the Trump Administration itself hasn't defended its legality. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/01/w...
In Iran, the U.S. Appears Headed for a Strategic Defeat, Allies Fear
With none of President Trump’s aims accomplished and the Strait of Hormuz closed, U.S. allies see dysfunction and vulnerability from the war.
nytimes.com
Serious question: Has anyone here ever seen DOJ tear into another agency like this--or come anywhere close--before?
Eric Columbus@ericcolumbus.bsky.social · 5d agoPirro’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.
Which of the two current lead stories in the @nytimes.com is less surprising/more predictable on a Friday night in the Trump Administration? No. 1: www.nytimes.com/2026/07/31/u...
Trump Administration Plans to Upend Head Start by Deregulating It
The White House tried but failed to block funding for preschool for poor children. Instead, it will seek to strip away standards on health, literacy — and brushing teeth.
nytimes.com
Essential essay about a very flawed man (the cringeworthy 2003 photo of his office reveals an extraordinary absence of humility & self-awareness) who's nonetheless done more to improve the state of the world than almost anyone ... [1] www.theatlantic.com/health/2026/...
The Unmaking of Anthony Fauci
He built an empire. It did not last.
theatlantic.com
It's a shame that the "I would have been ashamed" line and the perhaps-too-snarky third-to-last graf have consumed so much attention (see Oates, J.C.), because this essay by Emily Watson on Nolan's Odyssey is extraordinarily good and very much worth your time to read. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
Emily Wilson · An Uncomplicated Man
As they say at the awards shows, I was humbled to learn that Christopher Nolan has read at least the first line of my...
lrb.co.uk
This is another extremely insightful, very important piece by @sbagen.bsky.social. No one in the legal academy is writing more seriously, rigorously and imaginatively about What Comes Next (and with more candor about the difficulties) than Sam. Please read.
Sam Bagenstos@sbagen.bsky.social · 5d agoAlong similar thematic lines, I have a piece newly up on SSRN about what the Trump Administration might have to teach us about libertarianism, Reichian/Naderite liberalism, and abundance liberalism. papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
Well, that and the small little detail that the President lacks constitutional authority to start such a war without congressional approval—and those administrations actually cared about their duty to comply with the Constitution.
James Fallows@jfallows.bsky.social · 6d agoLet me tell you, having chronicled Pentagon-style war game on attacking Iran nearly 25 yr ago, every single "surprise," "darkening turn," "narrowing option," spreading warfare," "rising casualties," "no easy exit," etc that comes drip-by-drip is EXACTLY why GHWB WJC GWB OBAMA BiDEN did NOT do this
Steve tells you all you need to know about these cases and the emergency applications.
Steve Vladeck@stevevladeck.bsky.social · 6d agoThe Trump administration is asking #SCOTUS to put back into effect its executive order giving the USPS more control over mail-in voting. Today's bonus "One First" explains why this is a purely procedural dispute at this juncture (about standing/ripeness)—albeit one the government should still lose:
Which are you more committed to avoiding after the brutal @nytimes.com reviews: Marcel (the Upper East Side restaurant) or Spider-Man: Brand New Day (the "What does Tom Holland do with himself while Zendaya is away at MIT?" film)?
P.S. It's also so clearly unconstitutional that even the Trump Administration itself (which hasn't been a stickler for careful constitutional fidelity) hasn't tried to defend its legality. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/25/o...
Opinion | The Dead End to Trump’s ‘Perfect’ War
Worst of all, the result may be that both Iran and Saudi Arabia end up with nuclear weapons.
nytimes.com
Another reminder, in case anyone still cares about such things: This war is so clearly unconstitutional that even the Trump Administration (including its very compliant OLC) hasn't offered any argument to the contrary. www.nytimes.com/2026/07/29/u...
Trump Encounters a More Determined Iran as War Widens
With Iran flexing its might, President Trump appears to be weighing military options again, after rejecting plans to escalate.
nytimes.com
Marty Lederman@martylederman.bsky.social · last wk.Your daily reminder that the war against Iran is so blatantly unconstitutional that even the Trump Administration (including OLC) hasn't offered any argument that Trump has unilateral authority to direct DOD to engage in such a war. @justsecurity.org www.nytimes.com/2026/07/26/u...
As I've said before, this might be the most important law review article of the second Trump term (and, of course, it's fantastic).
Washington University Law Review@washulawreview.bsky.social · last wk.The Washington University Law Review is pleased to publish The Crisis of Appropriations Law by Samuel R. Bagenstos in the symposium issue, Volume 103, Issue 6. The Article examines the foundations of appropriations law. Read: wustllawreview.org/2026/07/26/t...
So did SG Sauer actually dissuade Trump from filing a petition for rehearing in the birthright citizenship case (Barbara)? I believe the deadline just came and went, and there's nothing on the (electronic) docket.
So did SG Sauer actually dissuade Trump from filing a petition for rehearing in the birthright citizenship case (Barbara)? I believe the deadline just came and went, and there's nothing on the (electronic) docket.
Comey's motion to dismiss on the ground that his "86 47" reposting wasn't a "true threat" that Comey might try to kill the President. This should be one of the most easily and swiftly granted motions ever. The indictment is an embarrassment. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Memorandum in Support of Motion – #33 in United States v. Comey (E.D.N.C., 4:26-cr-00016) – CourtListener.com
Memorandum in Support by James Brien Comey, Jr regarding 32 MOTION to Dismiss Indictment for Lack of a True Threat filed by James Brien Comey, Jr. (McDowell - Special Appearance, Ephraim) (Entered: 07...
storage.courtlistener.com
Love this thread, and I haven't even seen the film yet! Law-of-war nerd question for those who have (including esp. @emilyrcwilson.bsky.social): Does Nolan question the legality/morality of the Trojan Horse b/c of its perfidious nature?
EMILY WILSON@emilyrcwilson.bsky.social · last wk.I wrote about the Nolan Odyssey for the LRB. I'll summarize some of my main points below, in case you don't feel like reading all that. www.lrb.co.uk/the-paper/v4...
