Quinta Jurecic
@qjurecic.bsky.social
Writing about law and democracy at The Atlantic, previously Lawfare. Not a lawyer. It's KWIN-ta. Signal: qjurecic.32
Judge Mehta's J6 Requiem "That book is now closed. Today’s epilogue diminishes the gravity of that day, denigrates the work of the prosecutors and ... officers who secured these convictions, and excuses criminal acts that caused a centuries-long pillar of our democracy ... to buckle."
I am breaking my normal rule of not engaging in Discourse to say: In context Vimes Boots Theory refers to an extremely specific phenomenon about extreme poverty vs old-money aristocracy. Pratchett was correct but the observation has limited applicability beyond this context. Thank you
Reverse 2020 Theory goes mainstream www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
For Trump, the Year Is Always 2020
President Trump insists on revisiting and rewriting much of what happened six years ago, including the coronavirus pandemic and the election he lost. Many voters would rather he focus on 2026.
nytimes.com
Hey, my article is out! "The Invalid Fund: Disabled Afghan War Veterans, Violence, and Organized Crime in Post-Soviet Russia." Very excited to be a part of this cluster on disability in Eastern Europe and Russia
ASEEES Association for Slavic, East European, & Eurasian Studies@aseees.bsky.social · 2d agoSpring 2026 Issue 85.1 #SlavicReview is out now! This issue includes the Cluster "Disability in Eastern Europe and Russia," the Critical Forum "Crucibles of Power," and articles by Nathaniel D. Wood, Jagoda Wierzejska, Ernest A. Zitser, and Nikolay Smirnov. www.cambridge.org/core/journal...
Not at all clear that the narrowing of the IRS claims waiver in the Trump settlement is "binding." That's simply Blanche's interpretation at this point. Nothing to stop other Trump family members, affiliates, trusts, etc., from claiming they can rely on the original wording
Really been amazing throughout the process how “should the attorney general be a former personal attorney to the president who has overseen a bunch of failed political prosecutions” just does not matter at all to the entire GOP caucus.
Matthew Gertz@mattgertz.bsky.social · 2d agoYou’d have to be a fool and/or desperate to get to yes to accept this, so it’ll probably be enough to get him confirmed. www.nytimes.com/2026/08/03/u...
The hot dog man sketch on I Think You Should Leave is the defining political document of our time
Bill Grueskin@bgrueskin.bsky.social · 3d agoTrump “came up with a completely false quote saying I acknowledged things I never said. “My god." — Brad Karp, then the chairman of the law firm 2/2
I still remember the moment i realized that “debanking” was just referring to banks implementing anti money laundering laws
Reuters Legal@legal.reuters.com · 4d agoThe disclosure marks the first time a bank has formally tied money laundering concerns to Trump's family business.
Good thing they filed to dismiss without prejudice
Aaron Rupar@atrupar.com · 4d agoTrump: “I disagree 100% with Jeanine Pirro on the Reflecting Pool. I don’t know what she was thinking? To me, it was a pure case of VANDALISM, that included the grass, which had a big 86 47 emblazoned …There may have been some contractor difficulty, but major damage was caused by VANDALS!”
“communications staff now outnumber policy staff in certain House and Senate offices — a reflection, they said, of members prioritizing “clicks and clapbacks in the ‘way too online’ corner of X”
E.J. Fagan@ejfagan.com · 4d agoSenior Republican congressional staffer on trying to recruit new policy experts: “We have a generation of rabid, incompetent idiots.”
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
Jeanine Pirro has gone from embarrassingly faceplanting in federal court to embarrassingly faceplanting in in DC Superior Court. Masterful gambit ma’am
A D.C. judge has pooled four separate cases related to the Reflecting Pool together, putting the defendants in the same boat. Thanks, I'm here all week.
there's a weird charade-like quality to the whole blanche thing: a) he can likely continue in the role even if he's not confirmed (as trump says here); b) any future president could simply disregard the immunity agreement anyway
Phil Lewis@phillewis.bsky.social · 6d agoWASHINGTON (AP) — Trump says he may pull Blanche's nomination for attorney general, looking to avoid concessions to holdout Republicans.
while we're doing "odyssey adaptations," this book slaps (in part because the whole point is that there can be no "true" version of the story, everything is adaptation and variation) us.macmillan.com/books/978031...
The Lost Books of the Odyssey
A New York Times BestsellerA New York Times Book Review Editors' ChoiceZachary Mason's brilliant and beguiling debut novel reimagines Homer's classic story o...
us.macmillan.com
They should let LeBron review the Odyssey,, and let Emily Wilson sign with the Sixers!!! <the guy pointing the gun at me starts yelling> I'm sorry. I don't know what else I can jam into this
BREAKING: Justice Department drops criminal case against CA labor leader David Huerta over 2025 anti-ICE protest. Prosecutors had previously downgraded it from felony interference w/fed agent to misdemeanor. Via @jeremybwhite.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
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
serious question: as a technical matter, is this an impoundment?
Yonah Freemark@yonahfreemark.com · last wk.Congress appropriated billions of dollars for new transit projects. Why is the Trump administration spending none of it? Why are even transit projects in red states going unfounded? New reporting in @nytimes.com (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2026/07/27/u...
67 boat strikes 221 people killed EXCLUSIVE: Operation Southern Spear has not reduced the volume, availability, purity or price of cocaine arriving in the U.S., according to an internal DEA assessment and a closed-door Pentagon briefing for senators, and has made enforcement more difficult
67 boat strikes. 221 dead. The cocaine hasn’t slowed, officials report.
The president says Operation Southern Spear has virtually ended drug trafficking by sea. Pentagon and DEA analysts have concluded otherwise.
washingtonpost.com
turns out all that Dear Leader artwork is expensive
Docs shed light on DOJ spending for Trump banners
The multistory banners of the presidential visage have also attracted congressional scrutiny.
politico.com
This is obviously appalling and impeachable, but also very funny given that some of Trump's biggest 2024 popular vote gains were from blue states www.nytimes.com/2026/07/24/b...
Trump Administration Admits Canceling Grants to States That Did Not Vote for Him
Federal officials said in court documents that they halted billions of dollars in funding for energy projects to states “based solely” on whether they backed President Trump in the 2024 election.
nytimes.com
When Sullivan told Judge Subramanian this was an "oversight," someone behind me in the gallery let out an audible gasp. bsky.app/profile/anna...
Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · 2w agoWith respect to the statement that the investigation was "not public," AUSA Kevin Sullivan admitted that was "not correct." The judge also asked why DOJ failed to inform the magistrate that the subpoena involved reporters. Sullivan said that was an "oversight." bsky.app/profile/anna...