Louise Wood Flanagan of North Carolina, the federal judge on the seashells case, would like the former FBI director’s team of legal all-stars to make printing arrangements for her:
Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”
@ryanjreilly.com
@nbcnews.com Senior Justice reporter, ebike guy. Read my stuff: http://ryanjreilly.com/ Order my book: https://www.publicaffairsbooks.com/titles/ryan-j-reilly/sedition-hunters/9781541701809/ Message me on Signal: @ryanjreilly.62 🚲⚖️🕵️🦅🛎️🇺🇸
NEW: The Olympic canoeist pursued by the Trump administration seeks to permanently sink the Reflecting Pool case, saying Jeanine Pirro shouldn't be able to resurface it later:
Olympic canoeist charged by Pirro seeks to permanently sink Reflecting Pool case
Amid Trump’s criticism of the decision to drop the case, attorneys for David “Davey” Hearn said prosecutors shouldn’t be allowed to try to bring new charges.
nbcnews.com
"This is the last of the prosecutions seeking to hold accountable those responsible for the events of January 6. That book is now closed." Judge Amit Mehta reluctantly dismisses the Oath Keepers case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
On July 29, the Alien Terrorist Removal Court convened for the first time. @pwbeck.bsky.social sat through the first hearing of this court and reports on what occurred:
Dispatch: Setting Up Secret Courts
The first public hearing of the Alien Terrorist Removal Court had its stumbles.
lawfaremedia.org
Chuck Grassley wants to give Jack Smith another shot to talk about all the crimes that Jack Smith said he could prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Donald Trump committed. www.nbcnews.com/politics/tru...
Senate Judiciary Committee chair invites Jack Smith to testify
Senate Judiciary Committee Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, said today on X that he has invited former special counsel Jack Smith to testify before the committee
nbcnews.com
Feds charge ‘frustrated’ FBI agent they say stole nearly $1 million in crypto from Russia
Feds charge ‘frustrated’ FBI agent they say stole nearly $1 million in crypto from Russia
The FBI supervisory special agent believed the FBI “could not or would not act against adversarial cryptocurrency accounts,” prosecutors said.
nbcnews.com
Trump says Jeanine Pirro ‘choked’ by dropping Reflecting Pool vandalism case www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
NEW: DOJ moves to chuck attempted class action lawsuit filed by Jan. 6ers: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Comey lawyers spotlight ‘extreme bias’ of key witness in seashell case
Comey lawyers spotlight ‘extreme bias’ of key witness in seashell case
“I hope Jim goes to jail for his crimes,” a key government witness wrote in an email to the former FBI director’s wife.
nbcnews.com
Trump: “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!”
I especially appreciate DOJ's efforts to throw the Interior Department under the bus.
Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”@ryanjreilly.com · 5d agoBREAKING: The Trump administration has moved to drop its felony Reflecting Pool case against a former Olympic canoeist, admitting their allegations against David "Davey" Hearn don't hold water.
You joke, but a key part of this case was factoring in sunk costs.
Quinta Jurecic@qjurecic.bsky.social · 5d agoWould you say that prosecutors found themselves up a creek without a paddle
Would you say that prosecutors found themselves up a creek without a paddle
BREAKING: The Trump administration has moved to drop its felony Reflecting Pool case against a former Olympic canoeist, admitting their allegations against David "Davey" Hearn don't hold water.
Trump administration drops Reflecting Pool case, blaming damage on ‘botched’ installation
The Justice Department said “it is difficult to attribute the widespread damage to the Reflecting Pool to vandalism, let alone to establish that fact beyond a reasonable doubt.”
nbcnews.com
Trump defends ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, further complicating Blanche nomination
Trump defends ‘anti-weaponization’ fund, further complicating Blanche nomination
Republican Sens. Thom Tillis and John Cornyn have been holding up Trump’s nomination for attorney general, seeking assurances that the controversial weaponization fund is dead.
nbcnews.com
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.
Inside the first-ever Alien Terrorist Removal Court hearing:
DOJ holds first-ever hearing of ‘Alien Terrorist Removal Court,’ created in 1996
The DOJ is seeking to deport a Texas mom whose kin conspired to launch an ISIS-inspired terror attack. She has not been charged with a crime.
nbcnews.com
In which defense attorneys for the Olympic canoeist facing felony Reflecting Pool charges has to explain to newbie assistant U.S. attorney how 6(e) grand jury rules work!
In new filings, former FBI Director James Comey seeks disclosure of grand jury transcripts in the "8647" seashells case. Among other things, the motion cites Kash Patel's gaffe at a public press conference, where he said the grand jury was told that Comey apologized for the "8647" post.
Anna Bower@annabower.bsky.social · 3mo agoIn this clip, Kash Patel says the grand jury heard evidence that Comey deleted the '8647' post and apologized. Neither fact appears in the indictment. Hmm. Did the FBI director just disclose evidence presented before a grand jury?
Allowing the seashells-based prosecution of former FBI Director James Comey to move forward would erode core constitutional rights protecting free speech, Comey’s legal team told a federal judge in North Carolina on Tuesday.
James Comey legal team argues DOJ’s seashells case erodes ‘bedrock’ principles
It’s the second time the Trump administration has found a way to criminally charge the former FBI director, whom Trump has targeted for years.
nbcnews.com
Remember Matthew Petracca, the lead prosecutor on the James Comey case? He became an actual assistant U.S. attorney in the ballpark of 48 hours before he brought a case against the former director of the FBI, per James Comey's team.
“NBC News pressed Pirro this month about how she would prove Hearn caused more than $1,000 in damage, given that the pool was already damaged in several locations. “With an expert,” Pirro said. “Come to the trial.”
Ryan J. Reilly “paints a vivid and urgent portrait of… disarray”@ryanjreilly.com · last wk.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.
I’m a broken record on this, but again: Senate Republicans oppose nuking the filibuster because they believe the 60-vote rule blocks many more liberal goals than conservative goals in the long haul. Liberals have come to the same conclusion hence they mostly favor nuking it.
JUST IN: 4 law firms who repped 35 former judges in bid to overturn Trump settlement w/IRS essentially pass up court's offer of attorneys' fees. Each firm requests $1. Plus about $4600 in court fees/postage. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/28... Earlier: www.politico.com/news/2026/07...
IRSTrumpFees072726.PDF
documentcloud.org
The Kash Patel FBI’s alt troll account says a publication that has been around longer than the FBI itself “adds no value to society.”
Talked with a few former federal officials about this Jim Jordan referral, which they all thought was pretty unserious. But Jack Smith testified IRL (not via Zoom), so he can likely count on some protection from D.C. federal grand jurors (as long as they're properly instructed).
Why the Trump administration would have a hard time indicting Jack Smith
Trump ally Jim Jordan wants the Justice Department to bring what some former prosecutors say is a weak case against a man Trump has called a “disgrace to humanity.”
nbcnews.com
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
Calling FBI Director Kash Patel "a serial defamation plaintiff" with a "long and contentious history with the press," The Atlantic and Sarah Fitzpatrick agued that "defamation litigation has become another retaliation tactic in Director Patel’s playbook for any reporting that he does not like."
Memorandum in Support – #16, Att. #1 in PATEL v. ATLANTIC MONTHLY GROUP LLC (D.D.C., 1:26-cv-01329) – CourtListener.com
MOTION to Stay Discovery by ATLANTIC MONTHLY GROUP LLC, SARAH FITZPATRICK. (Attachments: # 1 Memorandum in Support, # 2 Text of Proposed Order, # 3 Declaration Declaration of Katherine M. Bolger in Su...
storage.courtlistener.com
Citing ‘common sense,’ James Comey’s team urges judge to toss seashells case
James Comey’s lawyers are asking a judge to dismiss the Trump administration’s ‘seashells’ case
Attorneys for the former FBI director say the indictment secured by the Trump administration “targets and chills core political speech and fails as a matter of law.”
nbcnews.com