Cathy Gellis
@cathygellis.bsky.social
23K followers 1.6K following 16K posts
Lawyer, writer, all-around-great person I mostly post about technology, law, and civil liberties (especially free speech), and how they intersect. And mostly at Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/user/cathy/ I also post silly things too.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
klasfeldreports.com
Kilmar Abrego Garcia's lawyer reacts to feds' plans to try sending him to Ghana

"As someone who is actually from Ghana, I can tell you concretely that Kilmar is not from Ghana."

From this morning's press conference in front of federal court
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
mmasnick.bsky.social
Someone should write a book about how to manage like the anti-Elon, explaining why all of his management ideas are very, very stupid.
oliverdarcy.bsky.social
News: Bari Weiss just sent a memo to staffers at CBS News asking them to produce a memo explaining "how you spend your working hours—and ideally, what you've made (or are making) that you're most proud of."

One CBS News staffer puts it like this to me: "We just got Elon Musked."
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
andycraig.bsky.social
This is Hegseth trying to make it sound like a bigger deal than it is. We have friendly foreign air forces in the US for training exercises and the like all the time, especially ones that use US equipment. That's what this is. It's not like an operational deployment or giving them a whole airbase.
atrupar.com
Hegseth: "I'm also proud that today we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emeri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
andycraig.bsky.social
A "facility" could be something as mundane as giving them office space and some quarters, maybe some dedicated parking space on the tarmac. Foreign air force units coming over here for flight instructors, or doing tech upgrades, or using our weapons ranges for practice; that's all super normal.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
mmasnick.bsky.social
Excuse me, what?
atrupar.com
Hegseth: "I'm also proud that today we're signing a letter of acceptance to build a Qatari Emeri air force facility at the Mountain Home Airbase in Idaho."
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
We don’t even know the names of most people arrested. They haven’t released basically any information. bsky.app/profile/olym...
olympicdane.bsky.social
Is anyone following these arrests so we can see what happens to those people?
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
mmasnick.bsky.social
What? The former lawyer for Andrew Tate who also would tweet out glowing praise for Andrew Tate... is reported to have done an extremely creepy thing regarding a woman?

How surprising.
annabower.bsky.social
Paul Ingrassia, Trump’s nominee to lead the office investigating Jack Smith, has recently been investigated for harassing a colleague, Politico reports.

“Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him..”
=
POLITICO
By DANIEL LIPPMAN
10/09/2025 08:22 PM EDT
f
In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn't have a hotel room.
Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
asharangappa.bsky.social
Watching the president of my alma mater speak out forcefully in support of academic freedom and free speech and moral courage and good God it is so refreshing to actually see leadership in this arena (and leadership, period)
cathygellis.bsky.social
One thing to note is that the details of anti-SLAPP laws can make them more or less susceptible to federal court. There was some recent reasoning I think in the Second Circuit starting to get some more in over there (NY's?).
cathygellis.bsky.social
Fervently disagree.

This is what I wrote about the 10th Circuit's Erie analysis. And what happened to Mike only illustrates how much it needs to be available.

www.techdirt.com/2018/03/23/t...
Tenth Circuit Issues A Troubling Ruling Limiting New Mexico's Anti-SLAPP Statute In Federal Court
16 2046 (PDF) 16 2046 (Text)
www.techdirt.com
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
HA! How much is Stephen Miller a propagandist? He’s saying the building in Chicago raided by DHS, where children were zip-tied and citizens dragged out, was “full of Tren de Aragua terrorists.”

Even DHS’s own account claims just TWO gang members total — and even that is a highly suspect claim!
gregsargent.bsky.social
Stephen Miller just said that Chicago ICE raid was one of the most successful law enforcement operations ever. I asked Pritzker to respond.

"If this was Pinochet’s Chile, if this was Argentina under authoritarian rule, maybe you’d call it successful," he said. 2/

newrepublic.com/article/2016...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
Also, a total lie that American students have been crowded out by international students. International students effectively subsidize the tuition of American students!
jameeljaffer.bsky.social
Quite a feat to go from this to "and therefore universities must ban faculty and students from belittling conservative ideas"
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
caitesq.bsky.social
These frogs are going to be everywhere on Halloween
oregonian.com
Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
UPDATE: DOJ filed a notice that it is appealing the 14-day TRO, an order that is not generally appealable. This will go to the Seventh Circuit. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT
FOR THE NORTHERN DISTRICT OF ILLINOIS
EASTERN DIVISION
STATE OF ILLINOIS and the CITY OF CHICAGO,
Plaintiffs,
Case No. 1:25-cv-12174
v.
DONALD J. TRUMP, et al., in their official capacities,
Defendants.
NOTICE OF APPEAL
PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that all Defendants in the above-captioned case hereby appeal to the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit from this Court's October 9, 2025, Order Granting Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and Preliminary Injunction. ECF No.
67.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
rimaanabtawi.bsky.social
“Eight seasons in, this is the defining experience of Boone’s tenure. His lineups go cold in October. His defense is burned by simple mistakes. And his decision-making falters in the biggest moments.

Boone came to the postseason to chew bubblegum and face-plant. And he’s all out of bubblegum.”
joshsternberg.com
“The common thread here is not just that Boone makes playoff mistakes. It’s that many of his mistakes are glaringly obvious the exact moment he makes them.”

Agree with every single word of this piece on Boone and the Yankees. Really well done.

www.theringer.com/2025/10/09/m...
The Aaron Boone Playoff Script Never Changes
The Yankees are going home losers, just as they have in every playoff appearance of Boone’s tenure. Will the franchise finally learn from its failure?
www.theringer.com
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
numb.comfortab.ly
America First, baby.
washingtonpost.com
The Trump administration confirmed that the U.S. bailed out Argentina.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said he had directly bought Argentine pesos in global currency markets in a bid to relieve pressure on the nation’s embattled President Javier Milei, a supporter of President Trump.
The U.S. just bailed out Argentina, Treasury Secretary confirms
The US Treasury has finalized a $20 billion financial rescue of Argentina, including a currency swap arrangement with the country's central bank.
www.washingtonpost.com
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
aawayne.bsky.social
“Oklahomans would lose their mind if Pritzker in Illinois sent troops down to Oklahoma during the Biden administration.”

The Republican chair of the National Governors Association breaks with Trump.

www.nytimes.com/2025/10/09/u...
Oklahoma’s Republican Governor Criticizes National Guard Deployment in Chicago
www.nytimes.com
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
edmarkey.bsky.social
Real security is funding for hospitals and health centers.

Real security is making sure that Americans can see a doctor when they’re sick without worrying whether they can make rent.

Real security is paying our military AND protecting health care.

This isn’t real security.
Screenshot of headline reading: Senate passes mammoth annual defense policy bill
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
nationalsecuritylaw.org
Haha joke's on them nobody with that much student loan debt would ever want to work for ICE
karlykingsley.bsky.social
The Trump administration is offering $60K in student loan forgiveness as a recruitment tool for ICE, which just proves fighting Biden on student loan relief was never about the loans or “paying your own debt.” It was about who was offering it and who it would’ve helped.
cathygellis.bsky.social
I'd expect some arguing that it is indicative of more presumptive sloppiness and thus waiver.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
mmasnick.bsky.social
9th Circuit just made anti-SLAPP laws (like the good ones in California and Nevada) a lot less effective. This is going to lead to a ton of suppressed speech. Stupid and dangerous. Especially now.

We need a federal anti-SLAPP law now. And we won't get one.

cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/op...
cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
annabower.bsky.social
Paul Ingrassia, Trump’s nominee to lead the office investigating Jack Smith, has recently been investigated for harassing a colleague, Politico reports.

“Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him..”
=
POLITICO
By DANIEL LIPPMAN
10/09/2025 08:22 PM EDT
f
In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn't have a hotel room.
Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
annabower.bsky.social
I know this isn’t the point but is it normal for DHS officials to stay at a Ritz-Carlton on work trips?
annabower.bsky.social
Paul Ingrassia, Trump’s nominee to lead the office investigating Jack Smith, has recently been investigated for harassing a colleague, Politico reports.

“Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him..”
=
POLITICO
By DANIEL LIPPMAN
10/09/2025 08:22 PM EDT
f
In late July, Paul Ingrassia, the White House liaison for the Department of Homeland Security, arrived at a Ritz-Carlton in Orlando with a lower-ranking female colleague and others from their department. When the group reached the front desk, the woman learned she didn't have a hotel room.
Ingrassia then informed her that she would be staying with him, according to five administration officials familiar with the episode. Eventually the woman discovered that Ingrassia had arranged ahead of time to have her hotel room canceled so she would have to stay with him, three of those officials said.