Kim Lane Scheppele
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kimlanelaw.bsky.social
Kim Lane Scheppele
@kimlanelaw.bsky.social
37K followers 1.5K following 630 posts

Tracking autocratic legalism around the world from Princeton University.

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Kim Lane Scheppele is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Scheppele works on topics related to comparative constitutional ethnography within the sociology of law. .. more

Political science 58%
Law 31%
Posts Replies Media Videos

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, David R. Miller , and 1 more

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 20h
Abuse of power extending beyond Senator Kelly

"FBI has requested interviews with six Democratic U.S. lawmakers."

DOJ official "said the interviews were to determine 'if there's any wrongdoing and then go from there.'"

Note: For video accurately stating military law
www.reuters.com/world/us/fbi...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 20h
"Initially described as enabling the Council to have an in-depth exchange or assessment, the Council discreetly downgraded the purpose of hearings to the provision of an up-to-date picture."

A change of phrasing/practice which I think remains largely unnoticed.

cc @tinekestrik.bsky.social

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

theatlantic.com
The Atlantic @theatlantic.com · 21h
Charges against James Comey and Letitia James were thrown out by a federal judge today. “The basic safeguards of the criminal-justice system are proving to be some of the most effective checks on Trump’s power,” Randall D. Eliason argues:
Why the Comey Prosecution Is Falling Apart
In the criminal-justice system, when the president’s bluster collides with facts and evidence, he keeps losing.
bit.ly

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 21h
As outlined in my @ceudeminst.bsky.social paper, the Council has proactively sabotaged Art7(1) TEU procedure by applying in practice a new principle of effet inutile aka adopting interpretations of this Treaty provision making it as ineffective as possible
democracyinstitute.ceu.edu/articles/lau...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 21h
VG on Art 7(1) hearings: "... nor should such hearings be reduced to a mere boxticking exercise allowing a presidency to discharge its responsibilities by holding a
single formal meeting without pursuing meaningful follow-up; calls on the Council to publish comprehensive minutes after each hearing"
tinekestrik.bsky.social Tineke Strik @tinekestrik.bsky.social · 1d
Yes! A broad majority of the Parliament agrees: the EU must take more action against Orbán!

My report on the rule of law in Hungary was adopted with a majority of 415 votes, urging to take away Orbán's voting rights and to freeze EU funds.

We must stop his breakdown of democracy and human rights.

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Kim L. Scheppele, Laurent Pech

tinekestrik.bsky.social
Tineke Strik @tinekestrik.bsky.social · 1d
Yes! A broad majority of the Parliament agrees: the EU must take more action against Orbán!

My report on the rule of law in Hungary was adopted with a majority of 415 votes, urging to take away Orbán's voting rights and to freeze EU funds.

We must stop his breakdown of democracy and human rights.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

protectdemocracy.org
Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 1d
Today, Protect Democracy is going to court with @weareoversight.bsky.social to demand that the Trump admin release the "enemies lists" it is using to target nonprofits for investigation based on their political views and advocacy work. Full details: bit.ly/49yD2uk
Protect Democracy Sues for Records on Reported Trump Administration Efforts to Investigate and Target Nonprofits
bit.ly

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

stevevladeck.bsky.social
Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 2d
Me on DOJ’s behavior: “it’s malevolence *exacerbated* by incompetence. That’s problematic enough for the government’s credibility before federal district judges. But at some point soon, one suspects that the Supreme Court itself may well have to grapple with its consequences—or risk being duped.”
194. Another Bad Week for the Presumption of Regularity
Three different flashpoints highlight how much the Trump administration has done, in such short order, to undermine its own litigation efforts and to damage—perhaps irreparably—DOJ's credibility.
www.stevevladeck.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Dimitry Kochenov, Steve Peers , and 2 more

profpech.bsky.social
Laurent Pech 🇺🇦 @profpech.bsky.social · 2d
Paper now available here democracyinstitute.ceu.edu/articles/lau...
For those of you familiar with the EU's rule of law toolbox, you can go straight to the section offering concrete/multiple examples of timid use, misuse and non-use of the main EU prevention/monitoring & response/enforcement tools

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

commondreams.org
Common Dreams @commondreams.org · 2d
“This is Trump doing what he always does: demagoguing immigrants without justification or evidence and using that demagoguery in an attempt to take away important life-saving protections,” one immigrants' rights expert said.
In 'Political Attack,' Trump Revokes Protected Status for Minnesota Somalis
​"This decision, fueled by harmful misinformation campaigns that we believe have external political motives, will tear families apart and send individuals to a country they have not known for over 20 years," one campaigner said.
www.commondreams.org

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David R. Miller, Aaron Sojourner

andyscollick.bsky.social
Andy Scollick @andyscollick.bsky.social · 2d
The Russian delegation at the Geneva 'peace' plan negotiations with Ukraine on Sunday

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Axel Bruns , and 12 more

carlquintanilla.bsky.social
Carl Quintanilla @carlquintanilla.bsky.social · 3d
Bye bye, “DOGE”.

It no longer exists as a “centralized entity”, according to the Office of Personnel Management.

@reuters.com
www.reuters.com/world/us/dog...

Reposted by Anna O. Law, Kim L. Scheppele, Jan W. Mueller , and 11 more

devawo.bsky.social
Deva Woodly @devawo.bsky.social · 3d
Since February, according to my latest analysis, almost 600,000 Black women have been economically sidelined. The November 20, 2025, Jobs Report makes clear this isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. That is not a recovery. It is a redistribution of opportunity.
The exit economy is here. Black Women are paying the highest price | Fortune
This isn’t a blip. It’s a structural crisis. And it's not a recovery, it's a redistribution of opportunity.
fortune.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Steve Peers , and 11 more

victinibcn.bsky.social
Luca Migo ❌👑 @victinibcn.bsky.social · 3d
In Monrovia, California, protesters are purchasing 17¢ ICE scrapers from Home Depot and immediately returning them to create long lines and slow down the entire store. Their aim is to disrupt sales and convey a message opposing ICE raids occurring in their neighborhood.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

muellershewrote.com
Mueller, She Wrote @muellershewrote.com · 3d
You should definitely get Lindsey Halligan to indict them.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Scott L. Greer , and 2 more

donmoyn.bsky.social
Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 3d
Some incredible details in this piece
*one DOGE faction was planning the future of the US government at a venture capital firm
*illegally communicating on Signal to avoid transparency laws was deeply embedded into organizational culture to be taken for granted
When Davis learned that a breakaway faction was gathering on a Saturday afternoon at the offices of venture-capital firm Andreessen Horowitz to plot a strategy for DOGE’s future, he began calling likely attendees and told them not to attend what he called the “coup” meeting. (The firm did not respond to a request for comment on its role in DOGE’s work.) Those at the meeting who looked at their phones would have seen their fortunes change in real time, as they were removed from Signal group chats — DOGE’s primary status marker of who belonged.

kimlanelaw.bsky.social
Kim Lane Scheppele @kimlanelaw.bsky.social · 3d
Wordle 1,617 3/6

⬜⬜⬜⬜🟨
⬜🟨⬜⬜⬜
🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

Now that was strange!

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

contrariannews.org
The Contrarian @contrariannews.org · 3d
Jeff Nesbit unpacks Trump’s aggressive attacks on the press.
https://contrarian.substack.com/p/from-fake-news-to-quiet-piggy-the

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

davidingram.bsky.social
David Ingram @davidingram.bsky.social · 3d
Speaking of judges, Musk has on multiple occasions called for a nationwide purge of judges. His source of inspiration: the president of El Salvador.

Here's one example.
Musk replies with the 100 percent emoji when someone else endorses a nationwide purge of judges.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

leahlitman.bsky.social
Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 3d
I have a review of Justice Barrett's recent book, "Listening to the Law,"in the LA Review of Books.

Check it out!

lareviewofbooks.org/article/is-j...
Is Justice Barrett Listening? | Los Angeles Review of Books
Leah Litman prosecutes Justice Amy Coney Barrett’s new legal memoir, “Listening to the Law: Reflections on the Court and Constitution.”
lareviewofbooks.org

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

saltybitchables.bsky.social
SaltyBitchables @saltybitchables.bsky.social · 3d
If you use Gmail, you need to be aware of this new feature that allows it to use your emails to train AI, but there is a way to opt out.

#Pinks #ProudBlue #StrongerTogether #Gmail #Google

youtube.com/shorts/XqXo2...
Why You Should Turn Off Gmail Smart Features (and How To Do It)
YouTube video by Meira G
youtube.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, David R. Miller

pbump.com
Philip Bump @pbump.com · 3d
Wrote about the time when Trump said some Democrats should be executed, whenever that was.
So, we’re just moving on from the sedition-execution thing?
It's quite tidy how the whole thing worked out, in a way. Democratic members of Congress, recognizing that President Trump would be more than happy to dispatch the military to aid his political object...
www.pbump.net

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Brendan Nyhan, Gavin A. Schmidt , and 2 more

rgoodlaw.bsky.social
Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 3d
On the patently unlawful boat strikes

It's hard for USGs to claim ‘mistake of law’ or ‘advice of counsel’ – when they’re firing lawyers who wouldn't sign off on the strikes.

WaPo's new revelations on firings or removals:

1) CIA General Counsel
2) NSC Legal Adviser
3) CIA Mission Center’s lawyer
🧵
White House blew past legal concerns in deadly strikes on drug boats
The Trump administration sidestepped skeptical lawyers across national security agencies as it pursued a military campaign against alleged narcotraffickers, officials say.
www.washingtonpost.com

Reposted by Cas Mudde, Marc Lynch, Kim L. Scheppele , and 3 more

jeremymberg.bsky.social
Jeremy Berg @jeremymberg.bsky.social · 4d
Well, this is chilling AF.

The Department of Education is suing Penn (in their quest for "combat antisemitism") requesting detailed information about Jewish faculty and staff.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

1/2
storage.courtlistener.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Nandita Sharma, Erwin Dekker , and 5 more

radleybalko.bsky.social
Radley Balko @radleybalko.bsky.social · 4d
Dipshit is smashing out a car window with his gun, barrel first. Just rogue, cowboy stiff.

There were two US citizens in the car. They were apprehended and detained for “obstructing” ICE by honking their horn to let people know ICE was in the neighborhood.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele, Joseph Schafer, Bonnie Honig , and 5 more

tabathasouthey.bsky.social
Tabatha Southey🇨🇦 @tabathasouthey.bsky.social · 4d
Massive shoutout out to whoever handles the Royal Canadian Air Force’s social media account. They responded to every single comment on their already very solid Trans Day of Remembrance post and they responded like this…
A screenshot of a Facebook post where a person named Andy ask the Well now “What the hell is transgender?” The Royal Canadian Air Force account response with “That’s a pretty big question asked in a pretty small way, Andy. ‘Transgender’ putting describes someone whose gender – who they know themselves to be – doesn’t match the sex they were assigned at birth. It’s not new, and it’s certainly not a fad. People have lived this experience for as long as people have existed; we’re just finally talking about it openly. You don’t have to fully understand it right away, most learning takes time, but we can always start from a place of respect. That’s how decent folks handle things they’re still getting used to.”