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Reposted by Zach Montague

Deborah Pearlstein @debpearlstein.bsky.social · 23h

Of all the news in this NYT survey of sitting federal judges - incl 47 of them think the SCt is mishandling its emergency docket - maybe the biggest is that 65 sitting fed judges (37D, 28R), folks circumspect for a living, responded to a NYT survey. Stunning. And a sign that something is very wrong.

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Leah Litman @leahlitman.bsky.social · 1d

More judges speak to the press (the NYT) about what a disaster the Supreme Court (specifically the shadow docket) has been - “incredibly demoralizing & troubling”; a “judicial crisis”; a “slap in the face to district courts.” www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

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Mattathias Schwartz @schwartzesque.bsky.social · 23h

NEW: We talked to 65 federal judges about the Supreme Court’s use of the emergency docket during Trump’s 2nd term, how it impacts morale in the lower courts, and its effect on the public’s view of the judiciary.

They had a lot to say.

Free gift link … www.nytimes.com/2025/10/11/u...

Federal Judges, Warning of ‘Judicial Crisis,’ Fault Supreme Court’s Emergency Orders

www.nytimes.com

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 1d

In any event, thanks for reading

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The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

George was just trying to get to work.

ICE pepper-sprayed him, dragged him from his car, locked him in a detention center, and placed him on suicide watch. He even missed his young daughter’s birthday in the process.

This man is a veteran and American citizen. Don't look away.

The Bulwark @thebulwark.com · 1d

"They put me on suicide watch and they put me in the cell, I'm naked, in like a hospital dress and just a concrete bed with like a mattress, like a thin mattress and, they leave the light on 24/7."

@timmiller.bsky.social talked to a veteran who ICE wrongly detained and brutalized

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Heartland Signal @heartlandsignal.bsky.social · 1d

BREAKING: Masked Border Patrol agents aggressively arrested WGN video producer Debbie Brockman in Lincoln Square Friday morning, supposedly for "obstructing justice." (Video via Josh Thomas on Facebook)

Follow @heartlandsignal for more.

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 1d

Since headline semantics is a genre here, I’d say there’s a small distinction, and one that unfortunately doesn’t make any commentary on the Clash.

This isn’t our newsroom dictionary, but “clamping down” with federal agents across DC seemed better than “cracking down” on greatly overstated “crime”

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 2d

After a federal grand jury declined to return an indictment on a single gun charge, federal prosecutors went to a local grand jury with the same charge and tried to use an indictment from there to move the federal case along.

Faruqui calls it an “unprecedented workaround” to keep the case alive.

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 2d

Tonight: Judge Zia Faruqui rejects attempts by prosecutors to forge ahead after failing to secure an indictment against a man swept up in Trump’s DC law enforcement surge

Earlier today, he similarly expunged the record of a man arrested at Trader Joe’s for fiddling with his backpack.

Judge Rejects ‘Unprecedented’ Indictment Amid Trump’s D.C. Clampdown

www.nytimes.com

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Brad Heath @bradheath.bsky.social · 3d

WSJ: President Trump believed his Truth Social post demanding prosecutions of James Comey and other political foes was a private message to his attorney general, and "and was surprised to learn it was public."

www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

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Edward Wong @ewong.bsky.social · 3d

NEW: While Qatar helps with Gaza talks, it's trying to mediate the US-Venezuela conflict. But Trump is cold on diplomacy. He has put 10,000 troops in the Caribbean and is continuing airstrikes on civilian boats. And Rubio pushes to oust Maduro. Our story: www.nytimes.com/2025/10/08/u...

Qatar Pushes U.S.-Venezuela Diplomacy as Trump Focuses on Military Action

www.nytimes.com

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Melissa Gira Grant @melissagiragrant.com · 3d

Incredibly alarming—after the whole ridiculous antifa roundtable at the White House, as Mark was moving with his family to Europe after threats…

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Alejandra Caraballo @esqueer.net · 3d

ICE is not only chasing down every random brown person in Chicago, they have a cameraman following them to film this for social media. Cruelty and inhumanity as content.

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 3d

Goes without saying that in any other context, someone in this position would bend over backwards to prove they rejected or returned the money or resign. But it’s because the Trump admin won’t act that the statute of limitations on a future forfeiture doesn’t mean much.

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 3d

Experts say forfeiture law generally requires the government to recover the exact same funds (typically the original cash) it doled out.

The IRS could check whether he declared the $50k as income, and Congress could investigate. But a future admin would be hard pressed to reclaim the money.

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 3d

Pam Bondi yesterday followed the Trump administration’s practice so far of declining to confirm or deny whether Tom Homan ever accepted $50K from undercover agents.

But if he did, it may be bordering on the impossible for a future DOJ to ever get that money back.

Tom Homan Was Said to Have Received $50,000 From Agents. He May Not Have to Return It.

www.nytimes.com

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 4d

Just in: Planned Parenthood wins summary judgment in its case over new conditions for the Teenage Pregnancy Prevention program. New requirements added in July required grantees to update their curriculum materials to match the administration’s line on gender and scrub some references to safe sex

storage.courtlistener.com

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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 8d

NEW: A 20-year federal prosecutor, fired abruptly this week even as he lead case against Abbey Gate bomber, warns his colleagues: the Trump administration is sacrificing national security to purge Trump's perceived adversaries.

w/ @dnlbrns

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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Patrick De Klotz @patdeklotz.bsky.social · 9d

They seem heartbroken over this

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Maya Sen @mayasen.bsky.social · 10d

Will be very interesting/funny if the “trade school” Harvard will “operate” as part of this agreeement is actually its own already operating Harvard extension school

The Guardian @theguardian.com · 11d

Trump says $500m deal reached with Harvard to settle dispute

US president says ‘Linda is finishing up the details’ but not clear whether university ready to announce agreement Donald Trump said on Tuesday that his administration had reached a deal with Harvard and that the school would pay $500m to settle the dispute between the federal government and the university. “Linda is finishing up the final details,” Trump told reporters at an event in the Oval Office, referring to Linda McMahon, the education secretary. “And they’ll be paying about $500m and they’ll be operating trade schools. They’re going to be teaching people how to do AI and lots of other things, engines, lots of things.” Continue reading...

www.theguardian.com

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Jordan Fischer @jordanonrecord.bsky.social · 10d

It's like a Choose Your Own Hatch Act Violation.

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Ken Vogel @kenvogel.bsky.social · 11d

Quite the postcard received by the federal judge considering a challenge to Trump's threats to deport noncitizens for pro-Palestinian protests.

The judge (a Reagan appointee) nonetheless ruled today that the threats infringed on protestors' 1st Amendment rights. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/30/u...

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Zach Montague @zjmontague.bsky.social · 11d

In a scorching opinion, Judge Young, the Reagan appointee who once seemed deeply skeptical of this lawsuit, filed a broadside against the Trump administration’s threats against all the pro-Palestinian demonstrators targeted for deportation, which he said flew in the face of the First Amendment.

Judge Rules Trump Unlawfully Targeted Noncitizens Over Pro-Palestinian Speech

www.nytimes.com

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Nick Turse @nickturse.bsky.social · 15d

When drug boat operators -- impoverished fishermen trying to get by -- were caught in the past, they got a few years in prison. Now Trump is executing them without trials.

A must-read and an exceptionally smart take from my colleague Matt Sledge @theintercept.com

theintercept.com/2025/09/26/t...

Venezuela Boat Pilots Targeted by Trump Are Low-Level Pawns in the Drug Game

“They are the poorest and weakest link. They are simply pawns in the operation.”

theintercept.com

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Lawfare @lawfaremedia.org · 19d

In The Situation, @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org contemplates Trump’s replacement of the U.S. Attorney in EDVA who declined to prosecute his political opponents like James Comey—and why he’s in a rush.

The Situation: Committing Impeachable Offenses in a Hurry

Why is the president in such a rush to prosecute his political opponents?

www.lawfaremedia.org

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