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Amy P.

@amyephillips.bsky.social

1.5K followers 2.1K following 1.2K posts

Appellate public defender. Broadway superfan. #FOIA nerd. #DCStatehood #PDTwitter #AppellateTwitter 🏳️‍🌈 🇵🇸 😷 She/her. Personal account. (@amyeph from Twitter)

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Amy P. @amyephillips.bsky.social · Jul 3

What’s going to happen is that these Medicaid cuts are going to go into effect, and hospitals and clinics are going to close, and treatment won’t be available.

And then we’re going to get mainstream news stories with headlines like “Trump Gives Speech Blaming Obamacare for Mass Hospital Closures.”

Reposted by Amy P.

Shafawn @shafawn.bsky.social · 14h

So far as we’ve any daylight into ICE procedures, there are no incident reports, no responsible command oversight, no enforced standards for detainment or arrest. In actual lawful police enforcement, officers are required to write incident reports at least. Because civil & criminal liability attach.

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Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 1d

One of the basic points in my new Dispatch piece on the right to record immigration raids and raiders is that ICE agents are already informally “enforcing” their disapproval of at-the-scene recording by roughing up journalists, freelance photographers, and others with cellphone cameras. /1

Walter Olson @walterolson.bsky.social · 1d

New from me at The Dispatch: DHS says it's illegal to videotape ICE agents. That's not what the courts say. @thedispatchmedia.bsky.social

DHS Says Videotaping ICE Agents Is Illegal. Federal Courts Disagree.

Filming law enforcement serves important goals central to a free republic.

thedispatch.com

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Fifty Shades of Whey @fiftyshadesofwhey.bsky.social · 2h

The Department of War Crimes is outta control

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Lawprofblawg @lawprofblawg.bsky.social · 3h

Texas Universities to scrub courses that speak of the dangers of fascism after Trump designates Antifa a terrorist organization.

"Texas universities will comply with law and only speak of the benefits of fascism," stated one Texas representative.

#Satire

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Kelly @broadwaybabyto.bsky.social · 3h

Over half of all Americans can’t afford a basic standard of living.

Many are fighting to ensure they don’t lose healthcare and food assistance.

Yet Kristi Noem felt entitled to supplement a six figure salary with $80,000 in dark money.

ProPublica @propublica.org · 6h

Kristi Noem, while governor of South Dakota, supplemented her roughly $130,000 salary by secretly accepting $80,000 donated to a political nonprofit she was affiliated with, records show.

She never disclosed this income on federal ethics forms.

(Published June)

Kristi Noem Secretly Took a Cut of Political Donations

A dark money group paid $80,000 to Noem’s personal company when she was governor of South Dakota. She did not include this income on her federal disclosure forms, a likely violation of ethics requirem...

www.propublica.org

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Rebecca Spang @rlspang.bsky.social · 5h

The title verse of “We Shall Overcome” and most of the others are in the future tense. One verse is in the present: “We are not afraid TODAY.”

That is the most important message for our current moment. If you can “afford” to be fearless, do it.

Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social · 7h

www.wweek.com/culture/2025...

Can you put into words what that purpose is? You and the frog have really become icons of this protest.

There’s been a nice overall whimsy that has shown up. The frog is amazing. We had a bunch of other inflatable people here last night, too. I saw people playing Twister the other day.

What they rely on is fear. So by coming out in an absurdist manner, it speaks to them, to some extent, that we’re actually not that afraid.

It also dismantles their narrative a little bit. When they try to describe this situation as “war-torn,” it becomes much harder to take them seriously when they have to post a video saying [U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security] Kristi Noem is up on the balcony staring over the Antifa Army and it’s, like, eight journalists and five protesters and one of them is in a chicken suit.

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Amy P. @amyephillips.bsky.social · 3h

$31 yesterday for 3 yogurts, a carton of eggs, a quart of milk, a 2-liter of Diet Coke, 4 bananas, and a muffin. It was a large and very delicious bakery muffin, but still…

delrayser @delrayser.bsky.social · 7h

everything is on fire these days, sure, but how is it that 50% of all news stories are not about how I just spent $20 on a bag of store brand coffee at fucking costco

Reposted by Amy P.

jamelle @jamellebouie.net · 1d

i think it is cool that a government run by fanatical bigots is on track to plunge the economy into a mountain and cause a food crisis

David Dayen @ddayen.bsky.social · 1d

So this is funny.
The administration just issued a rule slashing foreign agricultural worker wages. And to justify it, in a public filing, Trump's Labor Department alleges that Trump's immigration enforcement has devastated the Ag workforce and caused a "risk of supply shock-induced food shortages."

Trump Labor Department Says His Immigration Raids Are Causing a Food Crisis

In a filing in the Federal Register, the Labor Department argues there are “immediate dangers to the American food supply” due to a lack of migrant agricultural workers.

prospect.org

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Ryan Haas @ryanjhaas.bsky.social · 8h

Guess this story is getting some eyeballs, so two things:

Did you know I worked on a whole podcast about the 2020 Portland protests (some of the worst of which involved federal officers) and the political divisions that make all of our worlds objectively worse?

podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/t...

The Fault Line: Dying for a Fight

Documentary Podcast · Series · Portland-based anti-fascist Sean Kealiher was killed in 2019, months before the uprising that would bring Portland international attention. Nearly two years later, his h...

podcasts.apple.com

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Don Moynihan @donmoyn.bsky.social · 7h

"30-year-old conservative lawyer and activist who is Trump’s nominee to lead the Office of Special Counsel, which deals with federal employee whistleblower complaints and discrimination" cancelled his colleague's hotel room so she would be forced to stay with him.
www.politico.com/news/2025/10...

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.

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The Oregonian @oregonian.com · 4h

Things are happening at Portland's ICE facility tonight.

Read more of our protest coverage here: www.oregonlive.com/crime/2025/1...

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 10h

NEW: Here's the two-count indictment against NY AG Letitia James. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

INDICTMENT
October 2025 Term - at Alexandria, Virginia
THE GRAND JURY CHARGES THAT:
GENERAL ALLEGATIONS
At all times relevant to this Indictment:
1. Letitia A. James ("JAMES) was a resident of Brooklyn, New York, and the borrower on a
Fannie Mae-backed mortgage loan for the property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue,
Norfolk, Virginia.
2. OVM Financial (also known as Old Virginia Mortgage / AnnieMac) was a mortgage lending business located in Virginia Beach, Virginia, engaged in the business of originating and underwriting residential mortgage loans, including those backed by the Federal National Mortgage Association ("Fannie Mae"). OVM Financial qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(10).
3. Fannie Mae was a federally chartered corporation that purchased and guaranteed mortgages,
operating as a government-sponsored enterprise under the oversight of the Federal Housing

Finance Agency ("FHFA").
4. First Savings Bank was a state-chartered, FDIC-insured financial institution (Certificate
#29961), headquartered in Jeffersonville, Indiana, which acquired mortgage loans through assignment or acquisition. First Savings Bank qualified as a "financial institution" within the meaning of 18 U.S.C. § 20(1).
5. On or about August 17, 2020, JAMES, as sole borrower, purchased the three (3) bedroom,
(1) bathroom property located at 3121 Peronne Avenue, Norfolk, Virginia 23509 (the
"Peronne Property"), for approximately $137,000, financed with a mortgage loan of approximately $109,600 (Loan #4430025978) backed by Fannie Mae.
6. The loan was originated by OVM Financial under a signed Second Home Rider, which required JAMES, as the sole borrower to occupy and use the property as her secondary residence, and prohibited its use as a timesharing or other shared ownership arrangement or agreement that requires her either to rent the property or give any other person any control over the occupancy or use of the property.
7. Despite these representations, the Peronne Property was not occupied or used by JAMES as a secondary residence and was instead used as a rental investment property, renting the property to a family of (3).
8. This misrepresentation allowed JAMES to obtain favorable loan terms not available for investment properties, including a note rate of 3.000% (avoiding a 0.815% higher
comparable investment property rate of 3.815%, resulting in approximately $17,837 in rate savings over the life of the loan), a seller credit of approximately $3,288 (exceeding the seller credit for investment properties by approximately $1,096), for total ill-gotten gains of approximately $18,933 over the life of the loan.
9. JAMES' Universal Property application for homeowners' insurance indicated "owner-

occupied non-seasonal use," further misrepresenting the intended use of the property.
10. JAMES filed Schedule E tax forms), under penalties of perjury, treating the Perrone Property as rental real estate, reporting fair rental days, zero personal use days, thousand(s)
of dollars in rents received, and claiming deductions for expenses relating to the property, further contradicting the second home classification.
11. The loan was acquired by or assigned to First Savings Bank by March 2021, exposing it to risks associated with the misrepresented loan.
12. The acts described herein occurred within the Eastern District of Virginia.
COUNT ONE
(Bank Fraud - 18 U.S.C. § 1344)
13. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.
14. From on or about August 7, 2020, through at least January 2024, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly execute and attempt to execute a scheme and artifice to defraud OVM Financial and First Savings Bank,
financial institutions, and to obtain moneys, funds, and credits owned by and under the custody and control of OVM Financial and First Savings Bank by means of false and fraudulent pretenses, representations, and promises.
15. The scheme involved falsely representing the Peronne Property as a secondary residence to obtain favorable mortgage terms, while using it as an investment property with no intended
or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1344).
COUNT TWO
(False Statements to a Financial Institution - 18 U.S.C. § 1014)
16. The allegations in paragraphs 1 through 12 are re-alleged and incorporated herein.

17. From on or about July 28, 2020, through at least August 31, 2020, in the Eastern District of Virginia and elsewhere, the Defendant, LETITIA A. JAMES, did knowingly make and cause to be made false statements and reports for the purpose of influencing the action of OVM Financial, a Fannie Mae-backed lender, upon an application for a loan, in that JAMES represented and affirmed in uniform residential loan applications and related documents that
the Peronne Property would be used as a secondary residence, when in truth and fact, as JAMES then knew, the property was intended and used as an investment property with no intended or actual personal occupancy or use by her.
(In violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1014).
FORFEITURE NOTICE
Pursuant to Federal Rule of Criminal Procedure 32.2(a) and Title 18, U.S.C. §
982(a)(2)(A), upon conviction of the offenses in Counts One and Two, the Defendant, Letitia
A. James, shall forfeit to the United States any property constituting, or derived from, proceeds obtained, directly or indirectly, as a result of such violations, including but not limited to a money judgment in the amount of $18,933.
If any of the property described above, as a result of any act or omission of the Defendant: (a) cannot be located upon the exercise of due diligence; (b) has been transferred or sold to, or deposited with, a third party; (c) has been placed beyond the jurisdiction of the court; (d) has been substantially diminished in value; or (e) has been commingled with other property which cannot be divided without difficulty, the United States shall be entitled to a forfeiture of substitute property pursuant to Title 21, U.S.C. § 853(b), as incorporated by Title
18 U.S.C. § 982(b)(1).
(In accordance with Title 18 U.S.C. § 981(a)(1)(C) and 982(a)(1); Title 28, U.S.C. § 2461(c); and Title 21 U.S.C. § 853(p).)

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James Fallows @jfallows.bsky.social · 6h

Adventures in framing:

Headline presenting this as a real-world question. Rather than as another sign of deepening vortex of narcissistic delusion and detachment from reality.

Headline: Trump Has His Eyes on Nobel Prize. Will He Get It?

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Joshua J. Friedman @joshuajfriedman.com · 12h

NEW: Federal judge dismisses Drake's defamation case against Kendrick Lamar storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

The issue in this case is whether "Not Like Us" can reasonably be understood to convey as a factual matter that Drake is a pedophile or that he has engaged in sexual relations with minors. In light of the overall context in which the statements in the Recording were made, the Court holds that it cannot.

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weeder @weeder.bsky.social · Aug 8

*young me, developing a strong sense of justice*

This is gonna be great, what an asset, this will never drive me insane

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Amy P. @amyephillips.bsky.social · 1d

Bezos ruins everything

Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 1d

You’ve gotta be kidding me.

This WaPo editorial presents a misleading revisionist history of Special Counsel Jack Smith’s criminal cases against Trump.

Then it has the gall to compare that to Trump’s overt targeting of his perceived enemies.

Really embarrassing stuff.

But the mere fact that a legal tool might be available does not mean it should be used. The
current rage over Grassley's revelation shows why. Smith showed little restraint in his pursuit of a former president. He charged Trump for official acts he took as president. He sought a gag order to limit Trump's ability to criticize the prosecution. He tried to accelerate the case to try a leading presidential candidate before the 2024 election.

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Asha Rangappa @asharangappa.bsky.social · 1d

One of the (many) legal gaps that needs to be filled after this nightmare is over is to prohibit federal law enforcement agencies from using federal funds to create propaganda videos with anyone in custody. This is all about spectacle and content creation, remove the incentive and the means

Tina Smith @smith.senate.gov · 1d

Weird how that didn’t make the cut.

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Amy P. @amyephillips.bsky.social · 1d

Needs a vegan version, obvi

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Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 1d

“The alleged underground Hamas command center at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, used to justify an unprecedented assault on the biggest medical center in Gaza, was actually an animation the IDF had used the previous year, saying at the time it was a tunnel beneath a UN school.”

⬇️

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Drop Site @dropsitenews.com · 1d

Al Jazeera reports that Israeli warplanes struck Gaza City at the same time Trump announced a ceasefire deal. Palestinians had been celebrating the truce, but raids continued. No casualties have yet been confirmed.

Israel has also been blowing up about 300 homes a day using explosive-laden APCs.

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Amy P. @amyephillips.bsky.social · 1d

If you type all the things you want into any word processing document, the software will even number them for you, so they’re easy to keep track of. Then you can cross them off as your opponents capitulate on each one, which is very satisfying.

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Amy P. @amyephillips.bsky.social · 1d

If Trump is going to be “exempt,” I think the order should say that if the feds want to use force against peaceful protesters, Trump has to go to Broadview and pepper spray them himself, personally. 😂

Reposted by Amy P.

Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 1d

Temporary Restraining Order to be granted tomorrow in the Chicago case filed by journalists, pastors, and others hit with riot control munitions by ICE!

Dave Byrnes @djbyrnes1.bsky.social · 1d

Ellis rules that the plaintiffs have standing for their case. She cites the "ongoing and sustained record of conduct" by federal agents gathered over the last month.

She further finds the plaintiffs have plausibly shown feds have "frustrated" efforts to "protect journalist safety."

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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 6d

When I see people
post that “this
is not who we are,”
I take a picture of the comment
(and what they are referring to)
and send it to the historian,
along with a question mark,
and usually the historian replies
“No, it is,”
though sometimes she adds
“but it doesn’t have to be.”

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Plague Poems @plaguepoems.bsky.social · 2d

My friend
the optimist insists
that at core
most people
are basically
good.

My friend
the pessimist insists
that at core
most people
are basically
bad.

I worry,
my friends,
that at core
most people
are basically
unwilling to be inconvenienced.

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