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Anna Bower
@annabower.bsky.social
260K followers 3.1K following 5.1K posts
Just asking questions.

Senior Editor, Lawfaremedia.org.

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Signal username: annabower.24
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annabower.bsky.social
Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · Oct 20
EXCLUSIVE: One Saturday afternoon in October, my phone lit up with a notification.

I glanced down at the message.

“Anna, Lindsey Halligan here,” it began.

So began my text exchange with the woman who is prosecuting the president's perceived political enemies.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
"Anna, Lindsey Halligan Here." Anna Bower Monday, October 20, 2025, 5:40 PM Share On: f X inK My Signal exchange with the interim U.S. attorney about the Letitia James grand jury.
Reposted by Anna Bower
annabower.bsky.social
NEWS: Dan Richman — key figure in now-dismissed Comey case — wins motion for return of materials seized from his devices.

Judge finds his rights were violated, orders that DOJ can only access data pursuant to lawful warrant.

Order could complicate efforts to re-indict Comey.
Richman's [l] Motion for Return of Property and ORDER the Government to return to 4 of 46 ichman the image of his computer that was made in 2017; any files obtained from his vomo University email accounts) or his Apple iCloud accounts) in 2019 or 2020 that are in the Government's possession; any copies of the image or files obtained from Petitioner Richman's email or iCloud accounts that are in the Government's possession; and any materials directly obtained or extracted from those files that are in the Government's possession (collectively, the "covered materials"). In order to "protect access to" the files at issue and preserve their availability for lawful "use in later proceedings," see Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g), and as an exercise of the Court's equitable discretion to fashion a remedy that is appropriate under all the circumstances, the Court shall further ORDER that, before returning the covered materials to Petitioner Richman, the 3 Case 1:25-mc-00170-CKK Document 21 | Filed 12/12/25 Page 4 of 46 Government may create one complete electronic copy of those materials and deposit that copy, under seal, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which shall have supervisory authority over access to this material, for future access pursuant to a lawful search warrant and judicial order. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia may then exercise its discretion to decide whether to allow Petitioner Richman an opportunity to move to quash any such warrant before it is executed. The Court shall further ORDER the Attorney General of the United States or her designee to certify, no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 15, 2025, that the Government has (1) returned the covered materials to Petitioner Richman; (2) not retained any additional copy or copies of the covered materials; (3) not provided any copy or copies of the covered materials to any other person, except for one copy that may be filed, under seal, in the U.S.…
December 13, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Anna Bower
orinkerr.bsky.social
Ooh, interesting. Blogging/tweeting ahead....
December 13, 2025 at 8:01 AM
Reposted by Anna Bower
joedudekjd.bsky.social
Imagine forcing @orinkerr.bsky.social to unlock his cell phone.
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 12h
Dan Richman is a professor at Columbia Law School and a leading authority on criminal procedure—not exactly an ideal target for Fourth Amendment violations.

I’d love to see what his Crim Pro exam looks like this year.
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 13h
NEWS: Dan Richman — key figure in now-dismissed Comey case — wins motion for return of materials seized from his devices.

Judge finds his rights were violated, orders that DOJ can only access data pursuant to lawful warrant.

Order could complicate efforts to re-indict Comey.
December 13, 2025 at 6:41 AM
annabower.bsky.social
Dan Richman is a professor at Columbia Law School and a leading authority on criminal procedure—not exactly an ideal target for Fourth Amendment violations.

I’d love to see what his Crim Pro exam looks like this year.
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 13h
NEWS: Dan Richman — key figure in now-dismissed Comey case — wins motion for return of materials seized from his devices.

Judge finds his rights were violated, orders that DOJ can only access data pursuant to lawful warrant.

Order could complicate efforts to re-indict Comey.
Richman's [l] Motion for Return of Property and ORDER the Government to return to 4 of 46 ichman the image of his computer that was made in 2017; any files obtained from his vomo University email accounts) or his Apple iCloud accounts) in 2019 or 2020 that are in the Government's possession; any copies of the image or files obtained from Petitioner Richman's email or iCloud accounts that are in the Government's possession; and any materials directly obtained or extracted from those files that are in the Government's possession (collectively, the "covered materials"). In order to "protect access to" the files at issue and preserve their availability for lawful "use in later proceedings," see Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g), and as an exercise of the Court's equitable discretion to fashion a remedy that is appropriate under all the circumstances, the Court shall further ORDER that, before returning the covered materials to Petitioner Richman, the 3 Case 1:25-mc-00170-CKK Document 21 | Filed 12/12/25 Page 4 of 46 Government may create one complete electronic copy of those materials and deposit that copy, under seal, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which shall have supervisory authority over access to this material, for future access pursuant to a lawful search warrant and judicial order. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia may then exercise its discretion to decide whether to allow Petitioner Richman an opportunity to move to quash any such warrant before it is executed. The Court shall further ORDER the Attorney General of the United States or her designee to certify, no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 15, 2025, that the Government has (1) returned the covered materials to Petitioner Richman; (2) not retained any additional copy or copies of the covered materials; (3) not provided any copy or copies of the covered materials to any other person, except for one copy that may be filed, under seal, in the U.S.…
December 13, 2025 at 3:54 AM
Reposted by Anna Bower
annabower.bsky.social
Background here: annabower.substack.com/p/the-civil-...
The Civil Suit That Could Derail the Comey Prosecution (Again)
Daniel Richman, a central figure in the now-dismissed criminal case against James Comey, files suit over the government's handling of his property.
annabower.substack.com
December 13, 2025 at 3:43 AM
annabower.bsky.social
NEWS: Dan Richman — key figure in now-dismissed Comey case — wins motion for return of materials seized from his devices.

Judge finds his rights were violated, orders that DOJ can only access data pursuant to lawful warrant.

Order could complicate efforts to re-indict Comey.
Richman's [l] Motion for Return of Property and ORDER the Government to return to 4 of 46 ichman the image of his computer that was made in 2017; any files obtained from his vomo University email accounts) or his Apple iCloud accounts) in 2019 or 2020 that are in the Government's possession; any copies of the image or files obtained from Petitioner Richman's email or iCloud accounts that are in the Government's possession; and any materials directly obtained or extracted from those files that are in the Government's possession (collectively, the "covered materials"). In order to "protect access to" the files at issue and preserve their availability for lawful "use in later proceedings," see Fed. R. Crim. P. 41(g), and as an exercise of the Court's equitable discretion to fashion a remedy that is appropriate under all the circumstances, the Court shall further ORDER that, before returning the covered materials to Petitioner Richman, the 3 Case 1:25-mc-00170-CKK Document 21 | Filed 12/12/25 Page 4 of 46 Government may create one complete electronic copy of those materials and deposit that copy, under seal, with the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, which shall have supervisory authority over access to this material, for future access pursuant to a lawful search warrant and judicial order. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia may then exercise its discretion to decide whether to allow Petitioner Richman an opportunity to move to quash any such warrant before it is executed. The Court shall further ORDER the Attorney General of the United States or her designee to certify, no later than 4:00 p.m. ET on Monday, December 15, 2025, that the Government has (1) returned the covered materials to Petitioner Richman; (2) not retained any additional copy or copies of the covered materials; (3) not provided any copy or copies of the covered materials to any other person, except for one copy that may be filed, under seal, in the U.S.…
December 13, 2025 at 3:41 AM
Reposted by Anna Bower
chrisgeidner.bsky.social
BREAKING: Judges Rao and Walker — both Trump appointees — issue an "administrative stay" blocking Judge Boasberg's contempt proceedings set to begin on Monday.

The administrative stay is issued over the objection of Judge Childs, a Biden appointee.
United States Court of Appeals FOR THE DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA CIRCUIT September Term, 2025 1:25-cv-00766-JEB Filed On: December 12, 2025 In re: Donald J. Trump, et al., Petitioners BEFORE: Rao, Walker, and Childs*, Circuit Judges ORDER Upon consideration of the petition for a writ of mandamus; the emergency motion for a stay pending resolution of the petition for a writ of mandamus and for an administrative stay, and the opposition to the motion for a stay; and the notice of district court orders, it is ORDERED that the district court's December 8, 2025 order be administratively stayed pending further order of the court. The purpose of this administrative stay is to allow the court time to render a decision on the mandamus petition and the stay motion. The administrative stay should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of that petition or motion. See D.C. Circuit Handbook of Practice and Internal Procedures 33 (2025). Per Curiam
December 12, 2025 at 10:47 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
gregsargent.bsky.social
Remarkable how brutal the ruling against Trump on Abrego Garcia truly is: It details flagrant and malicious abuses of power all throughout. Trump and Stephen Miller were testing their ability to spread lawless state terror. But the court held the line. 1/

(new piece)
newrepublic.com/article/2043...
Fiasco for Trump as Judge Issues Harsh Rebuke in Abrego Garcia Case
Judge Paula Xinis’s ruling temporarily freed Kilmar Abrego Garcia from custody. It also savagely indicted Trump’s lawless handling of this whole affair from start to finish.
newrepublic.com
December 12, 2025 at 5:39 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
It is not! A “scrivener’s error” is for things like fixing typos or very minor non-material errors, not retroactively adding a deportation order that doesn’t current exist!
goaldee.bsky.social goaldee.bsky.social @goaldee.bsky.social · 1d
Is "correcting" a previous order like this a real thing?
Stephen Miller bs
December 12, 2025 at 1:50 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
joshgerstein.bsky.social
JUST IN: Kilmar Abrego Garcia left a check-in at Baltimore ICE this AM without being detained, his lawyer said, after claim by feds last night that they fixed as a 'scrivener's error 'an immigration judge's failure to order Abrego deported in 2019. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Exhibit B – #112, Att. #2 in Abrego Garcia v. Noem (D. Maryland, 8:25-cv-02780) – CourtListener.com
Emergency MOTION for Temporary Restraining Order and Proposed Order by Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia (Attachments: # 1 Exhibit A, # 2 Exhibit B, # 3 Proposed Order)(Cooper, Jonathan) (Entered: 12/12/20...
storage.courtlistener.com
December 12, 2025 at 2:57 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
thebsnod.bsky.social
Praying for Anna during this time of being completely discredited. I don't know how, but I know she'll recover!
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 1d
Interesting. I was told I would be completely discredited when the evidence comes out.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
December 12, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Anna Bower
benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org
Another day.
Another failed effort to get a grand jury to indict @newyorkstateag.bsky.social Letitia James.
December 11, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
apnews.com
BREAKING: Kilmar Abrego Garcia has been released from immigration detention after a federal judge's order Thursday, his attorney's office says.
Judge orders Kilmar Abrego Garcia to be immediately released from immigration detention
A federal judge in Maryland has ordered Kilmar Abrego Garcia freed from immigration detention while his legal challenge against his deportation moves forward. U.S.
bit.ly
December 11, 2025 at 10:27 PM
annabower.bsky.social
Interesting. I was told I would be completely discredited when the evidence comes out.

www.lawfaremedia.org/article/anna...
Text from Lindsey Halligan re: Letitia James case: "Continue to do what you have been and you'll be completely discredited when the evidence comes out."
December 11, 2025 at 10:30 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
stevevladeck.bsky.social
For this week's bonus issue of "One First," I wrote about Monday's #SCOTUS argument in Slaughter, Justice Barrett's concern about having to identify the specific constitutional provision from which the unitary executive theory derives, and the alarming possibility that con law is ... complicated:
Bonus 196: What if Constitutional Law is ... Complicated?
Over and over again during Monday's oral argument in the Slaughter case, the Republican appointees waved their hands at the possibility that big constitutional law questions might have messy answers.
www.stevevladeck.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:55 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
rparloff.bsky.social
The govt’s filing yesterday in JGG suggests it will try to derail, by a 2d mandamus petition (appeal), next week’s hearings before Judge Boasberg. Testimony there could suggest that Emil Bove lied to the Senate & that DAG Blanche misled the public. ...
1/7
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Protective Order AND Reconsideration – #201 in J.G.G. v. TRUMP (D.D.C., 1:25-cv-00766) – CourtListener.com
MOTION for Reconsideration of the Court's December 8 Order (ECF 200), MOTION for Protective Order by PAMELA J. BONDI, PETER B. HEGSETH, KRISTI NOEM, MARCO A. RUBIO, MADISON SHEAHAN, DONALD J. TRUMP, U...
storage.courtlistener.com
December 11, 2025 at 1:47 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
reichlinmelnick.bsky.social
🚨Judge Xinis finds that, incredibly, Mr. Abrego Garcia was never ordered deported in 2019. She notes that every since this saga began all the way back in March, the government has NEVER been able to produce any evidence that the immigration judge actually issued a removal order.
B. No Order of Removal Exists for Abrego Garcia No such order of removal exists for Abrego Garcia. When Abrego Garcia was first wrongly expelled to El Salvador, the Court struggled to understand the legal authority for even seizing him in the first place. At the first hearing in Abrego I, the Court inquired of Respondents’ counsel: The Court: I want to ask, though, the very specific question, if there is a final order of removal, what . . . document got this process started? There is no warrant for his arrest by an order of removal. There is no statement of probable cause. There’s no charge. There’s no report that says that anyone saw Mr. Abrego Garcia doing anything illegal or criminal. So what is the actual document that gave these officers the authority to start this process? Counsel: That is not in the record, and the government has not put that into the record. And that’s the best I can do. Abrego I, ECF No. 33 at 21:11–22. The Court continued to press counsel about the existence of a removal order and was told plainly that none can be found: The Court: Okay. So if there’s a Title 8 removal order, there would be an order of removal that’s being executed, and we don’t have one for Mr. Abrego Garcia, right? . . . Do you have that order? . . . Is it in the record? Counsel: I do not have that order. It is not in the record. Id. at 23:7–24:4. Since that time, Respondents have never produced an order of removal despite Abrego Garcia hinging much of his jurisdictional and legal arguments on its non-existence. ECF No. 1 ¶¶ 68–69; ECF No. 32 at 10, 15–17, 27; ECF No. 87 at 11–12. Indeed, Respondents twice sponsored the testimony of ICE officials whose job it is to effectuate removal orders, and who candidly admitted to having never seen one for Abrego Garcia. See ECF No. 107 at 30:16–22 (testimony of Cantú) (“Q: Based upon your many years of experience you described to us, you know what a final order of removal looks like, right, sir? Cantú: I do. Q: And have you seen a final order of removal in regard to Mr. Abrego Garcia? Cantú: I have not.”). See also Abrego I, ECF No. 234 at 46:6–12 (testimony of interim Assistant Director for ICE Removal Operations, Thomas Giles (“Giles”)) (“Q: You have not seen the final order of removal, have you, sir? Giles: What do you mean by that? Q: I mean, you have not seen a piece of paper that represents the final order of removal vis-a-vis Mr. Abrego Garcia, correct? Giles: No, I have not.”).15 Based on this, the Court concludes that no order of removal exists.
December 11, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
davidcorn.bsky.social
DOUBLE SCOOP! As @dfriedman.bsky.social was investigating a top Hegseth aide tied to a Goodreads page listing porno books featuring "Asian wife swapping" and sex with transgender women, MAGA hitman Jack Posobiec threatened to do a hit job on Dan. Smells like a Pentagon attempt at intimidation.
I asked the Pentagon about Pete Hegseth's mentor. Then the threats started.
Journalism in the second Trump administration gets personal.
www.motherjones.com
December 11, 2025 at 4:04 PM
annabower.bsky.social
Judge Paula Xinis on the government’s conduct in the Abrego Garcia litigation:

“Respondents did not just stonewall. They affirmatively misled the tribunal.”
Respondents instead found a fourth African country, Liberia. This time, when the Court sought information about Liberia and Costa Rica so to fairly assess the validity of Abrego Garcia's claims, Respondents did not just stonewall. They affirmatively misled the tribunal! They announced that Liberia is the only viable removal option because Costa Rica "does not wish to receive him," ECF No. 85 at 9, and that Costa Rica will no longer "accept the transfer" of him, ECF No. 75-6 1 5; ECF No. 85 at 14. But Costa Rica had never wavered in its commitment to receive Abrego Garcia, just as Abrego Garcia never wavered in his commitment to resettle there. See ECF No. 108 at 1; Maria Sacchetti, Costa Rica says it would accept Kilmar Abrego Garcia, contradicting U.S., WASH. POST (Nov. 21, 2025), https://www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/2025/11/21/kilmar- trumpdeport-costarica/. See also Laura Romero, Costa Rican official says country willing to accept Abrego Garcia, contradicting Trump administration officials, ABC NEWS (Nov. 21, 2025), https://abcnews.go.com/International/costa-rican-official-country-accept-abrego-garcia- contradicting/story?id=127775855. This evidently remained an inconvenient truth for Respondents. But more to the point, Respondents' persistent refusal to acknowledge Costa Rica as a viable removal option, their threats to send Abrego Garcia to African countries that never agreed to take him, and their misrepresentation to the Court that Liberia is now the only country available to Abrego Garcia, all reflect that whatever purpose was behind his detention, it was not
December 11, 2025 at 3:59 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
debpearlstein.bsky.social
I just don't see how the court can avoid at least sanctioning the attorneys at this point.
rparloff.bsky.social Roger Parloff @rparloff.bsky.social · 2d
"Respondents did not just stonewall. They affirmatively misled the tribunal."
December 11, 2025 at 3:54 PM
annabower.bsky.social
🚨🧵👇
annabower.bsky.social Anna Bower @annabower.bsky.social · 2d
BREAKING: Judge Paula Xinis orders the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration custody
December 11, 2025 at 3:32 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
annabower.bsky.social
Judge Xinis: “Respondents SHALL release Abrego Garcia from ICE custody immediately”
December 11, 2025 at 3:28 PM
annabower.bsky.social
BREAKING: Judge Paula Xinis orders the immediate release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia from immigration custody
December 11, 2025 at 3:26 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
ryanjreilly.com
when it's going great storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"As a general matter, providing documents by email is not a substitute for filing them on the docket, and doing so does not make them part of the official record of the case."
December 11, 2025 at 2:37 PM
Reposted by Anna Bower
rparloff.bsky.social
After a sealed ex parte (govt only) hearing in Abrego's criminal case yesterday, Judge Crenshaw has ordered, over govt objection, that redacted copies of 6 documents relevant to Abrego's motion to dismiss for vindictive prosecution be turned over to Abrego's team. That's all we know for now.
December 11, 2025 at 2:25 PM