John Q. Barrett
@johnqbarrett.bsky.social
Benjamin N. Cardozo Professor of Law,
St. John's University, NYC.
Robert H. Jackson Center.
Jackson biographer.
Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure,
Legal History, Nuremberg, SCOTUS.
Iran-Contra & DOJ alum.
Wisconsin native.
#JacksonList
St. John's University, NYC.
Robert H. Jackson Center.
Jackson biographer.
Constitutional Law, Criminal Procedure,
Legal History, Nuremberg, SCOTUS.
Iran-Contra & DOJ alum.
Wisconsin native.
#JacksonList
Pinned
John Q. Barrett
@johnqbarrett.bsky.social
· Nov 21
"No more time for foolishness."
--Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., quoting in 1998 a sign that he once saw on the bumper of a taxicab in Lagos, Nigeria.
--Judge A. Leon Higginbotham, Jr., quoting in 1998 a sign that he once saw on the bumper of a taxicab in Lagos, Nigeria.
Iran-Contra--
Oct. 1986: Illegal U.S. military support to Nicaraguan Contras becomes public.
Nov. 1986: U.S. arms sales to Iran for hostages become public.
Nov. 25, 1986: AG Edwin Meese announces that U.S. officials diverted Iran arm sales proceeds to buy arms for the Contras.
Iran-->Contra.
Oct. 1986: Illegal U.S. military support to Nicaraguan Contras becomes public.
Nov. 1986: U.S. arms sales to Iran for hostages become public.
Nov. 25, 1986: AG Edwin Meese announces that U.S. officials diverted Iran arm sales proceeds to buy arms for the Contras.
Iran-->Contra.
November 25, 2025 at 6:11 PM
Iran-Contra--
Oct. 1986: Illegal U.S. military support to Nicaraguan Contras becomes public.
Nov. 1986: U.S. arms sales to Iran for hostages become public.
Nov. 25, 1986: AG Edwin Meese announces that U.S. officials diverted Iran arm sales proceeds to buy arms for the Contras.
Iran-->Contra.
Oct. 1986: Illegal U.S. military support to Nicaraguan Contras becomes public.
Nov. 1986: U.S. arms sales to Iran for hostages become public.
Nov. 25, 1986: AG Edwin Meese announces that U.S. officials diverted Iran arm sales proceeds to buy arms for the Contras.
Iran-->Contra.
NEW!
Rachel Maddow tells the story of one of the most shocking decisions in American history in her new podcast, “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order.”
Listen to the trailer now and follow the series. New episodes drop Mondays.
podcasts.apple.com/me/podcast/r...
Rachel Maddow tells the story of one of the most shocking decisions in American history in her new podcast, “Rachel Maddow Presents: Burn Order.”
Listen to the trailer now and follow the series. New episodes drop Mondays.
podcasts.apple.com/me/podcast/r...
November 25, 2025 at 3:08 AM
Meanwhile, on this evening eighty years ago in Oxford...
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien's and Mrs. Edith Tolkien's invitation to a 21st birthday party for their son, Christopher John Reuel Tolkien.
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien's and Mrs. Edith Tolkien's invitation to a 21st birthday party for their son, Christopher John Reuel Tolkien.
November 22, 2025 at 4:10 AM
Meanwhile, on this evening eighty years ago in Oxford...
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien's and Mrs. Edith Tolkien's invitation to a 21st birthday party for their son, Christopher John Reuel Tolkien.
Professor J.R.R. Tolkien's and Mrs. Edith Tolkien's invitation to a 21st birthday party for their son, Christopher John Reuel Tolkien.
On November 21, 1945--80 years ago--Justice Robert H. Jackson, chief U.S. prosecutor, delivered in Nuremberg his superb opening statement in the international trial of leading Nazi war criminals.
This new Jackson List essay has details and links to complete audio.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/21/o...
This new Jackson List essay has details and links to complete audio.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/21/o...
Opening at Nuremberg (November 21, 1945)
Eighty years ago today, on Wednesday, November 21, 1945, United States Supreme Court Justice Robert H. Jackson, serving as U.S. Chief of Counsel for Prosecution of Axis Criminality, delivered to th…
thejacksonlist.com
November 22, 2025 at 3:59 AM
On November 21, 1945--80 years ago--Justice Robert H. Jackson, chief U.S. prosecutor, delivered in Nuremberg his superb opening statement in the international trial of leading Nazi war criminals.
This new Jackson List essay has details and links to complete audio.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/21/o...
This new Jackson List essay has details and links to complete audio.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/21/o...
From @sbg1.bsky.social:
“You can fill a very large room with people who have not forgiven Cheney for the Iraq War but who were nonetheless sad to see the passing of a man who dared to speak out about Trump.”
I think that these views fill the very large United States and much of the world.
“You can fill a very large room with people who have not forgiven Cheney for the Iraq War but who were nonetheless sad to see the passing of a man who dared to speak out about Trump.”
I think that these views fill the very large United States and much of the world.
On getting a hug from Rachel Maddow at Dick Cheney’s funeral…
My new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
My new column: www.newyorker.com/news/letter-...
Dick Cheney’s Long, Strange Goodbye
On seeing Rachel Maddow at the former Vice-President’s funeral, while Donald Trump threatened Democrats on social media with death by hanging.
www.newyorker.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:24 PM
From @sbg1.bsky.social:
“You can fill a very large room with people who have not forgiven Cheney for the Iraq War but who were nonetheless sad to see the passing of a man who dared to speak out about Trump.”
I think that these views fill the very large United States and much of the world.
“You can fill a very large room with people who have not forgiven Cheney for the Iraq War but who were nonetheless sad to see the passing of a man who dared to speak out about Trump.”
I think that these views fill the very large United States and much of the world.
“Lineman for the county” here is beautiful writing by Peter Baker. And it is a reminder of the virtue of basic, constructive public service.
@peterbakernyt.bsky.social
#glenncampbell
@remhq.bsky.social
@peterbakernyt.bsky.social
#glenncampbell
@remhq.bsky.social
It was a memorial service much like the man, restrained and proper yet charged with quiet energy. But as Washington honored Dick Cheney for his service and devotion to country, it underscored how much politics has turned topsy in this country. www.nytimes.com/2025/11/20/u...
Cheney Remembered for Transforming National Security and Standing Against Trump
www.nytimes.com
November 21, 2025 at 12:17 PM
“Lineman for the county” here is beautiful writing by Peter Baker. And it is a reminder of the virtue of basic, constructive public service.
@peterbakernyt.bsky.social
#glenncampbell
@remhq.bsky.social
@peterbakernyt.bsky.social
#glenncampbell
@remhq.bsky.social
Anna, why not text Halligan, asking her to clarify? 😉
@annabower.bsky.social
@annabower.bsky.social
This is nuts.
Yesterday in the Comey hearing, prosecutors *repeatedly* confirmed that the full grand jury never saw or voted on the two-count indictment.
Now they’re claiming the grand jury *did* vote on it.
Yesterday in the Comey hearing, prosecutors *repeatedly* confirmed that the full grand jury never saw or voted on the two-count indictment.
Now they’re claiming the grand jury *did* vote on it.
November 21, 2025 at 4:41 AM
Anna, why not text Halligan, asking her to clarify? 😉
@annabower.bsky.social
@annabower.bsky.social
The sadists who’ve designed & are carrying out “Operation Charlotte’s Web” should read the book. It might improve them.
November 20, 2025 at 10:30 PM
The sadists who’ve designed & are carrying out “Operation Charlotte’s Web” should read the book. It might improve them.
Tomorrow: 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg international trial of leading Nazi war criminals.
Every member of the U.S. prosecution team now is ours in memory.
Here's a new #JacksonList essay on Fran Langworthy, then a young secretary, who was the last survivor.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/18/f...
Every member of the U.S. prosecution team now is ours in memory.
Here's a new #JacksonList essay on Fran Langworthy, then a young secretary, who was the last survivor.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/18/f...
Farewell & Thank You to the Nuremberg Office of U.S. Chief of Counsel (OCC)
In Spring 1945, Mary Frances Langworthy was eighteen years old. She had left high school without graduating, to work. In that final year of World War II, she was employed in the Washington, D.C. ar…
thejacksonlist.com
November 19, 2025 at 4:30 PM
Tomorrow: 80th anniversary of the Nuremberg international trial of leading Nazi war criminals.
Every member of the U.S. prosecution team now is ours in memory.
Here's a new #JacksonList essay on Fran Langworthy, then a young secretary, who was the last survivor.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/18/f...
Every member of the U.S. prosecution team now is ours in memory.
Here's a new #JacksonList essay on Fran Langworthy, then a young secretary, who was the last survivor.
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/18/f...
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, SDNY:
* real lawyer
* has already obeyed Main Justice order to (re)start Jeffrey Epstein-related criminal investigations?
* career AUSAs & FBI agents (some remain in DOJ) handle that
* will recuse….
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/n...
* real lawyer
* has already obeyed Main Justice order to (re)start Jeffrey Epstein-related criminal investigations?
* career AUSAs & FBI agents (some remain in DOJ) handle that
* will recuse….
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/n...
U.S. Attorney Under Pressure After Order to Investigate Democrats
www.nytimes.com
November 18, 2025 at 11:25 AM
U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton, SDNY:
* real lawyer
* has already obeyed Main Justice order to (re)start Jeffrey Epstein-related criminal investigations?
* career AUSAs & FBI agents (some remain in DOJ) handle that
* will recuse….
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/n...
* real lawyer
* has already obeyed Main Justice order to (re)start Jeffrey Epstein-related criminal investigations?
* career AUSAs & FBI agents (some remain in DOJ) handle that
* will recuse….
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/15/n...
Lindsey Halligan’s admission to practice law should be in jeopardy. Indeed, she and maybe others could face criminal investigation; there is basis here for the E.D.Va. court to appoint special counsel to investigate possible contempt, false statements, and other crimes.
“I have never seen a more scathing opinion, with this many errors, in any criminal case I have ever covered,” said one legal reporter.
www.commondreams.org/news/comey-c...
www.commondreams.org/news/comey-c...
Federal Judge Says Trump's Handpicked Attorney May Have 'Tainted' Case Against Comey With False Statements | Common Dreams
A federal judge said that the inexperienced attorney handpicked by Trump to prosecute former FBI Director James Comey may have "tainted" the case through a "disturbing pattern of profound investigativ...
www.commondreams.org
November 17, 2025 at 11:21 PM
Lindsey Halligan’s admission to practice law should be in jeopardy. Indeed, she and maybe others could face criminal investigation; there is basis here for the E.D.Va. court to appoint special counsel to investigate possible contempt, false statements, and other crimes.
In 2029, we should have a new president and, it can be hoped, the return of a lawful U.S. Department of Justice. And any real federal crimes that Bondi, Halligan, et al. have committed this year will be well within the statute of limitations on prosecution.
BREAKING: Magistrate orders DOJ to turn over grand jury materials to Comey, finding real prospect that "government misconduct" may have tainted the case.
November 17, 2025 at 8:30 PM
In 2029, we should have a new president and, it can be hoped, the return of a lawful U.S. Department of Justice. And any real federal crimes that Bondi, Halligan, et al. have committed this year will be well within the statute of limitations on prosecution.
Reposted by John Q. Barrett
Epstein survivors just dropped a powerful message for Congress, and it hits like a warning: no more waiting, the truth is coming, ready or not.
Watch till the end
@housedemocrats.bsky.social
@houserepublicans.bsky.social
Watch till the end
@housedemocrats.bsky.social
@houserepublicans.bsky.social
November 17, 2025 at 1:14 AM
Epstein survivors just dropped a powerful message for Congress, and it hits like a warning: no more waiting, the truth is coming, ready or not.
Watch till the end
@housedemocrats.bsky.social
@houserepublicans.bsky.social
Watch till the end
@housedemocrats.bsky.social
@houserepublicans.bsky.social
Law practice is a free-market business. Some choose to work for deeper pockets & their ends.
So see that choosing. Lawyers who represented Jeffrey Epstein against criminal investigation for child rape, etc. made an I’ll-associate-with-this-for-big-money choice.
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
So see that choosing. Lawyers who represented Jeffrey Epstein against criminal investigation for child rape, etc. made an I’ll-associate-with-this-for-big-money choice.
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
Jeffrey Epstein Leaned on His Elite Network for Help as Investigators Closed In
A cache of 18,000 messages shows the elite support the disgraced financier got in his “hour of terror.”
www.bloomberg.com
November 16, 2025 at 5:08 PM
Law practice is a free-market business. Some choose to work for deeper pockets & their ends.
So see that choosing. Lawyers who represented Jeffrey Epstein against criminal investigation for child rape, etc. made an I’ll-associate-with-this-for-big-money choice.
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
So see that choosing. Lawyers who represented Jeffrey Epstein against criminal investigation for child rape, etc. made an I’ll-associate-with-this-for-big-money choice.
www.bloomberg.com/features/202...
U.S. Sec'y of War Henry L. Stimson was a father of what became, after World War II, the Nuremberg war crimes trial of principal Nazi German leaders. And Stimson supported Pres. Truman’s choice of Justice Robert H. Jackson (HLS's former FDR Cabinet colleague) to be U.S. chief prosecutor.
@cfr.org
@cfr.org
"....move onward to a world of law and peace." "The Nuremberg Trial:
Landmark in Law" By Henry L. Stimson @foreignaffairs.com www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/194...
Landmark in Law" By Henry L. Stimson @foreignaffairs.com www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/194...
The Nuremberg Trial: Landmark in Law
The Nuremberg trials can only live and grow in meaning if its principles are rightly understood and accepted. It is therefore disturbing to find it being criticized and even challenged as lawless.
www.foreignaffairs.com
November 16, 2025 at 1:43 PM
U.S. Sec'y of War Henry L. Stimson was a father of what became, after World War II, the Nuremberg war crimes trial of principal Nazi German leaders. And Stimson supported Pres. Truman’s choice of Justice Robert H. Jackson (HLS's former FDR Cabinet colleague) to be U.S. chief prosecutor.
@cfr.org
@cfr.org
New #JacksonList essay:
“Lawful U.S. Prosecutor at Nuremberg (November 14, 1945).”
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/14/l...
“Lawful U.S. Prosecutor at Nuremberg (November 14, 1945).”
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/14/l...
Lawful U.S. Prosecutor at Nuremberg (November 14, 1945)
On this date eighty years ago, United States Chief of Counsel Justice Robert H. Jackson entered his appearance before the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg. The Tribunal was preparing to…
thejacksonlist.com
November 15, 2025 at 12:43 AM
New #JacksonList essay:
“Lawful U.S. Prosecutor at Nuremberg (November 14, 1945).”
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/14/l...
“Lawful U.S. Prosecutor at Nuremberg (November 14, 1945).”
thejacksonlist.com/2025/11/14/l...
A great profile of David Byrne, a treasure on stage, etc., and on a bicycle, by Amanda Petrusich—
David Byrne, the former front man of Talking Heads, turned 73 this year, but he is still curious about what it means to be alive. “We really don’t know what it’s about,” he told Amanda Petrusich. https://newyorkermag.visitlink.me/tAeX9l
David Byrne’s Career of Earnest Alienation
At seventy-three, the former front man of Talking Heads is still asking questions about what it means to be alive. But now he’s also offering ideas of hopefulness and service.
newyorkermag.visitlink.me
November 14, 2025 at 11:25 AM
A great profile of David Byrne, a treasure on stage, etc., and on a bicycle, by Amanda Petrusich—
It can be hard to decode email, esp. without the writer’s help.
So this Jeffrey Epstein 2011 mention of “police chief”:
* one had questioned Epstein & not asked about Trump?;
* JE, talking w/ a chief, didn’t mention Trump;
* JE had information about what [victim] had said to a police chief?; …
So this Jeffrey Epstein 2011 mention of “police chief”:
* one had questioned Epstein & not asked about Trump?;
* JE, talking w/ a chief, didn’t mention Trump;
* JE had information about what [victim] had said to a police chief?; …
It begins. Clearly incriminating evidence against president of the United States.
Epstein to Maxwell, April 2, 2011:
"i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc."
Epstein to Maxwell, April 2, 2011:
"i want you to realize that that dog that hasn't barked is trump. [VICTIM] spent hours at my house with him ,, he has never once been mentioned. police chief. etc."
November 13, 2025 at 12:03 PM
It can be hard to decode email, esp. without the writer’s help.
So this Jeffrey Epstein 2011 mention of “police chief”:
* one had questioned Epstein & not asked about Trump?;
* JE, talking w/ a chief, didn’t mention Trump;
* JE had information about what [victim] had said to a police chief?; …
So this Jeffrey Epstein 2011 mention of “police chief”:
* one had questioned Epstein & not asked about Trump?;
* JE, talking w/ a chief, didn’t mention Trump;
* JE had information about what [victim] had said to a police chief?; …
U.S. Department of Justice cancer, metastasizing.
2 AUSAs "quit rather than disclose in writing—with the threat of being indicted over misstatements—the names of colleagues...with whom they’d discussed...assignment to a national security unit expected to target those involved in past cases against...Trump."
news.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
news.bloomberglaw.com/product/blaw...
Bloomberg Law
news.bloomberglaw.com
November 12, 2025 at 11:24 PM
U.S. Department of Justice cancer, metastasizing.
Super essay, on Anthony Gregory’s book New Deal Law & Order, by Sandeep Dhaliwal. Topic mentions/nuggets include FDR of course, Homer Cummings, DuBois, lynching, Herbert Wechsler, Justin Miller, Prohibition, Treasury, Jones & Loughlin, Korematsu, 1947 Nat’l Security Act,….
@sandeepinbk.bsky.social
@sandeepinbk.bsky.social
In the Michigan Law Review, @sandeepinbk.bsky.social reviews Anthony Gregory’s *New Deal Law and Order: How the War on Crime Built the Modern Liberal State.*
What's Left of the New Deal State? - Michigan Law Review
New Deal Law and Order: How the War on Crime Built the Modern Liberal State. By Anthony Gregory. Harvard University Press. 2024. Pp. 473. $45. Introduction A vast body of scholarship situates itself i...
michiganlawreview.org
November 8, 2025 at 12:59 PM
Super essay, on Anthony Gregory’s book New Deal Law & Order, by Sandeep Dhaliwal. Topic mentions/nuggets include FDR of course, Homer Cummings, DuBois, lynching, Herbert Wechsler, Justin Miller, Prohibition, Treasury, Jones & Loughlin, Korematsu, 1947 Nat’l Security Act,….
@sandeepinbk.bsky.social
@sandeepinbk.bsky.social
Super essay by @espiers.bsky.social. Good people, as almost all are, want that in their representatives—thought, care, humility, talent. Many candidates are that. When one, such as Andrew Cuomo, palpably isn’t and is running against someone who distinctly is, it’s election over.
Politicians like Cuomo are a relic of the past. (Did I want to title this one “Don’t Let The Door Hit You On The Way Out”? Yes, I did.) www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/o...
Opinion | It’s Not Just Cuomo Who Lost. It’s Cuomoism.
www.nytimes.com
November 8, 2025 at 11:50 AM
Super essay by @espiers.bsky.social. Good people, as almost all are, want that in their representatives—thought, care, humility, talent. Many candidates are that. When one, such as Andrew Cuomo, palpably isn’t and is running against someone who distinctly is, it’s election over.
Reposted by John Q. Barrett
Niela Orr on Mamdani / parataxis / Whitman and more
‘The percolating instrumentation of “New York”, Ja Rule’s piercing 2004 posse cut, was playing on my TV, and Mamdani strolled out to deliver a rousing victory speech:
“New York City, breathe this moment in. We have held our breath for longer than we know.”’
Niela Orr
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/no...
“New York City, breathe this moment in. We have held our breath for longer than we know.”’
Niela Orr
www.lrb.co.uk/blog/2025/no...
Niela Orr | Mamdani at the Crossroads
The percolating instrumentation of ‘New York’, Ja Rule’s piercing 2004 posse cut, was playing on my TV, and Zohran...
www.lrb.co.uk
November 8, 2025 at 8:26 AM
Niela Orr on Mamdani / parataxis / Whitman and more
Reposted by John Q. Barrett
[November 5th, 1945] Herman Goering, once mighty leader of the formidable Luftwaffe and second in command of the Reich under Hitler, appears like this in the mug shot of him on file with the Central Registry of War Criminals and security suspects in Paris.
November 5, 2025 at 4:03 PM
[November 5th, 1945] Herman Goering, once mighty leader of the formidable Luftwaffe and second in command of the Reich under Hitler, appears like this in the mug shot of him on file with the Central Registry of War Criminals and security suspects in Paris.
Admiration to Chief Justice Roberts and to Justice Kagan for not attending political organization, such as Federalist Society, events.
If you ever hear anyone say that FedSoc is simply a nonpartisan debating club that takes no position on hotly contested issues of legal or public policy, show them this:
Victory coins for attendees at the Federalist Society convention citing major conservatives wins at the Supreme Court:
November 7, 2025 at 11:22 AM
Admiration to Chief Justice Roberts and to Justice Kagan for not attending political organization, such as Federalist Society, events.
Supreme Court justices should not be encouraging people to have particular political identities and positions.
Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to conservative law students: Don’t give up
Amy Coney Barrett and Brett Kavanaugh to conservative law students: Don’t give up
The Trump appointees’ remarks came at a Federalist Society event in Washington.
dlvr.it
November 7, 2025 at 11:18 AM
Supreme Court justices should not be encouraging people to have particular political identities and positions.