Lightnews — Scholar-powered news

Reposted by Kristy Parker

Timothy Snyder @timothysnyder.bsky.social · 11h

Not only is this rude, inappropriate, partisan, costly, and illegal, it reveals the fundamentally anti-American idiocy of this administration’s policy of handing over to China the most important economic sector of the 21st century.

Jamie Dupree @jamiedupree.bsky.social · 9d

Next move from OMB - canceling $8 billion in clean energy funds. You will note, all of the projects are in states led by Democrats

30 300 960

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 1d

Thanks to Greg for having me on to talk about Trump’s weaponization of DOJ and who can thwart it.

Greg Sargent @gregsargent.bsky.social · 1d

Crucial from former prosecutor @kristyparker.bsky.social: Trump might have immunity, but those who commit corrupt or illegal orders for him do not. That's why DOJ insiders are leaking word that cases against Comey and Letitia James are collapsing.

All on the pod:
newrepublic.com/article/2015...

Trump Threats to Jail Foes Take Darker Turn with Damning New DOJ Leaks

As ugly new information emerges about Trump’s efforts to prosecute James Comey and other enemies, a former federal prosecutor explains how his corrupt schemes are running into stiff internal resistanc...

newrepublic.com

2 6

Reposted by Kristy Parker

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 2d

I guess I should also add that a key difference between the Trump investigation and the Comey indictment is that *Trump did something obviously and significantly wrong*. Like, if you can't grok that distinction as important, I don't know what to say.

20 220 1.6K

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 2d

👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Philip Bump @pbump.com · 2d

I spent more than a decade at The Post. It was good to me and I was proud to work there. I’ve largely refrained from being critical since I left. But this framing of the special counsel probe is embarrassing and flatly wrong. Stunning, but not. www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/202...

Opinion | Jack Smith’s lawfare and James Comey’s arraignment on pathetically weak charges

Good people will be deterred from public service if they see a meaningful risk of winding up in jail afterward.

www.washingtonpost.com

3

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 6d

John Smoltz cannot shut up and let us watch the game.

1 2

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 7d

He never was.

Trump no longer distancing himself from Project 2025 as he uses shutdown to further pursue its goals

President Donald Trump is now openly embracing the conservative blueprint he desperately tried to distance himself from during the 2024 campaign.

apnews.com

1 5

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 7d

Proud to sign this letter in defense of the rule of law. Gratitude to all who have sacrificed their DOJ careers to uphold their oath of office.

Protect Democracy @protectdemocracy.org · 7d

BREAKING: Today, over 1,000 former DOJ officials who served in both Republican & Democratic administrations—have released a letter condemning the unprecedented, politically motivated indictment of fmr. FBI Director James Comey. Read their letter: protdem.org/3ITOo0Y

BREAKING DOJ Alumni Condemn Comey Indictment
A bipartisan group of over 1,000 former DOJ officials decry unprecedented abuse of power

"The indictment represents an unprecedented assault on the rule of law directed by President Donald Trump..."

2 5

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 8d

And the Biden Administration didn’t lift a finger to push a statutory fix.

Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 8d

It's worth asking how differently things might look on the ground right now if #SCOTUS hadn't eviscerated Bivens—and made it all-but impossible to bring damages suits against federal officers (like ICE agents) who violate our constitutional rights.

This is from my rebuttal in Hernández v. Mesa:

I do want to go back to putting this case in the broader context because I think it's important to understand how we got here. Historically, the whole way that the tort liability regime worked for government misconduct was that this Court and state courts

looked to existing common law causes of action and focused on immunity defenses as the way of calibrating the harm that citizens and others faced when injured by government officers against the need to protect officers acting in good faith, back to Judge Hand in Gregoire
versus Biddle.

The Court struck this balance by fashioning immunity defenses where the fight would be over whether the officer was entitled to immunity or not. And for law enforcement officers specifically, this Court has long
rejected the argument that there should be any context in which law enforcement officers, because of the frequency with which they
interact with average individuals, because of the nature of their interactions, because of the powers they have to search, to seize, to arrest in this context, to use lethal force, did not justify absolute immunity and instead justified a more narrower, qualified kind of immunity for those most likely to come face-to-face with private citizens.

Distilled to its simplest, the government's position in this case is that

officers in what is self-described as the nation's largest law enforcement agency should have a functional absolute immunity at least where foreign nationals are concerned.

And our submission is that that is not consistent with how this Court has always understood the relationship between causes of action and immunity defenses in this context. It is not required by any of this Court's Bivens decisions. It does not abide by this Court's suggestion in Abbasi that there are strong reasons and powerful reasons to retain Bivens in this context.

And it would eliminate the one deterrence that is meaningfully available to ensure that officers in the nation's largest law enforcement agency are complying with the law.

2

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 8d

Anyone who was convinced by Trump’s fake fight with Project 2025 wasn’t paying attention to what he did during his first term, what he said he’d do in his second, and who he surrounded himself with. Democracy-crushing malpractice.

2 9

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 12d

No lies told.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 12d

Andy McCarthy: "The indictment almost fails as an indictment in that it doesn't give you notice of what Comey has actually done. But factually there's nothing there. So this smacks of wanting to put Comey through the process, which is what lawfare is."

2 3

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 13d

Another milestone in the Beclowning of America.

southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 13d

It’s hard to convey the insanity of a thirty-something White House staffer getting an interim US Attorney appointment and marching into the grand jury room alone four days later to indict the former Deputy Attorney General and Director of the FBI

George Conway 👊🇺🇸🔥 @gtconway.bsky.social · 13d

3

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 15d

Thanks to SCOTUS, Trump has immunity for using DOJ to willfully violate people’s constitutional rights. But his foot soldiers don’t. They also need their law licenses. Now would be a good time for all of them to start thinking about their futures beyond the political lifespan of their elderly boss.

Ryan Goodman @rgoodlaw.bsky.social · 16d

"Trump’s handpicked U.S. Attorney in Virginia is planning to ask a grand jury in the coming days to indict former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, DESPITE prosecutors and investigators determining there was insufficient evidence to charge him."

🧵

Newly appointed US attorney will attempt to charge James Comey despite prosecutors finding no probable cause: Sources

The new U.S. Attorney in Virginia is planning to ask a grand jury to indict former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly lying to Congress, sources said.

abcnews.go.com

1 5

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 16d

Eventually this disregard for proper procedure and constitutional rights will tank a legitimate case. We should all feel less safe with these people running our law enforcement agencies.

Tom Nichols @radiofreetom.bsky.social · 16d

The FBI director is posting evidence during an ongoing investigation. My colleague Quinta Jurecic wrote about Patel as influencer, rather than cop, a few weeks ago:

www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...

The Influencer FBI

The skill set required to succeed online may not always translate to effective law enforcement.

www.theatlantic.com

2 5

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 19d

Been looking for an excuse to move on from Butker. I’m thinking it’s time. #chiefskingdom

11

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 19d

When Boyz II Men comes on the radio and you have to sit in the car until the song is over. 😂

5

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 19d

Yup!

1

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 19d

👇🏻👇🏻👇🏻

Sherrilyn Ifill @sifill.bsky.social · 19d

It’s really all we should be talking about today.

Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 20d

There is no world in which it is normal for the president to publicly call upon his attorney general to hurry up and prosecute his political foes. It’s like the Watergate tapes but posted on social media. Let’s get a grip on what’s happening here.

2

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 20d

For those who might have forgotten:

Kansas voters defeat abortion amendment in unexpected landslide • Kansas Reflector

Kansas voters in a landslide Tuesday defeated a constitutional amendment that would have stripped residents of abortion rights, defying polling and political observers who expected a close result.

kansasreflector.com

2 16 36

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 20d

State control of women’s bodies is a primary feature of authoritarianism and most women are not interested in living in a “democracy” where our right to full citizenship is negotiable.

Kelsey Atherton @atherton.bsky.social · 21d

Ezra Klein 🤝 Neera Tanden

Despite the overwhelming popularity of abortion rights in all states, we should surrender instead

Neera Tanden @neeratanden
This is something people really have to take seriously. We need to expand the tent.
Leah Libresco Sarg...
@LeahLibre... • 2h
Ezra Klein says the more worried you are about authoritarianism, the more willing you've got to be to run pro-life Democrats in red states.
nytimes.com/2025/09/18/opi...
almost always incredibly high. I think they happen to be higher now. And I do think a lot of what is happening in terms of the structure of the system itself is dangerous. I think that the hour is late in many ways. My view is that a lot of

1 3 3

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 20d

Hey @nytimes.com headline writers — the word you are looking for is “refused,” not failed.

5 30 120

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 21d

In addition to everything else, throwing the US Attorney’s Office most responsible for national security into chaos shows how little Trump cares about the American people’s safety

U.S. Attorney Investigating Two Trump Foes Resigns After President Seeks to Oust Him

www.nytimes.com

5

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 21d

If the Trump administration really cared about crime, public safety, or national security, they would conduct their investigations with competent personnel and in accordance with the guidelines that are meant to optimize the chances of winning righteous cases.

3

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 21d

The US Attorney for EDVA is wise to value his oath to uphold the law and law license highly enough to refuse to seek an indictment without supporting evidence. Anyone considering taking one of these jobs should look at the improprieties in the admin’s handling of the James case and think again.

Trump officials pressuring federal prosecutors to bring criminal charges against NY AG Letitia James: Sources

Top Trump administration officials are pressuring federal prosecutors in Virginia to bring charges against New York AG Letitia James for mortgage fraud, sources say.

abcnews.go.com

1

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 22d

Worst rally song ever.

3

Kristy Parker @kristyparker.bsky.social · 22d

Please read and share widely.

Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression @thefireorg.bsky.social · 22d

FIRE’s Bob Corn-Revere for @PostOpinions: FCC Chair Brendan Carr nakedly abused government power to pressure ABC into removing Jimmy Kimmel from the air for his speech. In America, the government doesn’t get to play network executive and determine who and what you watch.

1 2