Kyle Cheney
@kyledcheney.bsky.social
280K followers 430 following 2.1K posts
Senior legal affairs reporter at POLITICO with a focus on democracy, the balance of power and the clash between the Trump administration and courts.
Posts Media Videos Starter Packs
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEW: Even as a judge in Illinois blocked President Trump’s deployment of the Guard in Chicago, an appeals court seemed poised to greenlight his deployment in Portland.

More on the courts’ struggle with Trump’s deployments.
w/ @ShiaKapos @joshgerstein

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
Courts split on National Guard: Blocked in Illinois, likely permitted in Oregon
At dueling court hearings, lawyers for the Trump administration defended the deployment of troops in two cities.
www.politico.com
kyledcheney.bsky.social
UPDATE: James' case has been assigned to Judge Jamar Walker, appointee of Joe Biden. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEW: Trump's handpicked prosecutor in Va. has criminally charged a second person he urged Pam Bondi to prosecute "now": NY Attorney General Letitia James. Halligan brought the charge to the grand jury herself, signaling resistance of career proseutors.

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: Letitia James has been indicted on one count of bank fraud in Virginia, charge brought directly by Lindsey Halligan, just like the Comey indictment.
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: A federal judge in Illinois has blocked Trump administration authorities from using force against journalists in the Chicago area — including threats or arrest or riot control weapons. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
JUST IN: A federal judge has granted the New York Times’ demand for a list of Elon Musk’s security clearances. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
The hearing was rife with warning signs for prosecutors. The judge set a faster-than-requested trial, despite millions of pages of discovery. He emphasized he would not let DOJ drag out the case with disputes over classified evidence
w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEWS: James Comey pleaded not guilty to criminal charges that followed President Trump’s demand to prosecute.

The judge set a Jan. 5 trial date — but Comey is expected to try to kill the case before it starts, including by disqualifying Lindsey Halligan

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
The Justice Department has brought in two AUSAs from out of state to work the Comey prosecution: Tyler Lemons and Gabriel Diaz. Both are detailed from the U.S. Attorney's office in North Carolina.
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEW: Trump vented this weekend after a judge he appointed ruled his troop deployment to Portland was illegal. It’s the latest in a growing list of his own judicial appointees who have dealt him defeats on some the highest profile issues of the year. www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEW: The militarization of American cities isn’t happening with a parade of tanks. It’s a slow drip of troop deployments that are probing courts’ willingness to give unlimited deference to the commander in chief — and testing workarounds when they don’t.

www.politico.com/newsletters/...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
JUST IN: Citing need for security amid other high-profile matters, Comey arraignment is moved up to Wednesday at 10AM.
kyledcheney.bsky.social
UPDATE: The Illinis lawsuit goes to Judge April Perry, an appointee of Joe Biden.
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: Illinois has filed suit to block Trump's deployment of the military to Chicago.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
JUST IN: The Supreme Court has denied consideration of Laura Loomer's lawsuit over social media censorship:
kyledcheney.bsky.social
JUST IN: Chicago journalistsa re suing DHS and ICE over force used against reporters:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEWS: Judge Immergut said the Trump administration's renewed effort to put National Guard troops on the ground in Portland appeared to flout her original order — which found Trump had no legal basis to send federalized troops there.

w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
BREAKING: Immergut has *granted* Oregon and California's motion to block the new call-up of Guard troops to Portland. She says this effort to bring CA and TX troops to Oregon is in "direct contravention" of her oroginal order.
kyledcheney.bsky.social
UPDATE: Hegseth today called up 400 members of the Texas National Guard, with Gov. Abbott's apparent permission, to be deployed "where needed, including in the cities of Portland and Chicago." www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEW: Judge Immergut could quickly halt Trump's deployment of CA guard troops to Portland, a workaround that tested her warning that Trump's initial callup was illegal and based on false claims about the unrest facing ICE.

w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social + Blake Jones

www.politico.com/news/2025/10...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
A rare acknowledgment by Trump of his eventual exit from the political arena:
kyledcheney.bsky.social
The judge notes that noncitizens detained after 9/11 weren't held nearly as long without notice for the legal basis. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
A WILD ONE: A man broke his leg during an arrest by ICE at a car wash south of L.A.

ICE has held him under 24/7 guard at a hospital, registering him under a pseudonym, for *37 days* without telling him why.

A judge has ordered his immediate release.

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
kyledcheney.bsky.social
NEW: Judge Immergut's says Trump's assessment of "war-ravaged" Portland was not made in "good faith" Even under a legal standard that gives the president "great deference," she said, there's no basis for "ignoring the facts on the ground."

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