Fred Biesecker
@biesecker1.bsky.social
Retired lawyer. Associate Faculty, Indiana University-Indianapolis. Board Member, Kurt Vonnegut Museum & Library.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
I've now watched the censored 60 Minutes report on CECOT. If you watched it too—and if you have any decency at all—I'm sure you came to the same conclusion I did: winning elections won't be enough; people like Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem will need to be charged and imprisoned.
December 24, 2025 at 5:40 AM
I've now watched the censored 60 Minutes report on CECOT. If you watched it too—and if you have any decency at all—I'm sure you came to the same conclusion I did: winning elections won't be enough; people like Stephen Miller and Kristi Noem will need to be charged and imprisoned.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Utterly corrupt. Utterly lawless. Continuing to destroy the very independence of the Justice Department. But not one member of my former political party will say a damn thing. Every Republican, every single Republican on the ballot, needs to lose in 2026. Merry Christmas.👇
Axios has learned the White House has begun managing the DOJ's account on X to respond to posts highlighting mentions of Trump in the Epstein files.
In typical administrations, there is a wall between the White House and what is supposed to be an independent Justice Department.
In typical administrations, there is a wall between the White House and what is supposed to be an independent Justice Department.
Scoop: Trump administration expects Epstein files release could last another week
The White House has begun managing the DOJ's account on X, an effort to finish out the year and the Epstein file disclosure requirements set by Congress.
www.axios.com
December 24, 2025 at 4:03 PM
Utterly corrupt. Utterly lawless. Continuing to destroy the very independence of the Justice Department. But not one member of my former political party will say a damn thing. Every Republican, every single Republican on the ballot, needs to lose in 2026. Merry Christmas.👇
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
We don’t spend enough time discussing how the entire MAGA movement is kept afloat by the constant threats of stochastic terrorism orchestrated by the president of the United States.
Congress, the courts, much of the media … all kept in line by the mob boss and his army of anonymous goons.
Congress, the courts, much of the media … all kept in line by the mob boss and his army of anonymous goons.
“I’m 84 years old. Threats against my life expectancy are kind of hollow. I don’t have much time anyway. I’m more concerned that our democracy is at risk because of the trends against the rule of law.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
Judges who ruled against Trump say harassment and threats have changed their lives
More than 100 pizzas were delivered to the homes of judges and their families this year, some with signs of foreign involvement. Judges say the message is clear: We know where you live.
www.nbcnews.com
December 24, 2025 at 3:06 PM
We don’t spend enough time discussing how the entire MAGA movement is kept afloat by the constant threats of stochastic terrorism orchestrated by the president of the United States.
Congress, the courts, much of the media … all kept in line by the mob boss and his army of anonymous goons.
Congress, the courts, much of the media … all kept in line by the mob boss and his army of anonymous goons.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Why did CBS delete this promo and cancel this from airing in full?
December 22, 2025 at 12:41 AM
Why did CBS delete this promo and cancel this from airing in full?
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Republicans failed to repeal the ACA over 70 times with zero replacement plan. While they obstruct, we are fighting for affordable coverage for every American. We must improve the ACA, not destroy it.
Don't forget to subscribe: www.dworkinsubstack.com/subscribe
Don't forget to subscribe: www.dworkinsubstack.com/subscribe
December 20, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Republicans failed to repeal the ACA over 70 times with zero replacement plan. While they obstruct, we are fighting for affordable coverage for every American. We must improve the ACA, not destroy it.
Don't forget to subscribe: www.dworkinsubstack.com/subscribe
Don't forget to subscribe: www.dworkinsubstack.com/subscribe
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Trump's response to Rob Reiner's death drips with a tone of just deserts. It reads like a narcissist’s cackle. It is a grotesque response from a man whose boundless and wholly unearned sense of self-worth long ago crowded out any decency.
My column on a new low:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
My column on a new low:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Trump's response to Rob Reiner's death is a vile new low | Opinion
Less than 24 hours after the horrific stabbing deaths of beloved Hollywood director Rob Reiner and his wife, Michele, Donald Trump found a new low.
www.usatoday.com
December 15, 2025 at 9:18 PM
Trump's response to Rob Reiner's death drips with a tone of just deserts. It reads like a narcissist’s cackle. It is a grotesque response from a man whose boundless and wholly unearned sense of self-worth long ago crowded out any decency.
My column on a new low:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
My column on a new low:
www.usatoday.com/story/opinio...
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Feverishly working on this
December 15, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Feverishly working on this
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Damnit this is good writing, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social.
December 13, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Damnit this is good writing, @hamiltonnolan.bsky.social.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
This should be the biggest story in the country right now. The sitting US President was extorting state lawmakers from his own party by threatening to withhold public money if they didn’t gerrymander for him.
I don’t know how else to say it…
I don’t know how else to say it…
December 12, 2025 at 4:21 AM
This should be the biggest story in the country right now. The sitting US President was extorting state lawmakers from his own party by threatening to withhold public money if they didn’t gerrymander for him.
I don’t know how else to say it…
I don’t know how else to say it…
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Buttigieg on Indiana: "The big part of how Trumpism works is to make you feel totally disempowered. To make him feel inevitable. And yet the clear takeaway from this is he is not unstoppable and you are not without power."
December 12, 2025 at 1:22 AM
Buttigieg on Indiana: "The big part of how Trumpism works is to make you feel totally disempowered. To make him feel inevitable. And yet the clear takeaway from this is he is not unstoppable and you are not without power."
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Trump threatened to pull the state's federal funding, he sent Vance there multiple times, his allies (including his son) are currently threatening to oust all the Republicans who rebuked him, and he's already sicced his goons on these lawmakers, bringing them countless death threats. But ok.
Reporter: The senate in Indiana voted against the redistricting effort.
Trump: I wasn't working on it very hard. I wasn't very much involved
Trump: I wasn't working on it very hard. I wasn't very much involved
December 12, 2025 at 1:56 AM
Trump threatened to pull the state's federal funding, he sent Vance there multiple times, his allies (including his son) are currently threatening to oust all the Republicans who rebuked him, and he's already sicced his goons on these lawmakers, bringing them countless death threats. But ok.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Yeah, not much. He just had them come to the White House, sent his VP here and issued long threats and insults on his social media platform.
Reporter: The senate in Indiana voted against the redistricting effort.
Trump: I wasn't working on it very hard. I wasn't very much involved
Trump: I wasn't working on it very hard. I wasn't very much involved
December 11, 2025 at 11:48 PM
Yeah, not much. He just had them come to the White House, sent his VP here and issued long threats and insults on his social media platform.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
It wasn’t even close.
December 11, 2025 at 10:51 PM
It wasn’t even close.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
This isn’t conservative. This is fascist.👇
December 11, 2025 at 5:56 PM
This isn’t conservative. This is fascist.👇
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
We now learn that Fifa had a very specific "ask" in exchange for its "Peace Award" to Trump, with loads of gold trinkets, and that was dismissal of a criminal corruption case against senior Fifa officials. And Trump granted it. Another corrupt bargain, barely noticed (and ignored by US media).
December 11, 2025 at 12:59 AM
We now learn that Fifa had a very specific "ask" in exchange for its "Peace Award" to Trump, with loads of gold trinkets, and that was dismissal of a criminal corruption case against senior Fifa officials. And Trump granted it. Another corrupt bargain, barely noticed (and ignored by US media).
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Torture Techniques from CIA Black Sites Were Used at Alligator Alcatraz
Amnesty International, interviewing migrant detainees, identifies use of the confinement box. There can be no denying it is a torture prison
www.forever-wars.com
December 8, 2025 at 9:40 PM
They're using the confinement box, one of the most horrific methods of CIA torture in the post-9/11 black sites, against migrants now. This is the direct result of the lack of consequences for the architects of the torture program. Either there will be criminal penalties for this or it will expand.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
There has been no debate here among constitutional scholars, historians, political scientists, anyone with a pulse really.
Any telling you that this very straightforward point, one that has been universally accepted for a century and a half, is now an "abstruse" issue is just a liar and a hack.
Any telling you that this very straightforward point, one that has been universally accepted for a century and a half, is now an "abstruse" issue is just a liar and a hack.
Anyone who knows this history should know there’s no contested issue.
December 7, 2025 at 12:50 AM
There has been no debate here among constitutional scholars, historians, political scientists, anyone with a pulse really.
Any telling you that this very straightforward point, one that has been universally accepted for a century and a half, is now an "abstruse" issue is just a liar and a hack.
Any telling you that this very straightforward point, one that has been universally accepted for a century and a half, is now an "abstruse" issue is just a liar and a hack.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Indiana has rapidly become the latest flashpoint in the GOP’s national push to engineer aggressive mid-decade gerrymanders. Few states illustrate the immense costs to voters and how far lawmakers are willing to go to appease President Donald Trump. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/ind...
Indiana’s GOP Shows Us the Future of Gerrymandering — And It’s Grim: A Conversation With Election Law Expert Luis Fuentes-Rohwer
Read more here.
www.democracydocket.com
December 6, 2025 at 10:24 PM
Indiana has rapidly become the latest flashpoint in the GOP’s national push to engineer aggressive mid-decade gerrymanders. Few states illustrate the immense costs to voters and how far lawmakers are willing to go to appease President Donald Trump. www.democracydocket.com/analysis/ind...
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
Simply amazing that the Supreme Court declared an end to legal race discrimination in the affirmative action case two years ago and now allows overt racism in both immigration arrests and redistricting.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
BREAKING: Supreme Court GRANTS Texas request to restore redistricting maps
apparent 6-3 ruling with the liberals in dissent @courthousenews.bsky.social
apparent 6-3 ruling with the liberals in dissent @courthousenews.bsky.social
December 4, 2025 at 11:52 PM
Simply amazing that the Supreme Court declared an end to legal race discrimination in the affirmative action case two years ago and now allows overt racism in both immigration arrests and redistricting.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
Using race to help minorities? Bad. Using it to discriminate against them? Very, very good.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
There is no reason to be polite or decorous about this any more.
The current Supreme Court is corrupt.
US democracy cannot survive unless it is reformed.
The current Supreme Court is corrupt.
US democracy cannot survive unless it is reformed.
Democrats need to lay the groundwork for reform by attacking the villains on the Supreme Court - loudly, angrily, personally, relentlessly. And they should start now.
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/democrats-...
paulwaldman.substack.com/p/democrats-...
Democrats Need to Treat the Supreme Court Like the Villain It Is
The Court is out of control, and we'll never see reform unless we build the case for it. Starting now.
paulwaldman.substack.com
December 5, 2025 at 7:28 PM
There is no reason to be polite or decorous about this any more.
The current Supreme Court is corrupt.
US democracy cannot survive unless it is reformed.
The current Supreme Court is corrupt.
US democracy cannot survive unless it is reformed.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
The U.S. Supreme Court: "ICE can racially profile people it arrests."
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court: "Texas can disenfranchise voters based on race."
Can we all agree that we currently have a white supremacist Supreme Court?
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court: "Texas can disenfranchise voters based on race."
Can we all agree that we currently have a white supremacist Supreme Court?
December 5, 2025 at 2:03 AM
The U.S. Supreme Court: "ICE can racially profile people it arrests."
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court: "Texas can disenfranchise voters based on race."
Can we all agree that we currently have a white supremacist Supreme Court?
Also, the U.S. Supreme Court: "Texas can disenfranchise voters based on race."
Can we all agree that we currently have a white supremacist Supreme Court?
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
The Roberts court is a handmaid to authoritarianism.
Democracy dies if justices enable minority rule.
Democracy dies if justices enable minority rule.
SCOTUS conservative justices upholding Texas gerrymander is yet another example of how Roberts court has greenlit the many undemocratic schemes of Trump and his party
They’ve now ruled for Trump and his allies in 90 percent of shadow docket opinions www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
They’ve now ruled for Trump and his allies in 90 percent of shadow docket opinions www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
The Roberts court just helped Trump rig the midterms
The Supreme Court reinstated the Trump-inspired congressional map in Texas.
www.motherjones.com
December 5, 2025 at 12:59 AM
The Roberts court is a handmaid to authoritarianism.
Democracy dies if justices enable minority rule.
Democracy dies if justices enable minority rule.
Reposted by Fred Biesecker
What's changed is that the Court has become more transparent in its corruption. There's not even an argument here beyond the implicit one which is: how do you expect us to hold the House without those seats?
December 4, 2025 at 11:34 PM
What's changed is that the Court has become more transparent in its corruption. There's not even an argument here beyond the implicit one which is: how do you expect us to hold the House without those seats?