Vera (Ranieri) Vong
@vvong.bsky.social
California and Ontario lawyer, based in Toronto. Expect posts about the law and Canada.
I think it’s important to note how any other litigant would not get this treatment on mandamus so regularly. There is case law on what is and isn’t mandamus-able. All of it seems ignored when one side of the v is Trump.
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.
The administrative stay is issued over the objection of Judge Childs, a Biden appointee.
December 12, 2025 at 11:06 PM
I think it’s important to note how any other litigant would not get this treatment on mandamus so regularly. There is case law on what is and isn’t mandamus-able. All of it seems ignored when one side of the v is Trump.
My own family fell under this rule - when my Italian great-great grandfather Cosimo Ranieri lived in Aberdeen, Scotland, his son Filippo (my great grandfather), born in Aberdeen, was Scottish *by birth* and could move to Canada in 1906 without any issue as a British subject.
It has always been the case that birth on land— nativity alone— was generally required to obtain status as a natural born subject. There are exceptions to the rule, but this was the rule. It held up in England until 1981,* when Parliament adopted legislation abrogating it.
*This is very telling.
*This is very telling.
December 12, 2025 at 2:46 PM
My own family fell under this rule - when my Italian great-great grandfather Cosimo Ranieri lived in Aberdeen, Scotland, his son Filippo (my great grandfather), born in Aberdeen, was Scottish *by birth* and could move to Canada in 1906 without any issue as a British subject.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
The immigration “judge” allegedly sua sponte — meaning without any request by a party, which is obviously a lie given the circumstances — “corrected” the 2019 order to fix a “scrivener’s error” and order Mr Abrego Garcia deported.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
December 12, 2025 at 1:21 PM
The immigration “judge” allegedly sua sponte — meaning without any request by a party, which is obviously a lie given the circumstances — “corrected” the 2019 order to fix a “scrivener’s error” and order Mr Abrego Garcia deported.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
Not surprisingly, Judge Xinis blocked that. What a corrupt act.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
One under-appreciated part of this: note the bit below about “and their dependents.”
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
December 12, 2025 at 1:04 AM
One under-appreciated part of this: note the bit below about “and their dependents.”
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
Under the Trump admin’s new policy, dependent children of visa applicants are not allowed to have their social media set to private during the entire visa process. They MUST make their social media public.
Signed by Lindsay Halligan as U.S. Attorney.
Govt asks Judge Kollar-Kotelly to dissolve her injunction freezing its access to Dan Richman's property. Argues that it is effectively enjoining govt from investigating Comey & improperly using Rule 41g to "obstruct" Comey's potential prosecution.
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
December 9, 2025 at 2:52 PM
Signed by Lindsay Halligan as U.S. Attorney.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
The President of the United States unilaterally levied a tax on all of us and is redistributing our taxes to a core segment of his supporters.
Trump: "I'm delighted to announce this afternoon that the US will be taking a small portion of the hundreds of billions of dollars we receive in tariffs ... and we're going to be giving and providing it to the farmers in economic assistance. We love our farmers. The farmers like me ... $12 billion"
December 8, 2025 at 7:48 PM
The President of the United States unilaterally levied a tax on all of us and is redistributing our taxes to a core segment of his supporters.
A question: is there a good argument here for waiver of privilege? The DOJ is keeping someone around (and presumably sharing privileged info with her) who a Court has found is not part of DOJ, right? Is there a waiver?
December 5, 2025 at 7:05 PM
A question: is there a good argument here for waiver of privilege? The DOJ is keeping someone around (and presumably sharing privileged info with her) who a Court has found is not part of DOJ, right? Is there a waiver?
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
December 4, 2025 at 5:41 PM
Holy shit.
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reuters reporting that new admin instructions on visas are if you worked at a platform in trust & safety or content moderation or on fact checking or online safety at an platform you *and your loved ones* are ineligible for H-1B visa.
www.reuters.com/world/us/tru...
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
Striking a boat full of unarmed civilians is murder. The first strike was murder. The followup strike was also murder.
We're not at war. It's not a "war crime". Everyone involved, including the POTUS, SecDef, the Admiral who relayed it and the person who pressed the button needs to be on trial.
We're not at war. It's not a "war crime". Everyone involved, including the POTUS, SecDef, the Admiral who relayed it and the person who pressed the button needs to be on trial.
December 3, 2025 at 5:43 AM
Striking a boat full of unarmed civilians is murder. The first strike was murder. The followup strike was also murder.
We're not at war. It's not a "war crime". Everyone involved, including the POTUS, SecDef, the Admiral who relayed it and the person who pressed the button needs to be on trial.
We're not at war. It's not a "war crime". Everyone involved, including the POTUS, SecDef, the Admiral who relayed it and the person who pressed the button needs to be on trial.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
Hegseth is a cold-blooded murderer. There's no way to dress it up. He's a criminal. And his was precisely the kind of illegal order that those Dem members of Congress urged the military not to follow. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 5:48 PM
Hegseth is a cold-blooded murderer. There's no way to dress it up. He's a criminal. And his was precisely the kind of illegal order that those Dem members of Congress urged the military not to follow. www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
so our government made a big deal about banning speed cameras but one city left theirs running to see what difference the ban would make and you are not going to believe this
November 28, 2025 at 12:56 AM
so our government made a big deal about banning speed cameras but one city left theirs running to see what difference the ban would make and you are not going to believe this
As further inducement for those who have been watching Top Chef Canada, one of the guest chefs is Shai-Ann Tyson, a great chef from the currently airing season.
Toronto People: Join a great event (Food for Thought) supporting a great organization (Sistering) THIS SUNDAY - eat delicious bites from local women chefs and support women and gender diverse people in the city who are food insecure. www.eventbrite.ca/e/food-for-t... (disclosure, I'm on the board)
Food for Thought 2025
We're back with Food for Thought on November 30 uniting local women chefs and communities to advocate for food security and justice!
www.eventbrite.ca
November 27, 2025 at 2:39 AM
As further inducement for those who have been watching Top Chef Canada, one of the guest chefs is Shai-Ann Tyson, a great chef from the currently airing season.
Toronto People: Join a great event (Food for Thought) supporting a great organization (Sistering) THIS SUNDAY - eat delicious bites from local women chefs and support women and gender diverse people in the city who are food insecure. www.eventbrite.ca/e/food-for-t... (disclosure, I'm on the board)
Food for Thought 2025
We're back with Food for Thought on November 30 uniting local women chefs and communities to advocate for food security and justice!
www.eventbrite.ca
November 27, 2025 at 12:29 AM
Toronto People: Join a great event (Food for Thought) supporting a great organization (Sistering) THIS SUNDAY - eat delicious bites from local women chefs and support women and gender diverse people in the city who are food insecure. www.eventbrite.ca/e/food-for-t... (disclosure, I'm on the board)
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
Good news
#BREAKING: Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Dhruv T. Patel and Cam N. Srivastava report.
Summers Will Not Finish Semester of Teaching as Harvard Investigates Epstein Ties | News | The Harvard Crimson
Former Harvard President Lawrence H. Summers will immediately leave his role as an instructor at Harvard while the University investigates his ties to child sex trafficker Jeffrey E. Epstein.
www.thecrimson.com
November 20, 2025 at 12:34 AM
Good news
Don’t forget Pam Bondi agrees with everything Halligan did.
NEWS: During a hearing in federal court in VA, prosecutors confirmed that the operative indictment in the case against James Comey was never shown to or voted on by the entire grand jury before it was presented in open court.
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
Defense counsel argued that’s a complete bar to further prosecution
November 19, 2025 at 5:34 PM
Don’t forget Pam Bondi agrees with everything Halligan did.
I am not a criminal lawyer and therefore know this is beyond my expertise (unlike some other attorneys we've heard from lately), so I ask: can a lawyer who does know explain when/if these usually get disclosed and what basis (if any) there would be to not disclose the memo?
BREAKING: Prosecutors in the Comey case just told the judge that they’re under orders from the Deputy Attorney Generals’s office not to disclose whether career prosecutors wrote a memo recommending *against* indicting Comey prior to Halligan going to the grand jury.
November 19, 2025 at 5:23 PM
I am not a criminal lawyer and therefore know this is beyond my expertise (unlike some other attorneys we've heard from lately), so I ask: can a lawyer who does know explain when/if these usually get disclosed and what basis (if any) there would be to not disclose the memo?
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
I spoke with the Boston Globe about the Summers situation
TLDR: other professors like myself can no longer trust Summers to perform a key duty of a university professor, which is to advise & mentor students
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...
TLDR: other professors like myself can no longer trust Summers to perform a key duty of a university professor, which is to advise & mentor students
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...
Long a coveted voice, Larry Summers withdraws from a half-dozen groups amid Epstein ties. Harvard’s not among them. - The Boston Globe
Former Harvard president Larry Summers is no longer affiliated with a series of centers and think tanks with which he’s long been involved, officials confirmed Tuesday.
www.bostonglobe.com
November 19, 2025 at 2:01 PM
I spoke with the Boston Globe about the Summers situation
TLDR: other professors like myself can no longer trust Summers to perform a key duty of a university professor, which is to advise & mentor students
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...
TLDR: other professors like myself can no longer trust Summers to perform a key duty of a university professor, which is to advise & mentor students
www.bostonglobe.com/2025/11/18/m...
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman” and
yada yada yada
“things happen”
yada yada yada
“things happen”
Trump suggests Khashoggi had it coming: "You're mentioning someone that was extremely controversial. A lot of people didn't like that gentleman that you're talking about. Whether you like him or didn't like him, things happen. But he knew nothing about it. You don't have to embarrass our guest."
November 18, 2025 at 7:59 PM
“A lot of people didn’t like that gentleman” and
yada yada yada
“things happen”
yada yada yada
“things happen”
No. This is not ok. Allowing him to be around the potential leaders of the future is the problem. Just perpetuating the problem.
Larry Summers tells @theharvardcrimson.bsky.social
he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.”
He will continue teaching.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
he’s stepping back from all public commitments in light of his messages with Epstein, saying he is “deeply ashamed” and hopes “to rebuild trust and repair relationships.”
He will continue teaching.
www.thecrimson.com/article/2025...
November 18, 2025 at 2:50 AM
No. This is not ok. Allowing him to be around the potential leaders of the future is the problem. Just perpetuating the problem.
And anyone involved in this. It is murder, straight up. Without a public reckoning the U.S. will be unable to ever wash away this stain.
if dems win congress next year they need to introduce an impeachment resolution against emil bove
Justice Department official told prosecutors that U.S. should 'just sink' drug boats
NPR interviews with current and former officials reveal more of the backstory around the military's strikes in the Caribbean.
www.npr.org
November 17, 2025 at 9:56 PM
And anyone involved in this. It is murder, straight up. Without a public reckoning the U.S. will be unable to ever wash away this stain.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
Bad patents already do enough damage. PERA makes it easier to get them and harder to challenge them. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
PERA Remains a Serious Threat to Efforts Against Bad Patents
PERA would overturn long-standing court decisions that have helped keep some of the most problematic patents in check. This includes the Supreme Court’s Alice v. CLS Bank decision, which bars patents
www.eff.org
November 17, 2025 at 9:00 PM
Bad patents already do enough damage. PERA makes it easier to get them and harder to challenge them. www.eff.org/deeplinks/2...
It's fairly clear what the redacted misstatements likely were, and oh boy. It's like they brought the junior varsity basketball team to compete in the senior mathlete competition.
👀Fitzpatrick said Halligan made two apparent "fundamental misstatements of law" to the grand jury that could threaten the case. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 17, 2025 at 5:31 PM
It's fairly clear what the redacted misstatements likely were, and oh boy. It's like they brought the junior varsity basketball team to compete in the senior mathlete competition.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
November 17, 2025 at 3:33 AM
Never forget that just a week ago, Ross Douthat and the NYTimes were asking if women ruined the workplace.
Reposted by Vera (Ranieri) Vong
This is so so disturbing. Trump is now pardoning January 6th rioters for unrelated crimes, just to reward them for their violence to keep him in power.
The Republican Party is in the full time business of endorsing and incentivizing political violence. So scary.
The Republican Party is in the full time business of endorsing and incentivizing political violence. So scary.
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
The new pardon ends a legal clash over the limits of Trump’s sweeping Day One clemency for those who stormed the Capitol.
dlvr.it
November 15, 2025 at 7:19 PM
This is so so disturbing. Trump is now pardoning January 6th rioters for unrelated crimes, just to reward them for their violence to keep him in power.
The Republican Party is in the full time business of endorsing and incentivizing political violence. So scary.
The Republican Party is in the full time business of endorsing and incentivizing political violence. So scary.