Walter Olson
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walterolson.bsky.social
Walter Olson
@walterolson.bsky.social
27K followers 1.3K following 6.2K posts
Writer on law etc.; Cato Institute. Election law, Maryland civic stuff, cooking. Blogged at Overlawyered back when. No kings, no tyrants.
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walterolson.bsky.social
Yesterday a Trump supporter demanded I explain why Minnesota was the only state currently in the news for political violence. He figured this must prove the fault lay with the state's activists or with its political leadership. This was my reply, not entirely free from sarcasm:
Screenshot reading: The Trump administration selected Minnesota for this treatment, even though illegal immigrants make up a lower share of the state's population than is typical in America. It's called "Operation Metro Surge," and it's why no other state or metro area is currently feeling nearly as much pain. You knew that, right? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operation_Metro_Surge Last year Trump tried militarized urban occupations of Chicago, Portland, and Los Angeles, and succeeded in inflicting much pain on the populations of those cities. When he was busy harassing those metro areas, Minnesota was quiet, despite its sinister abundance of persons willing to go out in the cold to film police action from their phones."
January 27, 2026 at 2:13 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
I'm quoted this afternoon in the New York Times.
Screenshot from New York Times reading, "Some of the most pointed criticism of the surge has, perhaps unsurprisingly, come from libertarians, many of whom have repeatedly chafed at Trump policies not deemed sufficiently in line with their small-government ethos. Walter Olson, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute, the libertarian think tank, has noted that protesters in Minnesota have been “repeatedly attacked” while filming or nonviolently protesting the enforcement actions, “in what looks very much like a practice that is being tolerated by policy.”
January 27, 2026 at 12:55 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Andrew McCarthy of National Review on why Minneapolis police chief O'Hara had every right to keep his officers in charge of today's crime scene. McCarthy isn't buying the "federal supremacy is plenary and absolute, so state electeds must bow and obey" nonsense lately popular in MAGA circles.
National Review Andrew McCarthy screenshot reading: "To be clear, the federal agents have jurisdiction to investigate immigration crimes and any related obstruction. This does not change the fact that the state and local police have jurisdiction to investigate shootings on the streets of their cities, including shootings by federal agents. If the federal agents have immunity from prosecution or can get any state charges removed to federal court, those are legal matters that can be asserted and decided down the road. For now, the feds have no authority to tell the state and local police to vacate the scene of a legitimate state and local investigation. The feds have supremacy only in their legitimate spheres of enforcement; the states are still sovereign when it comes to their legitimate spheres, which include public safety and local law enforcement."
January 25, 2026 at 2:05 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Banner material.
"Stand with Minnesota" graphic with heart superimposed on outline of state
January 25, 2026 at 1:32 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Braised pork tenderloin cubes pre-marinated for two days in salt, a bit of olive oil, and a spice mixture Elizabeth David recommends: black pepper, white pepper, coriander, and fennel seed. Sweet potatoes on the side. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
January 22, 2026 at 12:51 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
The Trump administration will now take an ownership stake in a defense contractor, but no, it would never dream of interfering with its management or with competition for contracts, no way. From my colleague Tad DeHaven.

www.cato.org/blog/trump-a...
Screenshot reading: "The equity deal puts the Pentagon in the undesirable position of owning part of a contractor that will compete for—and seek to win—large federal procurement awards, raising obvious conflict-of-interest and neutrality concerns. L3Harris’s CEO says the deal is “purely an economic investment” and that the DOD “will not be on the board of directors or involved with managing this company.” To which I would respond that the Pentagon reports to a president who called up Coca-Cola to badger the company into using cane sugar in its products."
January 20, 2026 at 8:54 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
A social media acquaintance shared a news story about some anti-ICE demonstrators who invaded private property and violated the rights of third parties and added, "So much for the non-violent resistance." Here's what I wrote in response.
Screenshot reading, "Is it really that mysterious that broad social movements may include both a nonviolent majority and a radical or violent fringe? In the late 1960s thousands of persons marched peacefully for civil rights and there were also some Panther types who robbed banks and killed. After Renee Good's killing I attended a rally to protest ICE actions in which about 1,000 of us marched peacefully through our downtown, respecting every traffic rule, doing what police asked and making space for pedestrians not participating. About six or eight members of a radical group, ignoring the protest rules, illegally entered the street and blocked cars' way. Of course they got their picture on the front page of the newspaper, and of course certain local comments section sages anointed them as the "real" protest. Part of the process of demonization is attributing the ill intent of the few to the many. Do you think it fair when people do that to you?"
January 20, 2026 at 4:02 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
North African spicy tripe and chickpea stew via Claudia Roden. Flavors include caraway, coriander, cinnamon, paprika, and lemon. Rumba tripe and chickpeas from @ranchogordo.bsky.social. #FoodSky #BlueskySupperClub
Pink rimmed white bowl with garbanzo beans and offal in brown sauce.
January 20, 2026 at 2:19 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Nostalgic Seventies-style creamed chicken curry with little bowls of coconut shreds and peanuts to sprinkle on. No raisins, though. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
Dish with turmeric-yellow cream chicken stew, fork on right, bowls of coconut shreds and peanuts above.
January 19, 2026 at 5:59 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
New avatar for a while
Badge reading I (heart) MN (abbreviation for Minnesota).
January 19, 2026 at 1:21 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
"A war of aggression, sometimes also war of conquest, is a military conflict waged without the justification of self-defense, usually for territorial gain and subjugation, in contrast with the concept of a just war." It was a key target of the Nuremberg Tribunal. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/War_of_...
Outline of Greenland with superimposed design of flag of Denmark.
January 19, 2026 at 2:05 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Smelling salts (prevents or treats fainting) in drugstore packaging.
January 16, 2026 at 9:54 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
“Noem: U.S. Citizens Should Be Prepared To Show Proof.”

Did you vote for a “Show Me Your Papers” society?
Screenshot of Fox News from Jan. 15, 2026 with picture of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and chyron: "Breaking News: Noem: U.S. Citizens Should be Prepared To Show Proof."
January 15, 2026 at 11:04 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
Statement by Cato's Matthew Cavedon on today's Supreme Court decision in Case v. Montana, on constitutional standards for police to enter homes without consent to render emergency aid: @cato.org
Screenshot of statement reading: "Matthew Cavedon, Director of Cato's Project on Criminal Justice, said the following: "Every man's home is his castle under the Fourth Amendment. The Court declined to held that the familiar probable cause standard is the moat protecting it. However, today's decision also rightly clarified that home entries should not be undertaken lightly. Justice Sotomayor's concurring opinion echoed our concerns about the dangers entries can pose, highlighting the needs of people experiencing mental health crises. And Justice Gorsuch's concurring opinion reiterated that emergency aid entries are not an excuse to search for evidence of criminal activity. Hopefully today's decision will not be read more broadly than the Court intended.""
January 14, 2026 at 5:12 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
“Nothing in the law has changed,” [my colleague David] Bier said. “They’ve just invented this concept that you’re not allowed to record them.” WaPo on the legal status of ICE watching:

www.washingtonpost.com/immigration/...
Washington Post screenshot reading: "An internal DHS bulletin made public in a Chicago court case lists the act of filming agents during enforcement activities as one of several “recent anti-law enforcement tactics used in unlawful civil unrest.” Social media is replete with videos of agents threatening to arrest monitors. But David J. Bier, director of immigration studies at the Cato Institute, says those threats have rarely become prosecutions. He is tracking such incidents and said he knows of fewer than a dozen cases in which people were charged with following or recording immigration officers or warning others of their presence. Most of those cases seem unlikely to go to trial, he added."
January 12, 2026 at 10:47 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
With hundreds of others standing up to be counted in downtown Frederick today against ICE brutality.
Crowd of hundreds assemble in anti-ICE protest at Carroll Creek Amphitheater in Frederick, Md. Woman carrying sign ICE IS NOT NICE next to man carrying sign UNMASK ICE - no secret police Woman carrying sign “She wasn’t even mad dude” at the Square Corner in downtown Frederick. Man in blue parka carrying sign “DEFEND THE CONSTITUTION” with American flag behind as part of anti-ICE demonstration at Square Corner in downtown Frederick.
January 11, 2026 at 7:57 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
As far as I can see, in the battle between Claire Lehmann and the illiberals, Lehmann is winning in straight sets.
Exchange on X, screenshot reading: "Konstantin Kisin @KonstantinKisin · People who have never fired a gun or been in a life-threatening situation shouldn't be banned from commenting on law enforcement incidents but they should voluntarily stfu. Claire Lehmann @clairlemon · So by that logic, you shouldn't comment on a male being violent toward a female unless you’re a female who’s been attacked by a male before? Am I doing this right?" X screenshot, text: "Claire Lehmann @clairlemon She didn't deserve to be shot in the face Megyn Kelly @megankelly Yes, she did. She hit and almost ran over a cop." X screenshot reading: "Claire Lehmann @clairlemon · Jan 8 I thought the whole point of the Constitution was so that Americans didn’t have to live like this. Quote Aaron Rupar @atrupar · Jan 7 Rep. Wesley Hunt: "The bottom line is this: when a federal officer gives you instructions, you abide by them and then you get to keep you life""
January 11, 2026 at 1:27 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
Classic Italian white bean and escarole soup on a homemade chicken stock base. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
Beans greens and broth in a broad white soup bowl.
January 10, 2026 at 12:33 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Five years ago.
Front pages of American newspapers after Jan. 6, 2021, with headlines like "Capitol Chaos," "Assault on Democracy," "Pro-Trump mob storms Capitol."
January 6, 2026 at 3:24 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Sauce could hardly be simpler: a frozen stock cube with a tablespoon of tomato paste and some water, stir well and pour over before baking. Contributes to the pan juices. /2
Two stuffed onions on a white dish with pink rim.
January 6, 2026 at 12:49 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Definitely an Old World dinner tonight: stuffed onions. They’re large white onions and the stuffing, besides ground meat and rice, has plenty of chopped parsley, dill, white wine, and paprika. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
Cast iron pot with whitish globes and a bit of orange sauce.
January 6, 2026 at 12:42 AM
walterolson.bsky.social
Washington Post this morning: "Two people close to the White House" say yes, it was Trump's Nobel Prize bitterness that turned him against Maria Corina Machado. /3
Washington Post screenshot reading: Two people close to the White House said the president’s lack of interest in boosting Machado, despite her recent efforts to flatter Trump, stemmed from her decision to accept the Nobel Peace Prize, an award the president has openly coveted. Although Machado ultimately said she was dedicating the award to Trump, her acceptance of the prize was an “ultimate sin,” said one of the people. “If she had turned it down and said, ‘I can’t accept it because it’s Donald Trump’s,’ she’d be the president of Venezuela today,” this person said."
January 5, 2026 at 2:44 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
Statement from Cato VP Clark Neily: Courts probably won't rule against the rendition. Yet Trump has chosen to bypass the constitutional provisions designed to cabin the president's powers in using force against other countries. And an indictment does not supply him with those powers.
Statement on Trump's Venezuela action by Cato Vice President for Legal Studies Clark Neily: * As a legal matter, any challenge by Nicolas Maduro to his capture last night and subsequent rendition to the United States would run headlong into precedents involving the prosecution of Manuel Noriega in the 1990s. Courts have already upheld the unilateral seizure, prosecution, and conviction of a foreign leader under materially similar circumstances, and given longstanding judicial deference in foreign-affairs cases, judges are unlikely to distinguish that line of authority in Maduro's case. That conclusion, however, should not obscure the deeper constitutional concern here, which is profound. The Constitution deliberately assigns to Congress—not the President—the power to decide when the United States will initiate hostilities against foreign sovereigns. That assignment includes the power to declare war and the related authority to issue letters of marque and reprisal to private entities, both of which reflect a constitutional judgment that decisions risking international conflict, retaliation, and escalation should not rest with a single executive actor. When a President unilaterally deploys military force abroad to seize a foreign head of state—effectively collapsing war powers, foreign relations, and criminal law enforcement into a single executive decision—the constitutional safeguards designed to cabin the use of force against other countries are bypassed entirely. That concern is not cured by the existence of a valid indictment. An indictment may (or may not) explain why a President wishes to act, but it cannot supply the constitutional authority to do so through military force without meaningful congressional engagement, let alone authorization.
January 3, 2026 at 6:43 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
Farinata (chickpea-flour flatbread/pancake) with onions, pepper strips, fennel, celery and tomatoes. Evokes brunch on the Riviera while thriftily using up leftover party crudités. #foodsky #BlueskySupperClub
January 3, 2026 at 6:10 PM
walterolson.bsky.social
Here is J.D. Vance's rationale for seizing Maduro. He says Trump "was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States." Very interesting, since the indictment says nothing whatever about oil, stolen or otherwise. /1
Screenshot of X tweet: " JD Vance @JDVance The president offered multiple off ramps, but was very clear throughout this process: the drug trafficking must stop, and the stolen oil must be returned to the United States. Maduro is the newest person to find out that President Trump means what he says. Kudos to our brave special operators who pulled off a truly impressive operation." and further screenshot of #realDonaldTrump tweet
January 3, 2026 at 4:40 PM