The FTC is dropping its appeal in the Media Matters case. They've withdrawn the civil investigative demand that is at the heart of the dispute (and presumably also want to avoid a D.C. Circuit decision). storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
The question is how much did Lori Chavez-DeRemer bet on the timing of her resignation?
This Is Just To Say
I have turned off
the AI features
that were in
the update
and which
you were probably
hoping
to monetize
Fuck you
they were stupid
so unnecessary
and so annoying
😂
And also ... Judge Sullivan 😂😂😂
BAHAHAHA it's Judge Emmet Sullivan!
Oh, Jesse Binnall, you're about to have a rough few months.
NOTICE OF NEW CASE ERROR regarding 1 Complaint,. The following error(s) need correction: Noncompliance with LCvR 5.1(c). Please file a Notice of Errata stating the error and attach the corrected initiating pleading to include the name & full residence address of each party and file using the event Errata. Alternatively, file under seal using the event Sealed Document. COMPLIANCE DEADLINE is by close of business today. This case will not proceed any further until all errors are satisfied. (gsk)
Auspicious beginning as Binnall omits to put the parties' addresses in the original filing, or file them under seal.
Could happen to anyone, but it's annoying that we still don't know which judge winds up with this turkey
In that case, if Trump continues with his war, he will be violating the War Power Resolution—in addition to usurping Congress's authority under the U.S. Constitution.
During his livestream just a few moments ago, Alex Jones says his last broadcast under the Infowars banner will be May 30, adding: "Infowars is just a name!"
He then urges his listeners to continue to support the Alex Jones Network and the products that he sells under that brand.
SCOOP with Elizabeth Williamson: The Onion has a new plan to take over Infowars. It has entered into an agreement to license the Infowars brand and plans to operate it as a comedy site. A Texas judge must approve the deal.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/b...
The Onion plans to turn Infowars into a comedy site with satirical echoes of the fringe conspiracy theories that Mr. Jones is known for. Tim Heidecker, one of the comedians behind “Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!” on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim, has been hired to serve as “creative director of Infowars.” He said he initially plans to parody Mr. Jones’s “whole modus operandi.” Mr. Heidecker has been working on his impression of Mr. Jones. But eventually, when that joke gets old, Mr. Heidecker said that he hoped to turn Infowars into a destination for independent and experimental comedy. “I just thought it would be just a beautiful joke if we could take this pretty toxic, negative, destructive force of Infowars and rebrand it as this beautiful place for our creativity,” Mr. Heidecker said in an interview. During a recent trip to Philadelphia, he traveled to the Liberty Bell to film a video in character as the new creative director of Infowars.
Get excited.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/b...
Given that the rest of us cannot (for all intents and purposes) sure federal employees who defame us, there should be a rule announced that applies the same type of official act analysis to determine whether federal employees can sue private parties for defamation.
27. Even after stealth-editing their headline over the weekend, in a feable attempt to reduce the appearance of partisan animus, Defendants have doubled Case 1:26-cv-01329 Document 1 Filed 04/20/26 Page 10 of 19 down on their knowingly false claims in an X post, made this very morning in the pre-dawn hours that reads: Kash Patel's colleagues are alarmed by what they say is erratic behavior and excessive drinking, Sarah Fitzpatrick reports. More than two dozen people she spoke with described his management failures and conduct that could harm national security.? As discussed above, these claims about erratic behavior and excessive drinking are fabricated, and Defendants were on notice of this. As dicussed below, Fitzpatrick knows that her anonymous sources, unwilling to go on the record, are partisans with axes to grind and are not in a position to know the facts.
it isn't defamatory to point out that this brief misspells feeble lol because that's just facts
@andrewtorrez.bsky.social and I are debating whether it would be funnier for this case to be assigned to a liberal judge like Ana Reyes, or a conservative like Tim Kelly.
Do you wanna watch a judge eat Patel for breakfast? Or watch Patel try to retcon a Trump appointee as a dirty activist?
9. Under Director Patel’s leadership, the FBI has achieved historic law enforcement results, including: a. the capture of 8 of the FBI’s 10 Most Wanted fugitives (twice as many in this Administration alone as during the entirety of the prior Administration); b. more than 40,000 violent crime arrests, reflecting a 112% increase in violent crime arrests over 2024, alongside a 20% decrease in homicide rate, a 20% decrease in robberies, and a 10% decrease in aggravated assaults; c. the disruption of more than 2,000 gangs and criminal enterprises (up 210%); d. the location of more than 6,300 child victims (up 30%) and the arrest of more than 2,200 child predators (up 17%), together with the termination of more than 3.8 million pedophile accounts on the Dark Web; e. the seizure of more than 2,500 kilograms of fentanyl (up 31%), enough to kill more than 189 million people, contributing to a nearly 20% decline in U.S. opioid overdose deaths compared to 2024; f. espionage arrests up by 43% from 2024; g. more than 456 cyber indictments (up 27%), 257 cyber arrests, 190 cyber convictions, 358 cyber disruptions, and 29 cyber dismantlements (up 16%); h. more than 760 counterterrorism arrests, including a 490% increase in NVE arrests and a 20% increase in arrests related to the 764 network; i. the successful disruption of 670 individuals from conducting terrorist attacks;
Could a drunken dipshit arrest criminals? QED actual malice.
Nope
Defendants’ statements have directly and proximately caused Director Patel to suffer actual damages, including harm to his reputation. These damages were foreseeable.
I suffered $250 million in reputational damages. Trust me on this one, bro.
McFarlane v. Esquire Magazine, 1994 WL 510088, *16 (D.D.C. 1994)(“[Defendant] did know that plaintiff disputed the substance of the statements; however, this alone is not sufficient evidence of actual malice”), aff’d, 74 F.3d
1296 (D.C. Cir. 1996)
bsky.app/profile/snip...
The Article’s assertions that on April 10, 2026, Director Patel “panicked, frantically” announcing he had been fired, engaged in a “freak-out,” and “is deeply concerned that his job is in jeopardy,” are false. On April 10, 2026, Director Patel had a routine technical problem logging into a government system, which was quickly fixed. Director Patel’s sole focus is on carrying out the administration’s law enforcement priorities. Prior to publication, the FBI expressly informed Defendants that the firing rumor was a “made-up rumor,” and that the “freak-out” and job-jeopardy claims were fabricated.
Please don't put in the paper that I got mad
"Each of the foregoing statements and implications is false. They are so demonstrably and obviously false, or easily refuted, that it was at best reckless to publish them."
Yes, that is how you demonstrate actual malice. Great job, dudes.
As we all await Kash Patel's eleventy trillion dollar lawsuit against The Atlantic, let's spend a little time with his wonderweasel lawyer Jesse Binnall
www.lawandchaospod.com/p/fbi-direct...
All right, everyone, time to tap the keg and start pregaming the Ka$h lawsuit, with your host, @lizdye.bsky.social!
www.lawandchaospod.com/p/fbi-direct...
Re-upping. It’s now a recognized feature of Trump’s DOJ that when a prosecutor can’t make a case - usually b/c there’s no case to make - they get fired and replaced by one willing to push the envelope or cross lines. It’s the central tell of all of these vindictive prosecutions.
I have seriously lost track of how many times we've completely obliterated Iran's military and how many times Trump has reopened the Strait of Hormuz.
Markets now just wholly operating on Greater Fool Theory.
We coulda had taco trucks on every corner. Instead we got taco trades every 72 hours.
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/19/b...
NEW: Justice Dept demands Wayne County, Michigan turn over all ballots, ballot receipts & envelopes from 2024 election
"This request is as absurd as it is baseless,” said Michigan Atty General Dana Nessel
State says letter cites allegations that are “incorrect and not credible"
There's quite a few things in the article that...well, I think the NYT very much mishandles and does standard NYT stuff that is their MO. I'll include screenshots. 🧵
The Strait of Hormuz is open. No wait, it's closed. Today on @heartlandsignal.bsky.social we'll dig into the latest on the mad man in the oval office with:
+ @lizdye.bsky.social
+ @amandalitman.bsky.social
+ @profsaunders.bsky.social
+ @emilyhorne.bsky.social
🤳Stream 1-4 CT bit.ly/3DAcG8s
Oh but Jesse Binnall did such a great job for Mark Robinson
