Before she rebranded as a Savvy Legal Media Pundit, Sarah Isgur's job was working in the Justice Department, doing PR for Donald Trump and Jeff Sessions during family separation. Now, she is running PR for a different set within the conservative legal movement. It's not more complicated than that.

This is the third high profile alleged case of this:

Karolyin Leavitt's brother's baby mama
Amanda Ungaro (baby mama to Paolo Zampolli
And this

Leavitt's brother's effort to deport his son's mother thus far has failed AFAIK.

While DC journos all rush to WHCD, @philinvestigates.com just keeps reporting on the far right in TN.

Be like Phil!

Defendant’s conviction on Count One cannot stand under a “personnel” theory because the statute expressly excludes individuals acting entirely independently to advance a foreign terrorist organization’s goals. Being inspired

by ISIS propaganda and claiming to further ISIS’s cause through his acts do not, by themselves, establish that he acted as ISIS “personnel” as it is defined in the statute and further refined by the Supreme Court’s decision in Humanitarian Law Project.

2d Cir., 2-1, holds there was insufficient evidence to convict the Times Square pipe bomber of material support for ISIS, despite telling detectives he did it "on behalf of the Islamic State."

Evidence established that he was a lone wolf.

Affirms other convx.

ww3.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/is...

Trump's war in Iran has forced Americans to pay over $8 billion more at the pump.

So naturally, his priority is to bail out his family's business partners in a foreign country.

DEMOBILIZATION OF FEDERAL PROTECTIVE MISSION (FPM) FORCES Originator: JOINT STAFF J3 DEP-DIR REGIONAL OPS WASHINGTON DC//JOD AMERICAS// TOR: 01/01/2026 23:09:20 DTG: 012308Z Jan 26 Prec: Routine DAC: General To: CDR USNORTHCOM PETERSON AFB CO CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL, COR USSTRATCOM OFFUTT AFB NE, CDR USSTRATCOM OFFUTT AFB NE, CDR USTRANSCOM SCOTT AFB IL, COR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL, HQDA CSA WASHINGTON DC, CMC WASHINGTON DC, CMC WASHINGTON DC, CMC PPO WASHINGTON DC, CMC PPO WASHINGTON DC, CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE, CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE, CDR USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE, CDR USPACOM HONOLULU HI, CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL, SAF WASHINGTON DC, USCYBERCOM FT GEORGE G CC: MEADE MD, USCYBERCOM FT GEORGE G MEADE MD, HQ USSPACECOM COLORADO SPRINGS CO, HQ USSPACECOM COLORADO SPRINGS CO, CICS WASHINGTON DC, VCJCS WASHINGTON DC, CICS DIS WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DOM SIS WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ1 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ2 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ3 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF 14 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ5 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ6 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ7 WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF DJ8 WASHINGTON DC, DIA WASHINGTON DC, CNO WASHINGTON DC, ARMY HQ, DIRNSA FT GEORGE G MEADE MD, NGA WASHINGTON DC, JOINT STAFF J3 DEP-DIR REGIONAL OPS WASHINGTON DC, NGB WASHINGTON DC, CSO WASHINGTON DC

GENTEXT/Remarks: 1. Te) Directive: Demobilize National Guard personnel on Title 10 (T-10) status assigned to Federal Protective Missions (FPMs) in Portland, Los Angeles, and Chicago per SEWAR's verbal order of 31 December 2025. 1.A. hE» Los Angeles FPM: Demobilize the remaining 104 (+) Soldiers on T-10 status. 1.B. «CuT) Portland FPM: Demobilize the remaining 109 (+) Soldiers on T-10 status. 1.C. » Chicago FPM: Demobilize the remaining 314 (+) Soldiers on T-10 status. 2.7 → Demobilization planning: 2.A. 40H5) USNORTHCOM will coordinate with 1st Army to execute the demobilization of FPM forces in Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago IAW SEWAR's VOCO and receipt of this GENADMIN. 2.B. ( Guard personnel sourced from Texas will remain on T-10 status until further notice.

NEW: In a court filing today, it was detailed that Pete Hegseth verbally ordered an end to National Guard mobilization in Los Angeles, Portland, and Chicago on December 31, 2025—the day that Trump announced on Truth social that the deployment would be ending. The written directive was dated 1/1/26.

Russia go home signs and chants at events in the US might have impact now.

"Because Trump turned to culture war before joining an evil axis, because Ukraine and the rest of the world got time to adjust to the shift in American loyalties, the efficacy of Trump’s betrayal will be significantly diminished."

Marcy on how bad it all is & how dick-stepping gives us some grace.

I also describe the twin acute psychological dilemmas Trump is facing, which may be why he's crashing:

1) To actually win the Iran war he has to turn on Putin.
2) Any deal will require conceding Obama was superior to him.

The Third Trajectory and Hopes for Rebuilding - emptywheel The global catastrophe Trump created in Iran may provide an opportunity to disrupt his authoritarian trajectory.

This is a long think piece, but I argue that Trump's Iran catastrophe may disrupt his efforts to consolidate his authoritarianism, but even more, may provide cause to go after his Tech bro donors and data centers.

The Third Trajectory and Hopes for Rebuilding

emptywheel.net/2026/04/21/t...

RUIZ: Bloomberg reports that Trump & the WH have benched you because you're making the president look bad

RFK Jr: That's not true

RUIZ: I think the reporting is correct. You're making the president look bad. You talked publicly about snorting cocaine off a toilet bowl seat. Your words, not mine.

Fractures Emerge Between GOP’s Pro-Pedophilia, Extremely Pro-Pedophilia Wings

Spent Saturday with President Obama and New York's Cutest — turns out my first name is Mayor and I need to be doing more squats. 

Here’s to building a City where families can thrive and every classroom is full of this much joy.

You know who else famously used paid informants to infiltrate extremist groups?

The Justice Department.

🚨 Virginians: Today’s the day.

You’re voting on a major constitutional amendment to counter GOP gerrymandering by allowing temporary congressional maps through 2030.

Polls close at 7 PM ET — if you’re in line, you can still vote.

Have you cast your ballot yet? Tell us your experience 👇

This Isn't Trading. It's Theft from Your Retirement. Someone keeps making perfectly-timed bets right before the President speaks. The victims are your pension, your 401(k), and the country I took an oath to defend.

Fifteen minutes before the President announced he was pausing strikes on Iran, somebody moved $500 million in oil futures. Somebody knew. Somebody told them. Or somebody is them.
New piece ↓
open.substack.com/pub/adamkinz...

New lawsuit aims to block Trump DOJ from building national voter database via state voter roll grab The lawsuit calls the effort “a key component of the Trump Administration’s attempts to take over elections from states and subvert the 2026 midterms.”

🚨BREAKING: Pro-voting groups sued the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) Tuesday to block its bid to build a national voter database using private voter data from every state. www.democracydocket.com/news-alerts/...

GALLEGO: Earlier today, you told Sec. Kennedy that Trump never demanded you to cut interest rates. Is that your sworn testimony?

WARSH: That is, senator.

GALLEGO: Okay. Well someone here is lying then. Because Trump confirmed he pressed you on interest rate cuts.

Todd Blanche Puts Dmitry Firtash's Onetime Lawyer In Charge of Criminalizing the Russian Investigation - emptywheel The biggest reason Joe DiGenova is a wildly inappropriate person to lead an attempt to criminalize the Russian investigation is his past efforts to get paid by Russian-backed Ukrainians to do the same...

Explained in more detail here.

emptywheel.net/2026/04/19/t...

Joe DiGenova Back in the Criminal Frame YouTube video by emptywheel

Again, did this video to explain why it is to scandalous that Todd Blanche put Joe DiGenova in charge of criminalizing investigating Russians.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fABt...

And .. here come the Freedom of Information Act requests for Kash Patel records

DC watchdog group Democracy Forward has formally requested Patel's calendars & any messages from security detail that include words "drinking", "hungover", "inebriated"

democracyforward.org/wp-content/u...

In Lawsuit Not Mentioning the Olympics, Kash Patel Swears He's Not a Drunk - emptywheel If Kash Patel's lawsuit against The Atlantic is an attempt to silence claims he's a drunk, it doesn't do much to rebut the key allegations against him.

"Patel’s chugging a beer at the Olympics may not strike him as excessive drinking, but the context of it made it unseemly. and that’s an allegation—the key one—about which Kash is completely silent" @emptywheel.bsky.social emptywheel.net/2026/04/20/i...

I noted yesterday that we would do well to describe what role the actions Trump is performing, rather than assuming he is functioning as President.

Mostly, Trump is an old man retreating into his lifelong hobbies: construction, cons, and corruption. With lots of golf.

ELIZABETH WARREN: Did Donald Trump lose the 2020 election?

KEVIN WARSH: Uhm, we try to keep politics if I'm confirmed out of the Federal Reserve

WARREN: I'm just asking a factual question

WARSH: I believe this body certified the election

WARREN: That's not the question I'm asking

SO glad you had a happy birthday evening out! Love this photo!

Kevin Warsh just lost me. He argues he's going to be an independent Fed Chair, but refuses to acknowledge that Trump lost the 2020 election. If you can't state simple facts when you're in the political spotlight, you aren't independent. You're a coward.

WARREN: That's not my question. Are you refusing to tell us if you have investments in vehicles set up by Jeffrey Epstein?

KEVIN WARSH: Those assets will be sold if I'm confirmed

The Supreme Court’s Shadow Docket Secrets Have Been Spilled The leaked memos from a 2016 EPA case expose the spurious reasoning behind one of the justices’ most consequential decisions of the past decade.

Wrote about the shadow docket news:

Sen. Elizabeth Warren asks Trump Fed pick Kevin Warsh if he has investments tied to the Trump family. He won't answer directly.