Lopez had been seeking cert from SCOTUS.
The DOJ had fought hard for years to preserve the convictions and the case, so its change of heart is surprising, but it comes under an administration that has taken a much softer stance on white collar crime.
In a dramatic turnabout, the Justice Dept asked to dismiss its case against two defendants convicted in the FIFA corruption case (Hernan Lopez & Full Play Group)
DOJ gave no explanation other than it was in the "interests of justice."
My story with Santul Nerkar
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/10/n...
soldier, why didn't you write this routine email with AI?
What it's like to be Elon Musk's favorite X influencer, a digital remora feeding on likes and reposts www.nytimes.com/2025/12/05/b...
Modern art & Brutalism = bad
Gold Leaf = good
“I can no longer reconcile my role with the direction the paper has chosen, including its increasing willingness to promote partisan materials, publish demonstrably false information, & manipulate the reporting of its ground staff to shape the worldview of our readers,” he wrote
In his resignation letter, submitted Friday, Thornebrook described numerous issues with political bias favoring the Trump administration in coverage and with misinformation inserted into articles over objections from reporters.
Andrew Thornebrooke, who has been at The Epoch Times since 2021, also took issue with the decision to call antifa a terrorist organization, despite there being no legal designation for domestic terrorism.
NEW: A national security reporter at the Epoch Times has resigned following the outlet's decision to sign on to the Pentagon's new media pledge, calling it a choice to “abdicate our responsibility as journalists in favor of merely repeating state narratives.”
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/b...
Under Counterman, does that line — "won't be me" — shield the speaker from the recklessness standard: that they disregarded the risk of harm to the recipient?
the author says reprehensible things and nobody should ever receive something like this. He describes violent acts that could very reasonably be interpreted as threats. He also clearly states "don't worry — won't be me. I'm not giving up my freedoms for worm shit like you."
TWO: SCOTUS in 2023 (Counterman) leaned more heavily on the "subjective standard" — what the speaker actually intended to do — finding the govt had to show "recklessness," defined as having consciously disregarded a substantial risk that the conduct will cause harm to another"
IANAL but there seem to be 2 legal precedents at play here:
ONE: the 6th Circuit in 2012 (Jeffries) used the "objective standard" — what a reasonable person might determine to be a threat — to find the threat did not have to be specific or directly enunciated.
This is the letter Benny Johnson received that led to the arrest of a San Diego man this week. It is clearly the work of a very angry person & I absolutely condemn it.
Still, it will be interesting to see how the courts rule on whether it constitutes a "true threat" under the law
largely because it wasn't deleted! Yglesias either overlooked that fact or lied about it!
x.com/LauraLoomer/...
Right-wing influencers and at least one Trump official are encouraging people to expose those seen as celebrating Kirk's assassination, leading to suspensions, firings and investigations. @alanfeuer.bsky.social @kenbensinger.bsky.social @poojasalhotra.bsky.social www.nytimes.com/2025/09/12/u...
the blond guy is Link Lauren, a former RFK Jr advisor, and close friend of Jessica Reed Kraus, among other things
In 2023 I wrote about Dilley and his team of meme makers, whose often racist and sexist and nearly always crude videos have been widely shared on the right, including by Trump.
www.nytimes.com/2023/12/13/u...
That's Brenden Dilley, a life coach turned QAnon podcaster turned MAGA meme creator who once said on the air "It doesn’t have to be true. It just has to go viral."
His lawyer? AG Pam Bondi's brother.
Milton was convicted by a jury of 3 fraud counts in 2022 for misleading investors about his company & its electric trucks. He was sentenced to 4 years + restitution. Two weeks ago, prosecutors recommended he pay $676M in restitution.
Now he won't have to pay that & is a free man.
NEW: Nikola founder Trevor Milton, just pardoned by Trump for fraud, donated over $2 million to Republicans between September and December of last year, per FEC records. His largest was $920K to the Trump 47 Committee.
He'd never previously made political donations.
This reminds me of when Jamie Raskin told me that Comer repeatedly called him "Mr. Raskins," even after Raskin said that he didn't have an "S" at the end of his name.
good story but the Spanish translation is horrible! Are we using AI now to do those because nobody, but nobody, says "afirmaciones fácticas" and the rest of the story is equally gobbledygook
I'm sure the Elon would NEVER tell the Chinese govt (which "now accounts for more than half of Tesla’s global deliveries") what he learns in a top secret briefing about American plans for a possible war with China, right? RIGHT?
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/20/u...
I wrote about how MeidasTouch and other progressive digital outlets are having a moment as anxiety about the Trump administration rises, and how Democratic officials are leaning into new media.
It's worrisome because without the disclosure it's impossible to know who funded the transition and how much they gave. That information is critical because transitions provide a huge opportunity for people to buy influence with the incoming administration
It's been 6 weeks since the inauguration and Trump still has not disclosed a single donor to his transition, despite a written promise to do so. His transition co-chairs and the WH press secretary won't even respond to queries about the matter. My story:
www.nytimes.com/2025/03/06/u...
