Just noticing that, in Abrego's civil case, on 4/17 govt appealed Judge Xinis's "constructive denial" of its motion to lift her order blocking his removal to Liberia. Govt told Xinis to rule by 4/17; she said it had no power to give her a deadline & set a hrg for 4/28. Govt blew her off & appealed.
"Part of the reason the weaponization work has been difficult is that you need people who are MAGA and who are really competent," said Chad Mizelle, former chief of staff for Bondi. "Many career prosecutors are not interested in this kind of work. It's a very small group of people."
Bondi's former chief of staff Chad Mizelle: "Part of the reason the weaponization work has been difficult is that you need people who are MAGA and who are really competent."
From @paulareidcnn.bsky.social and other @cnn.com folks:
To understand the backdrop, see @ericcolumbus.bsky.social in @lawfaremedia.org :
3/3
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
Most states have resisted DOJ’s unprecedented data demands. DOJ has sued 30 states and the District of Columbia to force compliance with its requests. Federal courts have dismissed five of DOJ’s suits for failure to state a claim, with two holding that the agency’s data demands exceed its statutory authority and violate federal and state privacy laws.
Suit notes that DOJ has now sued to get such info from 30 states + DC. 5 district judges have rejected the suits, which are on appeal. 12 to 19 other states have provided info. Suit brought by attys for @citizensforethics.org @protectdemocracy.org @aclu.org
2/3
New suit by @commoncause.org seeks to halt DOJ’s nationwide effort to gather confidential state voter rolls, alleging that DOJ's violating separation of powers, Privacy Act & other laws & creating cybersecurity risks.
assets.aclu.org/live/uploads...
it's a biggie. it's not worth disbarment. it is colossal hypocrisy. sorry i was unclear.
For further factual background, see: For factual background for the remarkable case, see below:
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/less...
UNITED STATES COURT OF APPEALS FOR THE EIGHTH CIRCUIT No. 26-1327 Rigoberto Soto Jimenez Appellee Todd Blanche, Acting Attorney General, et al. ----. ------ Matthew Isihara Appellant Appeal from U.S. District Court for the District of Minnesota (0:26-cv-00957-LMP) ORDER The court hereby denies the motion to dismiss, but grants the alternative motion to appoint an amicus curiae to argue in support of the district court's contempt order. Jeffrey P. Justman is hereby appointed as amicus curiae. The brief of amicus curiae shall be due on May 20, 2026. April 20, 2026
NEW: Eighth Circuit does NOT dismiss DOJ's appeal of the civil contempt order against a DOJ lawyer in one of the Minnesota cases (as requested by the habeas petitioner, represented here by @smmarotta.bsky.social), but does appoint a lawyer (Jeffrey Justman) to argue in defense of the contempt order.
"to appoint amici" or "to appoint an amicus," but I'm not sure if he's asking for one amicus counsel to argue his motion as to all the cases (US v Nordean; US v Rhodes; US v Minuta) or one for Proud Boys (Nordean) and one for OKs (Rhodes & Minuta).
And Proud Boy Zach Rehl has filed a pro se brief opposing, also.
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Jamie Raskin has filed briefs supporting his motions for the court to appoint an amici to contest vacating the convictions of Proud Boys and Oath Keepers. Here's the Proud Boys version ...
storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
"In the first major case in which the Court granted emergency relief as a means of shaping nationwide policy, it turns out that the justice who led the charge was the one who was doing quite a bit more than calling balls and strikes."
Me on Saturday's @nytimes.com scoop in today's "One First":
Today's Lawfare Daily is the April 17 live where @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org, @ericcolumbus.bsky.social, @annabower.bsky.social, and @rparloff.bsky.social discussed a judge blocking the White House ballroom construction, the disbarment of John Eastman, and more. www.youtube.com/live/rgJgusc...
Aside:
Maria Bartiromo is a Trump-appointed trustee at the Kennedy Center, who voted to change its name to Trump-Kennedy Center in the face of laws dictating it be a "living memorial" to JFK & forbidding other "memorials" or "plaques" "in the nature of memorials" on it
something I actually saw. (Though now that you mention it, you're right, it might also be a cryptic omen meaning that Trump's toast. 🙂)
There’s so much to say about the remarkable reporting from Jodi Kantor & Adam Liptak—and I’ll say a lot of it in Monday’s newsletter.
But the most striking thing about all of it is the role & behavior of Chief Justice Roberts. “Calling balls and strikes” this ain’t:
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/u...
Scoop: As top prosecutor exits DOJ grand conspiracy probe into Brennan & co., a less experienced political appointee recently joined the case.
Todd Blanche aide & former Cannon clerk during Jack Smith case, Christopher-James DeLorenz, is now handling Brennan. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...
In 1 hour join @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org, @ericcolumbus.bsky.social, @annabower.bsky.social, and @rparloff.bsky.social for a live discussion of the D.C. Circuit blocking Judge Boasberg's contempt inquiry, a nationwide warrant against an ICE agent, and more.
Watched this last night. It is an excellent discussion.
He says “the government’s motion to dismiss the prosecution supports the selective prosecution because it is an act of prosecutorial decision making, though there are some timing and other questions that could complicate matters.”
Watch their discussion: youtu.be/tho_W0Yg86Y
DOJ has moved to drop the last remaining Jan. 6 insurrection criminal matters: the Oath Keepers and Proud Boys seditious conspiracy cases.
@benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org, @rparloff.bsky.social, @michael-feinberg.bsky.social, Troy Edwards, and James Pearce discuss the decision on Lawfare Daily.
NEW: We obtained the government’s settlement agreement with Michael Flynn.
As previously reported, DOJ agreed to pay $1.25 million to settle Flynn’s claims that he was wrongfully prosecuted.
But docs suggest a separate settlement could be in the works: www.lawfaremedia.org/article/u.s....
For today's @lawfaremedia.org podcast we discuss govt motions to dismiss the last J6 Proud Boys/Oath Keeper cases. Former FBI agent @michael-feinberg.bsky.social & ex-prosecutors Troy Edwards & James Pearce discuss with @benjaminwittes.lawfaremedia.org & me.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawf...
To learn more on this issue see my @lawfaremedia.org piece, written when DOJ was a mere 0 for 3 in the courts on this issue. They've subsequently lost 2 more, with about 25 cases still pending.
www.lawfaremedia.org/article/the-...
Like the 2022 @theonion.com amicus brief on parody and the First Amendment, further evidence that funny people can make serious points to the Supreme Court.
GIFT LINK:
www.nytimes.com/2026/04/16/u...
JUST IN: Judge McElroy, a Trump appointee, continues DOJ’s unbroken losing streak in efforts to obtain state voter rolls. She calls it a “fishing expedition.” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
