Here’s your Sunday morning wrap-up!
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| Here’s your Sunday morning wrap-up! Make sure you didn’t miss out on any of last week’s columns before we start the new week. Grab your coffee and get caught up on anything you may have missed out on during the week. The Week Ahead: We started last week with Trump’s demands on the Oregon National Guard and his claims that “war ravaged Portland” needs protecting. It was the week his fake claims about Antifa surfaced in an executive order. Now, even though a federal judge has explicitly rejected his characterization of the city, he’s still making those claims. As violence increases—violence by federal agents against peaceful protestors—it’s important to track how Trump savages the truth to pursue his goals and to keep asking ourselves, with an election on the horizon, why is he pushing so hard to legitimize his use of the military on American soil? Pete Hegseth and the Generals: As “Secretary of War” Hegseth prepared to meet with admirals and generals, whom he had summoned to Quantico from all over the world so he could have a moment in front of the cameras, we looked back to the piece in the Washington Post, written by all of the living former secretaries of defense just in advance of January 6. Their words back then, cautioning that the military could play no role in determining the outcome of the election, should stiffen the spines of military leaders today: “We call upon them, in the strongest terms, to do as so many generations of Americans have done before them. This final action is in keeping with the highest traditions and professionalism of the U.S. armed forces, and the history of democratic transition in our great country.” The First Amendment (And A Court) Punch Back: Senior Judge William G. Young in Boston issued a scathing 161-page opinion in American Association of University Professors v. Rubio, a First Amendment case. He comprehensively rebuked the administration, accusing it of targeting foreign students who engaged in protected pro-Palestinian speech for deportation to “strike fear” into people who wanted to exercise their First Amendment rights to protest. This is an important court decision to be on top of, especially as the administration turns its focus to cutting freedom of expression. Wednesday: If you need some pictures of my chickens living their best lives to get you through the coming week, this post is for you. A Note About the Comey Case: This coming Thursday, former FBI Director Jim Comey faces arraignment in an Alexandria, Virginia, courtroom. After the indictment, which was only obtained when Trump fired his own U.S. Attorney nominee in the Eastern District, replacing him with one of his own personal lawyers, a woman with no prosecutorial experience, additional details surfaced that reveal just how weak—and political—the indictment is. Five Questions with Grande Lum, the Former Head of DOJ’s Community Relations Service: For the last six decades, the Department of Justice’s Community Relations Services (CRS) has played the role of conciliator in high-profile conflicts, including the Selma march, public school desegregation, and working to prevent backlash violence against Arabs, Muslims, and Sikhs after 9/11. Last week, Donald Trump shut the office down permanently. We had a chance to hear from President Obama’s head of the office, who explained what losing this kind of a voice in government means. Project 2025: Taking on the Constitution: We talked about Project 2025 a lot during the last election and also in its aftermath. I know all of you who were reading the newsletter at the time recall when Trump pretend-distanced himself from it and we went back and traced the links that showed his connection to it. From Chicago, to Portland, to the waters of the Caribbean, to the use of the government shutdown as an excuse to implement more of the plan, it’s clear that it is on.
These are complicated legal times, and it’s easy for the truth to get lost in the chaos. Civil Discourse doesn’t just track today’s headlines—it connects them to the legal and political history that explains why they matter. We won’t forget what’s at stake or let Trump and his allies rewrite the past. You can subscribe to Civil Discourse for free and get clear analysis that helps you see the whole picture, delivered straight to your inbox. If you’re in a position to upgrade, your paid subscription helps me devote the time and resources it takes to write the newsletter. That means everyone has access to information they can share with friends and family—a constructive act we can all participate in right now, helping more Americans understand how critical this moment is. We’re in this together, Joyce Share | |
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