Here’s the highlight reel of the past week’s posts and events.
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| Here’s the highlight reel of the past week’s posts and events. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to catch up on anything you may have missed. The Week Ahead: The week started in a moment where the lame duck presidency of Donald Trump was showing itself for what it is around the edges. The reality is that Trump is losing ground. We prepared for renewed contempt proceedings before Judge Boasberg in the El Salvadoran flights case; discussed the DoD War Manual as it relates to Pete Hegseth’s September 2 kill order in the Caribbean along with interesting context from Trump and Marco Rubio’s public statements at the time of the strike; background and new comments on the National Guard shooting in the nation’s Capital; and Tuesday’s election in Tennessee. Understanding The Lethal U.S. Strike On A Boat Allegedly Being Used For "Narcoterrorism": Also on Sunday, NYU law professor Ryan Goodman joined me live to talk through legal issues and the law surrounding Friday’s report in the Washington Post that Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave verbal instructions to “kill everybody” in advance of the September 2 attack on a boat in the Caribbean. Our conversation is even more interesting in light of new claims that there wasn’t a “no quarters” order given, instead, everyone on the boat was determined to be on a list of “legitimate” targets. Ryan’s and my walk through the law in this area is essential listening as this issue continues to hold center stage this week. The Third Circuit Says "No" To Alina Habba as Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey: We examined the timeline and legal background for the Third Circuit Court of Appeals decision affirming the district court’s order disqualifying Trump appointee Alina Habba from serving as Interim U.S. Attorney for New Jersey. The interesting question now is, does that decision stand, or will the Supreme Court hear the case? The Constitution is pretty firm about requiring Senate Confirmation of certain presidential appointees. Would the Court upend that, too? Bulletproof No More: We saw signs of life from Congress as we went deeper into Hegseth’s kill order and attempts from both Trump and Hegseth himself to distance themselves from it. Whether that mood survives is one of the key issues we’ll follow in the coming week. Wednesday: Sharing some snowy scenes of Maine with you all! It’s cold here—and beautiful. An Alleged Bomber, Arrested and Charged: A major issue with this administration: Sometimes it’s easier to disbelieve everything than it is to sort through what Trump says to distill truth from lies. That was a problem we faced when AG Pam Bondi announced an arrest in the case involving the bombs discovered near the RNC and DNC in Washington, D.C. just ahead of the assault on the Capitol on January 6, 2021. Before the evidence was made public, we looked at Bondi’s press conference in this piece to determine how to evaluate the prosecution itself, once the charges were made public. The Military Under Trump . . . and more: Updates on developments in the Inspector General’s report on Signalgate; Admiral Frank Bradley’s defense of the September 2 strike; and the decision by a Virginia grand jury not to reindict Letitia James, at least for now. Make sure you don’t miss the final section of this post, which discusses the Supreme Court’s shadow docket decision, which allows Texas to use maps that were explicitly redrawn to create more Republican Congressional districts and provides a clear path for other states to do the same. A 2-1 Panel of the D.C. Circuit Makes the Presidency More Muscular: A panel of the D.C. Circuit, split 2-1, ruled that presidents can remove members of the National Labor Relations Board or Merit Systems Protection Board despite the existence of laws that are intended to shield them from removal without cause. The decision gives Donald Trump the power to remove quasi-independent board appointees for any reason he chooses, including bad ones. This issue, in a different case, will take center stage at the Supreme Court this week, making the Circuit’s decision important to understand. Five Questions with Elias Law Partner David Fox: David Fox, an experienced voting rights litigator, helped us prepare for the upcoming Supreme Court case NRSC v. FEC, which involves campaign finance. There will be more about this case in tonight’s The Week Ahead post. Charges in the RNC/DNC Bomb Planting Case: Hannah Arendt: “The result of a consistent and total substitution of lies for factual truth is not that the lies will now be accepted as truth, and the truth be defamed as lies, but that the sense by which we take our bearings in the real world—and the category of truth vs. falsehood is among the mental means to this end—is being destroyed.” With the Comey and James cases as the backdrop for how DOJ’s credibility is being assessed in all things, we took a look at the affidavit that supported the arrest of alleged bomber Brian Cole, Jr., and it looks solid. But the leadership of this Justice Department and President Trump do a disservice to the men and women in law enforcement who are trying to serve their country by insisting on pursuing cases that call DOJ’s integrity into question at every turn. It speaks to the moment we live in that this was a Saturday night post. I hope you’ll take a moment to read it if you missed it, because the case is important, and thankfully, it looks like DOJ is on the right track here; but the larger issue isn’t going away, especially given the hyperpolitical way top officials handle even a case like this one.
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, 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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