Matthew Stiegler

Look, I know I’ve been wrong before, but: there ain’t no way they’re topping this.

I’ll pass along your complaint, I know one of the founders there.

Sure. As Jon Adler responded to me, he’s not exactly the best messenger for this. And the message itself is somewhat tepid, too.

Unsuccessfully, different story.

You don’t get to successfully oppose an autocrat with only the people you mostly agree with.

The fact that he’s messaging counts for something, I’d say

The Cathedral of Justice is Crumbling A former attorney general’s call to action.

The Cathedral of Justice is Crumbling, by Alberto Gonzales (AG under GWB)

chkbal.substack.com/p/the-cathed...

This is not getting picked up in western media but it's an insane story. Oschadbank is a Ukrainian state bank, and Hungary has detained it's employees and millions of dollars in cash and gold on the way from Austria to Ukraine.

Like what the fuck?!

Of course.

Lindsey Halligan Is Under Investigation by the Florida Bar

BREAKING NYT:

Lindsey Halligan, the ex-U.S. attorney in the Eastern District of Virginia who brought criminal cases against Trump's enemies over the objections of career prosecutors, is under investigation by Florida's bar association, according to a letter the organization sent last month.

Tohickon Creek, in Bucks County.

Okay, that's what I had to say. Now I'm off to kayak.

Those two Scotus actions aren't the ones that have drawn the most outrage, but in my view they were the critical moments that increased this danger exponentially, that made DOJ's win-by-losing strategy viable.

The second was Scotus nuking nationwide injunctions last July. Stealing from lower courts the power to efficiently apply the law to nationwide lawbreaking. And at the most cynical, two-middle-fingers-to-the-world time, after 4 years of Kacsmaryk obstruction, as the MAGA tsunami was crashing ashore.

The first was the Supreme Court kneecapping Judge Boasberg a year ago. I, a ranting cynic, was blindsided by that. I believe it sent a loud message the entire federal judiciary heard:

If those Scotus asshats don't have *Boasberg's* back, you best believe they will not have yours. A huge moment.

Viewed through this lens, where Trump's DOJ can be extraordinarily potent even though it's getting its ass kicked in ruling after ruling, I submit that there were 2 really crucial moments that amplified the danger.

Whether by design or just by lucky sociopathy, the Trump DOJ has landed on a legal strategy as bold, unorthodox, and effective as the Nazi blitzkrieg invasion of France through Belgium.

We all have great fun ridiculing Trump's DOJ for the shameless incompetence of its EXECUTION of its strategy. And rightly so.

But that profound incompetence obscures something we, the believers in democracy and the rule of law, need to grapple with: the creative brilliance of the STRATEGY.

The gist of that article is this: DOJ keeps losing again and again and again in court, but they're winning anyway.

I think it's impossible to understand where we're at right now without understanding that.

The key to unlocking THE big deal, in my view, is this found in this recent New York Times story. If you haven't read it yet, ignore my ramblings and go read it instead, for both our sake.

bsky.app/profile/emmb...

I think DOJ's new effort to insulate itself from state disciplinary investigation is A big deal, but not THE big deal.

bsky.app/profile/matt...

Today, friends, I am going kayaking. This morning, I have a few thoughts that may be worthwhile, and that maybe could be caressed into a semblance of persuasive coherence. But no time for that, I don't even know where my sprayskirt is yet. So, sans coherence, here's what's on my mind.

If she cared about keeping her staff out of trouble, she could just quit asking them to do wildly unethical stuff. It would be a twofer, saving them from contempt sanctions as well as possible disbarment. Plus it would probably help a lot with retention and morale! I’m kidding — we all know she’s not going to do that.

Liz Dye doesn’t play.

She goes way beyond the purely textual points I made yesterday, including pointing to relevant Scotus and DC Circuit litigation.

“Jeff Clark, the MAGA goon … tried to escape discipline by the DC Bar on the exact same theory … and got laughed out of the DC Circuit.”

bsky.app/profile/matt...

Bondi Says She's The Bar Now We don't need no stinkin' ethics.

@lizdye.bsky.social wrote about the Trump DOJ’s ethics-rule gambit, and it’s deservedly brutal.

“The problem” with DOJ’s arguments for why their proposed rule isn’t illegal, she patiently explains, “is that all of that is bullshit.”

www.lawandchaospod.com/p/bondi-says...

Trump Has Been Sued 198 Times for Withholding Funding. It Hasn’t Stopped Him. (Gift Article) Immigration demands for highway dollars, D.E.I. rules for homeless grants: how Trump has tried to wield spending to get his way.

We've been tracking nearly 200 lawsuits against the Trump administration over its attempts to leverage federal funding to impose the president's agenda.

The most startling pattern: The administration seems entirely undeterred when it loses in court.
www.nytimes.com/interactive/...

Early support for Bush’s Iraq invasion was over 70%.

Trump Tariff

Judges Refund

Didn’t

Both deeply conservative.