Barton Gellman

Oh he can just unilaterally pass unconstitutional laws now huh ok

Garcia Ramirez v. ICE case caption. ORDER GRANTING MOTION FOR TEMPORARY RESTRAINING ORDER AND TO ENFORCE FINAL JUDGMENT AND PERMANENT INJUNCTION Upon consideration of Plaintiffs' Motion for a Temporary Restraining Order and to Enforce the Permanent Injunction and accompanying Memorandum of Points and Authorities and Declarations (the "Motion"), and all other materials properly before this Court, it is hereby ORDERED that Plaintiffs' Motion is GRANTED; and it is further ORDERED that Defendants and all persons acting under their direction or in concert with them, are hereby ENJOINED from implementing any new directive regarding age-outs; ORDERED that Defendants and all persons acting under their direction or in concert with them, are hereby ENJOINED from detaining any class member in an adult ICE facility in any manner that contravenes the Permanent Injunction; ORDERED that Defendants immediately rescind any determinations to detain based on this directive; ORDERED that Defendants immediately produce that directive, any related policies regarding that directive, and the Age-Out Review Worksheets of any class members who may have been impacted by that directive, including all AORs issued since October 1, 2025. SO ORDERED this 4th day of October 2025.

BREAKING: Federal judge BLOCKS a new ICE policy that went into effect last week to automatically detain unaccompanied migrant children on their 18th birthday when they “age out” of shelter care.

The TRO enforces a court order in a case brought by @immcouncil.org and @immigrantjustice.bsky.social.

After Declining to Give Trump a Sword for King Charles, a Museum Leader Is Out

Very Trump-era story.
1. The sword has no meaning for Charles, but matters for the Eisenhower Museum.
2. Illegal for the museum to give away US property!
3. Trump makes no distinction between personal/public property.
4. The person who did the right thing was fired.
www.nytimes.com/2025/10/02/a...

As SCOTUS and the federal government roll back our civil rights, state courts and constitutions can protect and expand those rights in meaningful ways. Follow our State Court Report contributor starter pack to learn more. go.bsky.app/BDkEqA7

Trump administration cancels annual hunger report after enacting historic cuts to nation’s safety net | CNN The Trump administration is terminating the federal government’s annual report on food insecurity in America, saying it had become “redundant, costly and politicized” and noting that “extraneous studi...

The Trump administration is terminating the federal government’s annual report on food insecurity in America, saying it had become “redundant, costly and politicized” and noting that “extraneous studies do nothing more than fear monger.”

A bit underplayed that the Homan sting didn't reportedly come out of a public corruption investigation, it was a counter-intelligence one. Which means they somehow made the not-very-far leap to him from initially targeting a foreign and almost certainly state actor.

Opinion | Eric Adams, Donald Trump and the Case That Broke American Justice

💯 Excellent op-ed. It deserves to be available to everyone who is interested in reading it.
GIFT ARTICLE
www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

Opinion | Eric Adams, Donald Trump and the Case That Broke American Justice

This meditation on official corruption by @noahshachtman.bsky.social is the finest reported opinion article I’ve read in a long time. www.nytimes.com/2025/09/20/o...

Revisit Michael’s 2020 conversation with Pulitzer Prize-winner @bartongellman.bsky.social on his book “Dark Mirror" an inside account of Snowden's leak of classified files that sparked a global reckoning over government surveillance.
Hear the #bookclub #podcast 🎧📖 loom.ly/w1hBbWM

Supreme Court Must Explain Why It Keeps Ruling in Trump’s Favor The Court has repeatedly halted lower court orders and allowed administration policies to go forward via its “shadow docket” without any explanation.

The judiciary is being asked to serve as a check on presidential abuses of power, but in case after case the Supreme Court has shirked that responsibility. The justices owe the public explanations for their decisions. bit.ly/4mzvX0p

Jamelle Bouie Receives the 2025 Carey McWilliams Award

The Carey McWilliams Award is presented annually by the American Political Science Association (APSA) to honor major journalistic contributions to society’s understanding of politics. Citation from the Award Committee: The American Political…

Opinion | Trump’s Stunning Power Grab on Elections

@bartongellman.bsky.social in @nytopinion.nytimes.com: “There are reasons to hope Mr. Trump will fail to subvert next year’s midterms. Election officials of both parties have by and large withstood years of relentless threats, violence and disinformation.”

Opinion | Trump’s Stunning Attack on Mail-In Ballots

Brennan Center senior adviser @bartongellman.bsky.social: “From the earliest days of his second term, the president and his lieutenants have pursued an unprecedented assault on the machinery of free and fair elections.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...

Opinion | Trump’s Stunning Attack on Mail-In Ballots

The only modern president who refused to concede a certified election defeat proclaims his authority over election rules nationwide. My latest:

www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...

Trump’s Entry Bans Aren’t Really About National Security His proclamation uses cherry-picked justifications to block immigrants from Muslim and African countries.

The administration’s rationales for travel bans — like a high rate of visa overstays and inadequate screening — don’t hold up under scrutiny. bit.ly/45zhGJM

Trump, on Fox, cites Putin (“smart guy”) as authority on how to run “an honest election.” His claim that states have to follow his orders on voting rules is upside down. Congress and states set election law. The president has exactly zero lawful role.

The D.N.C.’s New Leader Seeks to Curb Dark Money Influence in 2028 Primaries

The DISCLOSE Act—which would require dark money groups to disclose contributions of $10k+—passed the House in 2010 and came within one vote of defeating a Republican filibuster. It's since passed the House multiple times in democracy packages. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/u...

Unprecedented Big Money Surge for Super PAC Tied to Trump Million-dollar donors fuel a nearly $200 million war chest to support a president who can’t run again.

In Citizens United, the Supreme Court predicted that super PACs wouldn’t lead to real or perceived corruption. But a record-breaking run for Trump’s super PAC casts doubt on that idea.
bit.ly/4olWjE6

Opinion | Trump is letting Putin manipulate him, again The president’s desperation to end the Ukraine war might lead to another Munich moment with Russia.

By demanding all of Donbas, Putin is trying to achieve at the negotiating table what his troops have not been able to win on the ground. If Trump were to agree, it would be a reprise of the 1938 Munich agreement in which Chamberlain handed over to Hitler the Sudetenland. wapo.st/45rmMaW

Wow, this is great.

Once again, the "real America," or what we hope is real, poking up its head.

h/t bsky.app/profile/oisi...

The CEO of a a multi-trillion dollar company went to the White House, openly handed the US president a gift made of gold, and his company got a special exemption to tariffs the president has illegally imposed.

Also, the Founders took bribery so seriously the Constitution bans it 3 separate times.

Murder Officially Plunged in 2024 That and more takeaways from the FBI's 2024 Reported Crime in the Nation report.

Today the FBI released year-end crime data on 2024, showing a record-breaking decline in murder rates alongside decreases in all seven major offenses. Murder rates are now below 2019 levels, reversing the 2020 spike.

(See analysis by @jeffasher.bsky.social.)

jasher.substack.com/p/murder-off...

I want to emphasize this: THEY DO NOT CITE ANY CASELAW FOR THESE ARGUMENTS. The only reason they wouldn't do that is because THERE IS NO CASELAW. Courts do not force legislators to vote on things. There is no basis in the Texas Constitution for the Texas Supreme Court to ORDER legislators around.

Alabama immigration advocate detained by ICE in traffic stop, family says: ‘Just heartbreaking and discouraging’ "Her detainment is not only legally questionable — it is morally wrong," a petition demanding her release reads.

In Alabama, another horrible ICE detention story— pulled over for going 1 mile over the speed limit and then put into detention, a woman who earned a masters degree and has become a beloved community advocate. Not a criminal. Someone who contributes to America. www.al.com/news/2025/08...

The Death of Democracy Promotion Despots and human-rights abusers can rest easy now that America has gotten out of their way.

"American democracy promotion is effectively dead," Brian Klaas writes. The world's authoritarians have taken note that they no longer need fear Washington's condemnation when they tighten their grip on power:

Thanks for reading

And as a former privacy and surveillance reporter ... also: no.

Adopt A Station - Rescue Public Media Help preserve independent journalism and community programming across America by adopting a public media station. Congress has voted to rescind public media's funding.

This is such a good idea: the public media station near you may not be the one that needs your help the most. Check out "Adopt a Station," a project by ex-NPR staffer Alex Curley adoptastation.org

Just learned from LinkedIn that a Heritage Foundation affiliate is now FOIA-ing (or equivalent) instructors’ syllabi to go snooping for supposed illegal DEI at state universities. It’s hard to describe how far past McCarthyism we’re headed here.

Zelenskiy approves bill 'preserving independence' of anti-corruption bodies Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy approved draft legislation on Thursday that he said would restore the independence of the country's anti-corruption agencies, reversing course after an outburst of public criticism.

Zelenski corrects a big mistake. Glad to see it. www.reuters.com/world/europe...