David Kurtz

Brutal Day On The Investigate The Investigators Front An onslaught of bad news for the rule of law over the...

An onslaught of bad news for the rule of law over the past few hours as President Trump’s retribution scheme comes into ever-sharper focus: talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/bruta...

Both of the Trump appointees on the three-judge panel of the D.C. Circuit Court of appeals concurred that no contempt of court had occurred. The third judge, an Obama appointee, dissented from the ruling.

BREAKING: Appeals Court Clears Trump Admin of Contempt of Court in Alien Enemies Act Case After sitting on the case for months, a federal appeals court Friday...

After sitting on the case for months, a federal appeals court Friday shut down the contempt of court proceeding against the Trump administration in the original Alien Enemies Act case.

talkingpointsmemo.com/news/breakin...

Morning Memo | TPM | Substack The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Morning Memo, chronicling the Trump II depredations each weekday for those who can stomach it:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

I'd hoped a week of marveling at geological time scales would make me more prone to see Donald Trump as a passing fad in the larger sweep of our political history. But I came back instead a bit more sensitive to how far we’ve fallen in such a short time.

The Long, Hot Summer of Trump II Depredations A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

I returned last night from a weeklong trip paddling down the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. No phone signal. No news. No real contact with the outside world.
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

These Are the Communities Most Likely to be Hurt By Hospital Closures and Medicaid Cuts As Congress negotiated the details of the “One Big Beautiful Bill,” a...

These Are the Communities Most Likely to be Hurt By Hospital Closures and Medicaid Cuts talkingpointsmemo.com/news/these-a...

Morning Memo | TPM | Substack The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Morning Memo, chronicling the depredations of the Trump II presidency each weekday:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

I’m often been asked since Jan. 20, Why isn’t anyone doing anything? I gently point to NGOs. These are real people doing important things with minimal resources and a lot of guts.

The history of the first 6 months of the Trump II presidency will be written with a heavy emphasis on the role of NGOs. The ACLU, labor unions, and other legal advocacy NGOs have won decisive victories in courts against lawless mass deportation, funding freezes, and the dismantling of govt agencies.

"All of this suggests a bigger, more fundamental goal: to shut down debate, cut off services to disfavored communities and dismantle civil society. These actions are unconstitutional, un-American and harm us all."

No NGO is safe, whether they’re legal advocacy groups fighting the important court battles of the Trump II era or aid organizations dependent on USAID funding to fulfill their missions.

Vanita Gupta, a civil rights attorney who comes from the NGO world and was the No. 3 in the Biden DOJ, writes:

Trump targeted NGOs in one of his early anti-DEI executive orders, but we’ve seen the administration use the pretense of “anti-discrimination” to root around in all manner of internal operations and functions of universities and other targets, so the threat is broad and existential.

NGOs collect and analyze data, advocate for and against public policy, provide crucial social services, and perhaps most importantly in the current moment they litigate in defense of democracy and the rule of law. Collectively, they serve as a bulwark of civil society.

Trump Targets NGOs to Dismantle Civil Society A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

As Trump continues his onslaught on centers of power he can’t directly control–higher ed, media, law firms–I want to zero in on NGOs. We don’t usually think of NGOs as having overt political power, but collectively they form of safety net of sorts for democracy.
talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

Talked to a budgeting expert yesterday who said that Vought may want a shutdown because that gives him more power to shut down spending. Along with pocket recessions it would transfer more and more power away from Congress

Morning Memo | TPM | Substack The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Morning Memo, your go-to-source for a little sanity in the current moment:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

This maneuver allows Trump to bypass the choice of the federal judges in the district: a career prosecutor who was promptly fired by the Trump DOJ when the judges elevated her. It also allows Trump to avoid having the Senate confirmation process for what will end up being at least 330 days.

She’s Baaack! Trump Re-Installs Alina Habba as U.S. Attorney A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

We’re not rid of Trump’s utterly unqualified former personal lawyer after all.

By withdrawing her nomination to the permanent position, President Trump was able to reinstall Alina Habba as the interim U.S. attorney in NJ, where she can serve another 210 days.

talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

Morning Memo | TPM | Substack The essential political news roundup from David Kurtz and the team at TPM. Click to read Morning Memo, a Substack publication with tens of thousands of subscribers.

Morning Memo, your weekday chronicle of the retribution, destruction, and corruption of the Trump II presidency:

morningmemo.talkingpointsmemo.com

"Pappas said that in April, his assistant chief judge told him to grant motions to dismiss when ICE agents were at the courthouse.

“If the case was dismissed, more likely than not, as soon as that person would exit the courtroom, he would be arrested by the ICE officers in the hallway,” he said.

In related news, an immigration judge fired by the Trump administration says he came under pressure to dismiss cases to facilitate the immediate detention of immigrants who had shown up in court, WBUR reports:

On the overheard call, according to 3 officials, Essayli, 39, told a subordinate to disregard the federal govt’s Justice Manual, which directs prosecutors to bring only cases they can win at trial. Essayli barked that prosecutors should press on and secure indictments as directed by Pam Bondi."

But among the most damning revelations in the LA Times article is Essayli ordering a subordinate to ignore the DOJ Justice Manual:

"The three officials who spoke to The Times on condition of anonymity said prosecutors have struggled to get several protest-related cases past grand juries, which need only to find probable cause that a crime has been committed in order to move forward."

LA Grand Juries Are Refusing To Indict ICE Protestors A lot of things happened. Here are some of the things. This...

A major new development out of Los Angeles, where U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli has reportedly been no-billed by grand juries in some attempted prosecutions of ICE protestors. talkingpointsmemo.com/morning-memo...

Xinis also was concerned that DHS might swoop in to detain Abrego Garcia and take him out of her jurisdiction before she could rule.

It appears her solution was to wait for Crenshaw to rule and issue her own decision immediately. It's not clear if there was any coordination between the two courts.

Xinis had pondered aloud in open court whether she could issue her order before Crenshaw issued his. She worried that her order might not yet be proper since Crenshaw could still rule to keep Abrego Garcia in custody. But ...

While the precise timing of the issuances of the two rulings cannot be immediately determined, it appears that Xinis was poised to issue her ruling as soon as Crenshaw ordered Abrego Garcia's release. In proceedings more than a week ago, Xinis was well aware that Crenshaw's decision was pending.

In a sign of the distrust Xinis has for the Trump admin, given how fast and loose it's played in this and other cases, she expressly required it to "immediately" distribute her opinion and order "to all relevant officers, agents, and employees under their control."

Translation: No more funny biz