🚨You can find The Gavel, @thehill.com's newsletter about how the courts influence national politics and vice versa by me & @zschonfeld.bsky.social, on Substack now: thehillinsider.substack.com
A person familiar with the sitch tells @thehill.com that the bar has opened a “monitor file” on Halligan, its regular process for when any attorney is involved in an ongoing legal proceeding. It ensures the bar checks back to see the outcome.
More in story:
thehill.com/regulation/c...
NEWS: Florida’s bar now says it “erroneously” stated that an ethics investigation is underway against Lindsey Halligan.
"There is no such pending Bar investigation of Lindsay Halligan," spox says.
Story tk
Lindsey Halligan, the ex-US atty for the Eastern District of Virginia who prosecuted Trump's political adversaries, is being investigated by Florida's bar association, per a letter obtained by The Hill.
Story: thehill.com/regulation/c...
Bizarre: The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to let it continue defending President Trump’s executive orders targeting several of the nation’s top law firms — just a day after deserting the appeals.
No comment from DOJ on the matter.
Just now: Elias Rodriguez, the man accused of killing two Israeli Embassy staffers outside a Jewish museum in Washington, D.C. last year, has pleaded NOT GUILTY to new terrorism-related charges.
#SOTU: President Trump shakes hands with all four Supreme Court justices who attended his State of the Union address.
That’s Chief Justice Roberts & Justices Kagan, Kavanaugh and Barrett.
Hegseth & the Pentagon are appealing a judge's ruling that blocked their bid to punish Sen. Mark Kelly over his video with other Dems urging service members to reject "illegal orders":
A federal judge has BLOCKED the Pentagon’s bid to punish Mark Kelly over the AZ senator's video with other Dems calling on service members to reject "illegal orders."
Says the gov "trampled on" Kelly's 1A freedoms & threatened the liberties of millions of vets:
thehill.com/regulation/c...
Ed Martin no longer heads DOJ's Weaponization Working Group.
Source says Martin was told in early December that his time in the role would expire at year's end but it hadn't been publicly announced.
DOJ says he continues to serve as pardon atty. More:
thehill.com/regulation/c...
Barry Pollack, who represented WikiLeaks' Julian Assange, has been retained by Nicolas Maduro:
The new indictment against Maduro, his wife & Venezuelan officials alleges decades of power abuses to corrupt gov institutions, import cocaine to the US and enrich the nation’s elite — esp the Maduro fam.
What to know about the case: thehill.com/regulation/c...
Just in: Brian Cole Jr., the DC pipe bomb suspect, will remain locked up pending trial, a judge rules, saying gov met its burden to show there are "no conditions of release the Court could impose to reasonably assure the safety of the community."
Filing: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
TODAY: The future of independent agencies heads to the Supreme Court, where this morning the justices will hear oral arguments on Trump’s bid to fire FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter w/o cause.
Story w/ @zschonfeld.bsky.social: thehill.com/regulation/c...
The head of GA's Prosecuting Attorneys' Council is taking over the 2020 election subversion case against Trump & allies, after "several" attys turned the job down.
Today was the deadline to pick a new lead post-Fani Willis's disqualification or face dismissal.
Story: thehill.com/regulation/c...
Ahead of args, two plaintiffs leading the charge talked w/The Gavel, @thehill.com's weekly courts newsletter, ab the importance of the SCOTUS case.
Per wine importer VOS Selections' Victor Schwartz: “You cannot make a Chianti in Oregon."
Story w/@zschonfeld.bsky.social: thehill.com/newsletters/...
SOON: President Trump’s sweeping tariff agenda will be dissected by the Supreme Court as his admin seeks to justify its global trade overhaul by pointing to emergency powers.
Story: thehill.com/homenews/558...
All this and more in The Gavel, written by me &
@zschonfeld.bsky.social. We publish weekly, on Wednesdays.
Sign up here:
nxslink.thehill.com/join/7aa/sig...
And in WI, the case against three Trump allies appears to be more or less on track.
A state judge refused to throw out the charges in August.
In NV, a venue fight has tied up the case.
AG Ford says the case belongs in Clark County, but a judge ruled Carson City. Ford's appeal is pending at NV's top court.
To ensure the case lives if he loses, 1 of 2 counts were refiled in the latter. Electors pleaded not guilty & trial set for July.
In GA, Fani Willis's office was disqualified. Georgia’s Prosecuting Attorneys’ Council must pick a new prosecutor by Nov. 14 or the case could be dismissed.
PAC director Pete Skandalakis said Monday that a new prosecutor had not yet been picked and declined to comment further.
In MI, AG Nessel is still weighing whether to appeal the dismissal of charges against 15 pro-Trump electors, her spox said.
The standard 21-day window to appeal has passed. But prosecutors could ask to file a delayed application, which can be brought up to 6mo later (June).
In AZ, AG Mayes was recently given an extension to Nov. 21 to decide whether to press forward with her office’s case or let it fizzle out.
A state judge ordered prosecutors to return the case to a grand jury, and a mid-level appeals court declined to review the case. So:
The state cases against Trump's allies and the so-called "fake electors" have been dealt several blows in recent months.
Now, the Dem AGs who brought the charges are at junctures where they must make critical decisions about the future of the cases.
The 2020 election subversion cases are on life support — but they’re not dead yet.
In this week's edition of The Gavel, @thehill.com's weekly courts digest, some updates on where things stand (🧵):
thehill.com/newsletters/...
SCOTUS wants additional briefing in the pending case about Trump's National Guard deployment to the Chicagoland area:
