As Judge Breyer found, Trump said he wants to create & lead a nat'l police force
That's unlawful & un-American
But that nightmare can become a reality if his use of Nat'l Guard remains unchecked, as our brief explains:
fb1cd5ab-5a51-475c-87d1-10904a61146d.usrfiles.com/ugd/fb1cd5_e...
19.09.2025 13:14 β π 8 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
We @democracydefendersfund.org filed an amicus brief on behalf of cities targeted by the Trump Admin incl LA, NYC, Chicago, Baltimore
What's happening in LA is just the beginning of an unprecedented & systematic assault on US values
fb1cd5ab-5a51-475c-87d1-10904a61146d.usrfiles.com/ugd/fb1cd5_e...
17.09.2025 13:13 β π 7 π 0 π¬ 1 π 0
The timeline is based on public records, especially court filings & gov docs
It details how public officialsβ neglect, minimization or deliberate manipulation blunted scrutiny, weakened victim protection & enabled continued exploitation and abuse
W/ @rgoodlaw.bsky.social & Siven Watt
18.08.2025 15:02 β π 40 π 10 π¬ 0 π 0
Timeline of Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell Law Enforcement Failure (1996-2025)
A comprehensive timeline of the failure of federal law enforcement to address Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes.
As ppl look for transparency & accountability weβve put together a comprehensive timeline of the failure of federal law enforcement to address Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes @justsecurity.org
Itβs a βtale of national disgraceβ spanning 3 decades
www.justsecurity.org/119137/timel...
18.08.2025 14:57 β π 657 π 327 π¬ 19 π 11
Timeline of Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell Law Enforcement Failure (1996-2025)
A comprehensive timeline of the failure of federal law enforcement to address Jeffrey Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell's crimes.
A new public resource:
Comprehensive Timeline of Jeffrey Epstein-Ghislaine Maxwell Law Enforcement Failures (1996-2025)
By @rgoodlaw.bsky.social, Siven Watt, @joshuakolb.bsky.social
#Epstein #GhislaineMaxwell #EpsteinFiles
18.08.2025 14:42 β π 84 π 67 π¬ 6 π 2
Good news in VOA case!
Judge just granted our & wonderful cocounsel & clients motion for order to show cause & strongly called out the government's games
He ordered gov to produce a plan for restoring VOA's programming as required under the statute
30.07.2025 16:30 β π 2620 π 640 π¬ 57 π 14
Suing the Trump Administration for its Bad Acts
My conversation with Katie Phang
The Trump Admin wrongfully detained & removed AdriΓ‘n Rengel from the US, sending him to the brutal CECOT prison in El Salvador
@democracydefendersfund.org we brought a claim under fed law on Rengel's behalf to clear his name
I discussed w/ @katiephang.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/joshuako...
30.07.2025 13:22 β π 9 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0
Suing the Trump Administration for its Bad Acts
My conversation with Katie Phang
Suing the Trump Administration for its Bad Acts -- Here's my conversation w/ @katiephang.bsky.social about the claim we @democracydefendersfund.org filed on behalf of AdriΓ‘n Rengel
He was wrongfully detained & removed from the US, & left to languish in CECOT
open.substack.com/pub/joshuako...
30.07.2025 12:33 β π 9 π 3 π¬ 0 π 0
Honored to join @katiephang.bsky.social on her Substack today to discuss our claim on behalf of our client, who was wrongfully detained and removed from the U.S. to the brutal CECOT prison in El Salvador
It's the first of its kind & we @democracydefendersfund.org were proud to bring it
29.07.2025 19:57 β π 6 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
I just covered the claim brought by Neiyerver Rengel against the Trump Administration and I wanted to talk with one of the lawyers whoβs representing Mr. Rengel.
Join me at 3:00 pm ET for a Substack Live with @joshuakolb.bsky.social from @democracydefendersfund.org !
29.07.2025 18:41 β π 201 π 32 π¬ 2 π 1
The Democracy Index
July 1, 2025
This week we have a special Independence Week edition of the Democracy Index w/ @joycewhitevance.bsky.social -- stepping back to take the temperature of the rule of law in the wake of momentous SCOTUS decisions and DOJ developments @contrariannews.org
contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
01.07.2025 21:04 β π 4 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
The Democracy Index
July 1, 2025
This week we have a special Independence Week edition of the Democracy Index w/ @joycewhitevance.bsky.social -- stepping back to take the temperature of the rule of law in the wake of momentous SCOTUS decisions and DOJ developments @contrariannews.org
contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
01.07.2025 21:04 β π 4 π 1 π¬ 0 π 0
President Trump's deployment of the National Guard is unlawful and unprecedented. Our @democracydefendersfund.org report unpacks the law. W/ @normeisen.bsky.social & Diamond Brown
www.democracydefendersfund.org/_files/ugd/c...
10.06.2025 15:06 β π 11 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
Press Release | State Democracy Defenders Fund
We @democracydefendersfund.org just filed an amicus brief w/ former conservative officials opposing Trump's use of the AEA
It's not just unlawful, it's unnecessary. The gov has many legal tools to protect the public, but the AEA isn't one of them
www.democracydefendersfund.org/prs/06.03.25...
03.06.2025 21:11 β π 9 π 2 π¬ 0 π 1
The Democracy Index
May 30, 2025
Elon Musk has been forced to learn a Bismarckian lesson about the art of politics. We explain the implications of that at The Democracy Index this week @contrariannews.org
contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
30.05.2025 20:07 β π 4 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
Opinion | The calamitous influence of Stephen Miller has become impossible to ignore
The removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the natural result of Millerβs attempt to impose his draconian deportation goals.
The high-profile fights over Abrego Garcia & the other removals to El Salvador reflect the Trump Adm's desperation, & also help obscure the reality that Trump and his top immigration adviser Stephen Miller are falling short of their own promises
We explain @msnbc.com
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
01.05.2025 12:36 β π 27 π 12 π¬ 2 π 0
Opinion | The calamitous influence of Stephen Miller has become impossible to ignore
The removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the natural result of Millerβs attempt to impose his draconian deportation goals.
With the pause in discovery in the Garcia case ending today itβs a good time to step back & look at how we got here
As Trump & WH scrambles one figure seems to have more responsibility than anyone else for this mess:Β Trump adviser Stephen Miller
We explain @msnbc.com
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
30.04.2025 13:00 β π 5 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
It's part of Miller's inescapable influence & desire to steamroll on immigration & the courts
We broke down @msnbc.com how DOJβs filings became increasingly recalcitrant & misleading after his public comments. And as seen here Trump has adopted Miller's mistaken spin
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
29.04.2025 17:31 β π 13 π 4 π¬ 1 π 0
This convo bw @gregsargent.bsky.social & @speechboy71.bsky.social gets at the imp dynamic we explained in our @msnbc.com piece, and the prominent role Stephen Miller is playing in this mess
DOJβs filings after Millerβs comments become more recalcitrant and misleading
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
29.04.2025 16:30 β π 89 π 38 π¬ 5 π 2
Opinion | The calamitous influence of Stephen Miller has become impossible to ignore
The removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the natural result of Millerβs attempt to impose his draconian deportation goals.
The high-profile fights over Abrego Garcia & the other removals to El Salvador reflect the Trump WH's desperation, & also help obscure the reality that Trump and his top immigration adviser Stephen Miller are falling short of their own promises.
We explain @msnbc.com
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
29.04.2025 13:28 β π 9 π 4 π¬ 2 π 0
Opinion | The calamitous influence of Stephen Miller has become impossible to ignore
The removal of Kilmar Abrego Garcia is the natural result of Millerβs attempt to impose his draconian deportation goals
The calamitous influence of Stephen Miller has become impossible to ignore
We explain @msnbc.com how the removal of Abrego Garcia is the natural result of his attempt to impose his draconian and seemingly unrealistic deportation goals as rapidly as possible
www.msnbc.com/opinion/msnb...
28.04.2025 17:29 β π 298 π 118 π¬ 32 π 14
The Democracy Index
April 25, 2025
At @contrariannews.org The Democracy Index, we began the week wondering whether Trump can dissolve our democratic government faster than the courts can stop him.
We ended the week with some bipartisan signs of the judiciary holding. @joycewhitevance.bsky.social
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
26.04.2025 14:48 β π 57 π 23 π¬ 1 π 1
The Democracy Index
This weekβs Democracy Index comes to you securely over Substack β if you were inadvertently added by the team, please remove yourself from the chat.
Each week at The Democracy Index, we take a snapshot of the state of our democracy
The cavalier incompetence and dangerousness of Signalgate encapsulates much of the peril we have been tracking
This week's edition explains why @contrariannews.org
open.substack.com/pub/contrari...
29.03.2025 13:19 β π 8 π 5 π¬ 0 π 0
The Democracy Index
This weekβs Democracy Index comes to you securely over Substack β if you were inadvertently added by the team, please remove yourself from the chat.
The Signalgate scandal reflects broader systemic problems with the Trump Administrationβs governance and the state of our democracy
This week's Democracy Index @contrariannews.org explains precisely why this episode was so damaging -- and so revealing
contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
28.03.2025 23:37 β π 13 π 1 π¬ 1 π 0
The Democracy Index
March 21, 2025
Are we witnessing the dismantling of America? This week's edition of The Democracy Index for The Contrarian grapples with that question, w/ @joycewhitevance.bsky.social & our excellent team @contrariannews.org
contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
21.03.2025 19:25 β π 8 π 0 π¬ 0 π 0
The Democracy Index
March 14, 2025
Tracking The Democracy Index is sometimes heartbreaking, but this week, amidst everything going on, there are strong if slim rays of light peeking through
We highlight four important wins for democracy where federal courts held the line @contrariannews.org
contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
15.03.2025 17:25 β π 20 π 5 π¬ 1 π 0
The Democracy Index
March 14, 2025
A tremendous honor to work with @joycewhitevance.bsky.social to put together The Democracy Index this week for @contrariannews.org
We aim to distill the weekβs events in a way that helps people understand whatβs happening to our democracy
Check it out: contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
14.03.2025 20:27 β π 10 π 2 π¬ 0 π 0
The Democracy Index
February 28, 2025
This week I had the privilege to pen The Democracy Index for @joycewhitevance.bsky.social and @contrariannews.org, with help from @joshuakolb.bsky.social & @brimurphy.bsky.social!
Please give it a read! contrarian.substack.com/p/the-democr...
28.02.2025 19:24 β π 195 π 56 π¬ 13 π 7
Staff writer at The New Yorker. Author of "Her Again: Becoming Meryl Streep" and "Oscar Wars: A History of Hollywood in Gold, Sweat, and Tears." www.michael-schulman.com
Write stuff, mostly movies and food. Podcasting - FilmDrunk, the Frotcast, Pod Yourself A Gun/The Wire. Love 2 have fun. vincemancini.substack.com
Staff writer, The New Republic. Law, democracy, and the courts. 49ers/Dodgers stuff too.
If you're eligible & want to vote, making sure you can, it's meaningful, and it sticks. Pro-democracy, pro-republic. He/his. Loyola law prof, former WH, former DOJ, former Natl Voter Protection Dir, forever NJDevils fan
Fighter.
Ex-Washington Post.
Substack: https://substack.com/@karenattiah?r=2bz6j&utm_medium=ios
Rogue Radical Professor: @resistanceschool.bsky.social
Race, Media + International Affairs Class: https://www.resistancesummerschool.com/fall-2025-registration
I am a pension fund monitor for Fremulon Insurance.
Washington Post columnist, mom of two grown women and one adorable Bernedoodle stuck in mischievous adolescence. Knitting, cooking, hiking, Wyoming.
Senior Correspondent at Vox covering the crisis of global democracy. Author of The Reactionary Spirit, a book on that topic, and a '25-'26 distinguished visiting fellow at the University of Pennsylvania's Perry World House.
It's showtime. Columnist for The Ankler.
Journalist & Pulitzer finalist Historian. Fmr ed, @PoliticoMag & @washingtonian. Author of "Watergate: A New History" and "The Only Plane in the Sky" and other books. garrett.graff AT gmail OR ProtonMail. Subscribe to my newsletter: Doomsdayscenario.co
Menswear writer. Editor at Put This On. Words at The New York Times, The Washington Post, The Financial Times, Esquire, and Mr. Porter.
If you have a style question, search:
https://dieworkwear.com/ | https://putthison.com/start-here/
Career public defender β’ Survivor & Amazing Racer β’ Fueled by rage at injustice β’ she/her
Political scientist, co-host of Words Matter podcast, contributor to The Contrarian
Historian of the white power movement, gun violence, the apocalypse. Coloradan. kathleenbelew.com Book coming soon! Home, at the End of the World (Random House) Posts reflect my own views only.
Executive Director, Blue Missouri. Grassroots organizer. Writer. Educator. Former State House nominee. Rural mom fighting for rural schools.
https://static.macmillan.com/static/holt/robin/
Communications Strategist | DC