I've been struggling with how to express my dismay at the war coverage by our top newsrooms, and how it dances around the central fact that Trump is deranged and unfit to command. I finally wrote something. Please read it. presswatchers.org/2026/03/the-...
Wow-ee
The DC Disciplinary Counsel has filed ethics charges against DOJ pardon attorney Ed Martin over the letter he sent Georgetown on its DEI policies, court filings show The charges, filed Friday but made public Tuesday, allege he violated the 1st & 5th amendments of the constitution by using his position to threaten not to hire Georgetown students unless the school ceased teaching DEI
Another reason why Bondi is trying to block state bars from investigating DOJ attorneys accused of ethics violations (which is itself illegal): slate.com/news-and-pol...
An absurd situation. Gift link.
FYI, Chief Judge Brann is a conservative Republican. Don’t be confused by his being nominated by Obama, that’s a Pa. quirk, he was picked by Toomey.
www.nytimes.com/2026/03/09/n...
Nunziata: “The rule of law is not self-sustaining; it does not defend itself; it does not replenish itself automatically. It must be stewarded. And stewardship is not just a technical obligation; it is a moral one.”
@greggnunziata.bsky.social of @chkbal.bsky.social: “All of us—but especially lawyers—have a duty not merely to use this system, but to proclaim its worth and to defend it from corrosion, exploitation, and abuse.”
chkbal.substack.com/p/stewardshi...
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, 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.
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.
