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Items tagged with: law
What’s Happening in #Kansas Should Alarm Us All
… #Fascism usually begins with redefining the nation by excluding certain groups, which are branded threats to national health & unity. The #Trump admin has fixated on two groups most of all — #immigrants & #trans people — in just this way, smearing [them]… as predatory, sick, at once subhuman & terrifyingly powerful.
#law #discrimination #bigotry #ignorance #hate #Nazis
nytimes.com/2026/08/13/opinion…
#CAP is led by #NeeraTanden [💕], one of the Democratic Party’s most influential power players & a veteran of the past three Democratic admins. But a less partisan #ThinkTank, the #NiskanenCenter, published its own report in May that also found no effect on violent crime in DC attributable to the #NationalGuard deployment. (It did find a reduction in property crime, which CAP did not analyze.)
#law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #Trump #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
If a more #Trump - friendly #ThinkTank … wants to publish research showing the deployment has reduced violent crime, it’s free to do so. The America First Policy Institute published a fact sheet last year touting a positive economic impact from the Guard’s presence. The Center for Renewing America, in an article defending the legality of Trump’s actions last year, noted a decline in violent crime. Neither attempted to demonstrate a causal link between the deployment & the reduction.
#law
Observers can compare the quality & depth of the research & come to their own conclusions. That’s the beauty of America’s large & diverse community of think tanks.
According to the University of Pennsylvania’s last count, in 2020, the #US had 2,203 think tanks, nearly 800 more than any other country—about 4% of the world’s people but about 20% of its think tanks. More than 90% were headquartered outside DC. Massachusetts was the leader with 168 think tanks. That’s more than Italy or Japan.
#law
What set #Trump off was a #CAP report that found #NationalGuard deployments in DC have not contributed to the decline of violent crime. Trump said on social media that he’s drawing up a lawsuit against the liberal #ThinkTank & suggested that he might include some of its contributors. Trump named Google, Apple, Visa, Goldman Sachs, Citigroup, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Walmart, Toyota, T-Mobile & NBC Universal.
#law #Constitution #FirstAmendment #authoritarianism #autocracy #fascism #tyranny
Think tanks are as American as baseball, jazz & apple pie. They perform an unsung role in holding governments accountable at all levels. They incubate ideas & employ people, especially from whichever party is out of power, who will staff future White Houses.
Such organizations & their supporters should not fear legal harassment when elected officials dislike their work. Freedom of speech & association are foundational pillars of the #FirstAmendment.
#law #Constitution #Trump #fascism
#Trump’s attack on a #ThinkTank is an affront to the #FirstAmendment
#Republicans would be rightly irate if a Democratic president threatened to sue a conservative think tank & punish its corporate #donors over #research the White House didn’t like, but Trump’s attack this week on the Center for American Progress [ #CAP ] & its funders has been met with shrugs & silence.
#law #Constitution #ThoughtPolice #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny
washingtonpost.com/opinions/20…
Unbelievable
#KennedyCenter Board Decides to Inscribe #Trump Name on Building
The vote to add “Restored and Renovated by President Donald J. Trump” is an aggressive test of a judge’s order to remove his name [& false since he’s done neither yet]
#law #CourtOrder #Constitution #SeparationOfPowers #narcissism #envy #greed #vanity
nytimes.com/2026/08/13/arts/de…
Covert #CIA program said to be behind mysterious attacks on #Galápagos boats
A surveillance plane flew from El Salvador toward the #FishingBoats before #drones attacked, flight data shows.
#Trump #MafiaState #law #Congress #WarPowers #criminal #Ecuador #sovereignty #WarCrimes #ExtrajudicialKillings #InternationalLaw #imperialism #geopolitics
wapo.st/4wYbG9R
#Meta faces biggest #court fight yet over #socialmedia’s impact on #children
Meta Platforms will face a coalition of state attorneys general in a California #FederalCourt trial beginning on Wednesday over claims it engineered #Facebook & #Instagram to be #addictive to children, a case that could expose the company to massive damages & force it to make sweeping changes to its platforms.
#law #tech #MentalHealth #business
reuters.com/business/meta-29-s…
An attorney with a license to protect, a byline, and a working client list filed the first lawsuit anyone has ever brought to enforce the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Against the Justice Department. Alone.
Judge Emmet Sullivan sided with her. Ordered the department to unredact key documents and publish a redaction log, and then declined to pause his own order so the government could appeal. #Epstein #Journalism #PressFreedom #Accountability #Law #Courts #News #USPolitics #FOIA
1/2
Judge blocks #USPS from restricting mail-in voting
A federal judge on Tuesday blocked the US Postal Service from implementing part of #Trump’s executive order that aims to tighten rules for mail-in voting ahead of November #elections that will decide control of #Congress.
#law #ElectionInterference #BigLie #coup
reuters.com/world/judge-blocks…
Former #Syria President #Assad & his younger brother sentenced to death in absentia for #WarCrimes
“Bashar Assad used state agencies to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity,” said judge Fakhareddine al-Aryan during a court session that was aired live on state TV.
#law #InternationalLaw #CrimesAgainstHumanity
apnews.com/article/syria-assad…
#Senate passes #Russia #sanctions bill named in honor of the late Sen. Lindsey Graham [who for whatever else he was, believed in the importance of defending #Ukraine.]
The package would place mandatory sanctions on top figures in the Russian government, including #Putin, as well as Russian #oligarchs, state-owned enterprises & foreign companies supporting Russia’s defense industrial base.
🤬🤯 beyond disgraceful
The #Senate “Homeland Security” Committee voted along party lines on Thursday to hold Dr. Anthony S. #Fauci in #contempt of #Congress for his refusal last week to answer questions from the panel. The committee’s chairman, #Republican Senator #RandPaul of Kentucky, has said he wants to see Dr. Fauci “in prison.”
#law #scapegoat #PublicHealth #PublicDisservice
nytimes.com/2026/08/06/us/poli…
He’s Eligible for Up to $480,000 After Being Wrongly Imprisoned for 42 Years. The State Says No.
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Elvis Brooks’ case was an egregious example of a wrongful conviction, civil rights attorneys said. But Louisiana’s attorney general maintains that Brooks and other exonerees are guilty — and therefore don’t qualify for any money from the state.
propublica.org/article/louisia…
#News #Louisiana #Law #CriminalJustice #CivilRights #Justice #Legal
⚠️Quick tip for the privacy community: remember that duress passwords and decoy PINs can be a double-edged sword. In some jurisdictions, using them during an investigation is treated as destruction of evidence, which may result in separate criminal charges and prison time.
Stay safe by knowing your rights and talking to a local legal professional before setting up these tools!
#software #privacy #security #data #justice #law #hacking #foss #opensource #freesoftware #grapheneos #android #mobile
#TPS for #Haitians officially ends, putting thousands out of work and in limbo
A federal judge took the final step in allowing the #Trump admin to terminate #humanitarian protections for 350,000 Haitians in the US.
#law #immigration #SCOTUS #WhiteSupremacy #TheCrueltyIsThePoint
washingtonpost.com/immigration…
AP Exclusive: #Trump #immigration crackdown has detained more than 50 #military spouses & parents
Trump’s admin has detained dozens of parents & spouses of active-duty #US troops as it rolls back immigration protections for military families to pursue its mass #deportation agenda, an AP investigation found.
#law #TheCrueltyIsThePoint #SuckersAndLosers
apnews.com/article/military-fa…
A divided federal appeals #court on Tuesday said the #Trump admin improperly terminated billions of dollars in funds to boost #CleanEnergy projects, handing a win to a coalition of nonprofits picked to run the #Biden-era effort.
#Climate United Fund & other nonprofits won’t have access to their funds immediately as the decision will be put on hold for several days giving the #EPA time to ask #SCOTUS to step in.
#law #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #FossilFuels
apnews.com/article/epa-grants-…
Interesting
Inside the Oval Office Showdown Between #Trump & #JeaninePirro
Jeanine Pirro, the #USattorney for DC, told Trump that his #interior secretary, #DougBurgum, had misled him with a self-serving cover story for his own mistakes.
When Pirro is the sanest most capable person in the room, well, get the hell out of that room.
“The Bureau simply cannot function if individual Special Agents must choose whether to accept a lawful assignment that could later get them fired, or alternatively to reject it & become subject to firing for insubordination. #FBI Special Agents have long understood that they are subject to assignment & reassignment at any time based on the needs of the Bureau,” the agents association, which serves nearly 12,000 members, wrote in its brief.
An association of thousands of #FBI agents & other groups are backing a lawsuit filed by 3 bureau employees who were fired for their roles investigating #Trump’s efforts to overturn the 2020 election.
A brief by the FBI Agents Assn is 1 of 5 filed by outside parties in the last week in support of the agents, who were terminated as part of a #purge by FBI Dir #KashPatel targeting employees who investigated #Trump or are perceived as being against the admin.
#Trump murders again
#Immigrant Held at #Delaney Detention Center [ #ConcentrationCamp ] Has Died, Officials Say
The mayor of #Newark, #NewJersey identified the dead man as Edwin Jovanny Lopez Cornejo. The NJ center has been the focus of intense scrutiny for its #inhumane treatment of detainees.
#law #immigration #DueProcess #ExtrajudicialKillings #murder #UseOfForce #CivilRights #HumanRights #WhiteSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism #ICE #Sturmabteilung
nytimes.com/2026/08/03/nyregio…
The unsigned #IRS document posted by #ToddBlanche said that only #Trump, 2 of his sons & the #TrumpOrganization would be granted #immunity from audits, excluding a broader pool of Trump family members & their associates who appeared to be eligible for protection under the original #DOJ deal. Blanche also stipulated that their future tax returns could still be audited.
#law #criminal #theft #fraud #JudicialProcess #judiciary #TaxpayersMoney #kleptocracy #MafiaState
#ToddBlanche posted 2 documents on social media on Sunday night∶ a signed memo in which he said that the #DOJ was formally rescinding an order that created the so-called “anti-weaponization fund” & an UNSIGNED‼️ statement in which the agency clarified the terms of the #IRS protections.
#Trump #law #criminal #theft #fraud #TaxpayersMoney #kleptocracy #MafiaState #Jan6 #SlushFund
The Republican holdouts, Sens John Cornyn (TX) & Thom Tillis of (NC), had vowed that they would not confirm #ToddBlanche for the role unless he provided written assurances that the #DOJ had formally killed a planned $1.8B #SlushFund to pay #Trump allies who claim they were unfairly persecuted by the government.
The senators also insisted that Blanche narrow the scope of the sweeping #immunity from #IRS scrutiny granted to Trump, his family & their businesses under the same agreement.
#law
#ToddBlanche, the acting US #AG, confirmed in writing [1 unsigned] on Sunday night that the #DOJ would abandon “elements” of the deal it struck with #Trump to “resolve” his lawsuit against the #IRS, conceding to demands from Republican senators who had threatened to block his nomination as attorney general.
#law #criminal #theft #fraud #JudicialProcess #judiciary #TaxpayersMoney #kleptocracy #MafiaState #Jan6 #MAGASlushFund #SlushFund
nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/poli…
Inside the Secretive Boards Deciding #Trans Troops’ Fate
The #Pentagon is relying on closed-door hearings to kick out #transgender #service members. An Army Reserve lawyer is one of the few who have seen how they really work.
#law #military #Trump #Hegseth #bigotry #ignorance #hate #LGBTQ+ #TransRights #HumanRights #CivilRights
nytimes.com/2026/08/03/us/poli…
Visuals Suggest #US Dropped 2,000-Pound Bomb on Home in #Iran, Killing 3
The weapon, one of the largest in the US’ arsenal, struck a house in a heavily populated area, according to a Times analysis.
#WarCrimes #Trump #Hegseth #TrumpsWar #IranWar #US #Iran #war #ForeverWars #RulesOfWar #InternationalLaw #law #Congress #WarPowers #geopolitics #MiddleEast
nytimes.com/2026/07/31/world/m…
Sociopath
#Trump Saturday said that he would “push hard” to enact #legislation that would offer #payouts to people “badly treated” by the #Obama & #Biden admins, his latest threat to resurrect his illegal #SlushFund.
“It will immediately be back on the table, & I will get it done,” Trump wrote on Truth Social, vowing to pass “the Anti-Weaponization Bill.”
#law #DOJ #criminal #theft #TaxpayersMoney #MafiaState
washingtonpost.com/politics/20…
I mean seriously, all I have to say is LOL
🤣🤭😂🤣🤭😂🤣🤭😂
… Except, looking at it soberly, there has been some very real damages to the man’s life
#DOJ drops “criminal” case against ex-Olympian charged with damaging #ReflectingPool
#Trump #TrumpsALoser #law #FrivolousLawsuit #propaganda #trumpaganda #bullshit #gaslighting #TaxpayersMoney #vanity #narcissism
apnews.com/article/reflecting-…
Tuesday: Local officials' attempts to investigate the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo have been stonewalled at every turn. They've even consulted with Minneapolis for tips on forcing #ICE to face justice. texasobserver.org/houston-ice-…
#police #law #fascism #Trump #Houston #GulfCoast #news #Texas
Houston Is Testing Whether Trump’s ICE Is Above Texas Law
After the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, local authorities have struggled to stake their claim on an investigation into a killing within the most populous Texas city’s limits.Michelle Pitcher (The Texas Observer)
Major #oil companies reap massive #profits as #US & #Iran #war drives #energy prices higher
US oil & #gas giants raked in massive spring profits while fighting between Iran & the US impeded #petroleum shipments & consumers around the world paid more for fuel & confronted shortages.
#BigOil #WarProfiteering #FossilFuels #ClimateChange #ClimateCrisis #TrumpsWar #IranWar #Trump #law #Congress #WarPowers #economy #inflation #affordability #CostOfLiving #EnergyCrisis
apnews.com/article/oil-compani…
Colin Gray, the father who gave the #gun to the #Apalachee High School shooter sentenced to serve 15 years in prison
#law #MassShooting #SchoolShooting #guns #GunLaws #GunControl #GunViolence #EnoughIsEnough
apnews.com/article/apalachee-g…
The #MAGA #SlushFund is Still Active Despite Court Order Payouts to #Trump Allies Continue
A seven-figure “settlement” was announced hours before senators skeptical about the so-called weaponization fund delayed a crucial vote on #ToddBlanche’s nomination to be #US #AttorneyGeneral.
#TaxpayersMoney #law #LegalEthics #DOJ #MafiaState #authoritarianism #autocracy #fascism #AbuseOfPower #AbuseOfOffice
nytimes.com/2026/07/29/us/poli…
That summary was sent to Air Force One, even as #Trump told Fox News that same day that he was “not going to get involved” in the case.
#SecretService agents tailed #JamesComey’s car from North Carolina to Virginia. The “# 3 guy at DOJ ‘wanted to ping’” Comey’s phone without a traditional #warrant, according to the filing, a request that’s typically used only when an emergency — a dangerous, fleeing suspect, for instance — requires immediate action.
#law #LegalEthics #DOJ #MafiaState
Internal government documents turned over in the case provide one of the most glaring examples to date of the degree to which #Trump now directs federal law enforcement actions & uses agencies to target his perceived enemies.
The #SecretService questioned #JamesComey about the 2025 photograph of seashells he posted, & an agent received a “direct request” from Trump to forward him details from that interview, acc/to the documents.
#Trump Personally Demanded Details of Agents’ Interview of #Comey, New Court Filing Says
The request suggests the intense personal involvement of Trump in investigating one of his longtime critics, former #FBI director #JamesComey.
#law #LegalEthics #DOJ #independence #RevengePolitics #WeaponizationOfJustice #Retribution #EnemiesList #MafiaState #Authoritarianism #Autocracy #Fascism
