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Law and Chaos: Daily Summaries Delivered
by Liz Dye
Legal journalists Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez break down the week's most important courtroom stories, so you can keep on top of this crazy news cycle. Whether it's Texas giving two middle fingers to the Supreme Court, or Donald Trump in all the courts at once, we've got you covered.
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- Today55 min
Ep 237 — A Slush Fund By Any Other Name Would Still Reek
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court issued orders today, opinions coming Thursday. The Wall Street Journal reports that Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for DC, is investigating banks for "debanking" conservatives. Judge James Boasberg benchslapped Pirro's effort to magic away his order quashing her abusive subpoena on the Federal Reserve. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: A judge in Mississippi disqualified all the lawyers in a case after finding that both sides cited fake cases hallucinated by AI. MAIN SHOW: The battle over the Kennedy Center continues. At the eleventh hour, the Center's Board appealed the order to take Trump's name off the building, citing a new rule that would strip all funding from the institution if Trump's name came down. The trial judge denied the requested stay, and so did the Circuit Court. Meanwhile, the Washington National Opera is suing the Kennedy Center for expropriating its $17 million endowment. In the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from implementing the Anti-Weaponization Fund whether under a new name or not. New reporting from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in the New York Times reveals two revealing memos from White House advisor Will Scharf on suspending the writ of habeas corpus and the Insurrection Act. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Texas AG Ken Paxton's investigation into the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, holding that it was plainly retaliatory for its support for his Democratic Senate rival James Talarico. SCOTUS Orders List June 15 https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/061526zor_5if6.pdf Jeanine Pirro's Prosecutors Probe Big Banks for Alleged 'Debanking' https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/jeanine-pirros-prosecutors-probe-big-banks-for-alleged-debanking-13568e9b Powell/Fed Reserve Subpoenas https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72490330/in-re-grand-jury-subpoenas ActBlue v. Paxton https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73285205/actblue-llc-v-paxton/ Washington National Opera v. US https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73476333/washington-national-opera-v-united-states/ Beatty v. Trump [DC Circuit] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73477160/joyce-beatty-v-donald-trump <stro
- 4 days ago52 min
Ep 236 — Is Trump's Newest Lawyer WORSE Than Alina Habba?
DOCKET ALERTS: Will Trump's name come off the Kennedy Center in time for the court-ordered deadline? New York congressional candidate Brad Lander was acquitted of charges related to a peaceful protest inside the federal building where ICE is warehousing immigrants. The House failed to reauthorize Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. We'll explain what this has to do with Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte. MAIN SHOW: Doofus of the Day Alejandro Brito, Trump's lawyer on the defamation trollsuit against the BBC, is inventing new ways to piss off the judge. But he's teaching us a lot about CivPro! The grand jury transcripts are here in the Broadview 6 case, and they are somehow even worse than we expected. We'll break down all the vouching/ex parte/voir dire action, and the rapidly expanding blast radius. SUBSCRIBERS: Is the Trump slush fund alive or dead? Acting AG Todd Blanche says it's over, but he won't put it in writing. US v. Rabbitt https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71795281/united-states-v-rabbitt/ Sarah Fitzpatrick, The Atlantic, "Trump Isn't Giving Up on His Slush Fund" https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/06/trump-anti-weaponization-fund/687500/ 'Broadview 6' repeat? Loretto Hospital exec's fraud case could crumble amid claims of prosecutors' misconduct https://chicago.suntimes.com/crime/2026/06/10/hearing-in-loretto-hospital-case-could-address-claims-of-prosecutors-misconduct-if-feds-dont-drop-it Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
- 1 weeks ago1h 0m
Ep 235 — The Only Thing Bigger Than The UFC Claw Is The Grift
DOCKET ALERTS: Doofus of the Day: George Santos, who is clearly trying to get himself back into jail. NPR reported that the former congressman bet against his own appearance at the State of the Union in February. After NPR reported that Kalshi had frozen his accounts and referred him to the CFTC and DOJ, Santos called up journalist Bobby Allyn and threatened him with "a gun in your face." Also seeking a pardon: Sam Bankman-Fried. Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts blocked Trump's attempt to tax H-1B visas out of existence by imposing a $100,000 "fee." MAIN SHOW: Trump's lawyer Alejandro Brito is finding new and creative ways to piss off the judge in Trump's trollsuit against the BBC. The DOJ is broken! Today's examples include: The DOJ telling the DC Circuit that it would be just fine for Trump to bulldoze the Statue of Liberty. A judge in Rhode Island referring DOJ lawyers for attorney discipline and sanctions. And a story from the New York Times about all the prosecutors who got pushed out because they wouldn't indict Trump's enemies. Plaintiffs are trying to stop Donald Trump from hosting a UFC fight on the White House lawn. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: The Department of Defense reduced the number of recognized religious faiths from 211 to 31 — they kept all the good non-woke ones, it's fine. I wrote about George Santos. Then he made a violent threat and lied about it https://www.npr.org/2026/06/04/nx-s1-5846966/george-santos-kalshi-threats California v. Noem [H-1B visas] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72031571/state-of-california-v-noem/ Trump v. BBC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation How the Drive to Find a Conspiracy Against Trump Rocked the Justice Dept. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/08/us/politics/justice-department-trump-patel-conspiracy.html Douglas v. National Park Service (UFC) [docket via CourtListener] https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.293217/gov.uscourts.dcd.293217.3.1.pdf Forbes, "Trump Says UFC Arena Could Be Permanent At White House—Everything We Know About The Upcoming Event" https://www.forbes.com/sites/maryroeloffs/2026/06/04/trump-says-ufc-arena-could-be-permanent-at-white-house-everything-we-know-about-the-upcoming-event/ Pete Hegseth on the chaplain corps https://www.war.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4444113/hegseth-announces-reforms-to-chaplain-corps/ Sean Parnell announcement re: DOD religious codes [via X.com] <a href= "https://x.com/SeanParnellASW/s
- 1 weeks ago1h 13m
Ep 234 — Holy Grand Jury, Batman!
DOCKET ALERTS: A federal judge in Colorado enjoined the National Science Foundation from shutting down the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder. APA, FTW! The DC Circuit ruled that Pete Hegseth's policy kicking out all trans service members and barring enlistment by anyone who ever had a diagnosis of gender dysphoria is rooted in animus and cannot stand. But the remedy was narrowly cabined to the plaintiffs in this case, and only those who are currency active duty. The Supreme Court let Alabama redraw its Congressional maps while primary voting was already underway and use a racially-discriminatory map in order to squeeze one more Republican seat in Congress out for the 2026 midterms. Doofus of the Day: BATMAN! Eric Batman, some whiny dork in LA who says his Christian faith means that he has to work from home during June lest he be oppressed by a trans flag flying outside his office. The grifters at Liberty Counsel eagerly fundraising off their preposterous trollsuit on Doofus's behalf. MAIN SHOW: The DOJ filed a superseding indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center. It's meant to remedy the obvious deficiencies in the first indictment, but it actually seems to bolster the SPLC's claim that they were trying to protect informants, not take down donors. Meanwhile, DOJ seems to have leaked a draft version of the new indictment to reporters before presenting it to the grand jurors, potentially violating grand jury secrecy. SPLC moved for a show cause order forcing DOJ to explain "its conduct and why it should not be sanctioned considering the prejudicial consequences at stake here." Back in Chicago, US Attorney Andrew Boutros explained that he wasn't inappropriately trying to voir dire the grand jury. Perish the thought! And how very dare you, sir! He was just advising them that if they didn't think they could convict, they should put their hands up and explain themselves. Ummmmm….. On May 1, NASDAQ implemented major rule changes to the way in which newly-public companies can join the Nasdaq 100 index. University Corporation for Atmospheric Research v. National Science Foundation https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72496922/university-corporation-for-atmospheric-research-v-national-science/ Talbott v. USA [Trans Troops DC Circuit] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69800554/nicolas-talbott-v-usa/ Allen v. Milligan (Alabama redistricting) [Supreme Court stay] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a1314_7m58.pdf SpaceX Prospectus https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1181412/000162828026036936/spaceexplorationtechnologi.htm NASDAQ 100 New Methodology https://indexes.nasdaq.com/docs/Methodology_NDX.pdf Liberty Counsel's press release (Batman v. Los Angeles County) https://lc.org/newsroom/details/260530-
- 1 weeks ago1h 9m
Ep 232 — The Vindictive DOJ
DOCKET ALERTS: Joe Dye begins a series on the second phase of the redistricting wars at his Substack. Multiple states are threatening to tax payouts from Trump's slush fund at 100 percent. The Trump Administration is suing Massachusetts for failing to give "confidential," hard to trace license plates to ICE and CBP. A panel of federal judges in Alabama once again rejected the state's congressional map as an illegal racial gerrymander. The state has appealed to SCOTUS. Don Lemon moved to unseal the grand jury transcript in the Cities Church protest prosecution. He cited the recently unsealed magistrate's docket, showing the government's wild overreach — not to mention incompetence — in its warrant applications, along with the many cases where courts have said the DOJ is currently lawless and entitled to no presumption of regularity. The New York Times had a wild story this week about the Justice Department's total loss of credibility with grand juries, including in Wyoming, where the US Attorney's total violation of grand jury rules led to the dismissal of nine indictments. MAIN SHOW: The US Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois is reportedly investigating E. Jean Carroll for perjury. In a deposition in 2022, Carroll misspoke and said that her litigation was not being funded by anyone else. She later corrected the record to say that some of her fees were being paid by a nonprofit associated with LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman. The government is trying to do to that nonprofit what it's done to the Southern Poverty Law Center, alleging that it somehow conspired to hide its activities by getting Carroll to lie under oath. Meanwhile, the SPLC is moving to dismiss its case based on vindictive prosecution. Luckily it has eleventy-seven clips of Trump officials declaring that they're on a revenge mission to take out the civil rights organization. In non-political news, a drag queen named Pattie Gonia is in a trademark dispute with the brand Patagonia. SUBSCRIBER BONUS: Trump is making NDAs great again. How Democrats Can Take Back the Redistricting Wars Pt. 1 https://josephdye.substack.com/p/how-democrats-can-take-back-the-redistricting US v. Massachusetts [Confidential License Plates] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73400637/united-states-v-the-commonwealth-of-massachusetts/ Milligan v. Allen https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/61494291/milligan-v-allen US v. Levy-Armstrong [Cities Church/Don Lemon] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72212459/united-states-v-levy-armstrong/ In re Search Warrant [Cities Church/Don Lemon magistrate docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72323660/in-re-search-w
- 1 weeks ago48 min
Ep 231 — Abrego Garcia Wins Again
DOCKET ALERTS: Judges in Maine and Wisconsin hand DOJ two more losses as they sue to get access to state voter rolls to check for non-existent election fraud. Associate Attorney General Stan Woodward is back with another batsh*t ballroom filing. DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Attorney D. Hayden Fisher, who filed a bumptious SLAPP suit against locals in Norfolk who dared to disparage a MAGA-coded brewery for perceived anti-LGBTQ+ bias. MAIN SHOW: We'll revisit the implosion of the Broadview 6 prosecution. Turns out, the government's main goal all along was to hide the corruption and misconduct at the heart of this case. And Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free! Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismissed his criminal case on the basis of vindictive prosecution. US v. Bellows [Maine Voter Rolls] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71367730/united-states-v-bellows/ US v. Wisconsin Elections Commission [Wisconsin Voter Rolls] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72055967/united-states-v-wisconsin-elections-commission National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service [Ballroom] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/ Armed Forces Brewing Co. v. Coplon [Doofus SLAPP suit] https://armedforcesbrewingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Complaint-26-5-18-Final.pdf Broadview 6 May 21 Hearing https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/95/75/a403b7674c31b8f5bb0ecae58921/25cr693-usa-v-rabbitt-052126.pdf US v. Rabbit [Broadview 6] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71795281/parties/united-states-v-rabbitt/ United States v. Abrego (TN criminal docket) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-abrego-garcia/?order_by=desc Abrego Garcia v. Noem (MD Civil litigation) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71191591/abrego-garcia-v-noem/?order_by=desc United States v. Carey (DC flag burning) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71223464/united-states-v-carey/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
- 1 weeks ago1h 5m
Ep 230 — DOJ Tiptoes Around The Sh*tpile!
DOCKET ALERTS: Congressional Republicans abstain courteously from blessing Trump's ICE/CBP allocation after Trump torpedoes several sitting GOP politicians and demands cash for the ballroom and the $1.8 billion J6 slush fund. They're heading home until June, TYVM. DOJ indicts former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, age 94, for shooting down two flights of dissident exiles dropping leaflets back in 1996. Is this a prelude to Bay of Pigs 2? Officials in Florida and Tennessee discover that the First Amendment applies to everyone, even people who criticize Charlie Kirk. Good thing it's taxpayers picking up the tab for this little life lesson! And Acting AG Todd Blanche adds a codicil to the slush fund settlement granting amnesty to Trump and his kids for past tax crimes — but not future ones! (Don't believe everything you read on the internet.) DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Todd Blanche. MAIN SHOW: Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts sanctions ICE for lying to the court about the time an immigrant detainee left the jurisdiction. This one will make you mad! And the indictment against the "Broadview 6" for protesting outside an ICE detention center implodes after the grand jury transcripts reveal a dumpsterfire of impropriety and potentially sanctionable misconduct by the prosecution. Read this hearing transcript — but not after taking a giant swig of milk! SUBSCRIBER BONUS: Meet the new tariffs! Same as the old tariffs! (Illegal.) And NO the administration can't keep collecting them right now because they're too busy trying to figure out how to refund the last batch of illegal tariffs to figure it out. US v. Perez-Perez [Raul Castro indictment] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/31009891/united-states-v-perez-perez/ Civil Rights Lawyers Secure $485,000 Settlement for FWC Biologist Fired Over Charlie Kirk Social Media Post https://www.aclufl.org/press-releases/civil-rights-lawyers-secure-485000-settlement-for-fwc-biologist-fired-over-charlie-kirk-social-media-post/ He Was Jailed Over a Charlie Kirk Post. The Sheriff Now Owes Him $835,000. https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/us/larry-bushart-charlie-kirk-facebook-settlement.html Slush Fund Codicil https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441216/dl Guevara Peruano v. Wesling [ICE Sanctions] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72181340/guevara-peruano-v-wesling/ Oregon v. Trump [Tarriffs] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72368522/the-state-of-oregon-v-trump/ Broadview 6 May 21 Hearing https://cst.brightspotcdn.com/95/75/a403b7674c31b8f5bb0ecae58921/25cr693-usa-v-rabbitt-052126.pdf US v. Rabbit [Broadview 6] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71795281/parties/united-states-v-rabbitt/
- 1 weeks ago57 min
Ep 229 — Judicial Warfare
DOCKET ALERTS: The Supreme Court stayed a lower court decision out of Texas banning doctors from dispensing the abortion drug mifepristone. The Colorado Supreme Court barred Children's Hospital from cutting gender-affirming care, calling it a denial of treatment on the basis of sex and gender identity. The DOJ is suing the DC Bar to stop it disciplining upstanding government lawyers like Ed Martin and Jeff Clark. The case has been assigned to Judge Richard Leon!!! Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI. MAIN SHOW: The DOJ's effort to harass trans kids and their medical providers is escalating into a judicial crisis as Judge Reed O'Connor in the Northern District of Texas purports to bar Rhode Island Hospital from seeking redress in any other court or from "aiding and abetting" anyone else in seeking redress. Meanwhile in Rhode Island, Judge Mary McElroy says the Hospital does not have to comply. Trump purports to "settle" his lawsuit against the IRS over the 2020 disclosure of his tax returns by establishing a $1.8 billion slush fund for the "victims of weaponization" of the DOJ under Biden. Is that legal? (No.) Danco Labs v. Louisiana [US Supreme Court - mifepristone] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a1207_21p3.pdf Boe v. Children's Hospital Colorado [Colorado Supreme Court - gender affirming care] https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2026-05/26SA66.pdf US v. Fox [DOJ sues DC Bar] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73338949/united-states-v-fox/?order_by=desc In Re: Administrative Subpoena 25-1431-032 [Texas action] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73276712/in-re-administrative-subpoena-25-1431-032/ In Re: Motion to Quash Administrative Subpoena to Rhode Island Hospital [Rhode Island action] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73290254/in-re-motion-to-quash-administrative-subpoena-to-rhode-island-hospital/ Trump v. IRS [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/ DOJ Notice of Settlement - administration of "Anti-Weaponization Fund" https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441086/dl OLC Memorandum, "Availability of Judgement Fund in Cases Not Involving a Money Judgment Claim" https://www.justice.gov/file/151086/dl?inline Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod
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About Law and Chaos
Legal journalists Liz Dye and Andrew Torrez break down the week's most important courtroom stories, so you can keep on top of this crazy news cycle. Whether it's Texas giving two middle fingers to the Supreme Court, or Donald Trump in all the courts at once, we've got you covered.
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