Could This Be a Political Question Unreviewable by Courts?

Mary and Andrew begin this week with the latest in the Trump administration’s attempt to send National Guard troops into American cities. From the 9th Circuit comes a 2-1 decision lifting a lower court’s temporary block on deployments into Portland, Oregon. Plus: the government has asked the Supreme Court to weigh in on the use of National Guard troops in Chicago. Mary and Andrew analyze the legal repercussions of both, then move to reporting on a Trump administration promise to betray U.S. informants in order to secure a prison deal with El Salvador. And while a week feels like a year these days, the co-hosts review both John Bolton’s indictment last Thursday and James Comey’s recent motion to dismiss his case based on vindictive and selective prosecution. Before wrapping up this week, Mary and Andrew take a beat on last week’s oral arguments before the Supreme Court in Louisiana v Calláis that dealt directly with the Voting Rights Act and whether redrawing districts can be used to remedy disenfranchising voters in Louisiana.

Further Listening/Reading: 

• Here is Andrew’s conversation with former Special Counsel Jack Smith at an event at UCL in London: The State of the United States: A Conversation with Jack Smith
• Here is the reporting from The Washington Post Mary and Andrew spoke about: Rubio promised to betray U.S. informants to get Trump’s El Salvador prison deal.

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