The Last Line of Defense: The Courts vs. Trump

10 snips

May 16, 2025

Guest

Shawn Musgrave

Guest

Mark Lemley

Mark Lemley, the director of Stanford's law program, discusses his lawsuit against DOGE for violating the Privacy Act. He warns of the dangerous concentration of power within the executive branch and highlights the fragile role of the courts as defenders of constitutional rights. Shawn Musgrave elaborates on the legal battles against the Trump administration, focusing on the erosion of due process and the troubling shift in loyalty within the Justice Department. Together, they emphasize the importance of resilience in the face of ongoing governmental overreach.

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INSIGHT

Courts as Constitutional Check

Courts have so far acted as a strong constitutional check against illegal executive actions.
Judges write detailed, rigorous opinions and are increasingly less deferential to government claims.

ANECDOTE

Grassroots Origin of DOGE Lawsuit

Mark Lemley posted on Blue Sky about possible Privacy Act violations by DOGE at OPM.
He received thousands of messages from federal employees eager to join a legal challenge, catalyzing the lawsuit.

INSIGHT

DOGE's Schrodinger Status

DOGE agency status fluctuates strategically to avoid legal accountability.
This inconsistency complicates lawsuits and signals manipulation of bureaucratic definitions.

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As Elon Musk steps away from the so-called Department of Government Efficiency, the chaotic legacy of his aggressive assault on federal agencies continues to reverberate throughout the government. Musk’s goal — slashing $1 trillion from the federal budget — has fallen far short. At most, it has cut $31.8 billion of federal funding, a number that the Financial Times reports is “opaque and overstated.” Notably, the richest man on Earth’s businesses have received a comparable amount of government funding, most of it going to SpaceX, which remains untouched by DOGE’s budget ax.

Stepping in to carry the torch is Russell Vought, the director of the White House Office of Management and Budget, and a key architect of Project 2025, the sweeping conservative playbook to consolidate executive power. Under his stewardship, DOGE will continue its mission to dismantle the federal government from within.

”Access to all of this information gives extraordinary power to the worst people,” says Mark Lemley, the director of Stanford Law School’s program in law, science, and technology. Lemley is suing DOGE on behalf of federal employees for violating the Privacy Act.

This week on The Intercept Briefing, Lemley and Intercept newsroom counsel and reporter Shawn Musgrave join host Jordan Uhl to take stock of the legal challenges mounting against the Trump administration’s agenda. As the executive branch grows more hostile to checks on its powers, the courts remain the last, fragile line of defense.

“ There have now been hundreds of court decisions on issues, some involving the Privacy Act, but a wide variety of the Trump administration's illegal activities,” says Lemley. In partnership with the Electronic Frontier Foundation and State Democracy Defenders, Lemley’s suit accuses the U.S. Office of Personnel Management of violating the federal Privacy Act by handing over sensitive data to DOGE without consent or legal authority.

Listen to the full conversation of The Intercept Briefing on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or wherever you listen.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.