Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts

Chris Wray Just Made Way For Something Even Worse Than Kash Patel

Dec 14, 2024

Mark Joseph Stern, a senior writer at Slate specializing in legal affairs, and Sam Sankar, Senior VP at Earthjustice, delve into the alarming implications of FBI Director Christopher Wray's potential resignation. Stern explains how this shift could undermine the rule of law. Meanwhile, Sankar discusses a pivotal Supreme Court case on a railroad project that threatens environmentally sensitive areas, revealing the growing tension between environmental protection and infrastructure development at a time of climate crisis.

01:03:21

Episode guests

Sam Sankar

Mark Joseph Stern

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Christopher Wray's resignation raises concerns about the FBI's independence, potentially leading to politically motivated appointments undermining the agency's integrity.

The Supreme Court case involving railroad expansion could significantly weaken environmental protections by limiting the requirements for environmental assessments under NEPA.

The ongoing legal debates surrounding NEPA emphasize the necessity of thorough environmental impact evaluations to protect vulnerable ecosystems from development harms.

Deep dives

Concerns Over FBI Director's Resignation

The resignation of FBI Director Christopher Wray raises significant concerns regarding the integrity of the agency and its independence from presidential influence. By stepping down voluntarily, Wray created a pathway for potential appointments of loyalists to the agency under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which could undermine its objectivity. This action sends a troubling message about compliance and obedience to executive power, which could set a dangerous precedent for future administrations. The move is seen as surrendering to political pressures rather than upholding the independence that the role of FBI Director is intended to maintain.

Intro

3min

FBI Leadership and Political Loyalty

6min

Power, Pride, and Legal Implications

8min

Navigating Environmental Law and Railroads

11min

Navigating NEPA and Tort Law

7min

Navigating Environmental Legal Complexities

22min

The Power of Progressive Policy in Energy and Environment

6min

Last week, we examined the deeply worrying prospect of Kash Patel, FBI director. This week, that possibility became even more worrisome with respect to the future of the FBI, all sparked by current director Christopher Wray’s announcement of his intention to step down. To kick off this week’s show, Dahlia Lithwick is joined by Slate senior writer Mark Joseph Stern, who explains why Wray’s decision is very bad news for the law and the rule of law.

Next, the planet: Last summer, we tried to absorb the sheer scale of the shift in the constitutional landscape following a run of cases at the end of the last term that gave the courts the power to reshape the administrative state from the bench, and to impede the tools of the environmental protection trade at a time when the climate is in crisis. But the news cycle moved on and the global climate alarm got snoozed again. That alarm was surely ringing again at One, First Street this week, when a case that could reshape the nation’s biggest environmental law was argued at the Supreme Court.

Seven County Infrastructure Coalition v. Eagle County, Colorado comes to the court as a dispute over how much review is due to a railroad plan that will carry waxy, crude oil through environmentally sensitive areas, and send said waxy crude on its way to already polluted and health blighted gulf communities. Sam Sankar of Earth Justice was on hand to explain how this weedy case paints a very clear picture of the Supreme Court conservative majority’s fondness for grabbing cases that are vehicles for achieving their preferred policy outcomes, but then finding themselves in a bit of a pickle when its time to craft a new test for an old problem.

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