Law and Chaos

This week the Supreme Court’s conservatives greenlit an all-out attack on trans kids and their healthcare. So much for parents’ rights! At least Alex Jones is still bankrupt. And the trustee in his bankruptcy case just sued him to claw back millions of dollars in “fraudulent” transfers to his friends and family. Plus, we’ll discuss NYC Comptroller Brad Lander, Judge Hannah Dugan, and everyone else swept up in ICE’s deranged dragnet.   Links:   US v. Skrmetti (S. Ct. 2025) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/23-477_2cp3.pdf   Alex Jones bankruptcy (S.D. Texas) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/66583024/alexander-e-jones-and-official-committee-of-unsecured-creditors   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

Liz and Andrew welcome Lawfare’s Anna Bower back to the show to discuss her singular obsession: who is the administrator of DOGE? Find out why that’s still a critical question and what discovering the answer might mean in terms of undoing policy, preserving records, and more.   Links:   Who Is The Administrator of DOGE, by Anna Bower https://www.lawfaremedia.org/article/lawfare-daily--witaod   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

A federal judge has ruled that Donald Trump illegally seized control of the California National Guard. We tell you everything that means and what happens next. Also, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is home and facing trumped-up charges in Tennessee. And Alina Habba is still cosplaying as a prosecutor, and this time she’s decided to try and indict a sitting member of Congress for doing her job.   Links:   Newsom v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70496361/newsom-v-trump/   Abrego Garcia v. Noem [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/abrego-garcia-v-noem/   US v. Abrego Garcia [docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-garcia/   US v. Mciver [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70317726/united-states-v-mciver   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

The Trump administration is trying to provoke a riot in California by “federalizing” the National Guard. We’ll tell you what that means and what legal recourse blue states and cities have to resist being occupied by the military. Plus, it turns out that the Trump administration could facilitate the return of Kilmar Abrego Garcia after all, it just needed to gin up a dubious criminal indictment first. And finally, Justin Baldoni’s trollsuit against Blake Lively meets precisely the demise we told you it would.   Links:   US v. Abrego Garcia [docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-garcia/   DHS Referral to DOJ (Abrego Garcia) https://www.ice.gov/doclib/news/releases/2025/25_0418_hsi_referral-abrego-garcia.pdf   Abrego Garcia v. Noem [District Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69777799/abrego-garcia-v-noem/   Harvard College v. Department of Health and Human Services [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69921962/president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college-v-us-department-of-health-and/   White House Memo Federalizing National Guard https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/06/department-of-defense-security-for-the-protection-of-department-of-homeland-security-functions/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

Justin Baldoni’s lawyers are wilding out, the Justice Department is suing to purge North Carolina’s voter rolls, and Pillow Pumper Mike Lindell is teaching us about journalism shield laws. And for subscribers: Have Trump’s minions discovered one weird trick that will allow them to steal Congress’s tariff authority?   Links:   Kingdom v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69717615/kingdom-v-trump/   Trump's Justice Department examining pardons issued by Biden https://www.reuters.com/world/us/trumps-justice-department-examining-pardons-issued-by-biden-2025-06-02/   US v. Navarro https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63359365/united-states-v-navarro/   J.G.G. v. Trump [District Court Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69741724/jgg-v-trump/   Wayfarer Studios v. Lively https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69550325/wayfarer-studios-llc-v-lively/   Lively v. Wayfarer Studios, LLC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69510553/lively-v-wayfarer-studios-llc/   Coomer v. Lindell https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/63296393/coomer-v-lindell/   Covington & Burling tariffs article https://www.cov.com/-/media/files/corporate/publications/2016/12/law360_the_presidents_long_forgotten_power_to_raise_tariffs.pdf   19 USC 1338 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/19/1338 US v. North Carolina State Board of Elections [docket via Court Listener] ttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70380331/united-states-v-north-carolina-state-board-of-elections/   Help America Vote Act, 52 USC 21083 https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/52/21083 Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

The Trump Administration is putting the Justice Department in a terrible bind. DOJ lawyers can tell judges the truth and admit that the government is deliberately violating court orders. Or they can bob and weave and prevaricate and cross their fingers and hope it all comes out okay. But that strategy is running into a brick wall as courts are increasingly ruling against the government. Plus for subscribers: How low will SCOTUS go to protect the sacred right to walk around with a giant murder cannon slung over our shoulders?    Links: The Trump Administration Is Lawless. Judges Are Adapting. https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/the-trump-administration-is-lawless   Judge Russell Standing Order https://www.mdd.uscourts.gov/sites/mdd/files/Amended%202025-01.pdf   Trump v. Selzer [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69476247/trump-v-selzer/   Arevalo Millan v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70294725/darwin-antonio-arevalo-millan-v-donald-j-trump/   Melgar-Salmeron v. Bondi https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70409956/melgar-salmeron-v-bondi/   SCOTUS Orders List for June 2, 20025 https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/060225zor_4f15.pdf   J.O.P. v. Department of Homeland Security [District Court Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/15867241/jop-v-us-department-of-homeland-security Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

This week Trump got his ass kicked in courts no one’s ever heard of! From tariffs to immigration, Harvard to WilmerHale, it’s been a week of losing bigly. Andrew and Liz will break it down and explain what’s next.   Links:   Harvard College v. Department of Health and Human Services [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69921962/president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college-v-us-department-of-health-and/   V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump [District Court Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69888953/vos-selections-inc-v-donald-j-trump   V.O.S. Selections, Inc. v. Trump [Federal Circuit Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70394463/vos-selections-inc-v-trump/   WilmerHale v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807328/wilmer-cutler-pickering-hale-and-dorr-llp-v-executive-office-of-the/   Jenner & Block v. DOJ [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807126/jenner-block-llp-v-us-department-of-justice/   MTA v. Duffy (Congestion Pricing) [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69652290/metropolitan-transportation-authority-v-duffy/   D.V.D. v. Department of Homeland Security [Trial Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69775896/dvd-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/   Department of Homeland Security v. D.V.D. [SCOTUS Docket] https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/24a1153.html   The Punch That Launched Trump’s War on American Universities https://www.wsj.com/us-news/education/trump-college-university-federal-funding-fight-91c2a274   How to Hide a Constitutional Crisis https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/05/legalistic-noncompliance/682927/   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

President Trump’s genius plan to announce that he’s about to violate the First Amendment — and then do it! — runs into the judicial buzzsaw as two federal courts restrain his attacks on Harvard and the law firm Jenner & Block. And his campaign’s lawsuit against Iowa pollster Ann Selzer continues to be a humiliating series of self-owns. But SCOTUS hands the administration a win by allowing the president to fire anyone and everyone. They exempted Fed Chair Jerome Powell for, uh, reasons.   Links:   Jenner & Block v. DOJ [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69807126/jenner-block-llp-v-us-department-of-justice   Trump v. Selzer [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69476247/trump-v-selzer/   Trump Allies Look to Benefit From Pro Bono Promises by Elite Law Firms https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/25/business/trump-law-firms-pro-bono.html   Trump v. Wilcox [Supreme Court order] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a966_1b8e.pdf   Seila Law v. CFPB https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/19pdf/19-7_n6io.pdf   President and Fellows of Harvard College v. DHS [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70349156/president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college-v-united-states-department-of/   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

It’s been another wild week of injunctions, executive orders, and just plain insanity from the Trump administration. Then, we’ll let Blake Lively and Justin Baldoni teach us about civil procedure. And for a deep dive, we discuss a surprising recusal from Justice Barrett that preserves what’s left of the separation of church and state.   Links:   How Trump Officials Debated Handling of the Abrego Garcia Case: ‘Keep Him Where He Is’ https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/21/us/politics/trump-abrego-garcia-el-salvador-deportation.html   Judge James Ho Public Meltdown https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.ca5.224134/gov.uscourts.ca5.224134.25.1.pdf   D.V.D. v. Department of Homeland Security [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69775896/dvd-v-us-department-of-homeland-security/   Somerville Public Schools v. Trump [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69778837/somerville-public-schools-v-trump   US v. McIver [Docket via Court Listener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70317726/united-states-v-mciver/   Trump v. Wilcox [Supreme Court order granting stay] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24a966_1b8e.pdf   Oklahoma Statewide School Board v. Drummond [Supreme Court per curiam order] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/24pdf/24-394_9p6b.pdf   Lively v. Baldoni (SDNY) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69510553/lively-v-wayfarer-studios-llc/?filed_after=&filed_before=&entry_gte=&entry_lte=&order_by=desc&page=2   We Can Bury Anyone’: Inside a Hollywood Smear Machine, New York Times https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/21/business/media/blake-lively-justin-baldoni-it-ends-with-us.html   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

The Supreme Court does one good thing on immigration, which made Sam Alito BIG MAD. And although the administration has been stymied (for now) in its efforts to rendition detainees out of the country with no notice, the Supreme Court did allow the Trump administration to end Temporary Protected Status for hundreds of thousands of Venezuelans. Then, since we all need a good chuckle, we spend some time pointing and laughing at California’s plan to outsource the bar exam to an AI chatbot. And in the patreon bonus, we describe how one of America’s worst trial court judges just tried to overrule the Supreme Court. Links:   Alito Gets Fragged in Supreme Court Order https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/alito-gets-fragged-in-scotus-order   New York Times, “Emil Bove, Top Justice Dept. Official, Is Considered For Circuit Court Nomination” https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/19/us/politics/emil-bove-circuit-court-federal-appeals.html?unlocked_article_code=1.IU8.KLV8.yndwN6PJV_HE   Noem v. National TPS Alliance et al. [SCOTUS Miscellaneous order] https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/051925zr1_5h26.pdf   Washington Post, “Trump Justice Dept. considers removing key check on lawmaker prosecutions” https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2025/05/17/trump-justice-department-prosecutions/   State of Texas v. EEOC order (Kacsmaryk) https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.txnd.393489/gov.uscourts.txnd.393489.59.0.pdf   DOJ OCR Letter Harmeet Dhillon to Brandon Johnson  https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1400811/dl?inline   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod