Must Read Adam Liptak in the NYT: “Trump’s Actions Have Created a Constitutional Crisis, Scholars Say” (Gift Link)

February 11, 2025, 7:13 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

NYT: There is no universally accepted definition of a constitutional crisis, but legal scholars agree about some of its characteristics. It is generally the product of presidential defiance of laws and judicial rulings. It is not binary: It is a… Continue reading

“Trump allies suggest defying court orders after stinging legal rebukes”

February 11, 2025, 7:10 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Washington Post: Federal judges have issued President Donald Trump stinging legal rebukes in the early clashes over his blitz of executive orders, and two of his top advisers have responded by suggesting that his administration defy the courts and move… Continue reading

“Push to Drop Adams Charges Reveals a Justice Dept. Under Trump’s Sway”

February 11, 2025, 7:07 amchicanery, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: The Justice Department on Monday ordered federal prosecutors to drop the corruption charges against Mayor Eric Adams of New York, a remarkable incursion into a continuing criminal case that raises questions about the fair administration of justice during President… Continue reading

“Fiery Directives Under Trump’s Justice Dept. Signal a Significant Shift”

February 11, 2025, 7:05 amauthoritarian threats in US, Department of JusticeRick Hasen

NYT: Hours after being sworn in as President Trump’s attorney general, Pam Bondi declared to the entire Justice Department work force, “This shameful era ends today.” That assertion, in one of 14 memos she issued on Wednesday, underscored what many… Continue reading

“Trump Pauses Enforcement of Law Banning Foreign Bribery”

February 11, 2025, 7:03 ambriberyRick Hasen

NYT: President Trump on Monday ordered a pause in the enforcement of a federal law aimed at curbing corruption in multinational companies, saying it creates an uneven playing field for American firms. The law, the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act,… Continue reading

“With firings and lax enforcement, Trump moving to dismantle government’s public integrity guardrails”

February 11, 2025, 7:00 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

AP: In the first three weeks of his administration, President Donald Trump has moved with brazen haste to dismantle the federal government’s public integrity guardrails that he frequently tested during his first term but now seems intent on removing entirely.… Continue reading

Levitsky: “The New Authoritarianism: This isn’t single-party rule, but it’s not democracy either.”

February 11, 2025, 6:57 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Steve Levitsky in The Atlantic: With the leader of a failed coup back in the White House and pursuing an unprecedented assault on the constitutional order, many Americans are starting to wrap their mind around what authoritarianism could look like… Continue reading

Weiser and Garber: “The SAVE Act Would Undermine Voter Registration for all Americans”

February 10, 2025, 12:49 pmelection administration, voter registrationRick Hasen

The following is a guest post from Wendy Weiser & Andrew Garber: Last month, congressional Republicans pledged to fast-track the SAVE Act (H.R. 22), a bill that would require all Americans to provide a birth certificate, passport, or one… Continue reading

“Trump Muses About a Third Term, Over and Over Again”

February 10, 2025, 7:39 amauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Maggie Haberman for the NYT: Just eight days after he won a second term, Mr. Trump — whose supporters attacked the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, in an effort to prevent Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s victory from being certified… Continue reading

“Supreme Court Signals That Landmark Libel Ruling Is Secure”

February 10, 2025, 7:36 amFirst Amendment theory, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

Adam Liptak for the NYT: Starting in 2019, Justice Clarence Thomas has repeatedly called for the Supreme Court to reconsider New York Times v. Sullivan, the landmark First Amendment decision that made it hard for public officials to prevail… Continue reading

“Advocate of Jan. 6 Rioters Now Runs Office That Investigated Them”

February 10, 2025, 7:29 amauthoritarian threats in US, chicanery, Department of Justice, election subversion riskRick Hasen

NYT: Ed Martin was in the mob outside the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, posting on social media that the violent riot that day was marked by “faith and joy.” He has often echoed President Trump’s false claims that… Continue reading

25th Anniversary of Bush v. Gore Two-Day Conference at Florida State

February 10, 2025, 7:21 amBush v. Gore reflections, Supreme CourtRick Hasen

I went to the first conference on Bush v. Gore at Florida State back right when the case was decided, and I’m very excited to be going back for this event with an amazing group on Feb. 28 and March… Continue reading

“GOP laws aimed at very rare noncitizen voting could hit eligible voters”

February 10, 2025, 7:15 amelection administration, fraudulent fraud squad, voter registrationRick Hasen

WaPo: In the months before last year’s election, Alabama removed valid voters from the rolls after wrongly tagging them as noncitizens. Tennessee’s secretary of state told 14,000 voters they had to prove their citizenship. And officials debatedwhetherhundreds of thousands of… Continue reading

“Trump’s Blueprint for Bending the Media Has Nixon Written All Over It”

February 9, 2025, 3:09 pmauthoritarian threats in USRick Hasen

Jim Rutenberg for the NYT: Mr. Trump and his aides have called reporters for major news outlets liars; falsely accused them of accepting government payoffs for favorable treatment of Democrats (a misrepresentation of agency spending on news subscriptions); and made… Continue reading