Not even the federal government is exactly sure what is going on.
On Wednesday evening, the U.S. Supreme Court was expected to announce its decision on whether top Biden administration officials could continue reaching out to social media platforms like Facebook, X and YouTube to take down “misinformation.”
It’s a case that can affect potentially thousands of federal employees at the White House, FBI and other agencies, which is why the Department of Justice had gone to the Supreme Court for emergency relief this month.
Yet Thursday morning came and went with nary a word from the nation’s highest court. The court’s inaction is the result of curious developments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit that have sidelined the justices and confused the parties to the case.
“Those (Fifth Circuit) orders have injected uncertainty into the proceedings during this Court’s active consideration of the case,” U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar wrote in a filing with the justices.
Federal Court Says Jeffrey Clark Cannot Remove Georgia Election Interference Case from State Court to Federal Court
Wisconsin: “Secret impeachment advisory panel isn’t subject to open meetings law, former justice says”
One of the three former Wisconsin Supreme Court justices whom Assembly Speaker Robin Vos asked to explore the prospect of impeaching newly minted liberal Justice Janet Protasiewicz argued in court Friday the group is not subject to the state’s open meetings law.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser, a conservative and the only former justice to confirm being on the three-person panel, said the group “is not a governmental body by any stretch of the imagination” and is no different from a legislator meeting with a private citizen….
Both Prosser and Vos’ attorney Matthew Fernholz refused to name the other two members of the panel when asked by Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington. Prosser confirmed that the group has met at least once.
“Three people had lunch together,” Prosser said. “We had lunch together because we didn’t know what we were really supposed to do.”
“Poll: Majority of voters would support disqualifying Trump under 14th Amendment”
A majority of voters are willing to support an effort to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the 2024 ballot, according to a new POLITICO | Morning Consult poll.
After a series of questions about the Constitution and Trump’s conduct after the 2020 presidential election, 51 percent said the 14th Amendment prohibits Trump from running again because he engaged in insurrection, compared with 34 percent who said the opposite…
The first question asks if Americans “support or oppose” that section of the amendment. Broadly, voters agree with it — 63 percent said they either strongly or somewhat support it, which includes a majority of Democrats, Republicans and independents. Just 16 percent said they somewhat or strongly oppose it.
But as Trump is introduced in the following questions, respondents separate into their partisan camps. When asked if they believed Trump “engaged in insurrection or rebellion,” 51 percent said either definitely or probably yes, and 35 percent said definitely or probably no.
That number is divided sharply on party lines: 79 percent of Democrats — and 49 percent of independents — say that he did, while just under a quarter of Republicans agree. The margins are similar for an additional question that asked if Trump gave “aid and/or comfort” to those engaged in insurrection and rebellion.
“Whom will Newsom appoint to fill Dianne Feinstein’s Senate seat? What we know”
With the death Friday morning of Sen. Dianne Feinstein, Gov. Gavin Newsom now must decide who will fill her U.S. Senate seat until the next election.
Who will it be? Here is a breakdown of what we know from the pages of The Times…
Earlier this year, the governor appeared on MSNBC and was asked by host Joy Reid if he’d “restore” Harris’ seat by appointing a Black woman. Newsom leaped at the question.
“We have multiple names in mind,” he said, “and the answer is yes.”
Feinstein announced last year she would not run for another term.
The leading candidates to replace her are Reps. Barbara Lee (D-Oakland) , Adam B. Schiff of Burbank and Katie Porter of Irvine.
Lee has criticized Newsom, saying he should not limit his choice to a caretaker.
Although not mentioned in the article, my money is on California Secretary of State Shirley Weber, if she wants it.
October 20 Free Online Conference from the Safeguarding Democracy Project: “The Law and Politics of Potentially Disqualifying Donald Trump from Running for President”
Dynamite lineup:
October 20, 9:00am-1pm – The Law and Politics of Potentially Disqualifying Donald Trump from Running for President
Online Conference
Registration link: https://ucla.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_X7flCEuZT6KZ9erbwDEFTA#/registration
Conference: The Law and Politics of Potentially Disqualifying Donald Trump from Running for President
Friday October 20, 2023 | 9 am – 1 pm PT (12 pm – 4 pm ET) (on Zoom)
UCLA Law’s Safeguarding Democracy Project
Tentative Conference Agenda
9 am PT
Introduction
- Richard L. Hasen
9:15 am-10:15 am
Deciding on Presidential Disqualification: Who, How, When, and Where?
- Edward B. Foley
- Derek Muller
- Lisa Manheim
- Moderator: Rebecca Green
10:20 am-11:20 am
The Politics of Candidate Disqualification: Here and Abroad
- Gretchen Helmke
- Sam Issacharoff
- Daniel Ziblatt
- Moderator: Julia Azari
11:25 am-12:25 pm
Does Section 3 of the 14th Amendment Bar Trump from Holding Office?
- Mark Graber
- Sherrilyn Ifill
- Kurt Lash
- Gerard Magliocca
- Moderator: Guy Charles
12:30 pm-1 pm
Conclusion: Roundtable Discussion and Q & A with All the Participants
Moderator: Richard L. Hasen
Breaking: Supreme Court to Hear Major Pair of Cases Involving Regulation of Social Media Platforms’ Curation or Exclusion of Politician Speech
From today’s order list:
22-277 MOODY, ATT’Y GEN. OF FL, ET AL. V. NETCHOICE, LLC, ET AL.22-555 NETCHOICE, LLC, ET AL. V. PAXTON, ATT’Y GEN. OF TXThe petitions for writs of certiorari are granted limited to Questions 1 and… Continue reading
Fifth Circuit Grants Rehearing En Banc in Case That Struck Down Mississippi Felon Disenfranchisement Law
Raffi Melkonian with the order.
Here’s my earlier coverage of the 2-1 panel ruling.
Fifth Circuit Panel, on Party Line Vote, Delays Louisiana Voting Rights Act Congressional Redistricting Case, Potentially Pushing Any Remedy to 2026
Michael Li with the details on what he terms a “terrible ruling:”
🚨🚨🚨BREAKING: The Fifth Circuit in a 2-1 opinion by Judge Jones puts a hold on the Oct. 3-5 hearing on adopting a remedial map for Louisiana. Judge Higginson… Continue reading
“Biden Issues a Blistering Attack on Trump”
NYT:
President Biden issued a broad and blistering attack against former President Donald J. Trump on Thursday, accusing his predecessor and would-be successor of inciting violence, seeking unfettered power and plotting to undermine the Constitution if he returns to office… Continue reading
“Republican Group Running Anti-Trump Ads Finds Little Is Working”
NYT:
A well-funded group of anti-Trump conservatives has sent its donors a remarkably candid memo that reveals how resilient former President Donald J. Trump has been against millions of dollars of negative ads the group deployed against him in two… Continue reading
“After two rejections, is Ohio attorney general slow-walking anti-gerrymandering amendment?”
Ohio Capital Journal:
One might think that a movement associated with a former state Supreme Court chief justice could draft a petition summary that passes legal muster. But twice already, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has rejected summaries of a… Continue reading
“Judge Denies Trump’s Request That She Recuse Herself in Election Case”
NYT:
The judge overseeing former President Donald J. Trump’s trial on charges of seeking to overturn the 2020 election denied on Wednesday his attempt to disqualify her from the case for supposedly being biased against him.
In a strongly worded… Continue reading
“Media network paid by GOP groups is behind deluge of election records requests”
Votebeat:
In North Carolina, Local Labs wanted obscure voter records that would take weeks, or even months, to prepare. In Georgia, the company requested a copy of every envelope voters used to mail in their ballots. And in dozens of… Continue reading