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July 21, 2025 |
This weekend, we marked six months of Donald Trump’s second term. Other than the fact that we’re six months closer to January 20, 2029, there is nothing to celebrate.
Since returning to the White House, Trump has waged a full-scale assault on the rule of law and democracy. He has unilaterally shut down key federal agencies and made drastic cuts to others. His government is staffed with sycophants from top to bottom, as experts and nonpartisan officials are purged. Every single law enforcement department has been politicized and weaponized against his political opponents.
If I’m being honest, it feels longer than six months. I’m tired — we’re all tired — of worrying every day about what comes next. Yet, left with no other choice, we continue to fight for democracy in every way available.
For me, that has taken two forms. |
Want an inside look at the weekend’s most important stories shaping voting rights and democracy? Become a premium member to access The Weekend, a members-only newsletter from Democracy Docket founder and top voting rights attorney Marc Elias. |
First, the law firm I founded in 2021 continues to serve as the tip of the spear in protecting free and fair elections and helping Democrats prepare to regain power in 2026. The progressive movement needs fearless lawyers, and we are them. We continue to grow our firm and client list while litigating more than fifty pro-democracy cases across twenty-four states.
To put that in perspective: there are currently 144 voting and election cases pending in 42 states — my firm is litigating in 50 of them, across 24 states. Not bad for one small law firm. Unfortunately, the Republican Party — which has nearly unlimited resources — has turned into an anti-voting litigation machine. It is involved in more than half of all cases — 75.
Second, I work seven days a week to ensure Democracy Docket provides you with the news, information and analysis you need to understand what is happening to our country and democracy. I genuinely view this work as just as important as what I do in court.
I cannot tell you how amazed I am that what started in 2020 as just an idea now has a staff of twenty-one. As I promised, Democracy Docket remains unbowed and unapologetically pro-democracy. Since Trump took office, it has grown by staying true to those core values.
It has expanded its content to cover the litigation holding Trump accountable, as well as the broader fight for democracy. It has increased its coverage to include original investigative reporting and additional specialized newsletters.
What has remained the same is its independence. It has — and seeks — no business before the government. It has no corporate overlord. It is independently hosted, meaning it has no reliance on Substack or any other newsletter platform.
So far, Democracy Docket has added more than 125,000 subscribers who now receive its free daily and weekly newsletters — bringing its total to over 425,000. It continues to expand its premium content for people who can afford $10 per month to receive more analysis and support the team.
Most exciting for me: Democracy Docket’s expansion into more video content is going great. Its YouTube channel now boasts 470,000 subscribers and features both longform interviews and shorter breaking news.
Sadly, even as independent media like Democracy Docket grows, legacy media continues to disappoint. Since Trump’s election, we have seen two of the major broadcasters — ABC and CBS — pay Trump millions of dollars. CNN continues to slide into obscurity under programming decisions that endlessly feature the likes of Scott Jennings. The Washington Post and other newspapers beclown themselves to curry favor with Trump.
Democracy Docket cannot pick up the slack alone. But it will continue to fight. It will continue to expand. It will continue rolling out additional features and content that help you in the battle for democracy.
Democracy Docket is not backed by private equity, venture capital or billionaires. Its future rests in the hands of its readers and their support. In the fight for the future of our country, there is no one I would rather have by our side than you. |
The Weekend’s Top Line
The Trump–Epstein saga took several twists and turns over the weekend. Recall that on Thursday, Trump announced that he had asked Attorney General Pam Bondi to release the “pertinent grand jury testimony.” On Friday, she filed a motion with the federal court in New York seeking to do just that.
Two things became immediately obvious. First, any pretense that Trump does not control the DOJ — and its decisions regarding the Epstein files — disappeared. Second, he (and thus the DOJ) was excluding all other materials in the Epstein files, such as notes from witness interviews, subpoenaed documents and, of course, Epstein’s client list — if one exists.
Since then, we have seen a steady stream of reports from people claiming Trump palled around with Epstein and engaged in gross behavior. Yet many of these allegations were available to the legacy media in 2016. At the time, they were too busy focusing on Hillary Clinton’s emails and John Podesta’s risotto recipe to pay attention to the story.
Watch for Trump to once again dangle some fake controversy about Democrats in front of a compliant media to shift their attention. Let’s see if it works.
Fools and Cowards of the Weekend
House Speaker Mike Johnson continues to be a spineless leader and a Trump sycophant. On Friday, the speaker (falsely) claimed that Trump was one of the most popular presidents with a 90% approval rating. Then on Sunday, he went on Mark Levin’s show to tout the GOP-agenda as a popular success rather than what it really is: a failing Trump wishlist.
Amid arguably one of Trump’s most unpopular moments with his normally loyal base, it’s wild for the speaker to claim any of these lies as true.
For following Trump off a cliff, Mike Johnson is a fool. For refusing to grow a spine and stabbing his constituents in the back, he’s a coward.
The Weekend’s Siren 🚨
Tulsi Gabbard took to Maria Bartiromo’s Sunday talk show to make some truly bizarre allegations. Candidly, try as I might, I couldn’t entirely understand the exact contours of her latest conspiracy theory. But she seemingly promised the investigation and prosecution of prominent Democrats and Obama-era officials for their disclosure of Russia’s efforts to interfere in the 2016 election.
Our immediate reaction is to dismiss this as nonsense — which it is. However, Trump has a history of weaponizing nonsense. With him in crisis over Epstein, watch this carefully.
Overlooked This Weekend 👀
On Saturday, Democracy Docket published a story about a bill introduced by North Carolina Republicans that would prohibit election officials from encouraging or promoting voting. If enacted, the new law would prohibit the state board and county boards of elections from making “written or oral statements intended for general distribution or dissemination to the public at large encouraging or promoting voter turnout in any election.”
I wish this were a joke. Sadly, it’s just today’s GOP in action. |
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