Trump’s DOJ ‘hatchet man’ becomes a judge

 

Thursday, July 31

Welcome back to The Opposition: Tracking the legal fight against Trump.   Each week I get dozens of emails from readers who are motivated to get involved in the fight — like Rebecca, who told me last week that every Thursday she gets together with folks in her community to get into good trouble. Notes like hers give me hope. It means this newsletter isn’t just being read, it’s helping people take action and be part of the opposition.   — Jacob Knutson, reporter covering Trump’s power grab and the fight to stop it

Jacob’s reporting gives readers the facts they need to take action. As an independent media outlet, we rely on readers for continued support. Become a member to power fearless journalism that will never back down.

Senate GOP confirms Trump’s DOJ ‘hatchet man’ for lifetime judgeship The Senate GOP confirmed Emil Bove, a senior Justice Department official and former personal attorney to Trump, for a lifetime federal judgeship. Senators backed Bove even after multiple whistleblowers raised allegations against him and nearly 1,000 former prosecutors opposed his nomination. Almost 1,000 former DOJ attorneys and dozens of state and federal judges opposed Bove’s nomination and urged Republicans to reject him. The former prosecutors alleged Bove, in addition to encouraging the department to ignore court orders, was central to scuttling the DOJ’s bribery prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams as part of a political quid pro quo.

Bondi escalates assault on judiciary with misconduct complaint against judge Attorney General Pam Bondi filed a complaint against James Boasberg, the chief district judge in Washington, D.C., for comments in which he said his colleagues were concerned about the Trump administration possibly ignoring court rulings. Bondi claimed that the comments, which Boasberg made at a private judicial conference with Chief Justice John Roberts and other federal judges earlier this year, were “inappropriate” and “undermined the integrity of the judiciary.”  However, days after the judicial conference, the Trump administration appeared to disobey Boasberg’s rulings related to its efforts to summarily fly hundreds of Venezuelans to a Salvadoran megaprison. Legal experts warn Bondi’s complaint is part of an effort to intimidate judges and damage public confidence in the judiciary.

House Dems sue ICE for blocking oversight on immigration facilities A dozen House Democrats sued the Trump administration, alleging U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) is breaking federal law and encroaching upon their constitutional authority to conduct oversight on the executive branch by not giving them access to federal immigration detention facilities. The Democrats’ push for oversight comes as ICE, as a result of Trump’s mass deportation efforts, is holding a record number of people in facilities across the country. People held by ICE and private monitoring groups have reported instances of mistreatment, overcrowding and unsanitary conditions inside facilities, including those that hold children.

Curious about the status of the lawsuits challenging the Trump administration? Become a member to access our Trump Accountability Tracker — covering 65 key lawsuits, updated every week and sent straight to your inbox.

Dive deeper: Trump’s chilling retribution campaign poses a grave threat to democracy   At a political conference in Maryland two years ago, Trump told hundreds of his supporters that he would be a tool of vengeance should they return him to the White House. “I am your retribution,” Trump said before repeating it again for emphasis.   Trump’s now returned to the White House, and he is fulfilling his promise.   Here are some of the high-profile figures who have been targeted by the president’s burgeoning retaliation campaign: Former President Barack Obama: Trump last week accused Obama of committing treason, a crime punishable by death. Trump’s allegations were based on misleading claims Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard made against the former president and his intelligence officials. His former officials: In the clearest example yet of Trump personally using the government to go after his perceived enemies, Trump issued executive orders commanding Bondi to investigate Miles Taylor, a former Homeland Security official, and Chris Krebs, a top cybersecurity official.

To do list The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit will hold oral arguments at 10 a.m. ET today over whether the bulk of  Trump’s reciprocal tariffs are legal.  The Brennan Center will host a virtual panel with historians and legal experts Aug. 5 at 3 p.m. ET on the unitary executive theory, the motivating force behind the Trump administration’s unprecedented expansion of presidential power.  Refuse Fascism is hosting noise demonstrations against the Trump administration in several major cities Friday.

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Odds and ends ‘Commander in Cheat’ caught again. Trump, a notorious golf fraud, was again caught cheating during an outing at his Turnberry course this weekend. Defense attorney challenges Habba. Days after the DOJ overrode federal judges to keep Trump’s former personal lawyer Alina Habba as New Jersey’s acting U.S. attorney, a defense attorney is challenging her authority. Lawsuit seeks to reveal how DOJ justified $400M jet gift. The Freedom of the Press Foundation sued the DOJ this week to release a memo that cleared the way for the Trump administration to accept a $400 million jet from Qatar to use as Air Force One.

Quote of the week   In her latest column, cultural critic and journalist Soraya Nadia McDonald details the Trump administration’s efforts to bring back “Juan Crow,” which, similar to the Jim Crow, describes a system of laws and social customs that enforce racial discrimination against Latinos.    “The policies of this administration reinstate an era in which the rights conferred to all people in the United States by the Constitution are subject to a sliding scale of extralegal violability depending on one’s race, ethnicity or assumed immigration status.”