Episodes

  • Ep 231 — Abrego Garcia Wins Again

    Ep 231 — Abrego Garcia Wins Again
    May 26 2026
    DOCKET ALERTS:Judges in Maine and Wisconsin hand DOJ two more losses as they sue to get access to state voter rolls to check for non-existent election fraud.Associate Attorney General Stan Woodward is back with another batsh*t ballroom filing.DOOFUS OF THE DAY:Attorney D. Hayden Fisher, who filed a bumptious SLAPP suit against locals in Norfolk who dared to disparage a MAGA-coded brewery for perceived anti-LGBTQ+ bias.MAIN SHOW:We’ll revisit the implosion of the Broadview 6 prosecution. Turns out, the government’s main goal all along was to hide the corruption and misconduct at the heart of this case.And Kilmar Abrego Garcia is free! Judge Waverly Crenshaw dismissed his criminal case on the basis of vindictive prosecution.US v. Bellows [Maine Voter Rolls]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71367730/united-states-v-bellows/US v. Wisconsin Elections Commission [Wisconsin Voter Rolls]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72055967/united-states-v-wisconsin-elections-commissionNational Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service [Ballroom]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/Armed Forces Brewing Co. v. Coplon [Doofus SLAPP suit]https://armedforcesbrewingco.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/Complaint-26-5-18-Final.pdfBroadview 6 May 21 Hearinghttps://cst.brightspotcdn.com/95/75/a403b7674c31b8f5bb0ecae58921/25cr693-usa-v-rabbitt-052126.pdfUS v. Rabbit [Broadview 6]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71795281/parties/united-states-v-rabbitt/United States v. Abrego (TN criminal docket) [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70475970/united-states-v-abrego-garcia/?order_by=descAbrego Garcia v. Noem (MD Civil litigation) [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71191591/abrego-garcia-v-noem/?order_by=descUnited States v. Carey (DC flag burning) [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71223464/united-states-v-carey/Show Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    48 mins
  • Ep 230 — DOJ Tiptoes Around The Sh*tpile!

    Ep 230 — DOJ Tiptoes Around The Sh*tpile!
    May 22 2026
    Congressional Republicans abstain courteously from blessing Trump’s ICE/CBP allocation after Trump torpedoes several sitting GOP politicians and demands cash for the ballroom and the $1.8 billion J6 slush fund. They’re heading home until June, TYVM.DOJ indicts former Cuban leader Raúl Castro, age 94, for shooting down two flights of dissident exiles dropping leaflets back in 1996. Is this a prelude to Bay of Pigs 2?Officials in Florida and Tennessee discover that the First Amendment applies to everyone, even people who criticize Charlie Kirk. Good thing it’s taxpayers picking up the tab for this little life lesson!And Acting AG Todd Blanche adds a codicil to the slush fund settlement granting amnesty to Trump and his kids for past tax crimes — but not future ones! (Don’t believe everything you read on the internet.)DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Todd Blanche.MAIN SHOW:Judge Leo Sorokin in Massachusetts sanctions ICE for lying to the court about the time an immigrant detainee left the jurisdiction. This one will make you mad!And the indictment against the “Broadview 6” for protesting outside an ICE detention center implodes after the grand jury transcripts reveal a dumpsterfire of impropriety and potentially sanctionable misconduct by the prosecution. Read this hearing transcript — but not after taking a giant swig of milk!SUBSCRIBER BONUS:Meet the new tariffs! Same as the old tariffs! (Illegal.) And NO the administration can’t keep collecting them right now because they’re too busy trying to figure out how to refund the last batch of illegal tariffs to figure it out.US v. Perez-Perez [Raul Castro indictment]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/31009891/united-states-v-perez-perez/Civil Rights Lawyers Secure $485,000 Settlement for FWC Biologist Fired Over Charlie Kirk Social Media Posthttps://www.aclufl.org/press-releases/civil-rights-lawyers-secure-485000-settlement-for-fwc-biologist-fired-over-charlie-kirk-social-media-post/He Was Jailed Over a Charlie Kirk Post. The Sheriff Now Owes Him $835,000.https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/20/us/larry-bushart-charlie-kirk-facebook-settlement.htmlSlush Fund Codicilhttps://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441216/dlGuevara Peruano v. Wesling [ICE Sanctions]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72181340/guevara-peruano-v-wesling/Oregon v. Trump [Tarriffs]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72368522/the-state-of-oregon-v-trump/Broadview 6 May 21 Hearinghttps://cst.brightspotcdn.com/95/75/a403b7674c31b8f5bb0ecae58921/25cr693-usa-v-rabbitt-052126.pdfUS v. Rabbit [Broadview 6]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71795281/parties/united-states-v-rabbitt/Show Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Ep 229 — Judicial Warfare

    Ep 229 — Judicial Warfare
    May 19 2026
    The Supreme Court stayed a lower court decision out of Texas banning doctors from dispensing the abortion drug mifepristone.The Colorado Supreme Court barred Children’s Hospital from cutting gender-affirming care, calling it a denial of treatment on the basis of sex and gender identity.The DOJ is suing the DC Bar to stop it disciplining upstanding government lawyers like Ed Martin and Jeff Clark. The case has been assigned to Judge Richard Leon!!!Elon Musk lost his lawsuit against Sam Altman and OpenAI.MAIN SHOW:The DOJ’s effort to harass trans kids and their medical providers is escalating into a judicial crisis as Judge Reed O’Connor in the Northern District of Texas purports to bar Rhode Island Hospital from seeking redress in any other court or from “aiding and abetting” anyone else in seeking redress. Meanwhile in Rhode Island, Judge Mary McElroy says the Hospital does not have to comply.Trump purports to “settle” his lawsuit against the IRS over the 2020 disclosure of his tax returns by establishing a $1.8 billion slush fund for the “victims of weaponization” of the DOJ under Biden. Is that legal? (No.)Danco Labs v. Louisiana [US Supreme Court - mifepristone]https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/25a1207_21p3.pdfBoe v. Children’s Hospital Colorado [Colorado Supreme Court - gender affirming care]https://www.coloradojudicial.gov/system/files/opinions-2026-05/26SA66.pdfUS v. Fox [DOJ sues DC Bar]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73338949/united-states-v-fox/?order_by=descIn Re: Administrative Subpoena 25-1431-032 [Texas action]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73276712/in-re-administrative-subpoena-25-1431-032/In Re: Motion to Quash Administrative Subpoena to Rhode Island Hospital [Rhode Island action]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73290254/in-re-motion-to-quash-administrative-subpoena-to-rhode-island-hospital/Trump v. IRS [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/DOJ Notice of Settlement - administration of “Anti-Weaponization Fund”https://www.justice.gov/opa/media/1441086/dlOLC Memorandum, “Availability of Judgement Fund in Cases Not Involving a Money Judgment Claim”https://www.justice.gov/file/151086/dl?inlineShow Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    58 mins
  • Ep 228 — Gerrymanders For Me But Not For Thee

    Ep 228 — Gerrymanders For Me But Not For Thee
    May 12 2026
    As Trump rants at “Neil and Amy” for betraying him in the IEEPA tariffs case, the next tariff battle is already taking shape.Reuters legal reporters analyzed court stats in Minnesota and proved that federal prosecutions cratered during the immigration surge. So much for “cleaning up” crime.Doofus of the Day: Pete Hegseth, who is vowing to put Senator Mark Kelly in jail … again.Judge Melissa Dubose referred the head of the Civil Division at the US Attorney’s Office for Rhode Island for possible sanctions due to lack of candor. Chief Judge John McConnell appointed a special counsel to review.Justice Alito extended the stay in the mifepristone case until Thursday.MAIN SHOW:The Virginia Supreme Court struck down the Democratic gerrymander on a technicality. Now the state’s legislators have filed a longshot emergency application for stay at the Supreme Court.And FCC Chair Brendan Carr is lying about the equal time rule as an excuse to go after the ladies at The View. Oregon v. Trump [Tariffs]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72368522/the-state-of-oregon-v-trumpTrump vowed to fight crime in Minneapolis. Prosecutions plungedhttps://www.reuters.com/world/americas/how-trumps-minneapolis-immigration-blitz-hobbled-federal-crime-fighting-2026-05-07/Gomez v. Nessinger [Rhode Island Attorney Sanctions]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73235898/gomez-v-nessinger/Mifepristone SCOTUS Dockethttps://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25a1208.htmlScott v. McDougle (Virginia Supreme Court)https://www.vacourts.gov/static/opinions/opnscvwp/1260127.pdfScott v. McDougle [US Supreme Court petition for stay]https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/25/25A1240/408563/20260511151941216_25A%20Application%20for%20Stay.pdfFCC Petition by KTRK-TV (The View)https://www.fcc.gov/ecfs/document/10507899614175/1FCC Chair Brandon Carr letter (DA 26-68)https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-68A1.pdfShow Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Ep 227 — Presumption of Irregularity

    Ep 227 — Presumption of Irregularity
    May 8 2026
    Kash Patel is not as think as you drunk he is … again. And if you tell someone about it, he’ll strap you to a polygraph.The DC Circuit seems likely to side with Senator Mark Kelly in his lawsuit against Pete Hegseth for trying to steal his pension.The DOJ subpoenaed a hospital in Rhode Island for medical records of kids receiving gender affirming care. While the parties were negotiating, the DOJ filed a petition to enforce in Texas, which their hand-picked Judge Reed O’Connor instantly granted. Now the hospital has appealed to the Fifth Circuit (ughhh) and the Rhode Island Child Advocate has filed a motion to quash in the District of Rhode Island.Our Doofus of the Day is Chief Justice John Roberts. It won’t always be someone on the Supreme Court, but when you stand up in front of hundreds of lawyers to whine about how unfair it is that people think your obviously political Supreme Court is political, how could we resist?MAIN SHOW:The 11th Circuit has joined two other circuit courts of appeal in ruling that the Trump administration cannot use the mandatory detention provisions of the Immigration and Naturalization Act to hold any immigrant, anywhere in the US, for any length of time and with no opportunity for a bond hearing.The DOJ is so desperate to hire lawyers that they’re offering signing bonuses and tipping current employees with “retention incentive allowances” to keep them from fleeing. Turns out, competent lawyers don’t like harassing trans kids for sport and indicting Democratic politicians on spurious grounds.Judge Coleen McMahon ruled that DOGE illegally dismantled the National Endowment for the Humanities when the bros fed the grantee database into ChatGPT with an instruction to find grants were “DEI.”The Southern Poverty Law Center says the government’s public lies about the case — lookin’ at you, Todd Blanche — are so egregious that the court should hand over the grand jury transcript.Judges in Rhode Island and Texas are dueling over the DOJ’s subpoena for the medical record for transgender minors.READING LIST:How Professional Wrestling Prepared Linda McMahon for Trump’s CabinetKash Patel’s Personalized Bourbon Stashhttps://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/05/kash-patel-fbi-bourbon/687066/Kash Patel ordered polygraphs of more than two dozen members of his team, sources tell MS NOWhttps://www.ms.now/news/kash-patel-ordered-polygraphs-of-more-than-two-dozen-members-of-his-team-sources-tell-ms-nowDOJ Offers Lawyers $25,000 Signing Bonuses as Hiring Lagshttps://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/doj-offers-lawyers-25-000-signing-bonuses-as-recruitment-lagsUS. SPLChttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73223865/united-states-v-southern-poverty-law-center-incIn Re: Administrative Subpoena 25-1431-032 [Texas action]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73276712/in-re-administrative-subpoena-25-1431-032/In Re: Motion to Quash Administrative Subpoena to Rhode Island Hospital [Rhode Island action]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73290254/in-re-motion-to-quash-administrative-subpoena-to-rhode-island-hospital/“Chief Justice John Roberts says American public wrongly views the justices as ‘political actors’” [NBC News]https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/chief-justice-john-roberts-says-justices-are-not-political-actors-rcna343958Hernandez Alvarez v. Warden (11th Cir. immigration) [docket via CourtListener]https://storage.courtlistener.com/pdf/2026/05/06/ismael_perez_v._assistant_field_office_director_krome_north_service.pdfAmerican Council of Learned Societies v. McDonaldhttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70035052/american-council-of-learned-societies-v-mcdonald/How Professional Wrestling Prepared Linda McMahon for Trump’s Cabinethttps://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2026/04/27/linda-mcmahon-profileShow Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 5 mins
  • Ep 226 — SCOTUS and Louisiana Go Mask Off

    Ep 226 — SCOTUS and Louisiana Go Mask Off
    May 5 2026
    DOCKET ALERTS: Sadly, recurring L&C segment “Justin Baldoni Teaches CivPro” is canceled. He and Blake Lively settled their civil suit today. Now we’ll just have to rely on Trump and his minions to show us how law does not work.The DOJ subpoenaed a Rhode Island hospital for patient records on gender affirming care. When the hospital failed to respond (oh no!), the DOJ moved to enforce the subpoena … in Texas, before a hand-picked conservative jurist. Judge Reed O’Connor granted the motion, and now the hospital is seeking to block the demand in a Rhode Island federal court.Trump says the War Powers Resolution doesn’t count because of the ceasefire. He’s full of s***.Law and Chaos’s first inaugural Doofus of the Day is Justice Neil Gorsuch, who went on Fox News to hawk his book and tell us all about the Christian Founding Fathers.MAIN SHOW:On Friday the Fifth Circuit purported to ban the abortion drug mifepristone nationwide based on a letter from HHS Secretary Robert “Bear Carcass” Kennedy implying that the dispensing protocol had been arbitrarily decided. On Monday, the Supreme Court stayed that order temporarily. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche and Alina Habba — what even is her job these days??? — both appeared on TV and undermined the Comey seashells case. Democratic candidate Lindsay Garcia and a local voter have sued Louisiana Gov. Jeff Landry over his executive order that suspends that state’s primary elections – but only for the US House of Representatives races.And for subscribers: US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro is ready to pick up the slack for Justin Baldoni. Today she’ll teach us how Munsingwear vacatur doesn’t work. In Re: Administrative Subpoena 25-1431-032 [Texas action]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73276712/in-re-administrative-subpoena-25-1431-032/In Re: Motion to Quash Administrative Subpoena to Rhode Island Hospital [Rhode Island action]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73290254/in-re-motion-to-quash-administrative-subpoena-to-rhode-island-hospital/US v. Russottohttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/70649950/united-states-v-russotto/Collins v. Landry (Louisiana elections lawsuit) [Docket via CourtListener]https://gov.louisiana.gov/assets/2026-Executive-Orders/JML-Exective-Order-26-038.pdfExecutive Order 26-038 (order suspending elections)https://gov.louisiana.gov/assets/2026-Executive-Orders/JML-Exective-Order-26-038.pdfLouisiana v. FDA (5th Cir) [docket via CourtListener]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73207799/state-of-louisiana-v-fda/Louisiana v. FDA (W.D. La. trial court) [docket via CourtListener]https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952/Sec. Kennedy Letter re: Mifepristonehttps://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952/gov.uscourts.lawd.213952.1.110.pdfSupreme Court stay orderhttps://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/050426zr_l5gm.pdfIn re grand jury subpoenas [Federal Reserve]https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72490330/in-re-grand-jury-subpoenas/Show Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    57 mins
  • Ep 225 — SCOTUS Breaks Democracy

    Ep 225 — SCOTUS Breaks Democracy
    May 1 2026
    Elon Musk discovers that filing a lawsuit against Sam Altman and sh*tposting about it on social media is a lot more fun than testifyingAlex Jones is back on his BS. He managed to delay a proposed deal to license InfoWars assets to the satirical news outlet The Onion. Again.The judge presiding over Trump’s shakedown case against the IRS for the wrongful disclosure of his tax returns in 2020 has appointed a whole squad of lawyers to serve as amici. They’ll brief the issue of whether the court has jurisdiction to preside over a case where the president appears to be suing himself.L&C’s Doofus of the Day is Pete Hegseth.MAIN SHOW:James Comey has been indicted again. This time his “crime” is posting a picture of seashells arranged to say “8647.” It is exceptionally stupid, but we will break it down in exceptional detail.As a companion to our written post, we unpack Wednesday’s Supreme Court decision in Louisiana v. Callais effectively gutting Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act. Subscribers will get a deep dive into what the new districts might look like with Joe Dye.Finally, we’ll cringe our way through the DOJ’s latest motion in the ballroom case — it’s the most inappropriate, unprofessional thing we’ve ever seen, including from pro se litigants.Louisiana v. Callais [Supreme Court opinion]https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-109_21o3.pdfThe Supreme Court Just Effectively Repealed The Voting Rights Act https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/the-supreme-court-just-effectivelyUS v. Comeyhttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73256624/united-states-v-comeyTrump DOJ Pursuing Separate Comey Probe for Classified Leakshttps://news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/trump-doj-pursuing-separate-comey-probe-for-classified-leaksTrump v. IRShttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-serviceLive updates from Elon Musk and Sam Altman’s court battle over the future of OpenAIhttps://www.theverge.com/tech/917225/sam-altman-elon-musk-openai-lawsuitNational Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Servicehttps://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/Show Links:https://www.lawandchaospod.com/BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPodThreads: @LawAndChaosPodTwitter: @LawAndChaosPodSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    59 mins
  • Ep 224 — Musk v. Altman … May The Best Asteroid Win

    Ep 224 — Musk v. Altman … May The Best Asteroid Win
    Apr 28 2026

    Never one to let a good crisis go to waste, Republicans are insisting that the lone gunman at the White House Correspondents Dinner means that Trump can — in fact, must! — build his illegal ballroom. Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche tweeted out a demand for the National Historic Trust to drop its lawsuit. The Trust told him to get bent.


    Trump’s shakedown of the IRS hit a snag as a federal judge in Florida said she may not have jurisdiction over a case where the plaintiff and the defendant are the same person — Donald Trump.


    And EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin is being so weird at Congress. Is he bad at law, or just lying?


    MAIN SHOW:


    It’s a courtroom brawl between Elon Musk and Sam Altman over the past and future of AI. Musk claims he was swindled out of seed money by claims that OpenAI would be operated as a non-profit, only to watch the company pivot to a trillion-dollar for-profit enterprise. The jury is empaneled, and the trial begins this week.


    The Supreme Court heard oral argument Monday in Chatrie v. US. The case involves law enforcement's use of “geofencing” data to find criminal suspects based on their cell phone location data. Should the government have to get a warrant to collect that info? What should those warrants look like?


    Court Side-Eyes Trump's Plan To Sue Himself And Loot The Treasury

    https://www.lawandchaospod.com/p/court-side-eyes-trumps-plan-to-sue


    Shuffle Up And Deal [Subscriber Bonus Episode]

    https://www.patreon.com/posts/ep-subscriber-up-156633231


    Musk v. Altman

    https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69013420/musk-v-altman


    National Trust rejects Trump demand to drop ballroom suit in wake of shooting

    https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2026/04/27/trump-ballroom-national-trust-lawsuit/


    Oral argument in Chatrie v. US [geofencing warrants]

    https://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/2025/25-112_o758.pdf


    Show Links:

    https://www.lawandchaospod.com/

    BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod

    Threads: @LawAndChaosPod

    Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod

    See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.
    Show More Show Less
    1 hr and 1 min