Dear listeners,
Donald Trump has activated the National Guard in California over the objections of Governor Gavin Newsom, and Newsom has sued, claiming the activation is illegal. Newsom (after we recorded) prevailed in getting a preliminary injunction from a trial court, though an appeals court panel subsequently issued an administrative stay, meaning Trump continues to command the guard, for now. As Ken and I discuss, the president has broad authority drawn from various different laws to use the military for various purposes — and, similar to some of the decisions in the Alien Enemies Act cases, the courts are likely to construe fairly broadly the president’s discretion to interpret when his authorities apply. So we’re not exactly bullish on California’s odds of getting a favorable ruling once these issues work their way up through the higher courts.
Meanwhile, union leader David Huerta has been charged for his actions of civil disobedience, in which he joined protesters seeking to block a gate that ICE agents wanted to move through to conduct arrests. One of Huerta’s legal problems stems from his choice to yell at the federal agents, “What are you going to do, arrest all of us?” When we say not to talk to the cops, that includes contexts like this one, where the phrase you angrily shout at them can be used to establish your intent to obstruct their operations. Remember, you do have a right to remain silent.
Trump has gotten stays from appeals courts blocking the implementation of unfavorable rulings in cases about the IEEPA tariffs and the disfavoring of the Associated Press at White House events. The president and vice president took a victory lap over the IEEPA stay, but that’s a bit premature — the Federal Circuit Court of Appeals will hear arguments in that case by the end of July, and it’s possible those tariffs will still go away, just not quite as quickly as the plaintiffs had hoped.
Meanwhile, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is back in the U.S. to face trial, the Young Thug RICO saga has finally breathed its last whimper, some Proud Boys are seeking their own settlement payout from the Trump administration, and the Trump DOJ is devoting a surprising amount of legal firepower to a civil rights action against a coffee shop owner / Hamas fanboy in Oakland (who, it seems, really did illegally discriminate against Jewish customers).
We hope you enjoy the episode,
Josh
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