LetMyPeopleVote
LetMyPeopleVote's JournalHas trump already pardoned the pipe bomber?
https://x.com/gtconway3d/status/1996727772321141015
Supreme Court allows Texas to use Trump-backed congressional map in midterms
I was afraid of this. The filing deadline is Monday, Dec 8. The gerrymandered maps will be used.
https://x.com/cnnbrk/status/1996718323296256336
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/politics/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-use-trump-backed-congressional-map-in-midterms
The decision could have significant consequences for next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of the House for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. Had Texas been blocked from using its new map, it would have upended Trump’s nationwide push to avoid a Democratic House majority.
The court issued a brief unsigned opinion granting Texas’s request over the objection from the court’s three liberal justices.
In its brief order, the Supreme Court said that a lower court that ruled against the map likely did so in error, in part because it failed to honor “the presumption of legislative good faith by construing ambiguous direct and circumstantial evidence against the legislature.”
...The legal battles over Trump’s mid-decade congressional redistricting strategy will continue to play out in coming weeks. Last week, the Justice Department sued officials in California over new maps meant to give Democrats in the Golden State an edge next year. A court is set to hear arguments in that case next month.
Deadline Legal Blog-Supreme Court sides with Texas in challenge to congressional map deemed discriminatory
A lower court ruling authored by a Trump-appointed judge said the new map was likely an illegal racial gerrymander.
BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with Texas in challenge to congressional map deemed discriminatory
— MS NOW (@ms.now) 2025-12-04T23:23:52.723Z
https://www.ms.now/deadline-white-house/deadline-legal-blog/texas-redistricting-supreme-court-gerrymander
The court’s three Democratic appointees dissented from the Republican-appointed majority’s decision to put the Trump-backed map in play on Thursday. The majority granted Texas emergency relief because, it said, the state would likely succeed in its appeal.
Writing for the dissenting trio, Justice Elena Kagan said the majority’s order “ensures that many Texas citizens, for no good reason, will be placed in electoral districts because of their race. And that result, as this Court has pronounced year in and year out, is a violation of the Constitution.”
After a divided three-judge panel deemed the state’s map to be likely racially discriminatory on Nov. 18, Texas filed an emergency appeal to the high court. The appeal initially went to Justice Samuel Alito, the justice assigned to field such requests from that region. On Nov. 21, Alito issued an order temporarily halting the lower court ruling, pending further review by the full bench of justices.
Texas argued that the map it produced over the summer in response to Trump’s call was motivated by politics (which the Supreme Court has allowed), not race. The state noted that California worked to add Democratic seats to its congressional delegation in response to Texas’ move.
Mike Luckovich-If you pay enough you can get off naughty list
— Mike Luckovich (@mluckovich.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T21:30:30.597Z
Supreme Court allows Texas to use Trump-backed congressional map in midterms
I was afraid of this. The filing deadline is Monday, Dec 8. The gerrymandered maps will be used.
https://x.com/cnnbrk/status/1996718323296256336
https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/politics/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-use-trump-backed-congressional-map-in-midterms
The decision could have significant consequences for next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of the House for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. Had Texas been blocked from using its new map, it would have upended Trump’s nationwide push to avoid a Democratic House majority.
The court issued a brief unsigned opinion granting Texas’s request over the objection from the court’s three liberal justices.
In its brief order, the Supreme Court said that a lower court that ruled against the map likely did so in error, in part because it failed to honor “the presumption of legislative good faith by construing ambiguous direct and circumstantial evidence against the legislature.”
...The legal battles over Trump’s mid-decade congressional redistricting strategy will continue to play out in coming weeks. Last week, the Justice Department sued officials in California over new maps meant to give Democrats in the Golden State an edge next year. A court is set to hear arguments in that case next month.
Supreme Court allows Texas to use Trump-backed congressional map in midterms
Source: CNN
The Supreme Court on Thursday allowed Texas to use a congressional map that will boost President Donald Trump’s effort to keep Republicans in control of Congress, blocking a lower court decision that found the new boundaries were likely unconstitutional because they were drawn based on race.
The decision could have significant consequences for next year’s midterm elections, which will determine control of the House for the final two years of Trump’s presidency. Had Texas been blocked from using its new map, it would have upended Trump’s nationwide push to avoid a Democratic House majority.
The court issued a brief unsigned opinion granting Texas’s request over the objection from the court’s three liberal justices.
In its brief order, the Supreme Court said that a lower court that ruled against the map likely did so in error, in part because it failed to honor “the presumption of legislative good faith by construing ambiguous direct and circumstantial evidence against the legislature.”
...The legal battles over Trump’s mid-decade congressional redistricting strategy will continue to play out in coming weeks. Last week, the Justice Department sued officials in California over new maps meant to give Democrats in the Golden State an edge next year. A court is set to hear arguments in that case next month.
Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/politics/supreme-court-allows-texas-to-use-trump-backed-congressional-map-in-midterms
https://x.com/cnnbrk/status/1996718323296256336?s=20
Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismisse
Federal officials failed to secure the new indictment against James, whom Trump has targeted, after a judge said the previous one was secured by an unlawfully appointed prosecutor.
Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@anthonymkreis.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T22:43:42.753Z
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/grand-jury-declines-indict-ny-attorney-general-letitia-james-less-two-rcna247310
The presentation to the grand jury came less than two weeks after the original criminal case against her was dismissed.
James, a frequent political target of President Donald Trump who had successfully brought a fraud lawsuit against him, had previously been indicted by a grand jury on one charge of bank fraud and another making false statements to a financial institution.
James has denied any wrongdoing.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney with no prosecutorial experience, presented the case to a grand jury on her own in the first go-round — and that case was declared void on Nov. 24 when a judge found Halligan's appointment was unlawful.
Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismisse
Source: NBC
The Justice Department on Thursday failed to secure an indictment against New York Attorney General Letitia James, a person familiar with the matter told NBC News.
The presentation to the grand jury came less than two weeks after the original criminal case against her was dismissed.
James, a frequent political target of President Donald Trump who had successfully brought a fraud lawsuit against him, had previously been indicted by a grand jury on one charge of bank fraud and another making false statements to a financial institution.
James has denied any wrongdoing.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia Lindsey Halligan, a former Trump personal attorney with no prosecutorial experience, presented the case to a grand jury on her own in the first go-round — and that case was declared void on Nov. 24 when a judge found Halligan's appointment was unlawful.
Read more: https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/justice-department/grand-jury-declines-indict-ny-attorney-general-letitia-james-less-two-rcna247310
Grand jury declines to indict N.Y. Attorney General Letitia James, less than two weeks after the first case was dismissed www.nbcnews.com/politics/jus...
— Anthony Michael Kreis (@anthonymkreis.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T22:43:42.753Z
MaddowBlog-FBI officials at odds over 'seditious conspiracy' probe of Democratic veterans
Trump and his team aren’t done going after Democratic lawmakers who told troops to refuse illegal orders.
FBI officials at odds over ‘seditious conspiracy’ probe of Democratic veterans - MS NOW
— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T20:37:15.628Z
apple.news/AF30rB9WcRQu...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/fbi-officials-at-odds-over-seditious-conspiracy-probe-of-democratic-veterans
Bloomberg Law, citing three sources familiar with the situation, reported that FBI leaders are “pressuring the bureau’s domestic terrorism agents to open a seditious conspiracy investigation” into the Democrats who urged service members to follow the law. Those efforts, however, are running into an important snag. From the report:
Career leaders at the bureau’s Washington Field Office have thus far pushed back on the request for a formal investigation, which would follow President Donald Trump’s call for a trial into the Democrats’ ‘seditious behavior,’ the people familiar said. The Washington office supervisors cited a lack of legal and factual basis to initiate a criminal case against the senators and House members who posted a video Nov. 18 reminding service members and the intelligence community of their rights to ‘refuse illegal orders.’
According to the Bloomberg report, which has not been independently verified by MS NOW, FBI leaders want an investigation, while the bureau’s domestic terrorism agents have pointed to the inconvenient reality that there’s no reason to launch such an investigation.
The same report added, “FBI headquarters requested that the investigation arise under the rarely invoked seditious conspiracy statute that DOJ used to convict a small number of Oath Keepers and Proud Boys leaders for organizing the Jan. 6 insurrection at the US Capitol.” (The FBI didn’t respond to Bloomberg’s request for comment.)
If true, the report suggests FBI leaders are pushing a truly bonkers approach, equating lawmakers’ expression of support for the rule of law with the actions of insurrectionists who attacked their own country’s democracy.
MaddowBlog-Trump didn't do Republicans any favors with his pardon of an indicted congressman
The GOP wanted to use Rep. Henry Cuellar’s criminal indictment against him. The president didn’t seem to care.
Trump didn’t do Republicans any favors with his pardon of an indicted congressman - MS NOW
— (@oc88.bsky.social) 2025-12-04T16:02:53.235Z
apple.news/AdKxkGO8sRyW...
https://www.ms.now/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/trump-didnt-do-republicans-any-favors-with-his-pardon-of-an-indicted-congressman
The developments are important for a variety of reasons, but for GOP officials, the clemency was a setback: The Republicans’ own president had just taken away a cudgel the party had hoped to use against one of their top 2026 election targets.
What’s more, according to an Axios report, Trump didn’t bother to give his ostensible allies a heads-up, either. From the report:
President Trump didn’t tell Speaker Mike Johnson that he was granting a ‘full and unconditional PARDON’ to Rep. Henry Cuellar (D-Texas) before announcing it on Truth Social this morning, Johnson told Axios. … Trump’s pardon boosts one of House Republicans’ top political targets — and could hamper GOP efforts to protect their razor-thin majority in next year’s midterms.
....As for the president’s rationale, at a White House event on Wednesday afternoon, Trump tried to blame Joe Biden for the series of events.
Trump on Cuellar: "He was treated very badly because he said that people should not be allowed to pour into our country ... he got indicted for speaking the truth."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-12-03T21:23:19.591Z
....In other words, Trump didn’t only clear the slate for a lawmaker accused of corruption while simultaneously undermining the work of federal law enforcement officials, he also hurt his own party’s electoral plans because of a ridiculous conspiracy theory that only the president believes.
No wonder GOP officials in Congress sound frustrated.
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