Ep 260 — The State of the Senate 2026 (feat. Joe Dye)

DOCKET ALERTS:   New Jersey became the latest state to beat back a Trump administration challenge to its sanctuary jurisdiction laws.   After the Supreme Court's conservatives (less CJR) allowed Trump to build his ballroom, he's demanding to be able to go ahead and build the fascist arch.   A federal judge in Minnesota denied X.ai's motion to enjoin the state from enforcing a law barring AI nudification apps.   Maria Bartiromo hired Bryan Freedman, former counsel for Justin Baldoni, to represent her in her breakup with Fox.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY:   Former Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer is the subject of a report issued by Labor Department Inspector General Anthony D'Esposito. Is it bad when you're sleeping with your staffer, drinking on the job, and allowing your male relatives to sexually harass employees?    MAIN SHOW:   The Los Angeles Angels just sold for $4 billion. What does the city of Anaheim want out of it and how are they going to get it?   Finally, a country music star has just filed a class action lawsuit against the AI platform Suno for infringing on his right of publicity. When chatbots can write songs that sound exactly like any famous recording artist, can anyone sue to stop them?   SUBSCRIBER BONUS:   What is going on with Trump's effort to use the Post Office to bone the midterms?   US v. New Jersey https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72316303/united-states-v-new-jersey/   Lemmon v. Trump [Arch] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72301112/lemmon-v-trump/   REPORT OF INVESTIGATION: LORI CHAVEZ-DEREMER, FORMER SECRETARY U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR https://oig.dol.gov/public/oifindings/50-26-004-01-001.pdf   X.ai LLC v. Ellison https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73678486/xai-llc-v-ellison/   Lowery v. Suno [D. Mass. docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74728439/lowery-v-suno-inc/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   The fight over Trump's attempt to seize control of state mail-in ballots is headed for the Supreme Court. After a hearing before Judge Indira Talwani, the government didn't wait for a ruling — and it didn't wait for the First Circuit to weigh in either. It immediately demanded that the justices step in. Justice Jackson, who sits over the First Circuit, did not issue an admin stay. She's asked for the states' response by Tuesday.   According to ProPublica, ICE Agent Christian Castro has been federally charged with making false statements after shooting Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis in Minnesota in January. Castro was previously charged by state prosecutors with assault, but Texas Gov. Greg Abbott refused to extradite him to Minnesota.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY:   Maria Bartiromo has been fired from Fox Business. Apparently she did something worse than losing the network $787 million in a defamation suit.   MAIN SHOW:   Andrew talks midterms with Joe Dye.   League of Women Voters v. Trump [Mail-In Ballots] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73133197/league-of-women-voters-of-massachusetts-v-trump/   Emergency SCOTUS Petiton re Mail-In Ballots https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/26/26A297/422948/20260903154027877_USPS%20Final%20Rule%20Stay%20and%20Appx.pdf   Trump's DOJ Blocked Serious ICE Shooting Charge Over Federal Prosecutor's "Strongest Possible" Objections https://www.propublica.org/article/doj-blocks-charges-ice-agent-minneapolis-julio-cesar-sosa-celis   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

The J. M. Smucker Company notched a win in its trademark dilution case against Trader Joe's over the Uncrustable dupes. A judge in Ohio refused to dismiss the case or transfer it to California.    For the third time, Judge Alvin Hellerstein rejected Trump's attempt to remove his hush money conviction case to federal court from New York State court.   The Supreme Court allowed Trump to build his monstrous bunker ballroom.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY: George Santos managed to get himself banned for life by Kalshi after he got caught better on his own attendance at the State of the Union.   MAIN SHOW:   Judge Rita Lin granted summary judgment to Anthropic in its case against the Defense Department. After the company objected to the use of its product for autonomous lethal targeting and mass surveillance of Americans, Pete Hegseth set out to destroy its business. He failed.   Judge Indira Talwani refused to stay her own order blocking the Post Office from implementing Trump's demand to seize control of mail-in ballots.    Prosecutors in Minnesota hope to criminalize protest by claiming that an entire network of people engaging in First Amendment-protected protest are responsible if one of them eventually commits a crime. Pursuant to a Trump directive known as NSPM-7, the DOJ instructed operatives to infiltrate and surveil affinity groups espousing "extreme viewpoints on immigration, radical gender ideology, and anti-American sentiment." None of which is a crime! They've charged 15 protesters in Minnesota as part of a conspiracy that includes major unions and the DSA — all of which they've snooped on using administrative warrants from DHS.   SUBSCRIBER BONUS: A gestational surrogate from Alaska is trying to steal a sick baby. And Ken Paxton wants to help her do it!   J.M. Smucker Co v. Trader Joe's https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71631587/jm-smucker-company-v-trader-joes-company/   People of The State of New York v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67326478/people-of-the-state-of-new-york-v-trump/   Anthropic PBC v. U.S. Department of War https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72379655/anthropic-pbc-v-us-department-of-war   US v. Sant [D. Minn. docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73489661/united-states-v-sant/   National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation [Supreme Court order] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/26a203_2b8e.pdf   League of Women Voters v. Trump https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73133197/league-of-women-voters-of-massachusetts-v-trump/?   NSPM-7 https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/09/countering-domestic-terrorism-and-organized-political-violence/   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   Washington Post opinion writer Karen Attiah, who was fired for her remarks after the death of Charlie Kirk, has been reinstated to her job after winning in arbitration.   Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook responded to Trump's latest effort to fire her by pointing out that multiple members of Trump's own cabinet made the same paperwork error she did on a mortgage application, and no one is accusing them of fraud.   Judge David Hittner, an 87-year-old Reagan appointee, struck down Texas's drag ban, finding that it would necessarily criminalize a lot of performances that are not obscene … including ones by Dolly Parton.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY:   Mike Lindell, the crackpot pillow pumper, lost his bid to be the Republican gubernatorial candidate in his home state of Minnesota. And he missed the deadline to pay for a recount. But he's not letting that stop him! He's suing everyone in sight demanding they surrender proof that the entire thing was rigged.   MAIN SHOW:   Florida Republicans are embroiled in a massive corruption scandal involving $10 million in taxpayer dollars for children's prescriptions, laundered through First Lady Casey Desantis's charity, and used for partisan political purposes, including defeating a marijuana legalization referendum. CBS in Miami got the grand jury report.   Judge Fernando Rodriguez, Jr. rebuffed Minnesota's motion to force Texas Gov. Greg Abbott to extradite ICE agent Christian Castro. Castro shot a man in Minneapolis and then lied about it, including filing a false police report. He was indicted in Minnesota, but Texas refuses to sign an extradition warrant, and now Castro has been released from jail.   Judge Cooper held a hearing today on the future of the Kennedy Center, after the board voted again to chisel Trump's name into the marble on the front of the place.   Judge Indira Talwani ordered the state plaintiffs to file an amended complaint in their effort to block the Trump administration seizing control of mail-in voting pursuant to Trump's executive order. Last week, the Supreme Court's conservatives blocked Judge Talwani's prior injunction on the theory that the states hadn't yet been harmed when they filed their original complaint.   SUBSCRIBER BONUS:   Update on Tuesday's hearing in our FOIA suit to get the evidence in the DOJ's ethics complaint against Judge Boasberg.   The Washington Post Fired Me. I Fought—and Won My Job Back. https://karenattiah.substack.com/p/the-washington-post-fired-me-i-foughtand   Extragrams LLC v. Paxton [TX drag ban] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67660604/extragrams-llc-v-paxton   Walz v. Abbott [S.D. Tex. extradition case; docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74662182/walz-v-abbott/   Trump v. California [Supreme Court order re: voter lists EO] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/26a124_hgci.pdf   League of Women Voters v. Trump [D. Mass. voter list case before Judge Talwani; docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73133197/league-of-women-voters-of-massachusetts-v-trump/   Grand jury finds DeSantis administration "misappropriated" $10 million in taxpayer money to Hope Florida https://www.cbsnews.com/miami/news/grand-jury-report-hope-florida/   Res Ipsa Media LLC v. DOJ https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71236135/res-ipsa-media-llc-v-department-of-justice/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DESCRIPTION:   It's a special episode today. We'll spend the whole show diving into the debacle of eBay, a $50 billion company, launching a harassment campaign against a middle-aged couple in Massachusetts. Come for the corporate bigwigs sending live roaches by mail, stay for the national security kerfuffle. It's a wild story, and it even has a happy ending. Steiner v. EBay https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/60073359/steiner-v-ebay-inc US v. Baugh https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/18602070/united-states-v-baugh Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   US Attorney Jeanine Pirro wants to leave the door open to re-charging David Hearn for damaging the reflecting pool, although she concedes that literally everything she said in her original indictment was a lie.   Pirro is also doing her darnedest to keep a lady locked up for the high crime of spraypainting.   Judge Reed O'Connor is trying for a third time to allow manufacturers to sell ghost guns, no matter what the Supreme Court says.   We're still waiting on the Supreme Court to say whether Trump can keep building his ballroom, or will have to cease above-ground construction as lower courts have ruled.   MAIN SHOW:   FCC Chair Brendan Carr is trying to burn down ABC for crimes of woke. But after he demanded that the ten local affiliates owned by the network renew their licenses early — likely a prelude to putting them out of business — ABC's parent company Disney swung into action. They sued the agency for retaliation in violation of the First Amendment.   The DOJ's "8647" indictment of James Comey is circling the drain. The government filed its responses to various motions today, and they are … creative! They quote at length from Comey's novel and his appearance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.    In January, ICE agent Christian Castro shot Minnesota man Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis and then filed a false report claiming that Sosa-Celis attacked him with a snow shovel. The charges against Sosa-Celis were quickly dropped, and in May state officials charged Castro with second-degree assault and one count of falsely reporting a crime and court issued a warrant for his arrest. By then, Castro was in Texas, where Governor Greg Abbott — the Law and Chaos DOOFUS OF THE DAY — has refused to extradite him to Minnesota as mandated by the Constitution's Extradition Clause. And so now Minnesota has sued Texas in federal court.    US v. Hearn Reply In Support of Motion to Dismiss Without Prejudice [via Marcy Wheeler] https://legacy.www.documentcloud.org/documents/28565563-260818-hearn-dismiss-reply   US v. Farris [spraypaint lady] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74650269/united-states-v-farris/   Vanderstok v. Blanche [ghost guns] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/64886994/vanderstok-v-garland   National Park Service v. National Trust for Historic Preservation [SCOTUS Docket] https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/26a203.html   ABC v. FCC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74661956/american-broadcasting-companies-inc-v-federal-communications-commission/   US v. Comey [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73256624/united-states-v-comey/?order_by=desc   Walz v. Abbott https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/74662182/walz-v-abbott/   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   The Supreme Court denied Trump's motion for rehearing in the first E. Jean Carroll case. Time to pay up, creep!   Federal Judge Lynn Winmill invalidated Idaho's abortion ban insofar as it contains no exception to preserve the health of the pregnant person — including mental health. Along the way, he took apart the Supreme Court's hack historical analysis in Dobbs.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Josh Autenrieth, who bombed spectacularly on his first and only outing as an expert witness. During deposition, the plaintiffs lawyer Daniel Moye caught Autenreith fabricating his entire report exonerating 3M with the help of ChatGPT. Then Moye forced to testify for the plaintiffs at trial. On the stand Autenrieth discovered that there was a public link to all his chats live on the internet. Shout out to 404 Media for this wild story.   MAIN SHOW: US Attorney Andrew Boutros in Chicago continues to embarrass himself and demean his office. The New York Times reports that his office has been harassing the family of Justice Juan Merchan, who presided over Trump's false business records case in Manhattan. Merchan's daughter worked for a political firm in Illinois, and so Boutros decided he would use this as a lever to try to shake loose all kinds of political communications. And it turns out the same lawyers who worked on the Broadview 6 case, Matthew Skiba and William Hogan, had their prints all over this one.   Luigi Mangione pled guilty in federal court to two counts of stalking. But he did so in such a way as to make it much harder for the state to prosecute him for murder. Was this done with the connivance of the feds to get back at Manhattan DA Alvin Bragg?   Seyb v. Members of the Idaho Board of Medicine https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/68527351/seyb-v-members-of-the-idaho-board-of-medicine/   'Show How 3M Is 0% at Fault:' Expert Witness Used ChatGPT to Write Report Defending Company in Deadly Explosion Lawsuit https://www.404media.co/show-how-3m-is-0-at-fault-expert-witness-used-chatgpt-to-write-report-defending-company-in-deadly-explosion-lawsuit/   Prosecutors Examined Firm With Tie to Judge in Trump Hush Money Trial https://www.nytimes.com/2026/08/15/us/politics/prosecutors-examined-firm-with-tie-to-judge-in-trump-hush-money-trial.html   US v. Mangione [federal court docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69908890/united-states-v-mangione/   Luigi Mangione Pleads Guilty To Stalking, Admits To Murder Anyway, Argues This Makes Trial Double Jeopardy https://abovethelaw.com/2026/08/luigi-mangione-pleads-guilty-to-stalking-admits-to-murder-anyway-argues-this-makes-trial-double-jeopardy/   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   The Kennedy Center board of trustees is back on its BS. After being ordered to take Trump's name off the side of the building, they've now voted again to put it back on. They also voted to close the facility for two years. Rep. Joyce Beatty, who brought the lawsuit that forced them to back off the first time, vows to fight on.   Meanwhile musician Chuck Redd was just awarded $252,000 in attorneys fees after the Center sued him for breaching a contract he never signed.   Judge Roy Altman is Aileen Cannon-balling it up in Trump's trollsuit against the BBC. This week he allowed Trump to amend his complaint yet again for "good cause." What good cause could there be to sue a company which never broadcast the supposedly defamatory documentary in the US?   MAIN SHOW:   The Washington Post reports that Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for DC, has empaneled a special grand jury. Corruption incoming!   The DOJ has amended the indictment of the SPLC again. This time they've added a former employee who ran its Intelligence Project and managed its paid informants. The case is no less preposterous with an extra defendant and a couple more charges.   The Ninth Circuit issued a hugely consequential ruling on Section 230 immunity for websites, and Liz and Andrew do not agree at all about it.   SUBSCRIBER BONUS:   Judge Richard Stearns in Massachusetts swatted down the DOJ's effort to shout "antisemitism" and steal $950 million from Harvard.   Trump v. BBC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation/   Pirro, in rare move, convenes special grand jury in Washington https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/2026/08/12/pirro-convenes-unusual-grand-jury-dc-that-can-focus-single-case-issue-report/   US v. Southern Poverty Law Center  https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73223865/united-states-v-southern-poverty-law-center-inc/   Colorado v. Meta [9th Circuit opinion] https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2026/08/10/24-7265.pdf   US v. Harvard https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72520538/united-states-v-president-and-fellows-of-harvard-college/   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   Todd Blanche was confirmed as permanent attorney general after Louisiana Senator Bill Cassidy remembered that he's an unprincipled hack.   Trump's lackey Will Scharf is being promoted from staff secretary to White House Counsel in advance of the midterms.   The White House is once again trying to fire Federal Reserve Board Member Lisa Cook after the Supreme Court blocked it the first time.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Senator Mike Lee, who vowed to block the Senate going into recess until it passed the SAVE America Act. He did not. Instead Majority Leader John Thune made him preside over the session, ensuring that he could not object.   MAIN SHOW:   On Friday, the DC Circuit affirmed the trial judge's order blocking Trump's tacky ballroom — at least the above-ground portion. The government tried to shield this project from judicial review by claiming that the Office of the Executive Residence, which manages floral arrangements and routine maintenance of the White House, was actually superintending the $600 million construction project. But the appeals court nixed it.    The administration hopes to use a similar ONE WEIRD TRICK to slap white paint all over the Eisenhower Executive Office Building. It claims that the project is being overseen by the White House Office of Administration, rather than the General Services Administration. TBD whether Judge Dabney Friedrich lets them get away with it.   Airlines hate Skiplagged.com, which tells consumers how to save money by hopping off flights at the layover. They've failed to shut the site down using various tort claims, and so they tried copyright and trademark.   SUBSCRIBER BONUS:   After the Supreme Court blocked him in June, Trump is once again trying to end birthright citizenship by executive order.   National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service [DC Circuit Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73239730/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-v-nps   National Trust for Historic Preservation v. National Park Service [Trial Docket] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72028010/national-trust-for-historic-preservation-in-the-united-states-v-national/   Cultural Heritage Partners v. Trump  https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71918245/cultural-heritage-partners-pllc-v-trump/   American Airlines, Inc. v. Skiplagged, Inc.  https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/67699985/american-airlines-inc-v-skiplagged-inc/   United Airlines' Contract of Carriage https://www.united.com/en/us/fly/contract-of-carriage.html   Trump EO: "Ending Birth Tourism" https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/ending-birth-tourism/   Trump EO: "Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship" https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/08/continuing-to-protect-the-meaning-and-value-of-american-citizenship/ Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod  

DOCKET ALERTS:   Todd Blanche advanced out of the Judiciary Committee and faces a vote by the full Senate on whether to confirm him as Attorney General. Will Republicans defy—JK,LOL.   Journalist Katie Phang's lawsuit against Blanche for failing to disclose all documents required under the Epstein Files Transparency Act hit a snag when the government just plum forgot to file an answer to her complaint. The DOJ also failed to provide unredacted documents to Judge Emmet Sullivan for review in chambers. Judge Sullivan ordered Blanche to personally appear in court on August. 13.   DOOFUS OF THE DAY: Third Circuit Judge Jennifer Mascott, who spent the first six months of her judicial tenure moonlighting as the head of a PR firm which solicited MAGA clients.   MAIN SHOW:   Trump's multitudinous trollsuits do much better in front of his own appointees than in front of normal judges. Judge Roy Altman has utterly beclowned himself in Trump's lawsuits against Capital One and the BBC. But his cases against the Wall Street Journal, JP Morgan, and the New York Times faced a much cooler reception.   Charges against the Broadview 6 for "conspiracy" to protest were dropped months ago. But the case goes on, as the former defendants ask Judge April Perry to appoint a special counsel to investigate and potentially prosecute the US Attorneys Office in Chicago for contempt of Court. Prosecutors counter that any investigation can be handled by the DOJ's Office of Professional Responsibility, which has been conveniently neutered under Trump.   And we're back on our Buc-ee's BS — can't get enough of those beaver nuggets! Has the convenience-store-on-steroids chain gone too far with its lawsuits against every animal mascot on earth? One plucky teddy bear is fighting back.   SUBSCRIBER BONUS:   Can John Oliver sell parody Buc-ee's merch? We consult a talking squirrel and the greatest amicus brief of all time!   LINKS:    Phang v. Blanche  https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73246595/phang-v-blanche/   US v. Rabbitt [Broadview 6] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71795281/united-states-v-rabbitt   At Trump's DOJ, watchdogs gutted as misconduct complaints soar https://www.reuters.com/legal/litigation/trumps-doj-watchdogs-gutted-misconduct-complaints-soar-2026-08-06/   'Is she even allowed to be doing this?': Inside a federal judge's side gig running a PR firm https://www.politico.com/news/2026/08/06/jennifer-mascott-federal-judge-adfero-pr-firm-01025871   Buc-ee's v. Teddy's Market [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73290962/buc-ees-ltd-v-teddys-market-llc/   THE GREATEST AMICUS BRIEF OF ALL TIME https://www.acluwv.org/app/uploads/2017/08/2017-08-17-Amended-Amicus-28File-Stamped29.pdf Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod