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Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
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23 Feb, 4 tweets, 3 min read
Carrie Severino, president of a dark money group funded by a handful of anonymous billionaires, opposes Vanita Gupta's nomination because she is allegedly "deeply entrenched in the world of ... dark money." foxnews.com/opinion/biden-…
Carrie Severino leads one of the most infamous dark money groups in the country! The Judicial Crisis Network is a textbook example of a dark money group! It strenuously and unapologetically conceals the identities of its benefactors, including multi-million dollar donors!
How does the president of a lavishly funded dark money group propped up by anonymous billionaires make this argument with a straight face!
We still don't know who funded the multi-million dollar campaigns for Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Barrett because the Judicial Crisis Network is a dark money group! And now its president is opposing Vanita Gupta because she is supported by dark money groups! opensecrets.org/news/2020/01/s…

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More from @mjs_DC

Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
24 Feb
A lot of folks seem to think that Biden needs to fire some or all of the current USPS Board of Governors in order to oust DeJoy. Although I initially assumed that was the case, as well, I have learned that it is not true. Biden does not need to fire anyone to oust DeJoy. (1/x)
There are currently six members on the USPS Board of Governors, as well as three vacancies, for a total of nine seats.

There are four Republicans, all of whom back DeJoy, and two Democrats, Ron Bloom and Donald Lee Moak. But Bloom is serving a holdover term—he must be replaced.
Biden therefore has the power to appoint FOUR new members of the USPS Board of Governors: One to replace Ron Bloom, and three to fill the other vacancies. Once he does, there will be a 5–4 Democratic majority on the board. The board can fire DeJoy by majority vote. (2/x)
Read 9 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
22 Feb
A lot of big stuff in today's SCOTUS orders. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…

For starters, SCOTUS finally denies Trump's request to block Cy Vance's subpoena (without comment or dissent). Vance will finally get his hands on more Trump financial records.
SCOTUS dismisses the Pennsylvania election cases as moot, over the dissents of Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch. These cases challenged the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's three-day extension of the mail ballot deadline. supremecourt.gov/orders/courtor…
Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch endorse the radical proposition that SCOTUS has authority to overturn the Pennsylvania Supreme Court's interpretation of the Pennsylvania Constitution.

Thomas claims mail voting is inherently suspect, unreliable, and rife with fraud.
Read 8 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
19 Feb
.@SenSherrodBrown, new chair of the subcommittee that oversees Social Security, calls on Biden to fire Andrew Saul and David Black, whom Trump installed at the Social Security Administration to destroy the agency and hobble its union.

Background here: slate.com/news-and-polit…
In light of the Supreme Court's decision in Seila Law v. CFPB, there is no real doubt that Biden can fire Saul and Black. It's unclear why he is waiting since both officials continue to implement awful Trump policies that undermine Social Security, especially disability benefits.
Meanwhile, Mark Calabria—the Trump-appointed director of the Federal Housing Finance Agency—continues to dismantle the government’s conservatorship of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, subverting the mission of the agency he leads. Biden hasn't fired him either. slate.com/news-and-polit…
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
12 Feb
Late last night, BARRETT joined Kagan, Breyer, and Sotomayor in blocking Willie Smith’s execution on religious freedom grounds, holding that the state may not deny Smith’s request to bring his pastor into the execution chamber. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
There is, however, a mystery here. Barrett, Kagan, Sotomayor, and Breyer voted to block the execution. Thomas voted to allow the execution. So did Kavanaugh and Roberts (dissent below). Who cast the fifth core to block it? We literally do not know. supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Although I'm confident that anyone acting in good faith understand this, my intent was to point out that justices are not required to note their votes in "shadow docket" decisions like this one, not to launch a conspiracy that Banquo's ghost cast the fifth vote.
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
6 Feb
Kagan's dissent last night may be the most scathing of her career. She accused her conservative colleagues of "armchair epidemiology" that may well exacerbate the pandemic and cost human lives. A justice does not level that charge lightly.
slate.com/news-and-polit… @Slate
Equally important:

•The conservatives ignored the heightened standard for emergency relief and issued a merits opinion late on Friday.

•They also radically altered free exercise doctrine, turbocharging exemptions on the basis of "religious liberty."
slate.com/news-and-polit…
Employment Division v. Smith is effectively dead. The five ultraconservative justices have established a new rule that if a law exempts ANY secular business or activity, it MUST exempt churches and religious exercise. This has huge ramifications for claims of "religious liberty."
Read 4 tweets
Mark Joseph Stern Profile picture
6 Feb
Kagan:

"I fervently hope that the Court’s intervention will not worsen the Nation’s COVID crisis. But if this decision causes suffering, we will not pay. Our marble halls are now closed to the public, and our life tenure forever insulates us from responsibility for our errors."
Kagan, joined by Sotomayor and Breyer, dissented from the Supreme Court's order tonight lifting COVID restrictions on California churches. It is an extraordinary opinion.

"The Court injects uncertainty into an area where uncertainty has human costs."

supremecourt.gov/opinions/20pdf…
Gorsuch comes out with another "I know more about COVID than public health officials" opinion, this time castigating California for letting "Hollywood" hold singing competitions while banning indoor church services. Also, COVID restrictions are a tyrannical partisan fraud.
Read 13 tweets

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