1/ THREAD. Some of the coverage connecting the departure of John Demers as head of the Justice Department’s National Security Division to the uproar over the DOJ leak investigations is a bit misleading.
2/ Look at all of these headlines, which imply that John Demers’s departure was prompted by the furor over the leak investigations, Apple/Google subpoenas, etc.
3/ But then read this @nytimes by @ktbenner, which has the right facts (even if the headline and sad-face photo, which Benner isn’t responsible for, reinforce the narrative that John Demers’s departure is tied to the scandal).

nyti.ms/2TxPPrL
4/ The article correctly notes that John Demers’s departure “was arranged months ago,” well before the current controversy, and scheduled for the end of the school year for his two kids — which is next week.
5/ It’s rare for a high-level DOJ official from a prior administration to serve this long into a new administration — and the fact that John Demers was asked to by top Biden officials reflects his excellent reputation on both sides of the aisle.
6/ President Biden has already nominated John Demers’s successor, Uber exec Matthew Olsen — and Olsen was picked well before the current controversy as well. In other words, Demers was on his way out regardless.
7/ As for John Demers’s possible involvement in these leak investigations, the controversial records seizures were the call of the attorney general, not Demers.
8/ As @ktbenner reports in the @nytimes, “Justice Department officials say that all appropriate approvals were given for those orders, meaning that the attorney general at the time, not Mr. Demers, signed off.”
9/ Per the Times, Bill Barr signed off on the CNN and WaPo seizures, and either Barr or Jeffrey Rosen, deputy AG who became acting AG, signed off on the Times seizures (DOJ won’t say which).
10/ As for the 2018 seizure of records of Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee, “The data was collected and the gag orders were imposed on the tech companies weeks BEFORE Mr. Demers was confirmed to lead the National Security Division,” per NYT.
11/ Senator Chuck Schumer wants John Demers to testify before Congress about these leak investigations — and I suspect that if and when Demers testifies, we will see that these weren’t his calls (even if he might have been briefed on them later).
12/ Now, could John Demers have resigned upon learning of aggressive leak investigations? Sure. But remember that these types of probes have been going on for years, including during the Obama Administration.
13/ Disclosure: John Demers is a friend of mine, ever since we clerked together 20 years ago. So no, I don’t like that he’s getting a raw deal in the media.
14/ But I do think that an objective reading of the facts will show that John Demers is being turned into the fall guy here — which is very convenient, since he’s on his way out and from the other political party — and I don’t think that’s fair.

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More from @DavidLat

5 Jun
1/ THREAD. I'm conducting a poll for my newsletter/blog, Original Jurisdiction (if you're not familiar with the subject, read the rest of this thread):

Did you like Judge Kenneth Lee's opinion in Briseño v. Henderson (9th Cir.)? #appellatetwitter
2/ Here's a link to Judge Lee's opinion in Briseño v. Henderson, so you can check it out for yourself before reading the commentary:

bit.ly/3z2GtVj
3/ Here's @Ross_Todd of Litigation Daily on Briseño v. Henderson:

bit.ly/3ck53r7
Read 10 tweets
1 Jun
1/ THREAD. Wow, #COVID19 really loves our family.

Just as I'm finally feeling fully recovered, 14 months after my hospital discharge, our three-year-old son tested positive for Covid.🙁
2/ We were surprised by the positive result. Our son was with my husband and me at our most contagious last year, so we figured that he would have gotten it back then if he was going to get it.
3/ I suppose it's possible that our son did get Covid last year from us, cleared it from his system, and then caught a variant this time around.

It's a reminder that the #CoronavirusPandemic isn't over just yet — and we should still be vigilant.
Read 11 tweets
17 May
1/ THREAD. Justice Breyer’s book — which his publisher touts as written by “a sitting justice” — comes out in September, as @adamliptak reported earlier today. I don’t think Justice Breyer is retiring before then.
2/ Additional evidence suggesting Justice Breyer might not want to retire this year or this Term appears in this piece by @adamliptak for the @nytimes.

nyti.ms/3fpmlDY #scotus
3/ As Professor Ross Stolzenberg told @adamliptak, leaving #SCOTUS is correlated with a shorter life span — “the effect of retirement was about the same as smoking two packs of cigarettes a day.”
Read 6 tweets
17 May
1/ THREAD. Big news out of #SCOTUS this morning. This abortion case, Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health, could be one of the biggest (and most divisive) rulings in years.
2/ I don’t expect Roe or Casey to be overruled outright. Chief Justice Roberts has already shown a concern for precedent in the area of abortion (see his vote in June Medical). #SCOTUS #appellatetwitter
3/ And I don’t think Justice Kavanaugh, also mindful of precedent, wants to be as vilified as the fifth vote for outright overruling Roe would be (as I discussed with @mckaycoppins of @TheAtlantic for his recent profile of Kavanaugh).

bit.ly/3w5PPNM
Read 8 tweets
11 May
1/ THREAD. I’m not in the self-help or self-improvement space — I write about #SCOTUS, law firms, and other legal stuff — but if you’ll indulge me, I have some life advice to share.
2/ This is a bit cliched, but your life is YOUR LIFE — and if you’re not happy with it, it’s on you to change it.

You care the most about it, and you’re in the best position to improve it.
3/ Last year, I had a near-death experience with #COVID19, which put me in @NYULangone for three weeks, including a week on a ventilator.

It sucked, obviously, but it was a wake-up call.
Read 23 tweets
10 May
1/ Here are the latest "winners" of the awards I give out in Judicial Notice, my weekly legal news roundup for Original Jurisdiction:

Lawyer of the Week: Todd Bank.

Judge of the Week: Justice Clarence Thomas.

#SCOTUS #appellatetwitter
2/ Ruling of the Week: Sierra v. Hallandale Beach.

Litigation of the Week: Epic v. Apple.

Deal of the Week: Apollo’s acquisition of Verizon Media.

Law Firms of the Week: @RopesGray and @LowensteinLLP

Lateral Moves: 5 top govt. lawyers to Biglaw.
Read 4 tweets

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