Adam Klasfeld Profile picture
May 6 6 tweets 2 min read Read on X
Trump DOJ opposes the release of SPLC grand jury transcripts, but what the memo *doesn't* say speaks volumes. Feds don't dispute the SPLC's account of the Trump admin's "gross misrepresentations" about the informant program.

Instead, the US Attorney says that's "not relevant."

Why that matters.🧵Moreover, the public comments in question—whether the SPLC ever shared information obtained by its field sources with law enforcement—are simply not relevant to the charges in the indictment. This case is about fraudulently obtaining money from donors, lying to banks, and concealing payments to the same organizations the SPLC publicly told donors they were fighting against. (Doc. 1 at 3–6). What, if anything, the SPLC did with the information it obtained through field sources is not relevant to the charges.
The SPLC's motion seeking the grand jury records rattled off a series of "false statements" by Trump and his surrogates about Charlottesville and the informants program.

The group said info gathered there thwarted a terrorist attack and led to arrests. allrisenews.com/p/splc-tipped-…
Debunking Trump's revisionist history of Charlottesville, SPLC said it handed the FBI a 45-page “Event Alert” with informant-gathered information.

The dossier tipped off agents about the names, photos, criminal histories and "weapons of choice of the people there."
Given the chance to respond to any of this, the U.S. Attorney for the district prosecuting the SPLC — and no other line prosecutor — punted entirely.

Instead, the prosecutor premises arguments on hypothetically "crediting" the SPLC's account.
But the SPLC argues that Trump and his surrogates "misleading" the public about basic facts of the case is relevant because the government may have misled the grand jury.

It's an argument from the first failed prosecution of James Comey.

(Comey's lawyer Abbe Lowell reps SPLC.)
Here's the SPLC's original motion seeking access to the grand jury records:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

Here's the Trump DOJ's reply:

storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…

Compare and contrast the factual and legal arguments that feds leave on the table. </end>

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More from @KlasfeldReports

Apr 23
By the DOJ's own account, the SPLC's informant program was cheap and effective.

For a fraction of a *percentage* of their annual budget, SPLC penetrated the nation's worst hate groups and published their secrets with info from their turncoats.

The DOJ's case assumes donors felt defrauded by this. buff.ly/cwTnYg6
The Trump DOJ alleges that the SPLC spent about $3 million on informants over the course of a *decade.*

Check out of the SPLC's revenue and expenditures from 2024, the last fiscal year records were public. That's a typical year, and it's a drop in the bucket. projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/org…Image
In return, SPLC infiltrated the KKK, the neo-Nazis, and other extremist groups, and they shared their secrets with federal law enforcement until Kash Patel put an end to that last October.
Read 4 tweets
Apr 14
Two Trump appointees on the D.C. Circuit panel blocked Boasberg from even INVESTIGATING contempt of court related to the March 2025 flights to El Salvador.

The dissent: "Without the contempt power, the rule of law is an illusion, a theory that stands upon shifting sands."

Opinions buff.ly/4kr3ALC"Contempt of court is a public offense, and the fate of our democratic republic will depend on whether we treat it as such. In the many forms in which it can be committed, contempt degrades the power that the People, through their Constitution and Congress, gave the federal courts. Without the contempt power, the rule of law is an illusion, a theory that stands upon shifting sands. For contempt offends not only the authority of whichever judge has been subjected to such incursions, but it also offends our system of governance. Addressing contempt is, therefore, a responsibility that is...
This is the second time Judges Rao and Walker granted a writ of mandamus, an "extraordinary" rebuke of a lower court judge.

But Walker went out of the way to praise Boasberg, saying he was in a tough spot even as Walker overruled him. The district court needed to make a quick decision. The facts on the ground were changing, jurisdiction was unclear, and the merits depended on the meaning of a statute from the 1700s that hadn’t been invoked in the past 75 years.6 I do not envy the position of any judge facing such time pressure to make hard and high-stakes legal decisions. Fortunately, the trial judge assigned to this case had more than two decades of judicial experience, with a widely respected record of dispassionate decisionmaking.
The nuance here will be important to note in light of the Trump DOJ's campaign to vilify Boasberg, whose D.C. Circuit peers largely stood up for him even when his rulings didn't hold.
Read 4 tweets
Mar 10
A hearing over Anthropic's lawsuit against the Pentagon is underway: The AI giant's lawyer Michael Mongan asks for a hearing as early as Friday.

“There really are irreparable injuries that are concrete and are mounting every day.”

Judge Lin appears skeptical about moving too quickly.
Trump's government has been "affirmatively reaching out to [Anthropic's] customers" and urging them not to work with the company, per Mongan.
DOJ Attorney James Harlow pushes for a March 18
Read 4 tweets
Feb 9
A hearing in the case of J.G.G. v. Trump is about to begin:

Judge Boasberg will consider what relief is available to immigrants whisked out of the U.S. in March 2025 without notice or a hearing.

Some background below the main story here at All Rise News buff.ly/zSMY14B
ACLU's Lee Galernt on the Trump DOJ's recalcitrance:

"It seems that no matter what we propose, the government is not going to accept."
Galernt says that he's never seen a Justice Department brief end with veiled threat like this.

Boasberg quips: "I’m used to that tone in this case, unfortunately." If, over Defendants’ vehement legal and practical objections, the Court issues an injunction, Defendants intend to immediately appeal, and will seek a stay pending appeal from this Court (and, if necessary, from the D.C. Circuit).
Read 9 tweets
Jan 26
A hearing is scheduled to begin at 9 a.m. CT (10 a.m. ET) on the state of Minnesota's request to halt the ICE surge in the Twin Cities.

I'm covering the proceedings remotely.

From the state's memo:

buff.ly/ub2bHsoThe balance of the equities tips sharply in Plaintiffs’ favor. Plaintiffs seek to protect their sovereignty as well as their residents’ health, welfare, and safety. Plaintiffs also seek to retain control over local law enforcement, education, and public safety. At bottom, Plaintiffs seek to protect fundamental principles of American federalism from Defendants’ unprecedented intrusion. The public is in no way benefited from such unlawful or unconstitutional activity and there is substantial public interest in “Americans trusting their own government to follow the rule of law.” ... On the oth...
From lawyers for the state and the Twin Cities.

"We need the Court to act to stop this Surge before yet another resident dies because of Operation Metro Surge." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco…Image
"All rise."

Judge Katherine M Menendez presiding.

The lawyers enter their appearances.
Read 68 tweets
Jan 21
Reps. Khanna and Massie:

The judges presiding over the Epstein and Maxwell dockets have "inherent authority" to appoint a special master to release the files, and Trump DOJ's actions show why.

Doc buff.ly/FMAEr5t

Background buff.ly/ZFi3a36

Key passage and quick threadIn apparent conflict with its argument that no court can enforce the Act, the Government has publicly blamed the Court for its failure to comply with the Act. The Government is proverbially speaking out both sides of its mouth and, in doing so, is attempting to use the Court in a manner that brings shame and disgrace to the vaunted criminal justice system in this country.
As more survivors join the fight for courts to appoint a "special master" overseeing the release of the Epstein files, the courts confront procedural hurdles.

One of the judges asked:

Who has standing for the request?

Do judges have the authority?

The new brief answers:
The Congressmen "do not require standing," the brief says.

Khanna and Massie are *amici* advising the judges of their inherent powers, which Trump's DOJ conceded by shifting blame for delays to the court in this press release dated two days after the deadline. Image
Image
Read 6 tweets

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