Yesterday I met Judge Luttig in person for the first time, when he came to @umichlaw to be our Constitution Day speaker. A thread: (1/11) For many years, Judge Luttig to me embodied so much of what I disagreed with in the world of constitutional law. I thought he was so wrong about so many things. I’m confident he’d have thought the same of me. (2/11)

And now, a thread about something that the present post-election craziness says about the Trump impeachment trial, which seems like centuries ago, but which actually occurred this year.

Yes, this year. (1/17) As you’ll remember, Trump was impeached because he used his office to try to undermine the fairness/integrity of the presidential election process, by pushing a foreign government to throw (made-up) mud on Biden. (2/17)

Two years ago, I wrote an essay about the Trump Administration as a threat to the constitutional republic. This seems like a good time to re-up it. I think it holds up. Including the parts about what would happen if crisis came.

michiganlawreview.org/the-republic/

(1/4) Here’s what I’ll add now, as the election approaches. Nothing is more important to Trump than Trump, and above all that Trump be perceived as a winner. He knows that his place in history as winner or loser depends on this election. Therefore… (2/4)

The decision by @VP Pence to refuse to wear a mask at the Mayo Clinic today is all too apt a symbol of some very deep and troubling problems. A short thread: (1/5)

https://twitter.com/ddiamond/status/1255193968809250823

First: Not wearing a mask sends the message that it’s OK not to wear a mask, even in a place where medical authorities order the wearing of masks. That’s bad. And irresponsible. (2/5)

And now, a thread about smart women and misogyny.

Whether or not you’re a woman on Twitter, you might know that…

(1/14) …many women who are experts in their fields and who articulate unconventional ideas on Twitter—especially if they use humor/sarcasm or other confident/assertive/non-timid tones—are regularly insulted and otherwise verbally abused by other Twitter users. (2/14)

On the heels of AG Barr’s troubling speech to @FedSoc, here’s a thread about why I consider myself a member of the Resistance to Trump and Trumpism and what I mean when I say that I am part of this Resistance. (1/17) @FedSoc Some people have taken to using “the Resistance” as a term of derision, to belittle or puncture the pretensions of people who are working against Trump and Trumpism. I claim the concept proudly. I’m a Resister. (2/17)

Thread:

Yesterday, when I saw news of Rs in Congress “storming” the meeting their (D and R) colleagues were conducting, I didn’t tweet my first thoughts. I wanted to give myself a little time to reflect. It’s the next day now. Know what?

It’s really bad. (1/8) First, it’s a stunt aimed to distort reality. It’s supposed to make people think that Rs are being kept out of a secret D hearing, when in fact there are more than 40 Rs on the investigating committees (Intelligence, Foreign Affairs, Oversight).

But that’s the least of it. (2/8)

Nothing is more important to Trump than winning. He doesn’t care about rules or fair play. And the biggest win/lose event a president faces is reelection. So Trump will violate any law, any norm, any constitutional principle, if he thinks it’ll help him win reelection. (1/7) Nor does he care about whether the Republic after he’s gone is one where elections are fair, free, and trusted. So if he can win but only by damaging the possibility that future elections will be fair/free/trusted, he’ll go for it. (2/7)

So this seems like as good a moment as any for some basic thoughts/reminders about impeachment. (And why the impeachment conversation is much less pressing now than the tax conversation.) (1/12) Impeachment isn’t a legal question. It’s a constitutional judgment. (2/12)