JUST IN: Another medical horror story in a court affidavit from a USAID employee stationed overseas. Says his pregnant wife was not medevac-ed for emergency health care because of directives from Washington. Took intervention of a U.S. senator to reverse — but was too late.
The employee, identified only as Terry Doe, says he’s been in touch with 25 other pregnant foreign service officers who are fearful their care will be cut off if the agency closes down completely on March 8.

WOW: Judge Reyes just absolutely tore into the lawyers for the fired IGs, saying they waited 21 days to file suit and then demanded emergency same-day relief.

She forced them to withdraw their TRO motion and threatened them with sanctions. Reyes was livid that the lawyers for the IGs compared their case to the recently decided case of fired ethics watchdog Hampton Dellinger. She pointed out why those cases are nothing alike and wondered why the IGs would even try to compare them.

HAPPENING NOW: Judge Chutkan is holding a hearing on state AGs' effort to stop Elon Musk and DOGE's entire government operation.

Lawyer for NM says Musk is a "literal wrecking ball"

Chutkan is skeptical of urgency of an immediate restraining order. Chutkan is not buying the demand for extraordinary emergency relief. The states might have a case, she says, but not necessarily for an immediate restraiing order.

The states say Musk likes to work the weekend so he might cause harm this weeknd. Chutkan says that's not enough.

WHILE YOU WERE SLEEPING (again): The Justice Department asked a court to urgently “dissolve” or “modify/clarify” the sweeping order that blocks Musk allies — and political leadership in Treasury from accessing the government’s massive payment system. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.usco… x.com/kyledcheney/st… The order describes Judge Engelmayer’s original block as an “impermissible” incursion on the Executive Branch and an “anti-constitutional” move that damages Treasury leadership’s ability to do its job.

BREAKING: Judge Nichols has issued his written order formalizing his decision to block the Trump administration from putting 2,200 USAID workers on leave tonight.

He also orders the reinstatement of 500 workers previously put on leave. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2551… Nichols also has blocked the expedited "repatriation" of 1,400 foreign service officers ordered as part of the dismantling of USAID. politico.com/news/2025/02/0…

HAPPENING NOW: Lawyers for the government say at end of day 2,200 USAID employees will be placed on paid leave.

-500 already on leave

-600 employees will be kept on. Lawyers for USAID workers say this essentially means employees will, within hours, be cut off from government systems, including or people in "war-ravaged" areas who rely on security updates. It will also imperil partner organizations who depend on those workers.

In court just now, the states are introducing @PressSec tweet saying the funding freeze is still active as evidence that their lawsuit should continue. Judge MCCONNELL says that prior to the withdrawal of OMB's spending freeze memo, he was inclined to issue a temporary restraining order given the lack of clarity/potential for harm. Now he thinks there may need to be case-by-case legal actions as funding is blocked.

NEW: Judge CHUTKAN is now weighing in on Trump's mass dismissal of Jan. 6 cases, saying it "cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake."
politico.com/news/2025/01/2… Chutkan's comments closely followed Judge Beryl HOWELL, who lit into Trump's dismissals for stoking a "revisionist myth" about what happened on Jan. 6 and the criminal cases that followed. politico.com/news/2025/01/2…

HAPPENING NOW: Judge Howell is lighting into Giuliani for violating an order — that he voluntarily entered into — against further defaming Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss.

Moments before the hearing began, Giuliani attacked Howell as "bloodthirsty." He keeps trying to speak over her Giuliani is attacking Howell even as the hearing is underway.

BREAKING: The Supreme Court has *DENIED* Donald Trump's bid to stay his criminal sentence in NY.

5-4 decision The thrust: Trump can deal with his complaints about trial evidence / immunity in the regular appeals process, rather than on an emergency basis.

And the burden on the transition should be minimal, they say, because the judge plans to impose a limited sentence.

BREAKING: Cannon has blocked DOJ from releasing Smith’s report until further court proceedings
MORE: Cannon's order came wthout addressing questions about her jurisdiction (the case is pending before the 11th circuit, not her court) and in advance of a promised filing from Smith's office later tonight.

DOJ had also assured her the report wouldn't come before Jan. 10.

BREAKING: Donald Trump's former former codefendants in Florida, are asking Judge Cannon to block Jack Smith from publcly releasing a final report. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/2547… MORE: Trump himself is asking Attorney General Merrick Garland to block Jack Smith form releasing a final report, claiming it would violate presidential transition laws and infringe on his constitutional immunity from criminal procedures. He wants Garland to let Bondi decide.

OTHER LONG LOST JAN. 6 DETAILS:

Steve Bannon suggested on Jan. 8, 2021 that Trump allies “turn up the heat.” The Jan. 6 committee got the texts from Alexandra Preate, who Trump just appointed to a senior Treasury post.
It wasn’t just GOP lawmakers urging Trump’s national security adviser Robert O’Brien to stay in his job after Jan. 6. O’Brien testified that President-elect Joe Biden conveyed the same request through aide Jake Sullivan. politico.com/news/2023/01/0…

THE SAGA OF MIKE LEE

Few lawmakers did more of a Hamlet act around Trump’s effort to overturn the election than Mike Lee. He started out on Nov. 7 - mid-November as full-throated backer of Trump taking legal action to keep his chances alive. It was around that time that Lee began advocating for Trump to consult with attorney Sidney Powell, who he called a “straight shooter.” (Texts btw Lee and Meadows courtesy of CNN)

NEW: If the House can't elect a speaker tomorrow, it could upend Congress' ability to certify the 2024 election results in ways that range from minor hiccups to — the longer the stalemate — unmitigated chaos.

A look at the scenarios, w @ktullymcmanus

politico.com/live-updates/2… The simplest option would be the appointment of a caretaker speaker, one who would be tasked with swearing in the new members, adopting Jan. 6 procedures and convening the Jan. 6 session.

But that scenario also damages Mike Johnson's leverage. politico.com/live-updates/2…

NEW: Jan. 6, 2025 is shaping up to be a pretty boring day — unless Republicans fail to elect a speaker.

A look at how the first Jan. 6 joint session since the 2021 attack on the Capitol is shaping up up.

w/ @nicholaswu12

politico.com/news/2024/12/2… Before Jan. 6, 2025, the branches could theoretically change the date to give the House breathing room to resolve internal matters — but we’ve heard nothing concrete on this front.

politico.com/news/2024/12/2…

NEW: In 2007, Josh James was nearly killed by an IED in Iraq, earning a Purple Heart.

He was stripped of his medal after pleading guilty to joining Stewart Rhodes’ 2020 seditious conspiracy to keep Trump in power.

Today, James was sentenced.

politico.com/news/2024/12/2… The Justice Department treated Friday’s sentencing like a coda of sorts for its 4–year investigation of the Jan. 6 attack, vowing on the eve of the Trump presidency that

“The institutions that protected democracy on Jan. 6 cannot and will not forget.”

politico.com/news/2024/12/2…

NEW: DOJ sidestepped key procedures when it pursued journalists' phone/email records during Trump's first term, a watchdog concluded.

politico.com/news/2024/12/1… MORE: The department's sweeping effort to identify a classified info leak — which included seeking phone/email logs for Schiff/Swalwell and 43 staffers — was done without proper oversight and risks chilling Congress' legitimate work, the IG found. politico.com/news/2024/12/1…

NEW: Federal judges overseeing Jan. 6 cases are watching as defendants grow more defiant, emboldened by Trump's return.

Their message about the gravity of the is about to become increasingly lonely in Washington.

w/ @joshgerstein

politico.com/news/2024/12/0… Judges are pushing back on efforts to sweep Jan. 6 under the rug but worried that a large swath of the public has moved on. politico.com/news/2024/12/0…

HAPPENING NOW: Enrique Tarrio, testifying at the trial of MPD officer Shane Lamond, has been combative, evasive and, at times, contradictory.

He seems to be relishing his attempt to fluster prosecutors. Drew a contempt threat from Juge Jackson when he refused to discuss Jan. 6. The contempt threat for the former Proud Boys leader came on the first question from DOJ, when the prosecutor asked him if Proud Boys traveled to Washington on Jan. 6. Tarrio refused to answer and suggested he would plead the 5th even though he waived his 5th yesterday.

BREAKING: Biden pardons Hunter
BIDEN calls Hunter’s case “selective prosecution” instigated by his political adversaries. Not exactly the ringing endorsement of the special counsel process his DOJ has long made.