I try to make it a little bit, less, overwhelming, by breaking it down for you. Hope this will help.
UALawSchool |MSNBC & NBCNews |Podcasts #SistersInLaw & Cafe Insider|Obama US Atty |25 year fed'l prosecutor|Wife & Mom of 4|Knits a lot|Civil Discourse newsletter: joycevance.substack.com
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I try to make it a little bit, less, overwhelming, by breaking it down for you. Hope this will help.
6/ If you’ve made it this far, you’d probably like my newsletter, Civil Discourse, and you can subscribe for free. Cut through the noise. Understand what’s really happening—and why it matters. joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-a...
5/ Trump‘s attempt to fire Lisa Cook from the Fed continues. The Fed is insulated by statute from the whims of a president for precisely this reason. Trump wants the Fed to do his bidding, but the economists there are using their expertise, not his need for political wins, to guide the economy.
4/ Tariffs. This decision was a big loss for the administration. Next stop the Supreme Court.
3/ Trump tried to deport unaccompanied children overnight on the Sunday of Labor Day weekend. A federal judge entered an injunction for the entire class of kids affected. You’ll want to know all the details & I’ve broken down the complaint for you: joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-a...
2/ GOP gerrymandering fever moves to Missouri, where the Republican governor is willing to strip voting fights from citizens of his own state in service to Trump.
1/ If you are feeling overwhelmed by the fast paced of legal news, remember that it’s deliberate. It’s a strategy Trump uses, flooding the zone in hopes that people will tune out. Read what you need to know here to get ready for the week: joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-a...
“The people in this book are brave,” said Toad. “They fight dragons and giants, and they are never afraid.” “I wonder if we are brave,” said Frog.
Trump continues to pursue an imperial presidency. Here's what you need to know to be ready to follow events in court this week: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
We all know Trump’s strategy is to try and overwhelm people so they’ll unplug and he can complete his power grab. Here’s how to fight back. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Princeton Professor Kim Scheppele joins me for our final discussion about this month’s book club pick, 1984. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Trump & Kennedy, instead of attacking diseases are attacking the scientists who keep us safe, exactly what anyone who watched Trump’s performance during Covid, is familiar with Kennedy’s anti-science views, or read Project 2025 could have anticipated. www.nytimes.com/2025/08/29/h...
We should all follow!
“…I am infuriated that the Air Force plans to grant military funeral honors to Ashli Babbitt. She did not die defending the Constitution. She died trying to overturn it.” My latest in @thebulwark.com www.thebulwark.com/p/honoring-a...
I was out this week and had to miss taping with my sisters, but getting ready to start listening now, and you can too! www.politicon.com/podcasts/nul...
I’m in
Hope SCOTUS enjoys being treated like Trump’s lapdog
There is no possible legitimate reason to do this. It’s what despots do. It’s petty. It’s dangerous. It’s unAmerican. www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Wishing everyone, but especially Lisa Cook, a lovely day www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcn...
Lisa Cook should also sue Lutnick for defamation
He’s the Vice President of the United States. He could actually *do* something about this instead of just play pretend games.
Revisiting America’s Dark History of Internment open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Trump wants you to think he’s broken the rule of law. But that’s not true. Guardrails still exist, starting with grand juries, which are declining to indict criminal cases that are lacking. We need to remember the Constitution puts power in other hands for a reason. It’s time to use it.
When a grand jury declines to indict a case, it’s called a “no bill.” Here’s why that matters so much right now. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Read my newsletter, Civil Discourse. No sugarcoating. We have work to do to keep the republic. joycevance.substack.com/p/only-monday
A lot happened for a Monday. But there’s a common theme: Trump’s increasing openness about his power grab. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
What You Need To Know About Trump's Power To Deploy The National Guard open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Fired based on mere allegations—another step on the slide towards a banana republic. www.nbcnews.com/politics/whi...
Abrego Garcia judge is critical of the gov’t’s position & prohibits his deportation to Uganda at this time. The gov’t’s, undoubtedly expecting this agrees not to deport.
That’s *alleged* gang member, trafficker etc & highly improper for the govt to say while a criminal case is in progress. DHS may yet have to eat its words, just like they did after THE Sec’y previously said he’d never return to the US.
“Having tried his best once to undermine our constitutional system, Mr. Trump is the last American — literally or near enough — who should be entrusted to supervise the integrity of the vote.” www.nytimes.com/2025/08/24/o...
No surprises here. The administration backed itself into a policy corner & now people & their families are paying the price for MAGA political rhetoric. www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news...
Read Civil Discourse, my newsletter on Substack, and be prepared for the coming week. Knowledge is an important part of our power. joycevance.substack.com/p/the-week-a...
New, wrong account of how World War II ended, from the U.S. vice president:
The revenge presidency, with Calvinball as the national sport, is in full swing. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
New Episode of #SistersInLaw www.politicon.com/podcasts/eve...
"I" gave the Governor of Maryland money? I'm pretty sure those were taxpayer dollars. Your money. My money. Not King Trump's money.
All of this week’s posts: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
joycevance.substack.com/p/five-quest...
Trump administration seems like it’s just daring the courts to tell it no on this one.
What’s the difference between Donald Trump and the leader in George Orwell’s 1984? Listen in for our takes as the Civil Discourse community reads 1984 together. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Of course there will be an appeal and possibly a stay, but hopefully this decision sticks www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2025/...
Friday Morning Coffee with Andrew Weissmann to Discuss 1984, 8am ET open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
This is how we fight. apnews.com/article/cali...
Judge Robert Pitman the plaintiff plausibly alleged in her proposed class action that Musk & his political action committee America PAC wrongly induced her to provide personal identifying information as part of the giveaway, late in the 2024 election campaign. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...
Investigating the DC Police. @joycewhitevance.bsky.social has written an important article about Trump's attempt to discredit and punish the DC police force. He wants to show that crime is not down and that the reports and acts are wrong. Please repost. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Me too!
"The Justice Department is the only cabinet-level agency whose name is a moral virtue. . . . "The Justice Department isn’t a tool for a president to deploy against his personal and political enemies." -- @joycewhitevance.bsky.social
Thank you!
It's fixed now! Thank you.
I hope so! I've been dying to visit.
My new one in in the NY Times @nytopinion.nytimes.com on how states, courts, and the public can combat the risk Trump poses to the midterm elections (gift link): www.nytimes.com/2025/08/20/o...
Investigating the Police open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Meet me Live? My Book Tour. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
joycevance.substack.com/p/conduct-un...
😳 It’s always good to put would-be criminals on notice of what kind of guns they can carry without fear, prosecution, but good to know the administration cares about all of the hunters in DC www.washingtonpost.com/national-sec...
Trump believes the best hope for his party to win, or at least not lose too badly in the midterms, is stripping Americans of their right to vote. He's afraid of the outcome if the GOP has to run on his record. Read my piece about what's happening this week: joycevance.substack.com/p/trumps-tru...
It turns out that Trump’s “truth” about voting this morning is full of lies. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Schiff: “I write..to express serious concerns regarding the potential abuse of power..on 8/2, in which the Secret Service directed USACE to change the outflow of Ohio’s Caesar Creek Lake for a recreational boat outing for the VP’s birthday.” www.nbcnews.com/politics/con...
So far, Democrats are using redistricting as a shield, not a sword & giving the GOP the opportunity to back out of this dangerous spiral to the bottom. The GOP is using this to try & gain rank political advantage; they want to pick their voters, not let voters pick their representatives.
Trump must have had a bad night. Spewing lies about elections. Again. Every American citizen has a right to vote, Each state runs its own election. We don’t owe the president. It’s the president who owes us a duty to take care that the laws are faithfully executed. truthsocial.com/@realDonaldT...
Charismatic megafauna just chilling during a fascist takeover smh
Trump’s Angry New “Dictator” Rant to Media Alarms Experts: “Wake Up!” newrepublic.com/article/1991...
Thank you Beverly. This means a lot coming from you.
Grab a sandwich and read about what to expect in The Week Ahead. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Instagram sometimes gives me my best belly laughs. Where did this lovely Russian troll come up with the 85% number? And who are the 15% & why are they better. I need to know now.
All of this week’s columns in one place: open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
I wrote about how Trump is trying to change our perception of what’s permissible in a democracy & why he might be doing that. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
Moving The Window: What Trump is trying to do in D.C. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
If it’s not leaks on the signal chain it’s papers left behind in the printer. It’s an incompetent kakistocracy. www.npr.org/2025/08/16/n...
Putin wins www.nytimes.com/live/2025/08...
Opinion | Jeanine Pirro is plenty sober enough to serve as the US Attorney for DC. by Pete Hegseth
Judge Reyes doesn't waste any time getting lawyers for the administration & DC into court.
She gets this on top of Secret Service protection. Is she saying they arent up to the job? www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Two verrrry important articles for you to read today. @hcrichardson.bsky.social and @joycewhitevance.bsky.social on the @democrats.org finally stepping up and fighting fire with fire to save the U.S. democracy from tyranny. Better this than another civil war… open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
This is what it was always about: Pam Bondi on Thursday night rescinded Washington, D.C., policies that prevent the local police from aiding in immigration enforcement www.nytimes.com/2025/08/14/u...
After a careful review of the law and the facts, he concludes that the administration can't make a mockery of the immigration courts & subject people to violation of their rights, simply because they play by the rules & show up in court.
Representation on the bench matters. Judge Dale Ho, a former ACLU lawyer, set out the facts, "Mr. Lopez Benitez alleges that, on July 16, 2025, masked ICE agents 'violently detained' him as he left a scheduled immigration court appearance..in violation of the Due Process Clause & the 4th Amendment."
This is amazing! Did you do this? And if so, can I use it with attribution? I've been waiting for someone to do something wonderful like this.
It’s extremely rare for a grand jury to decline to take indictment. Twice in the same case suggest prosecutors can’t read the room—this grand jury is refusing to indict their ham sandwich. That doesn’t bode well for their Subway sub.
I’m actually embarassed for him www.politico.eu/article/dona...
I hope everyone feels safer knowing the AG is personally devoting her attention to prosecuting a guy who thew a sandwich at police. [I suspect she may have started a movement, though] x.com/gtconway3d/s...
If you think Trump shouldn't be able to take over the power of the purse that the Constitution gives to Congress, you'll want to read about a new DC Circuit case that's letting him run off with it joycevance.substack.com/p/congress-m...
5/If you value clear, detailed analysis that makes complicated court decisions like this one understandable, subscribe to Civil Discourse. Joycevance.substack.com
4/Judge Pan concluded, “At bottom, the court’s acquiescence in & facilitation of the Executive’s unlawful behavior derails the ‘carefully crafted system of checked and balanced power’ that serves as the ‘greatest security against tyranny —the accumulation of excessive authority in a single Branch.’”
3/ Read here to understand the decision in this extremely important case, who the comptroller general is and why he matters, and what happens next. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
2/ On January 20, 2025, Trump issued an executive order directing the State Department & U.S. Agency for International Development to freeze foreign aid spending. Multiple plaintiffs sued to force the administration to release the funds, which Congress allocated. Congress has the power of the purse.
1/ The court’s decision was 2-1, with Judges Karen Henderson and Gregory Katsas in the majority and Judge Florence Pan dissenting. As Judge Pan notes in dissent, they reframed the issues argued by the government in order to rule in its favor open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
The lesson here is to litigate, not cower.
If you don’t know who the comptroller general is and what he does (and when he can sue the executive branch), you’ll want to read this! joycevance.substack.com/p/congress-m...
Join us today at 2:30 ET open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
6/In a moment when those in power would rather bend the facts—or erase them—truth is a safeguard for democracy. Civil Discourse is committed to telling the truth. If that matters to you too, I hope you’ll subscribe & be part of a community that refuses to look away. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
5/ What parts of our history will Trump decide to do away with? The African-American history museum is one of the targets.
4/Law firms. Universities. Government agencies. Scientists. Student activists. Inspectors General. The media. Political opponents. Prosecutors. Now we can add museum curators to the list of people Trump is trying to crush into submission and force into alignment with his worldview.
3/ Trump frequently gets history wrong, whether intentionally or not. He is not someone whose personal version of American history should control our past, our present or our future. open.substack.com/pub/joycevan...
2/Why? “The White House plans to conduct a far-reaching review of Smithsonian museum exhibitions, materials and operations ahead of America’s 250th anniversary to ensure the museums align with President Trump’s interpretation of American history.” Trump is rewiring American history.
1/The headline in the WSJ read “White House to Vet Smithsonian Museums to Fit Trump’s Historical Vision.” It continued, “Top White House officials will scrutinize exhibitions, internal processes, collections and artist grants ahead of America’s 250th anniversary.” www.wsj.com/politics/pol...
