The Sunday Morning Wrap-Up

Here’s the highlight reel of last week’s posts and events. Grab a cup of coffee and get ready to catch up on anything you may have missed.

• The Week Ahead: As a venue for cage matches went up on the White House lawn, we began the week with 35 former federal judges urging the judge in Trump v. IRS, the case used to create the slush fund and Trump’s protection from any tax investigation, to reconsider the dismissal and look into whether a fraud was perpetrated on the court.

• Live with Scott MacFarlane: Scott MacFarlane joins us to navigate through the Trump “Vanity Docket” cases, like the successful challenge to installing his name ahead of President Kennedy’s on the Kennedy Center. We celebrate the federal district judges who are doing a lot of heavy lifting on behalf of democracy right now.

• All the President’s Losses: It was a bad week for Trump in court—thoroughly deserved, thoroughly enjoyed (by us). We work through some of the most important ones here.

• If You Thought Tulsi Gabbard Was A Problem…: Trump continues to use “acting” status appointments to circumvent the Senate confirmation process. The latest nominee is Bill Pulte, now the acting Director of National Intelligence. He doesn’t have the “national security expertise” that the law that created the position requires, but he does have the single qualification that matters to the president: loyalty. Read here for the full breakdown, including some reasons to be hopeful.

• Live with Barb McQuade: My friend and colleague Barb McQuade, who’s on tour with her new book, The Fix, explains her perspective on why it’s fair to compare Trump’s White House to how the mob operates. And she has ideas for how we can fight back.

• Alabama’s Maps: The Supreme Court is letting Alabama go back to using election maps akin to the ones the Court told the state it couldn’t use just three years ago. The Republican supermajority in Alabama’s legislature moved faster than a running back playing for Bear Bryant to restore the transparently gerrymanded maps after the Supreme Court decided the Callais case. What does it mean for the rest of the country? Read here for my full explanation of the decision and its implications.

• It’s Almost Our Anniversary: As we approach our fourth anniversary as the Civil Discourse community, it’s a good time to pause and appreciate what we have built—all of us, together—and to prepare for the road ahead.

• Five Questions With Some of the Best Friends a Democracy Could Have: A very special Five Questions with an all-star cast—Preet Bharara, Eric Holder, Stacey Abrams, Jim Acosta, Katie Phang, Dahlia Lithwick, Ryan Goodman, Pete Strzok, and Ruth Ben-Ghiat—offering their collective wisdom and advice on how we bring sanity, order, and meaning to this moment.

• The Autocracy, Democracy, and Kleptocracy Series: Live with Ruth Ben-Ghiat: One of our favorite historians discusses corruption and kleptocracy, and how the parallels of history suggest Trump’s grip on the country is coming to an end.

• Saturday Night: I know it’s been too long since we had a good night of chicken pictures, but the weather hasn’t cooperated lately. He’s a down payment and my promise to fix that as soon as possible this coming week.

These are complicated legal times, and it’s easy for the truth to get lost in the chaos. Civil Discourse doesn’t just track today’s headlines—it connects them to the legal and political history that explains why they matter. We won’t forget what’s at stake, or let Trump and his allies rewrite the past. You can subscribe to Civil Discourse for free and get clear analysis that helps you see the whole picture, delivered straight to your inbox. If you’re in a position to do so, your paid subscription helps me devote the time and resources it takes to write the newsletter. That means everyone has access to information they can share with friends and family—a constructive act we can all participate in right now, helping more Americans understand how critical this moment is.

We’re in this together,

Joyce