1/23/21  //  Commentary

Well, this is it for Versus Trump, folks. Trump ain't President anymore! He doesn't even have a twitter account. What a way to end. Charlie and Jason bring back Easha to discuss the short and long term impact of January insurrection. They then reflect on the big picture. After all, we've been podcasting about legal cases involving Trump for almost four years. What in the world happened? Listen now!

1/11/21  //  Commentary

On this week's Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the madness of last week and what might happen next for impeachment, cirminal charges against Trump, and more. They are then joined by Take Care publisher Joshua Matz to discuss his views on impeachment and Trump's legal legacy. Listen now!

12/26/20  //  Commentary

On this week's Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the vote of the Electoral College and the Supreme Court's unanimous rejection of Texas's longshot bid to overturn the result of the election. Happy holidays!

12/7/20  //  Commentary

On this week's Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the recent Supreme Court decisions requiring states to allow in-person religious services even while other gatherings can be banned. The pair gently disagree about how hard or easy these cases are. Listen now!

11/17/20  //  Commentary

On this week's Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the status of Trump's legal challenges to the election (going nowhere) and the Trump Administration's dangerous and illegal refusal to designate Biden as the President-elect and therefore give his team resources for a smooth transition. Listen now!

11/11/20  //  Commentary

Lawyers who bring cases without evidence solely to harass or delay should be sanctioned. It's what Justice Scalia would have wanted.

2/25/18  //  Daily Update

Special Counsel Robert Mueller filed a new charge against Paul Manafort while Richard Gates pled guilty. Meanwhile, President Trump's proposal to arm teachers drew controversy in Washington.

2/11/18  //  Daily Update

The Nunes memo set off aftershocks; agencies scrambled to implement the Trump Administration's policies to mixed effect; and Congress passes a budget after a brief overnight shutdown.

1/28/18  //  Daily Update

The Department of Justice has filed a statement of interest in support of two conservative groups that sued the University of California-Berkeley over alleged limits on their ability to host events. Common Cause, a non-profit watchdog group, has filed a complaint alleging that the settlement paid to Stormy Daniels by President Trump amounted to an unreported in-kind contribution to President Trump's campaign.

1/21/18  //  Daily Update

The week began with Martin Luther King Jr. Day and ended with a government shutdown on the anniversary of President Trump's inauguration.

1/14/18  //  Daily Update

Joe Arpaio, the ex-sheriff pardoned by President Trump, announces a Senate run in Arizona. Democratic members of Congress are concerned that the Trump administration may pressure the IRS to produce politically advantageous but substantively problematic withholding tables.

12/24/17  //  Daily Update

Following the logic and example of Clinton v. Jones, sitting presidents should also be subject to suit in state courts. President Trump took aim at the FBI on Friday, calling its behavior "disgraceful" just before he appeared at its training facility to praise the nation's police officers.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

Key White House personnel might be violating important limits on their lawful authority.

5/10/17  //  Commentary

It’s already too late in the day to trust the executive branch to police itself. That lack of trust should extend to a special prosecutor, independent counsel, or whatever other nice terms you want to call it. At this point, only Congress can credibly investigate the President.

3/26/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Thoughts on a thus-far-hypothetical question

3/22/17  //  Commentary

Uncertainty created by presidential action can be destructive. That is painfully clear in the healthcare field, where President Trump's vague, confusing, and ever-changing policies are already causing harm.

9/21/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie discuss all things FOIA—that is, the Freedom of Information Act. Listen now!

1/15/19  //  Latest Developments

Barr's carefully-worded promise not to interfere with Mueller is welcome. But it also leaves room for Barr to impede significant parts of Mueller's work.

3/24/17  //  Quick Reactions

Yesterday, the General Services Agency surprised experts by declaring that the Trump Hotel in D.C. is not in violation of its lease. But the GSA's decision itself might well violate the Domestic Emoluments Clause.

7/4/19  //  Commentary

In a welcome surprise, the Trump administration has urged the Fifth Circuit not to dismiss the appeal of the decision invalidating the Affordable Care Act.

10/10/19  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the major recent decision dismissing the President's attempt to block his accounting firm from turning over his tax returns to the Manhattan DA. Listen now!

7/13/17  //  Commentary

In a perfect world, federal election law would distinguish between foreign governments involving themselves in U.S. elections and foreign nationals doing so. Unfortunately, we don't live in that perfect world because of the Supreme Court.

10/17/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Easha break down President Trump's bad day in court on Friday, October 11. On that day, he lost three different lawsuits: one on the "public charge" immigration rule, one on Congress's subpoena power, and one on border wall funding. Listen now!

8/31/18  //  Commentary

A Justice of the Supreme Court must be faithful to the whole Constitution. He or she cannot pick and choose which protections to enforce based on his or her own predilections

12/23/17  //  Commentary

If your tendency, like mine, is to deliberate when called to action, my humble suggestion is simply this: Deliberate now. Reflect on what you will do now. Decide now.

7/12/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha discuss the retirement of Justice Kennedy and how his presumptive replacement may rule in Versus Trump cases. They then do some quick hits to update a handful of important cases. Listen now!

12/21/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump holiday spectacular, it's all judges, all the time. Charlie, Jason, and Easha take a closer look at a number of the President's judicial nominees—confirmed, pending, and withdrawn—to examine what might happen to Versus Trump cases in years to come. Listen now!

12/12/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

If one branch — one person — can monopolize law enforcement with impunity, it is hard to see how their interpretation takes checks and balances, constitutionalism, and limited government seriously.

5/9/17  //  Quick Reactions

According to breaking news reports, President Trump has fired FBI director James Comey. It's within his power to do that.

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

If we had a president less concerned with posing as a man of action and more as the fiduciary taking care that the laws be faithfully executed, he would probably do better in court. I don't foresee him changing course.

3/9/20  //  Commentary

The current coronavirus epidemic shows why it's often a good idea to vest specific executive authority in officers other than the President.

7/13/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Easha discuss the cases against Trump University, the global settlement that was reached, and whether the pending challenge by a lone objector can—or should—alter the result. Listen now!

3/27/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Department of Justice has filed a brief in the Fourth Circuit defending President Trump's revised entry ban. This is not an impressive brief: it is rife with misstatements of fact and incorrect legal arguments.

6/12/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

There are strong First Amendment arguments against President Trump blocking Twitter followers due to disagreement with their views.

5/8/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Trump administration has repeatedly (and incorrectly) argued that a policy does not constitute discrimination unless the policy discriminates against all members of a particular group.

11/14/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha discuss a court's opinion vacating the Trump Administration's so-called "conscience rule." This rule would have broadly permitted many employees in the healthcare sector from in any way participating in procedures with which they have religious or moral disagreements—even in emergencies. Listen now!

3/20/17  //  Quick Reactions

In urging the Attorney General to cease using state courthouses as bait for undocumented migrants, the California Chief Justice displayed admirable bravery and commitment to the rule of law.

1/18/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

We can no longer take America’s democracy for granted

2/8/18  //  Commentary

On the latest episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Easha talk all things Russia investigation (or tangentially Russia investigation)—the Nunes #meh-mo, the fallout therefrom, and whether Trump will be interviewed by the Special Counsel.

10/8/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Kavanaugh's potential perjury means that his seat on the Court may depend on continuing Republican control in Congress. This is plainly inconsistent with any account of judicial independence.

3/17/17  //  Commentary

President Trump isn't nominating people to many positions requiring Senate confirmation. Instead, he's relying on employees who haven't been vetted through the advice & consent process. That's not okay.

11/2/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Intensifying political conflicts are steadily shredding the buffers around our constitutional architecture. How should courts respond?

10/7/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Do progressives give up on the Court? Declare war on it? Pretend nothing has changed? Each of us will have to decide for ourselves. There is no 'right way' to respond to our new reality.

11/6/20  //  Commentary

I catalog the legal attacks to come from the Trump team. None of his strategies have any chance of changing the outcome.

9/6/18  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie ask the question that so many of us ask frequently: how bad is the Trump Administration? Is it better or worse than we should have expected back on election night in 2016? Listen now!

5/12/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Comey affair underscores that decisionmakers must look beyond the administration’s “official” documents to determine the administration’s motives.

10/11/19  //  Commentary

Barr has broken the first rule for any attorney general: the rule of sound judgment and impartial apolitical administration of justice

4/19/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The additional plaintiffs in the CREW case unquestionably have standing.

5/18/17  //  Commentary

No, the President cannot act for any reason. If President Trump fired Comey in an attempt to obstruct an investigation into the Russian connection, that too would constitute an impeachable offense and a federal crime.

6/6/17  //  Commentary

Even Had He Wanted to Assert Executive Privilege, Trump May Have Waived Any Such Claim Over His Conversations With Jim Comey By Blabbing and Tweeting About Them

2/21/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha discuss the early lawsuits that seek to stop the new sections of border wall that President Trump authorized through executive action. Listen now!

9/25/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the legal stakes of the fight over what Trump said to the President of Ukraine and the related whistleblower complaint. A lot happened between when they recorded the episode and when it's being posted, but we still think it's a useful primer on the legal questions in this dispute. Listen now!

12/19/19  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie discuss the Trump Administration’s efforts to resume federal executions after a decade-and-a-half hiatus. Listen now!

10/23/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Andrew Boyle: Whether we proceed down the path of erosion, or whether we do the work to avert that path, is dependent on us

10/7/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

By the time the Supreme Court’s current Term ends in June, it will have been more than 50 years of GOP-appointed control, even though Democrats have won a majority or plurality of the popular vote in seven of the twelve elections in that period.

12/21/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Congress could take action to deter this type of pardon and accelerate the political backlash against pardons used to undermine investigations and the rule of law

7/5/18  //  Commentary

This week, Jason, Charlie, and Easha are back with a regular episode to discuss a stunning recent development in Texas v. United States, a case by Texas seeking to invalidate the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Last month, the Trump Administration not only agreed with Texas that the individual mandate is unconstitutional, but it also told the district court that the requirement to cover everyone with a pre-existing condition on the same terms as healthy folks should be struck down as well. Listen now!

8/29/18  //  Commentary

To those outside of Washington, this battle might appear to be a dry dispute about documents. Nothing could be further from the truth.

9/7/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, as summer ends and a new school begins, we re-air Jason's interview with Toby Merrill, the director of the Project on Predatory Student Lending at Harvard Law School, about several lawsuits she's involved with against newly-confirmed Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos. We'll be back soon with new episodes.

12/4/17  //  Commentary

Trump isn’t just reckless, and he doesn’t just seem to think he is above the law. He has an authoritarian’s hostility to the very idea of a principled inquiry into the truth.

5/22/17  //  Commentary

It would be a grave mistake to call for President Trump's impeachment if he hasn't committed a crime. In an era of tit-for-tat partisanship, lowering the impeachment standard to “anything Congress thinks is wrong” is a recipe for dysfunctional government, one in which the House of one party could perpetually threaten to impeach the White House of another.

12/24/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Stephen Spaulding: The pent-up demand for pro-democracy legislation is palpable. Next year, the House can forge a path forward. And it will do so with H.R. 1.

5/11/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

President Trump’s abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey prompted two immediate questions: Is the firing legal, and is this a constitutional crisis? But are these even the right questions to pose?

6/16/17  //  Commentary

Filing an amicus brief joined by Republicans critical of the Trump Administration and with some claim of expert knowledge made by these Republicans related to the constitutional issues can be a powerful tactic to use in courts.

4/19/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, we bring you a podcast version of the speech that Take Care publisher Joshua Matz gave at Harvard Law School on April 3, 2018. The talk, titled "The Legal Resistance to Trump," describes themes, achievements, and limitations of various lawsuits challenging the Trump Administration and its policies. Listen now!

11/15/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason has a solo episode where he talks about a motion by Maryland contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General. Listen now!

1/10/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha bring you a shutdown special, where they talk about the President's emergency powers as well as a lawsuit contending the government is violating federal labor law by not paying workers on time. Listen now!

9/5/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Donald Trump's apparent reasons for (apparently) rescinding DACA make little sense.

1/25/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason asks Charlie to take us through the mammothly long, massively important opinion from the Southern District of New York invalidating the proposed citizenship question on the 2020 Census. Listen now!

3/31/17  //  Latest Developments

The President's words indicate he is open to honoring DACA (the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program). But his actions (and inactions) suggest otherwise.

2/28/18  //  Commentary

Efforts to purge or delegitimize courts following rulings against government officials or their political party is a hallmark authoritarian move.

4/18/19  //  Latest Developments

By Jill E. Habig and Joanna Pearl: Here's how cities and states can protect their residents' rights

1/4/18  //  Uncategorized

On the first episode of Versus Trump of 2018, Jason and Charlie look back at Versus Trump cases in 2017 and score them as Administration wins, losses, or not-yet-decided. They also look ahead at big issues to come in 2018. Listen now!

4/14/17  //  Commentary

Do our constitutional arrangements predict just the kind of political failure that materialized in November 2016? If so, does that mean that the long-term remedy for that failure lies in constitutional reform? Does our constitutional fate determine our political fate?

1/15/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Should special prosecutors come from within the administration or outside it? This is a harder question than you might think.

3/17/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

Some are worrying about Republican-controlled legislatures eliminating the right to vote in a presidential election and just appointing Trump-supporting electors themselves. Don't worry: not only is the scenario unlikely, it couldn't legally happen.

5/15/17  //  Latest Developments

A day-by-day guide to legal analysis of the many questions raised by Trump's abrupt firing of FBI Director James Comey.

5/21/18  //  Commentary

If President Trump thinks that firing Mueller would automatically bring his year-long investigation to an end, he ought to think again.

5/9/17  //  Quick Reactions

As long as the Deputy Attorney General is writing memos making recommendations to the President, it is time to make a recommendation for the appointment of a special counsel.

1/16/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

What does it mean to say that special prosecutors are ultimately answerable to 'the American people'?

11/4/19  //  Commentary

Sometimes, big calls in sports help illuminate key issues in the law and the role of judges. This year's World Series had one such major moment.

3/30/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

HHS has recently tried to essentially repeal an important rule that prevents the Department from discriminating across its many programs. But, as contributor Harper Jean Tobin explains, its rule making is both substantively and procedurally illegal.

7/21/17  //  Commentary

There are more and more signals that Trump is exploring firing Mueller and pardoning anyone and everyone in his circle. So what would happen next? Those moves would backfire spectacularly.

10/30/17  //  Quick Reactions

As a nation, we now find ourselves in uncharted territory.

10/20/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

A free press and a strong judiciary are among the best bulwarks against authoritarianism, and we need one to have the other.

8/29/19  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie are back from a hiatus, and they discuss why the Trump Administration has been going to straight to the Supreme Court with emergency requests so frequently. Listen now!

8/14/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Our amicus brief explains why the Justice Department’s jurisdictional arguments miss the mark

4/7/17  //  Quick Reactions

Chairman of the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Devin Nunes will step aside from the committee’s Russia investigation. Sort of. What does this mean -- and what comes next?

10/7/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

What would happen if a presidential candidate were to die close to an election?

6/5/17  //  Commentary

The President's statements on the London attacks reveal how the President thinks about his entry ban, and also what he might do if there is ever an attack on the United States.

7/24/18  //  Uncategorized

Shortly after I posted my initial take on the headline-grabbing set of class action lawsuits seeking millions of dollars in refunds from public sector unions after Janus, two interesting things happened.

5/10/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

It'll only matter if they make it matter.

3/28/17  //  Commentary

The Muslim Ban litigation does not involve a "revolt of the judges." As proven by a survey of major and minor cases from the legal canon, this litigation involves only the standard fare of judging.

5/4/17  //  Commentary

ICE Continues To Undermine DACA Despite Trump’s Protestations To the Contrary

10/21/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

Could a partial result from the very first contested presidential election provide us a path to handling a close election in 2020? Probably not—but the lessons from 1796 are revealing. This is Part 1 in a multi-part series that will help understand how close elections for presidential elector have been decided, good or bad, and how they should be decided this year.

10/12/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Jason discuss the Administration's drastic expansion of the number of companies that may now offer health insurance that does not cover birth control, as well as several lawsuits that were immediately filed challenging these new regulations. Listen now!

10/31/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

In defending our democratic system, 'We the People' can look to the Constitution itself as a beacon that defines the rights we are owed.

6/12/19  //  Latest Developments

By Roberta Kaplan: Becoming a great lawyer requires that you be courageous, press boundaries wherever you are, and insist that things can always change for the better, especially now.

8/22/18  //  Commentary

In the coming weeks, the U.S. Supreme Court will consider whether to grant Lacaze v. Louisiana, a case raising profound questions for the constitutional standards governing judicial recusal where a judge has --but does not even disclose--concrete connections to the case being tried before him.

7/16/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Zachary D. Clopton: The question whether a nationwide injunction should issue is case-specific and policy-inflected.

7/25/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Mark Osler: Pardons by Trump would be a significant departure from what the pardon power has meant. Clemency is for the guilty, not the innocent.

6/13/19  //  Uncategorized

This week on Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha discuss a decision undoing the Trump Administration's new rules that would ban much online gambling. The opinion also leads them into a discussion of the powers of district judges, the Office of Legal Counsel, the Attorney General, and more. Listen now!

7/27/17  //  Commentary

By Jeffrey Crouch: Might Congress amend the Constitution to take the self-pardon question off the table permanently?

11/1/17  //  Commentary

The pardon power is a kind of booby trap that threatens to explode our system of constitutional accountability.

9/25/20  //  Commentary

It seems like a stolen election is all anyone can talk about these days. But it's very unlikely.

8/26/17  //  Commentary

This pardon by this most abnormal president threatens the rule of law

5/22/17  //  Commentary

When do a person's actions demonstrate that whatever they might have been in the past, they are now villains? When do their curious actions reveal them to be careerists? And when does the sacrifice of personal reputation serve a greater good?

7/5/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the D.C. Circuit's extraordinary intervention in the Michael Flynn case, and then move on to two lawsuits seeking to block publication of books: John Bolton's and Mary Trump's. Listen now!

9/19/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the Supreme Court's recent action permitting the Trump Administration to enforce tough new restrictions on asylum eligibility for those who enter the U.S. at the southern border. Listen now!

5/24/18  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason discuss the Fifth Circuit's recent decision striking down the so-called "Fiduciary Rule" that would have required those who sell retirement investment products in 401(k) plans to act in the best interests of their clients. Listen now!

5/3/17  //  Commentary

With the AHCA back on the table, it's time to remember that the GOP really doesn’t like the constitutional arguments it made against the ACA

6/12/17  //  Commentary

In a new lawsuit, Maryland and D.C. allege that the President's violations of the Emoluments Clauses harm their sovereign, quasi-sovereign, and proprietary interests. Those interests get special solicitude in federal court.

8/29/17  //  Commentary

Like so much of what Trump has done, the Arpaio pardon raises multiple challenges to our constitutional system.

10/19/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss the President's pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and the (so far unsuccessful) legal challenge to that pardon. Listen now!

3/29/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Congress may obtain information from the federal grand jury that has been working with Mueller’s team for the past two years

5/11/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the question of whether the upcoming election can be "cancelled" for political or pandemic reasons. They agree it'd be illegal...but does that mean it absolutely cannot happen? Listen now!

5/1/17  //  Commentary

The ugly history of loyalty oaths lies along a road on which Trump's "Loyalty Day" proclamation takes a frightening first step, one wrapped in a false version of the American flag.

3/28/17  //  Commentary

President Trump has said that “the best thing we can do politically speaking is let Obamacare explode,” and there’s a lot he can do to make that explosion a reality. Here is what you need to know about what might come next.

7/25/17  //  Commentary

Elements of the Republican Party have proposed eliminating the Budget Analysis Division of the Congressional Budget Office.

4/26/17  //  Commentary

Just 100 days into the Trump Administration—the Administration that gave rise to the concept of #AlternativeFacts—there is reason to worry that facts don’t matter to the Justice Department now led by Trump’s Attorney General, Jeff Sessions.

10/24/18  //  Commentary

While bleak, planning to lose is not about conceding defeat. It’s about laying the groundwork for a brighter future and avoiding precedential barriers to that future.

1/16/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason, Easha, and Charlie discuss the Trump Administration's new legal opinion regarding the legal status of the Equal Rights Amendment, also known as the ERA. They consider what will happen now that Virginia has become the 38th state to ratify the ERA since 1972. Is it too late, or can Congress do anything to add this amendment to the Constitution? Listen now!

3/24/17  //  Commentary

In limited but vital ways, those who relied on Obama-era immigration and marijuana non-enforcement policies should be protected against sudden shifts in federal policy under President Trump.

4/28/17  //  Commentary

Trump issued an order directing Interior Secretary to review a generation's worth of national monument designations. That order is likely illegal.

1/30/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason look at a new lawsuit by D.C. claiming that Trump's inaugural committee overpaid for space at the Trump Hotel and thus "wasted" at least $1 million in charitable funds. Spoiler alert: the lawsuit seems convincing. Listen now!

1/17/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Should a special prosecutor indict a sitting president?

5/4/17  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, the Take Care podcast, we preview a major argument in the Muslim travel ban litigation, talk to Professor Zach Price about reliance interests with respect to selective enforcement of federal laws, and more.

5/21/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Announcing a database of articles addressing impeachment in Age of Trump

12/23/19  //  Commentary

President Trump claims he is appointing federal judges who will stick strictly to constitutional text. But he has shown few qualms about ignoring parts of the Constitution he finds inconvenient.

3/20/18  //  Commentary

By Former Republican Congressmen Tom Coleman and Mickey Edwards

5/9/17  //  Commentary

In a new op-ed, Erwin Chemerinsky and I argue that the entry ban is unconstitutional because it was driven by animus toward Muslims.

7/18/18  //  Commentary

In the U.S. there are many “very unfair” situations involving prisons. But Trump’s policies are making prisons worse.

8/19/19  //  Commentary

Intervening legal developments counsel against granting the Solicitor General’s recent petition for certiorari on the expedited removal system.

11/5/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

We thank all of the scholars and lawyers who participated in this symposium on our book, How to Save a Constitutional Democracy.

5/8/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Campaign Finance violations trial of John Edwards for encouraging the payment of hush money to his paramour resulted in a hung jury. Is that a helpful precedent for Michael Cohen and Donald Trump in a potential Stormy Daniels case?

7/20/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, we discuss the litigation against the newly-created Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity, that has Kansas Secretary of State—and repeat defendant in voting rights litigation—Kris Kobach as its now-infamous Vice Chair. Listen now!

7/11/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

This week on Versus Trump, Charlie is joined by New Yorker writer Sarah Stillman to discuss the case of Suny Rodriguez, an asylum seeker who sued the Trump Administration over the conditions in detention centers. Listen now!

10/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

President Trump and a number of his associates have established legal defense funds (LDFs) in connection with various Congressional investigations. What rules govern these LDFs?

8/1/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie are back from a hiatus to discuss the President's lawsuit against New York State and the House Ways and Means Committee, both of whom—he says—may be conspiring to release his New York State tax returns. Listen now!

5/24/17  //  Commentary

Astounding revelations have erased any reasonable doubt that the President’s shortcomings endanger global security. The time has come to focus on Executive Branch officials who have a duty to guide and, if necessary, constrain Trump. They need to step up, or step out.

6/19/19  //  Commentary

It is illegitimate to consider legitimacy. So say many conservatives who seem terrified that Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. might care about public perception of the U.S. Supreme Court. But they are wrong.

6/16/20  //  Commentary

Following the Supreme Court's decision in Bostock, it's worth asking: Why has the law been so successful at improving the lives of gay people but much less successful at improving the lives of people of color?

6/7/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie take on two topics. First, what can the president legally do to use the military on American soil? Second, is it legal for the House of Representatives to vote by proxy, without being physically present in D.C., as alleged in a new lawsuit by House Republicans? Listen now!

1/11/18  //  Uncategorized

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Jason, Easha, and Charlie tackle an unexpected new lawsuit against the Trump Administration by, of all people, Paul Manafort. And they discuss the President's threats to sue the publisher of Fire and Fury for defamation. Listen now!

10/17/17  //  Quick Reactions

The President has not even tried to suggest that he is using his power in the law's interest. Rather, he has boasted that he is using his power to kill it

5/16/18  //  Commentary

On Thursday, the one year anniversary of Special Counsel Robert Mueller’s appointment, attorneys for Donald Trump will stand up in a court of law to answer questions for the first time related to Russia. But it won’t be in the Mueller investigation.

3/15/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie do a near-live episode about Stormy Daniels' lawsuit against David Dennison—we mean, Donald Trump. Listen now!

6/12/17  //  Quick Reactions

The government's motion to dismiss alternately characterizes CREW's lawsuit as a case involving "official action" and a case involving solely a private "business venture." The different descriptions go to the core of CREW's lawsuit, which is that given the President's business affairs, we don't know when he's acting as President or as a businessman.

7/23/19  //  Commentary

Let's not have unrealistic expectations of Mueller dropping bombshells. But if Congress is going to hold hearings, it should ask these questions.

7/30/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Trump Administration is changing the rules around hiring and firing of Administrative Law Judges, and is doing so in disturbing ways.

9/27/19  //  Commentary

Although Trump isn't deliberately using each new scandal to distract from the last one, the phenomenon is nonetheless maddening. It's like a game of Bizarro World Whack-a-mole in which each time you whack a mole another hammer emerges that somehow enables the same mole to escape.

1/4/18  //  Commentary

This lawsuit likely will face early dismissal.

5/24/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the extraordinary motion to dismiss Michael Flynn's criminal case. Does the DOJ's logic make sense? And what can Judge Sullivan do if he chooses not to dismiss the case? Listen now!

7/29/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

The President's lawyers are urging courts to hold that Congress’s oversight and regulatory authorities simply don't extend to investigating the wrongdoing, foreign influence over, and possible conflicts of interest of, the President of the United States. That's wrong.

10/29/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Protecting democracies is not a matter of any one election. There’s a long road ahead to save our democracy. Here are some key steps.

10/2/20  //  Quick Reactions

What happens if a candidate dies before the electoral college votes? This came up at my oral argument in the Supreme Court case about electors, but there was no clear resolution.

2/21/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Congress’s power to investigate—a power with deep roots in our nation’s history and precedent—is incredibly broad, and it allows Congress to look into lots of matters that the President would apparently rather remain unexplored

12/19/19  //  Commentary

Senators who vote on removal following impeachment trials must take an oath akin to that of a juror. The oath requires them to be impartial and vote regardless of the president's party affiliation. Will Senators do that here?

5/10/17  //  Commentary

Our country has a very strong, very important norm of apolitical law enforcement. But this norm, ironically, is enforced mostly by politics, not law—and Trump’s action has risked doing it irreparable damage. Going forward, here's what to watch at the state and federal levels.

9/12/17  //  Commentary

This would ensure that the novel constitutional questions surrounding the pardon receive full adversarial testing

6/19/17  //  Commentary

Trumps can fire Mueller only by issuing a directive to Acting AG Rod Rosenstein. Here's why -- and why it really matters.

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

Everyone should give a tip of the hat to the new plaintiffs in the CREW v. Trump lawsuit.

11/1/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk about a new lawsuit alleging that Trump and his children were part of a racketeering enterprise that engaged in fraud in connection with their supposed endorsement of a multi-level marketing operation. Listen now!

8/24/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk about the Trump Administration's position in a lawsuit contending that the structure of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau—commonly known as the CFPB—is unconstitutional, because its sole director does not serve at the pleasure of the President but instead serves a set term and can be terminated only for-cause. Listen now!

12/5/18  //  Commentary

Trump's executive order closing the government today out of respect to George H.W. Bush violates the plain text of a federal statute. If we really were all textualists now, that would be taken seriously.

9/28/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie dive into the merits of a lawsuit brought by Twitter users who have been blocked by @realDonaldTrump. They claim the President's blocking violates the First Amendment. Listen now!

8/13/17  //  Commentary

Guest poster Eric Segall argues that Congress must act now to ensure that the President does not unilaterally commit an act of war without Congressional consent.

3/27/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Both history and recent events make clear that President Trump can’t rely on partisan allegiance alone to save his presidency.

4/26/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason discuss the Trump Administration's lawsuit against California. The lawsuit seeks to prevent the state from enforcing three new state laws that the federal government says will undermine enforcement of immigration law. Listen now!

7/17/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Judge Kavanaugh's nomination raises tough questions about how, exactly, adherents of the unitary executive theory believe we can address cases of presidential misconduct.

8/2/18  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Easha discuss a new executive order and accompanying guidance by the Trump Administration that dramatically change the rules for hiring Administrative Law Judges (ALJs) across the entire federal government. Listen now!

10/29/19  //  Commentary

The President does not have constitutional authority to withhold foreign aid that Congress has mandated by statute.

5/8/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

It is time to ask: Has Trump in effect forfeited some measure of judicial deference across contexts and cases, through his disrespect for the courts and the rule of law and his displays of prejudice and arbitrary decisionmaking? And if he has not yet reached that point, what more would it take?

6/1/17  //  Commentary

Trump’s defenders have long ascribed illegitimate motives to his critics. Now they’re doing that to the judges who have found Trump’s policies unlawful. That’s not okay.

6/20/20  //  Quick Reactions

The Trump administration's apparent desire to force out the U.S. Attorney for SDNY could have implications for several major Supreme Court cases this term.

5/15/17  //  Commentary

James Comey’s firing threatens more than just the rule-of-law norm against self-investigation. It also threatens the rule-of-law norm against politically motivated policing and prosecutions.

3/1/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie check back in with the most politically charged of all Versus Trump suits: the Russia investigation. Listen now!

9/20/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie speak with Earthjustice Vice President Drew Caputo to get an update on environmental litigation against the Trump Administration. Listen now!

4/19/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Mueller Report could but won't be used as the basis for impeachment. Meanwhile, it leaves two fundamental questions unanswered.

8/27/18  //  Commentary

Giuliani has egregiously failed to uphold professional ethics and has done so in ways that harm our democracy.

1/15/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Does the special prosecutor qualify as an 'institution'? Does it matter? (Hint: Yes, it does.)

11/8/20  //  Commentary

On this week's Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss the (frivolous) legal challenges to come. They are then joined by Public Citizen's Matthew Seligman to learn what happened with all those last-minute ballots, and what might happen in ongoing litigation in the Supreme Court.

7/18/19  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Easha are joined by guest host Melissa Murray of NYU Law and the new Strict Scrutiny podcast. They discuss the recent Supreme Court decision on gerrymandering (Rucho v. Common Cause), what's next in the fight, and where you can find Melissa's wonderful new podcast. Listen now!

2/1/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss an unexpected recent opinion that held that Ravi Ragbir, an immigration activist and alien subject to deportation, had the "freedom to say goodbye" before he could be removed from this country. Listen now!

10/15/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie are joined by Matthew Seligman of Public Citizen to discuss several lawsuits—including one in which he is counsel, NAACP v. USPS—where plaintiffs have challenged the cuts by the postal service that may slow down election mail. Listen now!

5/23/17  //  Commentary

The appointment of Special Counsel Robert Mueller must not lead progressives to put the thought of impeaching President Trump on a back-burner.

9/17/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss two new legal filings by the Trump DOJ that blur the line between the President as government official and the President as private citizen. In the first case, the government argues that the President's twitter feed is not an official public forum, so he can block people with whom he disagrees. In the second, the government argues that the President's denials that he sexually assaulted E. Jean Carroll were made in his official capacity as President. Listen now!

5/23/18  //  Commentary

Identifying a major flaw in arguments that Congress can't shield Mueller

12/6/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, the gang is re-united, and they discuss the Supreme Court motion contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General. Listen now!

6/6/17  //  Commentary

By Allison Murphy: Given President Trump’s documented and acknowledged efforts to interfere with the independence of the FBI, the Senate should presume that could continue under a new FBI Director. It is therefore incumbent upon Senators to ensure that any Trump nominee for FBI Director commits to certain baseline aspects of independence and impartiality before any new nominee is confirmed. Here are 10 questions that require answers.

7/12/17  //  Commentary

A recent D.C. Circuit opinion vindicates the principle that while agencies may have discretion over how laws are enforced, they cannot use that enforcement discretion to cancel legal obligations altogether.

5/5/17  //  Commentary

Basic principles of constitutional structure mean Trump is, and should be held, personally responsible for ICE’s egregious treatment of the DREAM-ers.

10/26/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

By communicating mainly through Twitter, Trump has asserted the power to define his own political community—and to exclude people from it.

12/18/17  //  Quick Reactions

The LA Times has reported on a $300M deal between the Department of Homeland Security and Accenture. This is a major development.

9/12/19  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and guest-host Alexandra Brodsky discuss a recent opinion invalidating the FBI's terrorism watch-list. They discuss the implications of the opinion for the Trump administration (and beyond), the merits (and demerits) of the court's reasoning, and all sorts of other cool stuff, including how annoying it is when people think they're important enough to be spied on by the FBI. Listen now!

11/1/18  //  Latest Developments

Take Care has been pleased to host a symposium on How To Save A Constitutional Democracy, an important new book by Aziz Huq and Tom Ginsburg.

3/14/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Easha, and Jason discuss a new lawsuit by Huawei against various Trump Administration officials, plus they delve into international extradition law and look at the case of the company's detained CFO. Listen now!

10/23/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Kennedy-Nixon election in 1960 in Hawaii went to a recount. How Hawaii dealt with it—with two sets of electors casting two sets of electoral votes—provides a model for how to handle very close elections.

2/6/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss Jason's ongoing essays for the Take Care blog about whether impeachment was good or bad, net-positive or net-negative. This leads them to discuss whether the Democrats should have more aggressively pursued witnesses and whether this whole proceeding did much to vindicate the rule of law. Listen now!

5/10/17  //  Commentary

Sometimes, when an emissary of the President asks courts to “trust us,” things the President does elsewhere can fatally undermine judicial confidence in the President’s respect for rule of law values. We’ve seen it before and we’re about to see it again.

10/22/20  //  Quick Reactions

The Supreme Court has run out of time to reverse terrible decisions regarding the scope of the Twenty-Sixth Amendment. But it should still take up the issue after the election.

9/4/19  //  Commentary

In Slate, Rick Hasen claims that litigation over the independence of presidential electors could "backfire spectacularly." I respectfully disagree.

3/23/17  //  Commentary

The transition to President Trump has massively shifted federal enforcement priorities. Does the Constitution protect people who relied on Obama's immigration, healthcare, or marijuana policies?

11/9/17  //  Commentary

You want updates, so we've got updates! On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Easha revisit several important cases and news items that we've previously mentioned so that you have the latest information on them. Listen now!

7/21/17  //  Commentary

By Brian Kalt: Presidential pardons are an important part of our constitutional system of powers, checks, and balances. A self-pardon would test several others parts of that system. As interesting as that might be, here’s hoping that it never happens.

1/3/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

Since 2015, lawsuits by the House of Representatives have been authorized not by a vote of the full House but by majority of a standing, 5-member committee. Is this structure constitutional?

6/16/18  //  Commentary

Michael McConnell and Richard Epstein have argued that the Constitution allows self-pardons. They are mistaken.

5/25/17  //  Commentary

A response to Professor Solum’s comments on my posts about the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.

2/6/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The president, acting alone, has no power to override the courts, but with the aid of a compliant Congress, he can do quite a bit.

4/6/17  //  Commentary

A federal judge has refused to dismiss a suit alleging that President Trump incited violence against protesters at one of his campaign rallies last year. The bitter irony to Trump's defense is that it seeks to expand free speech rules; usually, he prefers to trash them.

10/23/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Constitution can and should play a vital role in preventing democratic decline

4/2/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss cases by the Trump campaign against the New York Times, CNN, and the Washington Post accusing each of these media organizations with defamation (sometimes also called libel). They have a bit of a laugh in explaining why the suits are frivolous, discuss whether the complaints are sanctionable, and debate whether the cases will have a major intimidating effect. Listen now!

5/12/17  //  Commentary

Even if Trump fired Comey because Trump knows himself to be innocent of Russia-related wrongdoing, that would still be unacceptable.

5/31/18  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason discuss recent important cases in the world of immigration, including a new lawsuit contending that the Trump Administration may not pursue its apparent policy of legally separating immigrant children from adults that they enter the country with. Listen now!

10/3/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Gotcha! No impeachment dessert until you eat your immigration broccoli. On this week’s Versus Trump, Easha (back from parental leave!) and Charlie (just starting parental leave) discuss two immigration losses for the Trump administration. The first concerns Trump’s attempts to roll back court-ordered protections for migrant children; the second, Trump’s attempt to subject more immigrants to expedited removal. Listen now!

7/25/17  //  Commentary

Democracy depends on good faith engagement and distinguishing “honest dissent” from “disloyal subversion.”

5/19/17  //  Commentary

The major constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau rests on the claim that the President of the United States does not have enough power over the agency.

11/21/17  //  Latest Developments

The new approach does not mean the DOJ will no longer make policy. It just means the Department will no longer tell covered entities and protected individuals what those policies are.

8/7/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

The bills to protect the special counsel from removal have some rough spots that can and should be worked out.

4/7/17  //  Commentary

There might still be some lies that people won't tolerate. Even from lawyers. And even from lawyers who are also politicians. Should those lies be the basis for discipline under legal ethics rules?

10/24/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Rosalind Dixon: Low thresholds for impeachment could undermine (rather than strengthen) democracy

5/16/19  //  Uncategorized

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Easha go through a few updates to cases involving Title X, which provides money for family planning; the Administration's policy to have many asylum applicants removed to Mexico; and the controversial border wall. Trump lost one, won one—for now, and hasn't yet gotten a decision in the third. Listen now!

2/24/19  //  Commentary

And because Trump is a threat to constitutional democracy, the stakes over whether to call his bogus emergency 'merely' unlawful or also unconstitutional are non-trivial.

10/28/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

We conclude our examination of close presidential elections by taking a deep dive into Florida in 2000. Was the December 12, 2000 deadline really as firm as it seemed to the courts and some of the parties, or could the count have proceeded?

2/9/20  //  Commentary

Last week, I took both sides of a series of important, related question: was Trump’s impeachment a good thing for democracy? The rule of law? For Democrats? Now I have to render a verdict. Which one was it?

1/14/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Why have presidents appointed special counsels when they are not required to do so? Why do presidents tolerate special counsels, even when they can fire them?

5/17/17  //  Commentary

While inquiries into motive need not control legal analysis of Trump's recent conduct, such questions will inevitably shape public (and legal) understanding in profound ways. Sadly, that means we're all about to voyage still deeper into Trump's psyche. This may be a path to madness, but there is no other way forward.

1/7/19  //  Commentary

Leaders of the private sector must confront the reality that our public sector has become polarized and dysfunctional and address the serious problems plaguing our democracy

4/27/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Critics of the standing arguments in CREW v. Trump are defining the new plaintiffs’ injury in the wrong way.

7/13/17  //  Commentary

The President’s minions have been laying the groundwork for Mueller’s dismissal. But their attacks are ill-founded.

1/16/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

How do we evaluate the character of the current special prosecutor?

5/11/17  //  Uncategorized

An organized guide to all Take Care coverage and analysis of President Trump's abrupt termination of FBI Director Comey

7/6/17  //  Commentary

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, we celebrate Independence Day with a look at the past, present, and future of judicial independence. Jason and Easha discuss the origins of judicial power, and then talk about what the Trump Administration has done that may undermine the authority of the judiciary—and where that kind of talk might lead us. Listen now!

3/21/19  //  Commentary

On this week's 100th episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Easha, and Jason offer a few quick hits and then have a discussion about the effect of litigation against the President personally and against the Administration. Listen now!

4/18/19  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha discuss the brewing dispute over Trump's tax returns. Listen now!

12/8/17  //  Commentary

By Vicki Jackson & Judith Resnik: Upholding the third travel ban out of deference to the President on matters of foreign affairs would be a tragic mistake.

7/27/17  //  Uncategorized

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Easha discuss a newly-filed lawsuit brought by private plaintiffs who allege that Trump's campaign and Trump advisor Roger Stone conspired with Russians to disclose private information about the plaintiffs. Listen now!

5/16/17  //  Commentary

Trump suggested in a recent signing statement that he could disregard an appropriations restriction on federal marijuana enforcement. But Trump is mistaken.

8/3/17  //  Quick Reactions

Sometimes it matters where in the sentence you put 'only'

3/9/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Trump’s actions to quash the independence of federal law enforcement mirror the approach of autocratic leaders around the globe.

5/21/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Should former FBI Director Robert Mueller decide to bring criminal charges against President Trump for obstruction of justice, he would be acting well within the law, the norms of the profession, and the reasonable bounds of the discretion with which he has been entrusted.

4/26/17  //  Quick Reactions

In a new op-ed, I emphasize the importance of taking President Trump at his word–even as efforts to save his executive orders from his tweets inevitably push Trump's defenders to come up with new and creative reasons for ignoring Trump's public statements.

3/20/18  //  Commentary

The firing of James Comey closely parallels McCabe's firing

1/24/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Thoughts on the past, present, and future of special prosecutors

10/18/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk about the recent decision that dismissed Stormy Daniels' defamation lawsuit against the President. Listen now!

3/16/17  //  Commentary

Take Care is a new collaborative blog that will provide insightful, accessible, and timely analysis of whether the President is adhering to legal limits on his authority.

1/17/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha hit three topics: the mysterious case of the subpoena to a foreign corporation that may be related to the Mueller investigation; the nomination of William Barr as Attorney General; and the temporal nature of an emergency, as prompted by live listener feedback. Listen now!

9/5/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Exploring Vice President Pence’s potential criminal jeopardy for conspiring to obstruct justice, aiding the obstruction of justice, and 'misprision of a felony' in concealing the obstruction of justice.

6/8/17  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss Congress's role and powers in investigations of the Executive. Then, Jason talks with Steven Wu, a Deputy Solicitor General in the Office of New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, about the case against Trump University, the active role of states in recent years, and other issues in which New York is adverse to the President. Listen now!

9/7/17  //  Quick Reactions

Federal employees are publicly reaffirming their loyalty, patriotism, and commitment to the Constitution.

5/25/17  //  Quick Reactions

A quick recap of the Fourth Circuit's decision in IRAP v. Trump.

11/2/20  //  Commentary

I'm pretty nervous. But there’s also no reason to think that the rule of law has been entirely eroded in America in 2020. So far, the center has held.

1/18/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

It's vital for the public to understand why we have a special prosecutor and how to ensure he's free to complete his work

2/1/19  //  Uncategorized

The National Emergencies Act doesn't give the President unlimited power to declare a national emergency even when no emergency exists

5/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Recent Harvard Law graduate, and soon to be civil rights lawyer, Shakeer Rahman offers some second thoughts about celebrating federal law enforcement’s independence.

5/11/17  //  Commentary

The Presumption of Regularity, Like All Presumptions, Is Rebuttable, Not Conclusive Evidence

6/6/19  //  Commentary

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie answer listener mail and talk about nationwide injunctions at Gregory's request; talk more about court packing at the request of Micah; and respond to Ben's thoughts on subpoena enforcement. Listen now!

11/21/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Trump has needlessly created many reasons to look skeptically on DOJ's justified, important lawsuit to prevent AT&T and Times Warner from merging.

2/14/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie sits down for a fun, casual conversation with Anne Tindall and Cameron Kistler of Protect Democracy about, well, protecting our democracy. Listen now!

5/15/17  //  Commentary

Imagine that the President lacked credibility entirely, whether because he was a pathological liar or because his lying was – hypothetically speaking – one symptom of a narcissistic personality disorder. Would there be anything the American people or government officials should or could do about it, short of waiting until the end of the President’s term.

12/14/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha talk about a defamation lawsuit brought by Summer Zervos, a woman who alleges that she was sexually assaulted by President Trump in a hotel room in 2007. Listen now!

1/25/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Charlie and Easha take a deep dive into two recently granted Supreme Court cases that go to the heart of the systems that we use to elect the President. The discussion takes us deep into questions of political accountability, free choice, and constitutional history. A classic Versus Trump cat's-away-mice-will-play episode chock full of fun analysis of, among other things, Jason's work. Listen now! (I mean right now.)

6/13/17  //  Commentary

The already strong case for felony false statement might get unbearably stronger

7/18/20  //  Commentary

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the Supreme Court's pair of decisions governing Trump's tax returns. Are they coming soon? Did the Democrats make a mistake in not being more aggressive in invoking the impeachment power? Listen now!

7/25/17  //  Commentary

Here's the most important question to ask about indictments, pardons and self-pardons, and obstruction of justice.

4/12/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie revisit two lawsuits in which the Plaintiffs have recently successfully fought off motions to dismiss and been allowed to proceed. And in a new installment of "Sanctions Corner with Uncle Charlie," Charlie answers questions about the FBI raid on the office of Trump lawyer Michael Cohen. Listen now!

11/6/19  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court will hear arguments next week in a case about whether the Trump Administration can revoke DACA. But progressives ought to be wary of the long-term effects of prevailing. A win here could very well make it very hard to undo the lax enforcement policies of the current Administration.

1/14/19  //  Commentary

His dangerously misguided legal analysis demonstrates that William Barr is the wrong man to serve as Attorney General

6/18/18  //  Commentary

For all who are devoted to country and Constitution, the idea of a self-pardon should be an anathema.

5/22/17  //  Commentary

Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein should recuse himself from the probe into the Trump campaign’s ties to Russia and the President’s apparent attempt to obstruct the FBI’s inquiry. Rosenstein himself played a key role in the events at the center of the controversy, and his continued involvement casts a shadow over the ongoing investigation.

7/17/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Brian Kalt: In a recent piece in the Atlantic, Corey Brettschneider and Jeffrey Tulis contend that the Stone commutation is invalid. Regrettably, their legal argument is weak

10/4/17  //  Commentary

DOJ supports Arpaio's request that Judge Susan Bolton vacate his criminal contempt conviction. But she could instead simply dismiss the case and let the contempt ruling linger.

11/5/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason, Charlie, and Easha talk executive privilege. They outline the legal landscape of several hard questions in this area, like can the President completely prevent executive officials from testifying, and what role do the courts play here? Listen now!

2/5/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Yale Law’s Asha Rangappa offered an excellent post asking five key questions. If the Nunes Memo did not address them, it seriously undercuts its credibility.

11/8/19  //  Uncategorized

On this week’s special edition of Uncle Charlie's Sanctions Corner–wait, we mean Versus Trump—Jason, Charlie, and Easha bring on Eileen Connor of the Project on Predatory Student to discuss a major opinion issuing sanctions against the Department of Education. Listen now!

1/9/20  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s Versus Trump, Jason, Easha, and Charlie consider a new lawsuit by Amazon, in which the company claims that it was illegally denied a $10 billion Pentagon contract because of President Trump's stated dislike of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos. And the return briefly to the question of Bolton's potential testimony at the Senate impeachment trial. Listen now!

12/7/17  //  Commentary

By Ron Fein et al: Based on publicly reported information, as of today there are at least eight grounds for the House to authorize the Judiciary Committee to begin hearings on whether to impeach President Donald J. Trump.

4/12/17  //  Commentary

On the first full day of Passover, the Trump Administration offered several lessons about institutionalized racism and ethnic cleansing.

3/27/17  //  Quick Reactions

Jared Kushner says he will run government like a business. But this administration has no understanding of government, or of business. And it doesn't respect the distinctive, unbusinesslike practices and principles of running a government.

4/11/18  //  Commentary

The Supreme Court's recent summary reversal in Kisela v. Hughes demonstrates some serious issues with the Court's approach to remedies in cases of executive violations of constitutional rights.

5/17/18  //  Commentary

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason discuss a series of recent rulings that have stopped the Trump Administration from revoking federal grants to entities that have been working to reduce teen pregnancy. Listen now!

7/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Carlton Larson: If we use “treason” in a loose, rhetorical sense, it is plausible to claim that Trump, Jr., Kushner, Manafort and others committed treason by knowingly meeting with a Russian operative for the purpose of obtaining dirt on Hillary Clinton. But the argument fails as a legal matter.

4/28/17  //  Commentary

The various ways that standing skeptics have distinguished cases supporting standing in CREW are unpersuasive.

6/8/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

"Whether the structural safeguards the Framers inscribed in the Constitution are up to the task of constraining Trump’s authoritarian tendencies are anybody’s guess. In the end, only the force of public opinion, especially as expressed in elections, can save American democracy."

12/7/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha are joined by Take Care publisher Joshua Matz to talk about the Masterpiece Cake Shop oral argument, plus the status of Muslim Ban litigation and the future of Take Care.

3/24/17  //  Quick Reactions

A decision this week reminds us that President Trump is bound by laws, which he is violating, in making key appointments. The Acting U.S. Trade Representative, for instance, might well be occupying that role unlawfully.

6/19/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

The Constitution gives the president broad powers to pardon people and direct Justice Department investigations — but it does not give him the power to undermine the democratic safeguards enshrined there.

10/22/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

Our new book offers a distinctive diagnosis of how democracy is lost, and then roadmaps various pathways along which a reform agenda might proceed.

11/30/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week’s episode of Versus Trump, Charlie has an interview with antitrust expert Lina Khan, Director of Legal Policy of the Open Markets Institute, about the lawsuit filed by the Trump Administration to block the proposed AT&T/Time Warner merger. Listen now!

6/13/17  //  Commentary

Many are speculating about whether President Trump recorded his conversations with fired FBI Director Jim Comey, and Wikileaks has even offered a reward for any Trump-Comey recordings. But new technology allows creation of fake recordings with real people's voices. Now is a good time to start thinking about this technology's implications for our democracy and legal system.

8/26/19  //  Commentary

The Trump administration’s revamped expedited removal system unsettles the rulings that upheld the expedited removal system against constitutional challenges.

12/19/19  //  Commentary

With the Trump administration's support, the Fifth Circuit ruled yesterday that the health-care law contains a constitutional flaw—and that most or all of the law may have to be scrapped.

7/26/18  //  Quick Reactions

The recent opinion allowing the plaintiffs' emoluments claims to go forward comports with recent suggestions about separating this President from the office of the Presidency.

3/8/18  //  Commentary

On a new episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Jason, and Charlie discuss a recent district court opinion that rejected California's challenge to the Trump Administration's expedited border wall projects in California. Listen now!

7/19/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie discuss the New York Attorney General's petition to dissolve the Trump Foundation and ban President Trump and his children from serving as directors of charities in the future. They then do some a hit on the new Mueller indictment. Listen now!

7/10/19  //  Quick Reactions

Yesterday, the Fifth Circuit heard oral argument in the case challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. It didn't go well.

5/9/17  //  Commentary

Our treasure of an independent judiciary is built upon an assumption of independence, of transparency about influence and potential conflicts, and accountability to the democratic process. When massive amounts of dark corporate money can affect those political processes, we are in grave danger of damaging that national treasure.

12/21/17  //  Commentary

A pending defamation suit against President Trump in New York state court raises this important question.

8/29/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Trump asked if DOJ could drop the case against Arpaio. Such interference with prosecutive decisions threatens the legitimacy of the Justice Department.

3/16/17  //  Commentary

The president has continued existing policies, but also signaled a misplaced (and dangerous) reliance on immigration enforcement and incarceration to protect the public.

10/29/18  //  In-Depth Analysis

All of those tedious checks and balances and lines of separation that frustrate one and all during times of normal, functional democratic governance have a very real role to play in our constitutional order.

5/22/17  //  Uncategorized

Take Care is pleased to offer an organized guide to legal analyses of many rule of law issues that recently have dominated the news.

4/11/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

This week on Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk with special guest Greer Donley, a law professor at University of Pittsburgh School of Law, to talk about the latest developments in litigation related to Obamacare, including the stunning DOJ reversal in Texas, and recent decisions prohibiting states from adding work requirements to Medicaid. Listen now!

3/16/17  //  Commentary

If the President cannot be trusted to “take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed,” then that obligation falls on “We the People."

1/18/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Trump can't control Mueller directly. He must instead act through the Attorney General. That's a very important restriction.

5/17/17  //  Commentary

On today's two-part episode of Versus Trump, Take Care's podcast, we answer three burning questions related to whether the sitting President can face criminal charges, and how that prosecution could be started. We also have an interview with James Williams, the County Counsel for Santa Clara County, where he discusses his County's lawsuit against Trump Administration that has so far successfully prevented the Trump Administration from enforcing an executive order that would have withdrawn federal funding from so-called sanctuary cities.

5/17/17  //  Quick Reactions

In a welcome development, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein appointed former FBI Director Robert Mueller as a special counsel to investigate Russia-related (criminal) wrongdoing.

7/24/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

By Bernadette Meyler: History teaches that Trump should not be considering whether he possesses the power to pardon himself but rather what the consequences of employing that power would be.

8/30/17  //  Commentary

It’s time to stop pretending the Executive Branch is going to check Donald Trump.

1/17/19  //  In-Depth Analysis

Because the special prosecutor answers ultimately to the court of public opinion, he must answer to that court in his final report

5/15/17  //  In-Depth Analysis

Those who forget history are indeed doomed to repeat it. But when history repeats, it often shifts in the repetition: first acts come as tragedy and then return as farce. By many measures, Nixon was a tragic figure. Trump, by contrast, is pure farce. And unlike tragedies, farces don’t end with a flash of recognition—a moment of self-awareness like King Lear’s on the heath. Farces just keep going until someone cries "enough!"

10/1/18  //  Commentary

There are three fundamental limits on the President's pardon power

4/10/20  //  Commentary

It's been one year since DHS had a director confirmed by the Senate. In the meantime, Trump has continued to avoid the constitutional requirement of advice and consent—and violated federal law about using acting directors.

3/17/17  //  Commentary

President Obama pushed the limits of enforcement discretion. Trump may be worse. Will anyone check him if he is?

11/22/19  //  Commentary

Attorney General Barr recently said that "the Left that is engaged in the systematic shredding of norms and the undermining of the rule of law." Barr's outright partisanship relies on misunderstandings of history and a misguided view of the role of the attorney general.

7/15/19  //  Quick Reactions

Even though the administration ultimately caved and chose not to include a citizenship question on the census, its two-week flirtation with including a citizenship question on the 2020 census had significant costs.

6/14/18  //  Commentary

On this week's special live episode of Versus Trump, Easha, Charlie, and Jason share the stage at the ACS National Convention in Washington, DC with Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh and Stanford Law's Pamela Karlan. They discussed several important cases brought by states against the Trump Administration as well as the broader federalism issues presented by Democratic Attorneys General being involved in so many lawsuits against the federal government. Listen now!

11/30/17  //  Daily Update

Steven G. Calabresi's proposal to expand the federal judiciary sparked controversy and debate.

4/2/17  //  Daily Update

The United States failed to appear before hearings at the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights last week, prompting questions on whether the Trump Administration believes in the rule of law. On the domestic front, the Trump Administration proposed eliminating funding for the Legal Services Corporation, a cut that would fall on the heads of the poor, rural voters who make up President Trump's base.

6/4/17  //  Daily Update

Analysis provided of President Trump's daily briefing, Vice President Pence's commencement speech, and the proper framing of the judiciary's role during this Administration.

5/14/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's unexpected dismissal of FBI Director James Comey shocked the legal world. The White House's explanations for the firing changed over the course of the week and were contradicted in testimony before Congress by Acting FBI Director Andrew McCabe, deepening concerns over the President's motivations.

9/17/17  //  Daily Update

Trump's decision to end DACA spurs a flurry of legal challenges; his election fraud commission gets into more trouble; and the Supreme Court stays the Ninth Circuit's latest trvel ban ruling.

7/23/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's comments to the New York Times about Special Counsel Robert Mueller raised further questions about the President's respect for the rule of law.

7/16/17  //  Daily Update

The Administration's defenses in recent litigation are self-serving and decidedly unpresidential.

11/6/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump’s efforts to deflect attention from the Mueller investigation by calling for criminal investigations into his political opponents threatens the rule of law.

9/10/17  //  Daily Update

The President orders an end to DACA and has Attorney General Jeff Sessions announce the change; Trump Jr.'s June 2016 meeting with a Russian lawyer undergoes more scrutiny; Trump's 16 nominations to the federal judiciary spur challenges and concern.

7/31/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump publicly attacked Attorney General Jeff Sessions and was reported to be considering pardons for himself and those connected to the Russia investigation.

8/20/17  //  Daily Update

Special Counsel Mueller may have a "middle-ground" alternative to indictment: presentment. A former Department of the Interior official claims to have been wrongfully removed because of his comments on climate change.

4/30/17  //  Daily Update

The Inspector General of the Department of Homeland Security has opened an investigation after U.S. Customs and Border Protection sent a summons to Twitter seeking to identify the person behind an anti-Trump Twitter account. At Balkinzation, Michael Klarman discussed how the election of President Trump supports the Framers’ concern that democracy would ultimately lead to the election of a demagogue.

6/25/17  //  Daily Update

Reporters analyze a troubling trend in which public business is increasingly being handled behind closed doors.

8/6/17  //  Daily Update

White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus has resigned and will be replaced by Secretary of Homeland Security John F. Kelly. A new lawsuit alleges that White House officials urged Fox News to push a false story about the murder of Seth Rich.

6/18/17  //  Daily Update

Special counsel Robert Mueller has requested interviews with high-ranking intelligence officials, and is investigating potential obstruction of justice by President Trump. Reports of Mueller's potential firing are helping to break down political norms.

11/12/17  //  Daily Update

As the GOP attempts tax reform, the Mueller investigation keeps heating up, as does Trump's rhetoric on North Korea.

8/27/17  //  Daily Update

The President is isolated from his cabinet and obstructing his own policy agenda. Some argue that courts give too great of deference to the executive branch when "national security" is invoked.

5/21/17  //  Daily Update

Extensive commentary continued this week on the firing of FBI Director James Comey. Reports that President Trump asked Director Comey to stop the FBI’s Flynn investigation threw the White House into even greater turmoil. The Justice Department appointed Robert Mueller III, former FBI Director, special counsel of its Russia investigation.

10/8/17  //  Daily Update

The Office of Special Counsel determined that U.N. Ambassador Nikki Haley violated the Hatch Act. A federal judge concluded that the President's pardon of Sheriff Joe Arpaio is valid.

10/1/17  //  Daily Update

Reports suggest Steve Bannon attempted to plant a "mole" at Facebook before the 2016 election. It was revealed that several White House officials, including Jared Kushner, used private email accounts to conduct government business.

3/26/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump doubled down on his attacks on the judiciary. His “adversarial relationship with the truth” continued wrecking havoc for his staff.

4/9/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump's legal authority to conduct a war against ISIL is being challenged. He also believes he is immune from suits challenging his private conduct while in office.

7/30/17  //  Daily Update

President Trump continued his public attacks on Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Concerns remain over rumors that the President inquired about his power to self-pardon.