A Brief Word on this Weekend's Unpleasantness
About which I will have more to say
Good Evening:
There is nothing quite like tiling a shower to clear one’s head after an unpleasant encounter with the police.
As those who watched my livestream yesterday evening know, I had a not wholly pleasant encounter with the United States Park Police at the base of the Washington Monument. For reasons that you can all probably guess, I am going to refrain from discussing the matter for the time being, though I promise to tell the whole story, about which I have many thoughts, as soon as I am at liberty to do so.
For the time being, I will just say the following—having spent my day tiling a shower at the cabin in the woods and thereby clearing my head: We all need to do what we can to raise our voices peacefully in support of continued military aid for Ukraine and in support of democracy both at home and abroad. I am committed to doing this in the loudest fashion I can. I cheerfully submit to whatever sanction may come my way for that choice.
Thursday on #DogShirtTV, the estimable
joined us from Kenya to talk about all the Beasts she’s met. Then the estimable came by from right on the Arctic Circle to discuss seasonal weather in northern Finland and defense policy in France. Finally, the estimable wanted to discuss Ukrainian memes. Four cohosts. Four countries:On Friday, the estimable
joined the show to discuss the Fourth of July in the chicken processing capital of the world, grilling in New York City, and the current state of the WITAOD movement:Thursday On Lawfare
Compiled by the estimable Mary Ford
Goodbye to All That
Michael Feinberg details the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) efforts to oust him from the agency over his long-time friendship with an official on the FBI’s “enemies” list, the shift in the agency’s climate since the start of the second Trump administration, and his decision to ultimately resign.
The specifics of my experience may be unique—details often are—but the broad strokes of the story have become unfortunately common in recent months, as more and more special agents are driven out of the Bureau on mere suspicion of political unreliability. These developments should be concerning to all Americans. In the past six months, the FBI—and, for that matter, the Department of Justice and intelligence community as a whole—has been forcing out a wide range of experienced personnel needed to protect our nation. Under Patel and Bongino, subject matter expertise and operational competence are readily sacrificed for ideological purity and the ceaseless politicization of the workforce. At a time of simultaneous wars across the globe and a return to great power competition, this makes us all less safe.
Badges of Honor?
Vida Johnson reviews Jessica Pishko, Emily Farris, and Mirya Holman’s latest books on the unchecked power of sheriffs and its threat to American democracy, suggesting that American sheriffs as an institution are increasingly synonymous with far-right, anti-government world views.
In her book, Pishko exposes how these law enforcement officers failed to enforce the law in their counties—from mask mandates during the height of the coronavirus pandemic in 2020, to gun laws with which they do not agree. While democratically elected themselves, these sheriffs have little regard for laws that emerged from democratic processes when they do not agree with those laws. Despite the fact that they say they support the First Amendment, Pishko documents how sheriffs can use their office to retaliate when citizens protest law enforcement or express views contrary to their own.
Podcasts
On Lawfare Daily, I speak with Tuen Janssen, a staff member at the European Parliament, about Europe stepping up for Ukraine in the United States’ stead, E.U. enlargement, and the role Ukraine has to play in this process.
Documents
Alan Rozenshtein shares a series of Justice Department letters concerning the enforcement of the “Protecting Americans from Foreign Adversary Controlled Applications Act,” which grants TikTok an additional 90-day extension on its ban in the United States.
Videos
On July 3 at 4 pm ET, I sat down with Lawfare Senior Editors Anna Bower and Roger Parloff and Lawfare Legal Fellow James Pearce to discuss oral argument in the 5th Circuit regarding challenges to the Alien Enemies Act, the decision in the Susman Godfrey case, and the latest on the Kilmar Abrego Garcia case.
Today’s #BeastOfTheDay is this jackal, sent to me by Acting Beastmaster
:
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