USAJusticeWatch

https://mastodon.social/@USAJusticeWatch

Focus on the USA with emphasis on human rights and conflict. Please send a direct message for information about the curator of this account, who watches the US from another country. Messages deleted from time to time.

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Last Notes

2026-04-08 01:46:44 UTC

“The New York City Bar Association…submits this comment in response to the…DOJ’s…proposed rule concerning state bar complaints & allegations against #DOJ attorneys... The Proposed Rule is unlawful & contrary to the public interest. It would purport to empower DOJ to delay & displace state professional bodies that license attorneys & ordinarily decide whether a #lawyer’s conduct should be investigated or disciplined under state professional rules.” See report: https://www.nycbar.org/reports/comment-on-the-department-of-justices-proposed-rule-regarding-state-bar-complaints-against-doj-attorneys/ #ethics #law

2026-04-07 21:50:52 UTC

“Lawyers Defending American Democracy (#LDAD) & a coalition of distinguished legal scholars, former judges, & members of the bar have filed an #ethics complaint with the District of Columbia Bar seeking an investigation into Drew C. Ensign, a senior #JusticeDepartment immigration official, for alleged professional misconduct in multiple high-profile federal #immigration cases.” | LDAD https://ldad.org/letters-briefs/ldad-files-ethics-complaint-ensign?emci=cb72a163-0232-f111-9a48-000d3a14b640&emdi=4c0ee040-9432-f111-8ef2-000d3a14b640&ceid=11825886 #lawyers #legalEthics #law

2026-04-03 18:01:25 UTC

#Ethics Complaint Against [#lawyer] Boris #Epshteyn. “Lawyers Defending American Democracy, Democracy Defenders Fund, & a coalition of distinguished law professors & retired judges have asked the Attorney Grievance Committee of the Supreme Court of the State of New York to investigate whether Boris Epshteyn violated the NY Rules of #ProfessionalConduct while purportedly leading the Trump administration’s efforts to intimidate & silence major national #law firms.” | LDAD https://ldad.org/letters-briefs/ldad-files-ethics-complaint-boris-epshteyn

2026-02-11 17:17:35 UTC

Know Your Rights: Faith Leaders & Federal Law Enforcement.
Thu, Feb 19, 2026 2 pm EST/11:00 AM PST
Center on Faith and Justice Georgetown University https://events.zoom.us/ev/Aix0uQAUh45_1nJgEut0hOmdHyxYIsrOR-AGxuOrpnHCkja4cN74~Ai7AqkW6ahS9qg6T79CLWTrhb-OkTPN5BA_-PLiH390dOjApgkZdBH14cw

2026-02-03 14:51:32 UTC

#FAA Warns Airlines About Safety Risks From Rocket Launches, Urges “Extreme Caution”: “The agency’s official safety alert comes as #SpaceX looks to ramp up Starship tests. A recent ProPublica investigation found that explosions during previous Starship launches disrupted air traffic and forced pilots to scramble for safety.” | Heather Vogell and Agnel Philip, ProPublica
https://www.propublica.org/article/faa-safety-warning-spacex-starship-explosions-airlines

2026-01-28 00:08:41 UTC

‘#Immigration #attorney Karen Bryan was called into her…firm…because #ICE agents were in her parking lot. ...she knocked on the window & said, “Could you please leave…? It's private property. You can park across the street. That's government property.” …a masked female ICE agent…threatened her with a canister of pepper spray…
“I said, ‘You're going to spray me in the face? I'm 2 weeks away from giving birth, & I'm just kindly asking you to leave my property.’”’| MPR https://www.mprnews.org/story/2026/01/13/ice-using-private-data-to-intimidate-observers-and-activists-advocates-say

2026-01-17 14:31:09 UTC

ACLU sues Trump administration over ‘racial profiling and unlawful arrests’ in Minnesota ICE surge | Minnesota | The Guardian, 15 January 2026 https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jan/15/aclu-lawsuit-ice-minnesota-trump

2026-01-17 14:22:32 UTC

US judge orders curbs on ICE agents’ actions against Minnesota protesters | Al Jazeera
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/1/17/us-judge-orders-curbs-on-ice-agents-actions-against-minnesota-protesters?utm_source=bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=socialPulse #peacefulassembly

2026-01-17 14:03:59 UTC

"#Trump is by far the most visibly #corrupt president the #US has known… He doesn't even try to hide that he's making himself immensely rich by monetizing his office… #emoluments are nominally banned by the US constitution but it is hard for anyone to get standing to sue to enforce the…provision," [said Princeton Prof Kim Lane Scheppele]... US law defines #bribery so narrowly that none of the payments to the Trumps & related families have ever led to prosecution.’ | CBC https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/trump-cryptocurrency-investment-9.7047169

2025-11-20 19:35:19 UTC

- reply

#Trump calls for arrest of ‘seditious’ Democrats who told troops their duty is to uphold the Constitution. “The US has no statute criminalizing speech as ‘#sedition’ and members of #Congress enjoy broad #immunity for official acts.” | The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-arrest-democrats-troops-illegal-orders-b2869176.html 2/2

2025-11-20 19:35:18 UTC

USA: ‘Article 92 of the #UniformCodeOfMilitaryJustice, the set of laws governing the conduct of America’s #armedforces. It states that service members are required to obey “any lawful general order or regulation” — a category that would exclude orders to commit #crimes, target #civilians or #noncombatants, or perform #CivilianLawEnforcement activities that have long been banned under U.S. law.” | The Independent https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-arrest-democrats-troops-illegal-orders-b2869176.html# 1/2

2025-08-30 22:50:50 UTC

Multiple Men Impersonated #ICE Agents To Kidnap Women. “House Democrats are urging the Department of Homeland Security to mandate that #immigration officials clearly identify themselves when conducting arrests. The demand comes in the wake of multiple reports of men impersonating Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to kidnap and assault women.” | HuffPost https://www.huffpost.com/entry/multiple-men-have-impersonated-ice-agents-to-kidnap-and-assault-women_n_689a19a2e4b07a70fa09262d

2025-08-08 16:11:34 UTC

‘MSF’s report “This is not aid. This is orchestrated killing” draws on medical data, patient testimonies & 1st-hand medical witnessing to demonstrate that what has been branded as “aid distribution” is in fact a system of institutionalised starvation and dehumanisation. MSF calls for an immediate cessation of the #GHF distribution mechanism & urges states & private donors to refrain from funding what is essentially a death trap.”
| MSF https://www.msf.org/not-aid-orchestrated-killing
#Gaza #Israel #US #IHL #warcrimes

2025-08-07 15:56:42 UTC

Good ideas are popular. “…since the rich want nothing more to eat one anothers' lunches – there is disunity aplenty for us to exploit. We just have to remember that we are the (very large) majority and act like it.” | Cory Doctorow, Pluralistic @npub1fdr…lvhs https://pluralistic.net/2025/08/07/the-people-no-2/#water-flowing-uphill

2025-05-22 14:32:56 UTC

#SCOTUS: “…split evenly Thursday in a…challenge over the nation’s first #religious charter school, leaving in place a ruling from Oklahoma’s top court that found the proposed Catholic school unconstitutional. The 4-4 split was made possible because…Justice Amy Coney Barrett recused herself... Though she did not explain her decision, the former University of Notre Dame law professor had multiple ties to the attorneys representing the…School.” | CNN https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/22/politics/supreme-court-st-isidore-oklahoma #1stAmendment

2025-03-18 14:20:48 UTC

Critical #Ukraine coverage at risk as Trump slashes Radio Free Europe funding. ‘The US decision to cut off funding for #RadioFreeEurope/#RadioLiberty came as a surprise…Trump eliminated 7 federal agencies on March 14, including the US Agency for Global Media…which oversees RFE/RL & VoA… The move seeks to…end over 7 decades of work of the US-sponsored media outlets, launched to promote democracy & counter propaganda in authoritarian countries.” | Kyiv Independent https://kyivindependent.com/us-decision-to-cut-radio-free-europe-funding-leaves-ukraines-service-in-limbo/

2025-03-18 03:38:04 UTC

#Target takes a hit: $12.4 billion in value lost after #boycott | The Charlotte Post https://www.thecharlottepost.com/news/2025/03/06/business/target-takes-a-hit-12.4-billion-in-value-lost-after-boycott/#:~:text=Target%20Corporation%20lost%20$12.4%20billion,$12.4%20billion%20in%20market%20value

2025-03-15 23:35:28 UTC

'A Horrifying Escalation': How #MahmoudKhalil's Detention Could Galvanize Trump Opposition: Pro-immigrant groups warn that the controversy can not, and should not, be just about free speech rights on college campuses. | Adrian Carasquillo, The Bulwark https://open.substack.com/pub/thebulwark/p/mahmoud-khalil-immigration-detention-first-amendment-free-speech-rights #ArbitraryDetention

2025-03-14 23:47:21 UTC

France offers to take in #US scientists. Aix-Marseille University in the south of France is launching the Safe Place For Science program…for American researchers wishing to pursue their work free from persecution… the university says it is launching a scheme dedicated to welcoming those wishing to pursue their work "in an environment conducive to innovation, excellence, & #academicfreedom."’ | The Register https://www.theregister.com/2025/03/14/france_us_science_offer/

2025-03-11 20:29:39 UTC

#MahmoudKhalil’s Detention Is a Trial Run: “The pro-Palestine student was arrested without due process for exercising his right to free speech. He will not be the last. The federal government has provided no evidence…[he] has committed a criminal offense, & yet…[state agents took him] from his home & renditioned [him] to a detention facility where neither his pregnant wife nor his #lawyer have had access to him. Khalil [is] a legal #permanentresident…” |
The Atlantic https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2025/03/mahmoud-khalil-ice-detention/682001/?gift=Je3D9AQS-C17lUTOnl2W8DDw44YzRHjgxPrwq7JUGjk&utm_source=copy-link&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=share

2025-03-08 21:41:58 UTC

“…Trump & his team weren’t content to…go after…#JackSmith, they also targeted…#JusticeDepartment officials who worked on Smith’s team. There was no evidence they’d done anything wrong... Trump even signed an executive order punishing a private #lawfirm that had assisted with Smith’s investigations… then he did it again…hitting the…law firm PerkinsCoie with a… directive that bans the federal government from hiring it… bars…[its] employees from…federal buildings...” | MSNBC https://www.msnbc.com/rachel-maddow-show/maddowblog/jamie-raskin-calls-white-houses-campaign-law-firms-dangerous-hell-rcna195392

2025-03-08 15:16:46 UTC

“Ryan Walters is looking for 55,000 [#Trump-endorsed] #Bibles,…seeking $60 donations for each of them. Walters,…#Oklahoma’s state superintendent of public instruction, has made…headlines for…efforts to get Bibles into the hands of public school kids... After state officials earlier this week rejected his request for $3m to buy the Bibles, Walters launched a fundraising campaign to buy copies endorsed by…#Trump...” | RNS https://religionnews.com/2025/03/07/shut-down-by-state-oklahoma-schools-chief-is-out-to-raise-funds-for-trump-endorsed-bibles/ #KingJamesVersion

2025-02-28 16:08:58 UTC

Today’s ‘#economicblackout’ began from an unlikely source. But it’s tapped into Americans’ anger. “In early February, John Schwarz…proposed a 24-hour nationwide “economic blackout” of major chains on the last day of the month. Schwarz urged people to forgo spending at Amazon, Walmart, & all other major retailers & fast-food companies for a day. He called on them to spend money only at small businesses & on essential needs.” | CNN Business https://www.cnn.com/2025/02/28/business/economic-blackout-february-28?cid=ios_app #nonviolence #civilresistance

2025-02-26 23:00:29 UTC

Trial begins in $300M lawsuit against Greenpeace. “An attorney for…[#EnergyTransfer] pipeline company said…he will prove…#Greenpeace…coordinated…disruptions of a[n] oil pipeline’s construction… & defamed the company to its lenders. Attorneys for…Greenpeace…told a jury there is no evidence to back up the claims… The case is tied…2016 & 2017 [protests] of the #DakotaAccessPipeline…” | AP https://halifax.citynews.ca/2025/02/26/trial-begins-in-texas-pipeline-companys-300m-lawsuit-against-greenpeace/amp/ #StandingRock #IndigenousPeoples #DAPL #BizHumanRights

2025-02-25 02:26:02 UTC

#Jury selection begins in civil trial brought by #DakotaAccessPipeline [#DAPL] developer against #Greenpeace. "Several in the jury pool told the court...they have ties to the oil & gas industry. Many...have negative memories of the...[DAPL] protests... Some said they believed their opinion of the protests could make it difficult for them to be fair jurors. Others said enough time had passed that they could be objective..." | Mary Steurer, ND Monitor https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/02/24/jury-selection-begins-in-civil-trial-brought-by-dakota-access-pipeline-developer-against-greenpeace/

2025-02-25 02:25:49 UTC

Water protectors on trial again as #Greenpeace case begins in #NorthDakota | opinion, Winona LaDuke, ND Monitor https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/02/24/greenpeace-dakota-access-trial-commentary/ #DAPL

2025-02-25 02:25:29 UTC

#Trialmonitors to observe #NorthDakota jury trial in #Greenpeace, Energy Transfer case | Mary Steurer, North Dakota Monitor https://northdakotamonitor.com/2025/02/14/trial-monitors-plan-to-observe-north-dakota-jury-trial-in-greenpeace-energy-transfer-case/ #DAPL

2025-02-25 02:25:16 UTC

#Greenpeace organisations begin trial defense against #Energy #Transfer’s #SLAPP | Greenpeace release https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press-release/73034/greenpeace-trial-defense-energy-transfers-slapp/ #DAPL

2025-01-14 16:37:05 UTC

Senate hearings kick off for Trump Cabinet picks. “The Republican-led #Senate is set to hold a dozen hearings this week for …#Trump’s #Cabinet picks, with the hope of confirming them quickly after he’s inaugurated next Monday…. The hearings kick off Tuesday with #Hegseth in the hot seat. … On Wednesday, hearings will feature #Rubio; …#PamBondi, Trump’s pick to head the Justice Department; …#KristiNoem to run the Department of Homeland Security.…” | More at NBC https://www.nbcnews.com/news/amp/rcna186651

2025-01-04 02:17:49 UTC

#AnnTelnaes: Why I am quitting the Washington Post. “I’ve worked for the #WashingtonPost since 2008 as an editorial #cartoonist. I have had editorial feedback & productive conversations—and some differences—about cartoons I have submitted for publication, but in all that time I’ve never had a cartoon killed because of who or what I chose to aim my pen at. Until now.”
https://open.substack.com/pub/anntelnaes/p/why-im-quitting-the-washington-post?r=7p2cc&utm_medium=ios #censorship #pressfreedom
https://files.mastodon.social/media_attachments/files/113/767/646/170/186/450/original/59c526dd276a6052.jpeg
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2025-01-03 19:58:56 UTC

Betting on Trump pardon, convicted Jan. 6 rioter hits the slopes in Canada. “A man convicted and sentenced to nine months in jail for his role in the #Jan6 attack on the US Capitol is snowboarding in Whistler, B.C. Though #AntonyVo says he expects a full #pardon from U.S. president-elect Donald #Trump once he takes office, he is also seeking #asylum in #Canada.” | CBC.ca https://www.cbc.ca/player/play/video/9.6603227

2025-01-02 23:25:13 UTC

Biden Expected to Permanently Ban Some #OffshoreDrilling. “Unlike other executive actions that can be easily undone, #Biden’s planned declaration is rooted in…[the 1953 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act] that gives the White House wide discretion to permanently protect US waters from #oil&gas_leasing without explicitly empowering presidents to revoke the designations …For decades, presidents have invoked the…[Act] to preserve…US Arctic waters &…” | Transport Topics https://www.ttnews.com/articles/biden-offshore-drilling-ban #law

2024-12-04 14:40:15 UTC

Inside the Supreme Court Ethics Debate: Who Judges the Justices?
“In private meetings & memos, the justices made new rules for themselves …The most significant departure from the lower-court rules, & the sharpest philosophical divide among the justices, was over whether to enforce the rules they were formulating. All 3 liberals — Justices Sotomayor, Kagan & Jackson — supported enforcement.” | Jodi Kantor & Abbie VanSickle, NYT https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/03/us/supreme-court-ethics-rules.html #SCOTUS #ethics #independence #impartiality

2024-12-02 02:24:32 UTC

USA: Jim McDermott left Congress. Then he had to leave the country. “McDermott’s experience raises serious questions for Americans, especially those in positions of power. Is the United States facing a situation so dangerous that you would be foolish if you didn’t have a backup plan? Or is it hyperbole to imagine the country sliding into #authoritarian rule that would unleash #violence, #retribution and #repression?” | opinion by #ElizabethBecker, Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/02/27/jim-mcdermott-expat-france-trump/

2024-11-27 02:26:03 UTC

How Trump is breaking from the #PresidentialTransitionAct | USA Today https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/26/trump-breaking-presidential-transition-act/76564885007/ #ethics #ConflictsOfInterest #transparency #NationalSecurity

2024-11-20 17:26:34 UTC

#ACLU Sign on Letter Opposing #HR9495: “…vast unilateral discretion in the Secretary of Treasury…creates a high risk of politicized and discriminatory enforcement. The executive branch already has extensive authority to prohibit transactions with individuals and entities it deems connected to terrorism and #nonprofit organizations are already prohibited from providing material support to terrorist organizations.” https://civilrights.org/resource/aclu-sign-on-letter-opposing-h-r-9495/
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2024-11-19 23:29:51 UTC

Inside Trump's 'hostile takeover' transition of the federal government. “Trump has yet to collaborate with the General Services Administration, which is tasked with the complex work of handing over control of hundreds of agencies, because he has not turned in required #pledges to follow #ethics rules. His transition teams have yet to set foot inside a single federal office.” | Washington Post https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2024/11/19/trump-transition-fbi-state-gsa/ #RuleOfLaw

2024-11-19 21:20:12 UTC

‘Republicans…have revived their efforts to pass a bill…decried by #humanrights…groups as an effort to crack down on #freespeech & their ideological opponents. …the… Stop Terror-Financing & Tax Penalties on American Hostages Act bill [is] teed up for a vote Wednesday …#HR9495…would…give the US Treasury unilateral authority to strip tax-exempt status from nonprofits deemed “terrorist supporting….” …’| MSNBC https://www.msnbc.com/the-reidout/reidout-blog/nonprofits-bill-trump-house-republicans-terrorism-rcna180696

2024-11-17 05:45:54 UTC

Amnesty International USA Urges No Vote on #HR9495. ‘…If enacted, this legislation would grant the Secretary of the Treasury broad discretionary powers to terminate the tax-exempt status of #nonprofit organizations based solely on a subjective declaration that they are “terrorist supporting organizations.”… There are no safeguards to prevent H.R. 9495’s broad authority from being misused to harass or intimidate organizations...’ https://www.amnestyusa.org/press-releases/amnesty-international-usa-urges-no-vote-on-h-r-9495/

2024-11-17 01:26:08 UTC

#Self_Censorship Leads to #Extremism on #American College Campuses | Columbia Political Review http://www.cpreview.org/articles/2024/1/self-censorship-leads-to-extremism-on-american-college-campuses

2024-11-16 13:39:49 UTC

H.R. 9495 “a threat to free speech,” says Oxfam America. After failing to pass H.R. 9495, a bill that would allow the Treasury Secretary to effectively shut down any non-profit organization, including news outlets, universities, & civil society groups, under a suspension of the rules last week, the House of will again bring it up for a vote next week.“ See full Oxfam statement https://www.oxfamamerica.org/press/hr-9495-a-threat-to-free-speech-says-oxfam-america/ #HR9495

2024-09-10 14:06:37 UTC

Opinion | Punishing a shooter’s parents delivers some justice. But not enough. “We can’t stop this scourge without making some obvious — and popular — changes to gun laws.” | Jennifer Rubin, The Washington Post
https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2024/09/09/parents-shooter-arrest-gun-laws/ #guncontrol #gunviolence

2024-08-21 11:43:15 UTC

ICYMI: #Trump’s Alliance With #Christians Is Fraying. ‘…Trump is not “one of us,” one faith leader told NOTUS. “His relationship with conservative #Christians was transactional.” Many Christians aren’t happy with Trump shifting the Republican Party’s…position on #abortion, an issue that earned their loyalty…in 2016. The latest platform doesn’t mention…opposition to same-sex marriage…support for the Ten Commandments or…“Judeo-Christian heritage.” ….’ | NOTUS, 15 July 2024 https://www.notus.org/trump-2024/trump-christians-republican-platform