Justice Matters with Glenn Kirschner

Donald Trump sued the Wall Street Journal in federal court in Southern Florida, perhaps hoping that he would again draw Aileen Cannon as a judge. But he didn't. Rather, the same judge that presided over the lawsuit Trump brought against Michael Cohen - Judge Darrin Gayles - was assigned the Wall Street Journal case. Judge Gayles has seen the Trump show before . . . in court . . . up close and pers...

Donald Trump's base is fleeing from him and turning against him as a result of his pathetic flip-flop on releasing the Epstein files. So Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi have come up with an absurd scheme to try to mitigate the damage: release the Epstein grand jury transcripts. Here's the problem: the transcripts have been in the possession of the Department of Justice for years and Bondi und...

In a time when Donald Trump and Pam Bondi are trying to bury all Jeffrey Epstein-related information, including Epstein's client list, they decided to fire Maurene Comey, the highly-regarded career federal prosecutor who was entrusted with handling some of the most high-profile and sensitive federal prosecutions in N.Y., like Epstein, his co-conspirator Ghislaine Maxwell, and Sean "Diddy" Combs. G...

NPR reported, "As Republicans call for transparency into Epstein probe, Trump lashes out". Trump seems to be unraveling as a result of the backlash surrounding his decision to refuse to release information about the Epstein files. In social media posts he refers to his supporters as "weaklings" and says Republicans who disagree with him are "stupid" and "foolish." Glenn reviews the current procedu...

Only Congress can create or close a government agency like the Department of Education. However, the six right-wing Supreme Court Justices ruled that Trump can continue his efforts to close the Department of Education even though it clearly violates the doctrine of separation of powers. Justice Sotomayor authored a powerful and persuasive dissenting opinion, exposing the illegality and unconstitut...

A federal judge in California has ruled that the Trump's law enforcement agents have been violating the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution in the way they have been conducting mass immigrations sweeps in California. In language as clear as it is compelling, Judge Maame Ewusi-Mensah Frimpong said in her ruling and order: "Do all individuals—regardless of immigration status-share in the rights gua...

A federal judge has certified a class action lawsuit to protect all children who would be impacted by Donald Trump's unconstitutional birthright citizenship ban, and he issued a preliminary injunction putting a temporary stop to it. In a very real and direct sense, federal judges from coast to coast are protecting we the people against Trump's lawlessness and abuse of power. Glenn does a deep dive...

Donald Trump is forever populating his enemies list: Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Adam Schiff, Leticia James, Alvin Bragg, Jack Smith, Miles Taylor, Chris Krebs, John Brennan, and Comey, and of course, the OG of Trump's enemies list, Hillary Clinton. Importantly, not a single one of these people has ever actually been prosecuted or charged with any crime. Glenn lays out the five reasons why Brennan...

Three new legal developments can accurately be described as the good, the bad, and the ugly. The good - a federal judge temporarily blocks Trump's attempt to cut all medicaid funding to Planned Parenthood. The bad - the Supreme Court issues a stay that moves the Trump administration a step closer to mass firings of federal employees and closing federal agencies. The ugly - the government of El Sal...

Trump's cognitive decline was on full display when a reporter asked him a simple question about how long detainees would have to stay at the so-called Alligator Alcatraz facility in the Florida Everglades. Trump asked the reporter to repeat the question and she did. Trump then launched into a nonsensical rant that had noting to do with the question that was twice asked. Watching this change makes...

During a hearing in Kilmar Abrego Garcia's deportation case, the presiding judge, Paula Xinis, said that the often contradictory statements made by DOJ lawyers was like "nailing Jello to the wall". The judge also said, "It's chaos, and it's chaos that can be avoided". The DOJ was trying to convince the judge to dismiss the lawsuit filed by Abrego Garcia for his unlawful and unconstitutional deport...

In our nation's history, we fought for our independence, and we won. We fought to save the union, and we won. With a wannabe king in the White House, these are perilous times for American democracy. But there are ways we can fight for our independence from an aspiring dictator. But today's fight for our republic need not involve violence or armed conflict. Each one of us has the tools to engage in...

If there is one universal truth in the criminal justice system - it's that people would rather be out of prison than in prison. Defendants generally ask judges to release them, not detain them. However, given the abuse and untrustworthiness of Trump's Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security, Abrego Garcia and his lawyers have asked a federal judge to continue to detain rather tha...

In recent days there have some bad developments for two of Donald Trump's disgraced former lawyers. What's the current tally of Trump lawyers who have been disbarred or sanctioned for unethical conduct they engaged in on behalf of Donald Trump? Glenn explains where things stand at the moment. If you're interested in supporting our all-volunteer efforts, you can become a Team Justice patron at: &nb...

Donald Trump issued several executive orders punishing law firms who represented clients or causes he didn't like. Four of the law firms sued him, arguing his executive orders were unconstitutional. Given a new court ruling in favor of the fourth law firm, it's a clean sweep - Trump and his DOJ have now lost all four cases. But, it's something of a surprise, with just one day left to appeal his fi...

The new Supreme Court ruling on Trump's attempt to take a Sharpie and cross out the constitutional guarantee of birthright citizenship may involve a temporary procedure impediment to lawsuits challenging Trump's unconstitutional act. But in the end - when the merits of Trump's lawless conduct gets litigated in trial and appellate courts. Trump will lose. Glenn discusses why Trump will lose in cour...

It sometimes seems like accountability takes forever, but the state of New York has disbarred one of Donald Trump's former lawyers who violated Georgia state law in an attempt to help Trump steal the 2020 presidential election. Kenneth Chesebro was disbarred by the state of New York "effective immediately". Glenn review Chesebro's criminal history and the new reporting on his disbarment. If you're...

The Trump administration has been consistently violating the due process rights of immigrants by trying to deport them before they can assert their constitutional rights to notice and opportunity to be heard. To stop this abusive practice, the federal court judges in Maryland instituted a two-day pause rule before they could be deported. This happens if someone files a petition with the court when...

Here we go again: a federal appeals court has ordered the Trump administration to return to the US another man they wrongfully deported to El Salvador. Just like the Abrego Garcia case, the Trump administration deported a man named Jordin Melgar-Salmaron in violation of both a court order and the man's constitutional rights. But this new case has a bit of a due process twist. Glenn explains why th...

In an embarrassing loss for Donald Trump and Pam Bondi's Department of Justice, a federal magistrate judge rejected the DOJ's attempts to detain Abrego Garcia pending trial in his criminal case in Tennessee. Glenn discusses the scathing nature of Magistrate Judge Barbara Holmes' 51-page order denying the DOJ's motion to jail Garcia pending trial. The judge chastises the DOJ's lawyers for offering...

Donald Trump very likely is setting the record for court losses by a presidential administration. Moreover, Attorney General Pam Bondi seems unable to litigate her way out of a paper bag. Glenn discusses the new court ruling granting Harvard University's motion for a preliminary injunction to stop Trump's attempts to ban foreign students from attending Harvard. Glenn also discusses how Bondi conti...

As a result of a new ruling by a California appeals court, the people's First Amendment rights to free speech and assembly suffered a setback. The rule of law suffered a setback. Justice suffered a setback. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals left a stay in place, blocking the trial court's order that Trump must turn control of the California National Guard back to Governor Gavin Newsom. Fortunately,...

A week ago, E. Jean Carroll beat Trump in his appeal of the $5 million jury award in one of her defamation cases. Now, Ms. Carroll has won another victory in the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals in her $83.3 million defamation case against Trump. Specifically, the court rejected AG Bondi and the DOJ's attempt to get Trump out of the case and insert the DOJ into the case as the defendant. Glenn discuss...

The American Bar Association has sued Donald Trump for his unconstitutional executive orders punishing law firms. Given that multiple judges have already ruled that such executive orders are unconstitutional (rulings that the Trump administration didn't appeal), it seems like the ABA's suit should be a lay-down winner on the merits. The challenge for the ABA may be getting to the merits, as they w...

Federal judges continue to call out Trump's illegal and unconstitutional conduct in terms that are uncharacteristically scathing, direct and unflinching. Judge William Young, appointed to the federal bench 40 years ago by President Ronald Reagan, ruled that Trump's executive orders discriminating against minorities and the LGBTQ+ community are "illegal" and "void." Judge Young ordered the National...