Attention to the Unseen

WISN 12 News reports: When United States Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem publicly praised the arrest of Ramon Morales-Reyes as the suspect initially believed to be responsible for writing a letter threatening to shoot President Donald J. Trump, it added fuel to the already fiery debate over immigration in America and Southeast Wisconsin. However, Noem’s definitive identification of Morales-Reyes, 54, as the person who wrote the letter was inaccurate, according to newly filed records. Milwaukee County prosecutors, on…

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Reuters reports: The U.S. Department of Homeland Security removed a list of “sanctuary” states, cities and counties from its website following sharp criticism from a sheriffs’ association that said a list of “non-compliant” sheriffs could severely damage the relationship between the Trump administration and law enforcement. DHS on Thursday published a list of what it called “sanctuary” jurisdictions that allegedly limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. The list prompted a response from the National Sheriffs’ Association, which represents more than…

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Austin Sarat writes: In his farewell address to the nation more than 200 years ago, President George Washington warned the branches of government to “confine themselves within their respective Constitutional spheres.” Encroachment on other branches, he wrote, “tends to consolidate the powers of all the departments in one, and thus to create, whatever the form of government, a real despotism.” Today’s Republican Party never heard that advice. GOP majorities in the House and Senate have stood by as President Donald…

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The New York Times reports: President Trump appears to be declaring independence from outside constraints on how he nominates judges, signaling that he is looking for loyalists who will uphold his agenda and denouncing the conservative legal network that helped him remake the federal judiciary in his first term. Late Thursday, after a ruling struck down his tariffs on most imported goods, Mr. Trump attacked the Federalist Society, leaders of which heavily influenced his selection of judges during his first…

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Politico reports: President Donald Trump leveled unusually pointed criticism of a prominent conservative legal activist and organization Thursday as he railed against a ruling that struck down his sweeping tariffs. The president, in a post on his social media platform, slammed Leonard Leo, the former chair of the Federalist Society, calling him a “sleazebag” who “probably hates America.” It was a striking characterization of Leo, who played a key role in working with Trump to shape the conservative Supreme Court….

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The New York Times reports: President Trump is employing the vast power of his office to redefine criminality to suit his needs — using pardons to inoculate criminals he happens to like, downplaying corruption and fraud as crimes, and seeking to stigmatize political opponents by labeling them criminals. In the past few days, Mr. Trump has offered pardons or clemency to more than two dozen people embraced by his obstreperous right-wing base, or favored by people in his orbit. Most…

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HuffPost reports: In a pathetic act of cowardice last year, a handful of Democrats tanked one of President Joe Biden’s judicial nominees, Adeel Mangi. Mangi, who was a veteran civil litigator in New Jersey, was an objectively impressive and qualified pick. He also happened to be Muslim, so Republicans subjected him to a disgusting monthslong smear campaign aimed at baselessly casting him as an antisemitic terrorist sympathizer. Despite his horrific treatment, Mangi hung in there, racking up endorsements from major…

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The New York Times reports: Threats against federal judges have risen drastically since President Trump took office, according to internal data compiled by the U.S. Marshals Service. In the five-month period leading up to March 1 of this year, 80 individual judges had received threats, the data shows. Then, over the next six weeks, an additional 162 judges received threats, a dramatic increase. That spike in threats coincided with a flood of harsh rhetoric — often from Mr. Trump himself…

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