bmaz
@bmaz.bsky.social
Criminal defense, civil rights, and occasionally civil, trial lawyer. Former Emptywheel legal writer, husband, father and generally cranky observateur. Lifetime F1 fan.
Reposted by bmaz
Lavrov: “If Greenland is ‘U.S. security,’ then Crimea is ‘Russian security.’”
Russia predictably using this as cover. Putin is pleased.
Russia predictably using this as cover. Putin is pleased.
January 20, 2026 at 6:20 PM
Lavrov: “If Greenland is ‘U.S. security,’ then Crimea is ‘Russian security.’”
Russia predictably using this as cover. Putin is pleased.
Russia predictably using this as cover. Putin is pleased.
Reposted by bmaz
ABC News present a list of some fifty persons who are the targets of White House-directed vindictive prosecutions brought by Trump. Quite a few obvious names are missing. But it's a start. And it marks the crossing of a line from rule of law to totalitarian dictatorship.
In year since Trump's return to office, here's a list of those targeted by his administration
The DOJ's probe into Jerome Powell is the latest salvo in what critics call a campaign of retribution since Donald Trump returned to the presidency one year ago.
abcnews.go.com
January 20, 2026 at 4:17 PM
ABC News present a list of some fifty persons who are the targets of White House-directed vindictive prosecutions brought by Trump. Quite a few obvious names are missing. But it's a start. And it marks the crossing of a line from rule of law to totalitarian dictatorship.
Mr. Balko is being too kind. By a lot.
Staring at a five-alarm fire, Democrats work up a good mouthful of spit.
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
www.huffpost.com/entry/trump-...
Democrats Support Bill That Would Give ICE $10 Billion
The party has few good options for restraining ICE, which is flush with cash thanks to the passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill.
www.huffpost.com
January 20, 2026 at 3:53 PM
Mr. Balko is being too kind. By a lot.
There will never be a war crimes trial at The Hague.
This image will be an exhibit at Trump’s war crimes trial at The Hague
January 20, 2026 at 2:02 PM
There will never be a war crimes trial at The Hague.
Reposted by bmaz
Don't worry mon ami, they're not the Meta nonce glasses
January 20, 2026 at 1:41 PM
Don't worry mon ami, they're not the Meta nonce glasses
Reposted by bmaz
Please read this, particularly the part about the 3 to 5-year window. All is not lost, but the clock is ticking.
I wrote about how concentration camp regimes evolve and why it's not too late to stop this, even though we are deep in it now.
Into the abyss
The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
January 20, 2026 at 1:17 PM
Please read this, particularly the part about the 3 to 5-year window. All is not lost, but the clock is ticking.
Reposted by bmaz
In Louisiana, an ICE officer named David Courvelle has pleaded guilty on charges related to his monthslong sexual abuse of a Nicaraguan woman held in a detention center. www.wbrz.com/news/contrac...
Contract detention officer pleads guilty to sexually abusing Nicaraguan detainee at ICE facility in Basile
A former ICE detention officer pleaded guilty Monday to the sexual abuse of a Nicaraguan detainee at the South Louisiana ICE Processing Center in Basile, according to court documents obtained by WBRZ.
www.wbrz.com
January 19, 2026 at 10:10 PM
In Louisiana, an ICE officer named David Courvelle has pleaded guilty on charges related to his monthslong sexual abuse of a Nicaraguan woman held in a detention center. www.wbrz.com/news/contrac...
“nobody sane now thinks the answer to abuses at Dachau was to give the guards more training.”
Pay attention Chuck and Hakeem.
Pay attention Chuck and Hakeem.
I wrote about how concentration camp regimes evolve and why it's not too late to stop this, even though we are deep in it now.
Into the abyss
The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
January 20, 2026 at 12:22 PM
“nobody sane now thinks the answer to abuses at Dachau was to give the guards more training.”
Pay attention Chuck and Hakeem.
Pay attention Chuck and Hakeem.
Reposted by bmaz
This from @andreapitzer.bsky.social is key.
“nobody sane now thinks the answer to abuses at Dachau was to give the guards more training.”
“nobody sane now thinks the answer to abuses at Dachau was to give the guards more training.”
I wrote about how concentration camp regimes evolve and why it's not too late to stop this, even though we are deep in it now.
Into the abyss
The correct response to Dachau was not better training for the guards.
degenerateart.beehiiv.com
January 20, 2026 at 11:56 AM
This from @andreapitzer.bsky.social is key.
“nobody sane now thinks the answer to abuses at Dachau was to give the guards more training.”
“nobody sane now thinks the answer to abuses at Dachau was to give the guards more training.”
Reposted by bmaz
Look at this and reconsider Trump’s claim that Putin wouldn’t have dared to invade if Trump were president.
He clearly would have.
Putin isn’t afraid of Trump because Trump is weak and compromised
He clearly would have.
Putin isn’t afraid of Trump because Trump is weak and compromised
January 20, 2026 at 9:20 AM
Look at this and reconsider Trump’s claim that Putin wouldn’t have dared to invade if Trump were president.
He clearly would have.
Putin isn’t afraid of Trump because Trump is weak and compromised
He clearly would have.
Putin isn’t afraid of Trump because Trump is weak and compromised
Reposted by bmaz
accurate headline: "Greenlanders in tears, Ukrainians die, Kremlin in joy"
euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/19/g...
euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/19/g...
Greenlanders in tears, Ukrainians die, Kremlin in joy: Sowing discord in West is Putin's core idea - Euromaidan Press
Moscow deeply interested in US-EU conflict: Greenland dispute weakens Ukraine's support base, says the expert.
euromaidanpress.com
January 20, 2026 at 8:12 AM
accurate headline: "Greenlanders in tears, Ukrainians die, Kremlin in joy"
euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/19/g...
euromaidanpress.com/2026/01/19/g...
What will the NIL/Transfer Portal sports law geniuses want next, Greenland?
January 20, 2026 at 4:48 AM
What will the NIL/Transfer Portal sports law geniuses want next, Greenland?
What in the living fuck??
January 20, 2026 at 4:10 AM
What in the living fuck??
Reposted by bmaz
That’s so they can play ring toss with life preservers during night games.
January 20, 2026 at 2:37 AM
That’s so they can play ring toss with life preservers during night games.
Come on @bradmossesq.bsky.social you know better than this. Without direct federal court referrals, state bars will not do jack shit. It is OPR, which is laughable, and then the unlikely state attempt which DOJ will undermine.
I don't know if state bars will go along with this....
SCOOP: The Trump DOJ is preparing to eliminate the ability of U.S. Attorneys to recuse themselves from cases due to conflicts of interest.
A new rule expected to be filed this week will put that power in the hands of Pam Bondi.
A new rule expected to be filed this week will put that power in the hands of Pam Bondi.
January 19, 2026 at 9:26 PM
Come on @bradmossesq.bsky.social you know better than this. Without direct federal court referrals, state bars will not do jack shit. It is OPR, which is laughable, and then the unlikely state attempt which DOJ will undermine.
Fair thought. More Putin bidding. When Putin obliterates Ukraine, it will be entirely on Trump and the US. The new legacy.
Even if Trump doesn’t invade Greenland (or Canada) he’s doing Putin an enormous favour.
Can Europe/Canada keep sending military equipment to Ukraine when their own territory is facing the threat of invasion?
Can Europe/Canada keep sending military equipment to Ukraine when their own territory is facing the threat of invasion?
January 19, 2026 at 9:20 PM
Fair thought. More Putin bidding. When Putin obliterates Ukraine, it will be entirely on Trump and the US. The new legacy.
This is absolutely right. The lovely clackers on Bluesky that relentlessly yap about 25A and Impeachment are simply ridiculous. It is not that easy, and doomed and failed attempts accomplish nothing. Let Pelosi's history be your guide and ask if you think Hakeem Jeffries is up to the job. Answer=No.
it speaks to how comatose Congress is that people regularly reference the 25th Amendment as a check on Presidential insanity when it's intended to be used in the event of like, a coma
impeachment is the proper remedy but Republicans have cucked themselves out to their mad king
impeachment is the proper remedy but Republicans have cucked themselves out to their mad king
January 19, 2026 at 8:42 PM
This is absolutely right. The lovely clackers on Bluesky that relentlessly yap about 25A and Impeachment are simply ridiculous. It is not that easy, and doomed and failed attempts accomplish nothing. Let Pelosi's history be your guide and ask if you think Hakeem Jeffries is up to the job. Answer=No.
Reposted by bmaz
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Dr. Gladys West, Mathematician Whose Work Made GPS Possible, Dies at 95
ALEXANDRIA, VA — Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She passed away
thezebra.org
January 19, 2026 at 6:00 PM
Dr. Gladys West, the pioneering mathematician whose work laid the foundation for modern GPS technology, has died. She was 95.
Reposted by bmaz
U.S. citizen who had done nothing wrong refused to submit to finger prints or facial ID by immigration officials.
Again, it’s the “show me your papers, comrade” era.
Again, it’s the “show me your papers, comrade” era.
DHS is out with a new explanation of this and "he's a brown guy who looked like some sex criminals who he allegedly lived with" (his sister-in-law's story suggests that last part is made up), and they claim he refused to be fingerprinted or "facially ID'd," which I do not in any way believe at all.
January 19, 2026 at 7:12 PM
U.S. citizen who had done nothing wrong refused to submit to finger prints or facial ID by immigration officials.
Again, it’s the “show me your papers, comrade” era.
Again, it’s the “show me your papers, comrade” era.
Reposted by bmaz
This is the part that gets me every so often. The entire ICE debacle is made up from nothing.
every single goddam crisis happening right now is self imposed
January 19, 2026 at 6:11 PM
This is the part that gets me every so often. The entire ICE debacle is made up from nothing.
Reposted by bmaz
Two significant externalities to the lack of a civil remedy against federal officials:
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
January 19, 2026 at 5:08 PM
Two significant externalities to the lack of a civil remedy against federal officials:
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
1) There won't be litigation and discovery showing the extent and depth of the abuses in the immigration crackdown
2) Precedent won't be creating to prevent a repeat of those abuses
Reposted by bmaz
Precisely the conduct that a federal judge held to be illegal on Friday, and which ICE continues, oblivious to the federal court order. This is a lawless organization.
It's cool that these guys just use pepper spray casually now, against people who are wholly within their rights, without a moment's hesitation. Several shots of them using it as they climb into their cars and drive away, not even a pretense of urgency or need. Just a parting "fuck you" to them.
This is what happened in our neighborhood yesterday. ICE snatched a human being off of our streets, roughed them up badly, and then pepper sprayed legal observers as they documented it all. This is a daily occurrence happening all throughout Minnesota right now.
January 19, 2026 at 4:56 PM
Precisely the conduct that a federal judge held to be illegal on Friday, and which ICE continues, oblivious to the federal court order. This is a lawless organization.
Reposted by bmaz
This is what happened in our neighborhood yesterday. ICE snatched a human being off of our streets, roughed them up badly, and then pepper sprayed legal observers as they documented it all. This is a daily occurrence happening all throughout Minnesota right now.
January 19, 2026 at 4:57 PM
Reposted by bmaz
When USSR invaded Afghanistan we boycotted Olympics. Why is the rest of the world coming here for World Cup?
January 19, 2026 at 4:48 PM
When USSR invaded Afghanistan we boycotted Olympics. Why is the rest of the world coming here for World Cup?
Reposted by bmaz
Giant version of Epstein birthday card allegedly from Trump is placed on National Mall
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
Giant version of Epstein card allegedly from Trump is placed on National Mall
Group behind Trump and Epstein ‘holding hands’ statue strikes again in time for dead pedophile’s birthday
www.independent.co.uk
January 19, 2026 at 4:50 PM
Giant version of Epstein birthday card allegedly from Trump is placed on National Mall
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...
www.independent.co.uk/news/world/a...