Cathy Gellis
@cathygellis.bsky.social
Lawyer, writer, all-around-great person
I mostly post about technology, law, and civil liberties (especially free speech), and how they intersect. And mostly at Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/user/cathy/
I also post silly things too.
I mostly post about technology, law, and civil liberties (especially free speech), and how they intersect. And mostly at Techdirt: https://www.techdirt.com/user/cathy/
I also post silly things too.
Pinned
Cathy Gellis
@cathygellis.bsky.social
· Jan 3
Oaths Of Office, And How Everyone Not Moving To Impeach Trump Is Violating Their Own
Until very recently the only member of Congress excused from not having moved to impeach Trump was Rep. Grijalva, because until someone swore her in there was nothing she could officially do. But f…
www.techdirt.com
A reminder: any member of Congress not impeaching is violating their own oath of office.
It's not optional.
www.techdirt.com/2025/11/26/o...
It's not optional.
www.techdirt.com/2025/11/26/o...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
House Republicans don’t understand the separation of powers on things like judicial warrants — or pretend not to, since most of them have only known the Trump era. But Americans (and their party) are more worried about targeting the innocent than missing the guilty.
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
February 5, 2026 at 4:21 AM
House Republicans don’t understand the separation of powers on things like judicial warrants — or pretend not to, since most of them have only known the Trump era. But Americans (and their party) are more worried about targeting the innocent than missing the guilty.
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
www.ms.now/opinion/trum...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
I would add: if a person who is here legally is held for more than half an hour (or whatever is a reasonable amount of time to check), that person shall receive $1000 per extra minute, with the first $10k to come from the detaining officer’s salary and the rest to come from the ICE budget.
in real terms, #7 would give states leverage to put an end to surges, #8 would give states the ability to outright stop construction of new detention facilities, #1 and #6 would slow the rate at which DHS could train and deploy officers, #2 and #10 would likely shrink the pool of recruits
Schumer & Jeffries lay out the Democratic demands for a DHS funding deal in a letter to the top Republican leaders
February 5, 2026 at 4:05 AM
I would add: if a person who is here legally is held for more than half an hour (or whatever is a reasonable amount of time to check), that person shall receive $1000 per extra minute, with the first $10k to come from the detaining officer’s salary and the rest to come from the ICE budget.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Normal people are out there doing extraordinary things. My mom's health aide emailed me: ICE took 2 of her neighbors; when she told them they weren't welcome, she was met w/a rifle. Now she's driving a neighbor to work hidden in the back of her car & escorting the neighbor's kids to the bus stop.
“If I am killed doing this, throw my body at the White House, martyr the shit out of me & raise hell. Do not be sad. Do not think I would do anything differently. I would do it over & over again — this is too important to sit down & shut up and not do anything.” www.mprnews.org/story/2026/0...
Pursued by federal agents, suburban ICE observers remain resolved
After a frightening pursuit by federal agents, suburban ICE observers say fear hasn’t stopped them from protecting their communities.
www.mprnews.org
February 4, 2026 at 7:43 PM
Normal people are out there doing extraordinary things. My mom's health aide emailed me: ICE took 2 of her neighbors; when she told them they weren't welcome, she was met w/a rifle. Now she's driving a neighbor to work hidden in the back of her car & escorting the neighbor's kids to the bus stop.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.
February 5, 2026 at 2:48 AM
Jeff Bezos’s wealth has increased an average of $70 million every day of 2026, meaning that he could have offset The Post’s losses with what he’s made since Monday.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
A good mix of demands that would have a substantial impact and demands that are so overwhelmingly reasonable and popular that republicans saying no would get their asses chewed out
Also a lot more direct than the press statments by these two, unsurprising bc they're bad at rhetoric
Also a lot more direct than the press statments by these two, unsurprising bc they're bad at rhetoric
Schumer & Jeffries lay out the Democratic demands for a DHS funding deal in a letter to the top Republican leaders
February 5, 2026 at 3:01 AM
A good mix of demands that would have a substantial impact and demands that are so overwhelmingly reasonable and popular that republicans saying no would get their asses chewed out
Also a lot more direct than the press statments by these two, unsurprising bc they're bad at rhetoric
Also a lot more direct than the press statments by these two, unsurprising bc they're bad at rhetoric
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
one of my strongest beliefs is that we're in our situation right now bc some of the most prominent talking heads (e.g. joe rogan, andrew schulz) are learning about politics in their 40s and 50s, instead of their teens and early 20s, and we have to go along for the ride as they learn basic things
February 4, 2026 at 10:10 PM
one of my strongest beliefs is that we're in our situation right now bc some of the most prominent talking heads (e.g. joe rogan, andrew schulz) are learning about politics in their 40s and 50s, instead of their teens and early 20s, and we have to go along for the ride as they learn basic things
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
I don't say this often but: I'm so proud to be a climate and environment reporter. We cover an issue that is vitally important to humanity and the natural world. 14 of my climate colleagues at the Post were laid off today and I'm devastated.
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/washington...
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/washington...
Breaking: Washington Post gutting its climate team
Clean energy dies in darkness. Courtesy of Jeff Bezos.
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:17 AM
I don't say this often but: I'm so proud to be a climate and environment reporter. We cover an issue that is vitally important to humanity and the natural world. 14 of my climate colleagues at the Post were laid off today and I'm devastated.
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/washington...
www.climatecoloredgoggles.com/p/washington...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Someone just told him he's going to be deposed, yes?
it’s genuinely reassuring to me that this is the most miserable and paranoid person in the entire world
February 5, 2026 at 3:03 AM
Someone just told him he's going to be deposed, yes?
What a shmuck.
Wonder if the firm will try to un-settle the Trump deal?
Wonder if the firm will try to un-settle the Trump deal?
BREAKING: BRAD KARP OUT AS CHAIR OF PAUL WEISS.
Brad Karp to step down as Paul Weiss chair after Epstein revelations
Files released by US Department of Justice detailed his relationship with the child sex offender
www.ft.com
February 5, 2026 at 2:17 AM
What a shmuck.
Wonder if the firm will try to un-settle the Trump deal?
Wonder if the firm will try to un-settle the Trump deal?
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
But Biden has memory issues
Trump: I hate even talking about ICE. 2 people out of tens of thousands and you get bad publicity.
Host: But it was 2 Americans who died—
Trump: We have the smallest trucks. We've been very tough on the waters
Host: The waters?
Trump: The waters where we knock out boats
Host: But it was 2 Americans who died—
Trump: We have the smallest trucks. We've been very tough on the waters
Host: The waters?
Trump: The waters where we knock out boats
February 5, 2026 at 2:05 AM
But Biden has memory issues
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
This is right.
These D. Minn. judges are soon going to have little choice but to insist that the U.S. Att'y and senior ICE officials appear in court themselves ... and keep those hearings open and ongoing until those officials' orders to release the prisoners are carried out, in real time. [4]
February 5, 2026 at 1:50 AM
This is right.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
The transcript of the MN hearing where an AUSA said “This job sucks” is remarkable for more reasons than that. It’s a searing portrait of a crisis perpetrated by depraved & oblivious high-level officials. Read it all. ...
1/7
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
1/7
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
19-TS of 020326 hearing - Segundo APG v. Bondi, 26-CV-603
www.documentcloud.org
February 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
The transcript of the MN hearing where an AUSA said “This job sucks” is remarkable for more reasons than that. It’s a searing portrait of a crisis perpetrated by depraved & oblivious high-level officials. Read it all. ...
1/7
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
1/7
www.documentcloud.org/documents/26...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Judge Jerry Blackwell’s own comments deserve attention: Unlawful detention “falls on the heads of those who have done nothing wrong to justify it. ... The overwhelming majority of the 100s seen by this Court have been found to be lawfully present ... in the country.”
2/7
2/7
February 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Judge Jerry Blackwell’s own comments deserve attention: Unlawful detention “falls on the heads of those who have done nothing wrong to justify it. ... The overwhelming majority of the 100s seen by this Court have been found to be lawfully present ... in the country.”
2/7
2/7
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
“[Y]ou cannot ... detain first & sort out lawful authority later. ... Continued detention is not lawful just because ... an operation has expanded beyond the Government's capacity to execute it lawfully.” ...
3/7
3/7
February 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
“[Y]ou cannot ... detain first & sort out lawful authority later. ... Continued detention is not lawful just because ... an operation has expanded beyond the Government's capacity to execute it lawfully.” ...
3/7
3/7
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Says one detainee’s lawyer: “We shouldn’t need a specific court order to ask the DOJ not to put someone’s life in danger. ... [I’ve had to pick up clients] who were left on the side of the road with no coat, no phone, no wallet, no hat ... and it’s zero degrees outside.”
6/7
6/7
February 5, 2026 at 1:52 AM
Says one detainee’s lawyer: “We shouldn’t need a specific court order to ask the DOJ not to put someone’s life in danger. ... [I’ve had to pick up clients] who were left on the side of the road with no coat, no phone, no wallet, no hat ... and it’s zero degrees outside.”
6/7
6/7
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
A link to SAUSA Julie Le's admission that ICE & DOJ haven't released individuals who were ordered released because no one in the entire system has responded to her repeated entreaties to get the individuals released.
Kafka told from the prosecutor's prospective.
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
Kafka told from the prosecutor's prospective.
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
Transcript of 2.3 Hearing, Segundo A.P.G. v. Bondi, No. 26-CV-603.pdf
drive.google.com
February 5, 2026 at 12:28 AM
A link to SAUSA Julie Le's admission that ICE & DOJ haven't released individuals who were ordered released because no one in the entire system has responded to her repeated entreaties to get the individuals released.
Kafka told from the prosecutor's prospective.
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
Kafka told from the prosecutor's prospective.
drive.google.com/file/d/1FnY2...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
JUST IN: 2 school systems in MN file suit to block ICE enforcement near schools. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
#1 in Fridley Public School District, Independent School District 14 v. Noem (D. Minnesota, 0:26-cv-01023) – CourtListener.com
COMPLAINT against All Defendants (filing fee $ 405, receipt number AMNDC-12627493) filed by Education Minnesota, Duluth Public School District, Independent School District 709, Fridley Public School D...
storage.courtlistener.com
February 4, 2026 at 11:48 PM
JUST IN: 2 school systems in MN file suit to block ICE enforcement near schools. Doc: storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Honoring the life and legacy of Bob Weir exactly how he would have wanted...
February 4, 2026 at 11:50 PM
Honoring the life and legacy of Bob Weir exactly how he would have wanted...
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
You could cover the salaries of a hell of a lot of reporters for the sum Amazon paid to make a money-losing propaganda film about Trump’s mail-order bride.
That Jeff Bezos's Amazon gave Brett Ratner, someone photographed with Jeffrey Epstein and in the Epstein Files, $75 million to make a doc about Melania Trump, while he chooses to destroy The Washington Post, says about all you need to know.
February 4, 2026 at 10:02 PM
You could cover the salaries of a hell of a lot of reporters for the sum Amazon paid to make a money-losing propaganda film about Trump’s mail-order bride.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Trump has weaponized every other part of the federal government, but we’ve heard surprisingly little about the Intelligence Community proper. It’s a shoe I’ve been anxiously waiting to drop for the past year.
February 4, 2026 at 9:48 PM
Trump has weaponized every other part of the federal government, but we’ve heard surprisingly little about the Intelligence Community proper. It’s a shoe I’ve been anxiously waiting to drop for the past year.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
Denaturalization as criminal punishment is not a thing in American law, it's unconstitutional under any circumstances. It can only be done in the narrow case of somebody who fraudulently obtained the naturalization itself. Otherwise they are no different from natural-born citizens who commit crimes.
Schmitt: "Your words that don’t mean anything aren't going to stop what’s coming, and I want you to take that back to Soros and all these ridiculous funders you have. Because justice is coming. And by the way, if I have it my way, we will be denaturalize all these fraudsters and send them home."
February 4, 2026 at 9:42 PM
Denaturalization as criminal punishment is not a thing in American law, it's unconstitutional under any circumstances. It can only be done in the narrow case of somebody who fraudulently obtained the naturalization itself. Otherwise they are no different from natural-born citizens who commit crimes.
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
The Washington Post: Democracy Dies
My story on Elon Musk cutting safeguards at xAI is on the front page of today's @washingtonpost.com. I’m also among 100’s of reporters laid off. I absolutely loved my job my brilliant coworkers & the thrill of reporting @ the center of forces upending the world: AI & Silicon Valley’s political power
February 4, 2026 at 9:39 PM
The Washington Post: Democracy Dies
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
(Recall it was common in Europe at the time to require a government license to operate a printing press, so it made sense for the Framers to clarify that large-scale publication, not just individual written and verbal expression, would be protected.)
February 4, 2026 at 9:33 PM
(Recall it was common in Europe at the time to require a government license to operate a printing press, so it made sense for the Framers to clarify that large-scale publication, not just individual written and verbal expression, would be protected.)
Reposted by Cathy Gellis
A Ron Wyden specialty: sending a letter in public that reveals he's seen some really bad classified shit that he wants an explanation for.
February 4, 2026 at 9:29 PM
A Ron Wyden specialty: sending a letter in public that reveals he's seen some really bad classified shit that he wants an explanation for.