Kim Lane Scheppele
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kimlanelaw.bsky.social
Kim Lane Scheppele
@kimlanelaw.bsky.social

Tracking autocratic legalism around the world from Princeton University.

Kim Lane Scheppele is the Laurance S. Rockefeller Professor of Sociology and International Affairs in the Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and in the University Center for Human Values at Princeton University. Scheppele works on topics related to comparative constitutional ethnography within the sociology of law. .. more

Political science 58%
Law 31%
I don't think there's any understanding of the First Amendment under which this ("our Savior") is constitutional. Yet they don't care, and they've eliminated all the attorneys who would've objected.

Kudos to the Goldwater and Cato Institutes for condemning it.

www.nytimes.com/2025/12/25/a...
Trump Administration Emphasizes Religion in Official Christmas Messages
www.nytimes.com
Legend Imran Ahmed (CEO of CCDH) just sued the U.S. Government for the wildly inappropriate visa sanctions. The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York just granted a Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) against this inappropriate government action.

What a Christmas gift!
The DOJ is lying when it says they *just now* received Epstein files from the Southern District of New York.
Jack Smith is calling for the House Judiciary Committee to release the recording of his full closed-door deposition before the panel.

"Doing so will ensure that the American people can hear the facts directly from Mr. Smith, rather than through second-hand accounts."
"Judges who ruled against Trump say harassment & threats have changed their lives. More than 100 pizzas were delivered to the homes of judges & their families this year, some with signs of foreign involvement. Judges say the message is clear: We know where you live." www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...
Judges who ruled against Trump say harassment and threats have changed their lives
More than 100 pizzas were delivered to the homes of judges and their families this year, some with signs of foreign involvement. Judges say the message is clear: We know where you live.
www.nbcnews.com

Reposted by Laurent Pech

The US govt wants to make the world safe for disinformation spread by US oligarchs. This is not about free speech.

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Thanks much, Leah. I think it's noteworthy that *no* Justices thought that the SG's unconvincing alternative argument that Trump had properly invoked the *rebellion* provision of 12406 was even worthy of discussion or refutation; and ... [1]

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

I don’t see how EU and national leaders can go on publicly pretending that everything is normal for another 3.5 years and beyond.
Former EU Commissioner Thierry Breton has been sanctioned by the United States for threatening Twitter with consequences for possible inaction on removal of illegal content and disinformation requirements. #Image(s) #EuropeanUnion

https://i.redd.it/eir5vtgu019g1.png
NEW: By a 6-3 vote, the Supreme Court blocks Trump’s deployment of the National Guard to Chicago to assist immigration agents. A majority holds that he likely lacks authority to do so. Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissent. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
BREAKING: We are suing Trump & his cronies to restore the Kennedy Center’s lawful name

We @democracydefendersaction.org are proud to represent Kennedy Center Trustee @repbeatty.bsky.social w/ our friends at Washington Litigation Group

Congress named the Kennedy Center & only they can change it
Press Release | Democracy Defenders Action
Congresswoman Joyce Beatty today sued President Trump and others to stop the unlawful renaming of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts. The lawsuit was brought on behalf of the Congressw...
www.democracydefendersaction.org

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Former CIA Director Brennan asks Chief Judge in SDFla to stop govt from steering grand jury probe to Judge Aileen Cannon, citing "irregular activity" & Cannon's "demonstrated pattern of favoring ... Trump's litigation positions." By @charliesavage.bsky.social . (gift)
www.nytimes.com/2025/12/22/u...
Ex-C.I.A. Chief Asks to Keep Justice Dept. From Steering Case to Favored Judge
www.nytimes.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Courts are using originalist arguments to expand executive power, weaken long-standing rights and protections, and entrench inequality. It’s crucial that lawyers push back. Our new guide shows you how. bit.ly/4iQ1v0B

Art Credit: Adrià Fruitos

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

When someone asks “what can I do?”, here’s the answer: open.substack.com/pub/cmarmita...
What the Mafia Can Teach Us About Destroying MAGA
We have what we need.
open.substack.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

probably

Reposted by Kate Jackson

Going where 60 Minutes fears to tread . . .
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
m.youtube.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

A phenomenal piece by Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social in The Atlantic @theatlantic.com that explains the racial and class hierarchies that are part of the Republican Party, including the Supreme Court's, vision for the Constitution.

www.theatlantic.com/politics/202...
Burgum: "Today we're sending notifications to the 5 large offshore wind projects that are under construction that their leases will be suspended due to national security concerns ... the Dept of War has come back conclusively that these large offshore wind programs create radar interference"
Holy shit practically the entire Heritage legal center resigned www.nationalreview.com/news/exclusi...
I think this is an another data point concerning where things are going, nothing more. but, it’s worth a read. reason.com/volokh/2025/...
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
Now seems like a swell time to point out that Frontline just released this excellent 11-minute mini-documentary about what happened inside CECOT.
Surviving CECOT (full documentary) | Deported to a Maximum-Security Prison | FRONTLINE + ProPublica
YouTube video by FRONTLINE PBS | Official
m.youtube.com

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

The latest Atlas poll shows that people really don't trust corporate media. So come check out some indie media today at Noon PT / 3 PM ET on the @meidastouch.com YouTube channel. Here's a link. I'll be interviewing Epstein Survivor Annie Farmer. See you there! www.youtube.com/live/IToZ_0r...

Reposted by Kim L. Scheppele

Todd Blanche’s appearance on Meet the Press was disgraceful but clarifying. The “Department of Justice” is Donald Trump’s defense team. There can be no presumption they’re acting in good faith. One has to approach them as one approached a Soviet “Department of Justice”—as propaganda, not justice.
“The white supremacist, anti-14th Amendment, post-Brown movement has the complicity or active engagement of all three branches of government as it works to undo the constitutional infrastructure of Reconstruction and the legacy of the Civil Rights Movement.”

open.substack.com/pub/sherrily...
Is It Too Late?
No. But We Must Better Understand the Nature of the Battle
open.substack.com
“Coverups are difficult in free societies. They are routine for authoritarian governments. The Epstein coverup will be an indicator of how far we are down the road to authoritarianism. The success of such a coverup would take us much further down that road.”

www.thebulwark.com/p/why-the-ep...
Why the Epstein Coverup Matters
In free societies, government coverups are difficult. In authoritarian ones, they’re routine.
www.thebulwark.com