@laurapitter.bsky.social
Attorney in private practice currently focused on appeals. Ex-Human Rights Watch, public defender, civil litigator, UN staffer, & journalist.
This is truly outrageous. So agree with my former @hrw.org colleague Liz Everson: this decision is "actually all about silencing a U.N. expert for doing her job-speaking truth about Israeli violations...and calling on governments and companies not to be complicit.” apnews.com/article/fran...
US issues sanctions against UN investigator probing abuses in Gaza
The Trump administration has announced it is issuing sanctions against an independent investigator tasked with probing human rights abuses in the Palestinian territories.
apnews.com
July 10, 2025 at 1:57 PM
This is truly outrageous. So agree with my former @hrw.org colleague Liz Everson: this decision is "actually all about silencing a U.N. expert for doing her job-speaking truth about Israeli violations...and calling on governments and companies not to be complicit.” apnews.com/article/fran...
And for more on why Israel's attack on Iran, and now the US attack too, is unlawful, see this @adhaque.bsky.social @justsecurity.org post, and others on the site, www.justsecurity.org/115010/israe... which also offers alternative views.
June 22, 2025 at 3:40 PM
And for more on why Israel's attack on Iran, and now the US attack too, is unlawful, see this @adhaque.bsky.social @justsecurity.org post, and others on the site, www.justsecurity.org/115010/israe... which also offers alternative views.
This short @hrw.org statement has answers for de-escalating Israel/Palestine conflict. Instead US launches major unlawful attack against Iran. These 2 things are connected. Trump laid out his vision for a new Middle East which includes "moving" Palestinians. Believe him. www.hrw.org/news/2025/06...
Words Are Not Enough. Concrete Action Needed to Stop Israel’s Extermination of Palestinians
Words are not enough. Without clear action from world leaders and all states, Israeli authorities show no signs of ceasing their campaign to exterminate and expel more and more Palestinians. History w...
www.hrw.org
June 22, 2025 at 3:34 PM
This short @hrw.org statement has answers for de-escalating Israel/Palestine conflict. Instead US launches major unlawful attack against Iran. These 2 things are connected. Trump laid out his vision for a new Middle East which includes "moving" Palestinians. Believe him. www.hrw.org/news/2025/06...
If I was the betting type, I’d put serious money down on prospect of Trump settling the cases with these guys and putting cash directly in their pockets. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
Proud Boys Convicted in Jan. 6 Attack Sue Government on Claims of ‘Political Persecution’
www.nytimes.com
June 9, 2025 at 12:28 AM
If I was the betting type, I’d put serious money down on prospect of Trump settling the cases with these guys and putting cash directly in their pockets. www.nytimes.com/2025/06/06/u...
Such an important report. This will be the future for even more people, unless we get ahead of it by supporting labor rights and empowering workers.
1/ After nearly 3 years of research, our @hrw.org report "The Gig Trap" is finally out. It documents how companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, Favor, and Amazon Flex created a business model that undermines labor rights & deepens inequality in the US. A 🧵https://hrw.org/node/391214
May 29, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Such an important report. This will be the future for even more people, unless we get ahead of it by supporting labor rights and empowering workers.
Reposted
1/ After nearly 3 years of research, our @hrw.org report "The Gig Trap" is finally out. It documents how companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, Favor, and Amazon Flex created a business model that undermines labor rights & deepens inequality in the US. A 🧵https://hrw.org/node/391214
May 12, 2025 at 2:55 PM
1/ After nearly 3 years of research, our @hrw.org report "The Gig Trap" is finally out. It documents how companies like Uber, Lyft, DoorDash, Instacart, Shipt, Favor, and Amazon Flex created a business model that undermines labor rights & deepens inequality in the US. A 🧵https://hrw.org/node/391214
Indispensable, speedy, analysis, yet again, from @stevevladeck.bsky.social Thank you.
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
A very quick breakdown of Friday afternoon's quietly significant ruling slapping down the lower courts in the Northern District of Texas Alien Enemies Act litigation—and what it means going forward.
open.substack.com
May 17, 2025 at 3:01 PM
Indispensable, speedy, analysis, yet again, from @stevevladeck.bsky.social Thank you.
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
151. The Supreme Court's (Alien Enemies Act) Patience is Wearing Thin
open.substack.com/pub/stevevla...
The US just arrested Mahdawi. It’s now US policy to terrorize people who oppose terrorism. This has nothing to do with antisemitism. The media should stop framing it in that context.
this is Mohsen Mahdawi, the green card holder who was just arrested by ICE for rendition at his citizenship interview
April 15, 2025 at 12:30 PM
The US just arrested Mahdawi. It’s now US policy to terrorize people who oppose terrorism. This has nothing to do with antisemitism. The media should stop framing it in that context.
Reposted
This is what judges should be doing right now.
If the Trump administration is going to insist that it can’t bring back anyone once they’re removed, then federal judges should put the brakes on any and all removals until the *full* legal process—to ensure the removals are valid—has run its course.
If the Trump administration is going to insist that it can’t bring back anyone once they’re removed, then federal judges should put the brakes on any and all removals until the *full* legal process—to ensure the removals are valid—has run its course.
Last night, US Judge Sweeney in Colo granted district-wide (state-wide) class habeas TRO to stop Trump from summarily removing aliens under his Alien Enemies Act proclamation. @ACLU attys had warned that, despite SCOTUS ruling, Admin won't commit to providing even 24 hrs notice.
1/2
1/2
April 15, 2025 at 11:42 AM
This is what judges should be doing right now.
If the Trump administration is going to insist that it can’t bring back anyone once they’re removed, then federal judges should put the brakes on any and all removals until the *full* legal process—to ensure the removals are valid—has run its course.
If the Trump administration is going to insist that it can’t bring back anyone once they’re removed, then federal judges should put the brakes on any and all removals until the *full* legal process—to ensure the removals are valid—has run its course.
Rural internet program on hold as Musk’s satellites get new consideration.
Such blatant corruption. This has to end. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Such blatant corruption. This has to end. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Rural internet program on hold as Musk’s satellites get new consideration
The new administration has frozen a $42 billion plan to get broadband into rural areas as it shifts toward satellite service from Elon Musk’s Starlink and Jeff Bezos’s Kuiper.
www.washingtonpost.com
April 2, 2025 at 11:46 AM
Rural internet program on hold as Musk’s satellites get new consideration.
Such blatant corruption. This has to end. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
Such blatant corruption. This has to end. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2...
And the US calls other governments corrupt? We have entered a new era from which it is getting harder and harder to exit. Becoming dependent on Musk not a smart move, 5 alarm fire territory. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...
Musk’s SpaceX Could Secure Billions in New Contracts Under Trump
Elon Musk’s role in the White House allows him to cancel contracts and influence policy, potentially benefiting his companies. Supporters say he has the best technology.
www.nytimes.com
March 23, 2025 at 12:54 PM
And the US calls other governments corrupt? We have entered a new era from which it is getting harder and harder to exit. Becoming dependent on Musk not a smart move, 5 alarm fire territory. www.nytimes.com/2025/03/23/u...
100% agree. Warned about this during a podcast back in November podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w... and now it’s very much happening. Important read @bernardharcourt.bsky.social and @tadurkin.bsky.social
March 23, 2025 at 12:44 PM
100% agree. Warned about this during a podcast back in November podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/w... and now it’s very much happening. Important read @bernardharcourt.bsky.social and @tadurkin.bsky.social
Reposted
Glad to see so many stepping up in defense of the CFPB. The consumer protection bureau is government at its best: working to protect people from corporate power, abuse, and unfairness. We need more of the CFPB and agencies like it to improve our democracy, not less.
DC folks: Elizabeth Warren, Indivisible, the CFPB union and others rallying outside the CFPB building tomorrow at 4:15
February 10, 2025 at 4:15 PM
Glad to see so many stepping up in defense of the CFPB. The consumer protection bureau is government at its best: working to protect people from corporate power, abuse, and unfairness. We need more of the CFPB and agencies like it to improve our democracy, not less.
So important. Hoping Zephyr will migrate over to Bluesky soon but in the meantime…
x.com/zephyrteacho...
x.com/zephyrteacho...
February 21, 2025 at 12:30 PM
So important. Hoping Zephyr will migrate over to Bluesky soon but in the meantime…
x.com/zephyrteacho...
x.com/zephyrteacho...
US now will only support Ukraine if it’s allowed to extract half its most valuable resources? That’s reprehensible after all the US has promised and not delivered on, and then giving away the store to Putin last week. US burning bridges left and right here. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Ukraine rejects initial Trump request for half its mineral wealth
Ukraine is hoping to reach a deal on a counter-offer, but the opening proposal rippled through European diplomatic circles not only for its audacity but because the war-ravaged country appears ready t...
www.washingtonpost.com
February 15, 2025 at 10:24 PM
US now will only support Ukraine if it’s allowed to extract half its most valuable resources? That’s reprehensible after all the US has promised and not delivered on, and then giving away the store to Putin last week. US burning bridges left and right here. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/202...
Reposted
Focus on what he is doing, not saying, the harms caused, and make sure the people most impacted by those harms are out in front. Good guidance here.
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
Pay Less Attention to That Man in Front of the Curtain
Musk’s machinations and Trump’s daily outrages are meant to be mesmerizing—and paralyzing. But there are plenty of ways to fight back effectively—starting with not panicking.
www.thenation.com
February 14, 2025 at 9:36 PM
Focus on what he is doing, not saying, the harms caused, and make sure the people most impacted by those harms are out in front. Good guidance here.
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
www.thenation.com/article/poli...
There are ways to improve government efficiency without causing total chaos. These moves are intended to generate headlines not actually improve things. Dig into whether his moves are actually generating cost savings and you’ll get the real story. They are not. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Trump administration directs agency heads to fire most probationary staff
Terminations should happen within two days, according to four people familiar with internal conversations.
www.washingtonpost.com
February 14, 2025 at 12:36 PM
There are ways to improve government efficiency without causing total chaos. These moves are intended to generate headlines not actually improve things. Dig into whether his moves are actually generating cost savings and you’ll get the real story. They are not. www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/202...
Important report authored by a brilliant fellow I worked with while at @hrw-fr.bsky.social, Abbey Koenning-Rutherford.
The US is allowing companies to extract lithium and other minerals from sacred land it stole from indigenous people, in violation of rights and at a huge environmental cost.
The US is allowing companies to extract lithium and other minerals from sacred land it stole from indigenous people, in violation of rights and at a huge environmental cost.
The United States should respect Indigenous peoples’ centuries-long connections to Peehee Mu’huh and act to prevent further harm at Thacker Pass.
Read the full report: www.hrw.org/report/2025/...
Read the full report: www.hrw.org/report/2025/...
February 13, 2025 at 6:26 PM
Important report authored by a brilliant fellow I worked with while at @hrw-fr.bsky.social, Abbey Koenning-Rutherford.
The US is allowing companies to extract lithium and other minerals from sacred land it stole from indigenous people, in violation of rights and at a huge environmental cost.
The US is allowing companies to extract lithium and other minerals from sacred land it stole from indigenous people, in violation of rights and at a huge environmental cost.
So much for government “efficiency.” What a disasster.
Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits
In a warehouse in the East African port of Djibouti, USAID estimates there’s roughly 40,000 metric tons of food aid procured from American farmers worth about $40 million at risk of spoiling in the he...
www.bloomberg.com
February 13, 2025 at 12:38 PM
So much for government “efficiency.” What a disasster.
Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Chaotic USAID Shutdown Costs Intensified by Wasted Supplies, Layoffs and Lawsuits www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Read below article and watch synopsis video here: www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol... Hard to understand how anyone, except those doing the exploitation, could support the policies that allow this. Do they just not realize how abusive and exploitative they are?
February 9, 2025 at 6:15 PM
Read below article and watch synopsis video here: www.nytimes.com/video/us/pol... Hard to understand how anyone, except those doing the exploitation, could support the policies that allow this. Do they just not realize how abusive and exploitative they are?
So outrageous, fundamentally at odds with the public good. I don’t understand how anyone, even those who supported Trump, can think dismantling the CFPB is a positive development.
Vought is giving big banks and giant corporations the green light to scam families.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned over $21 billion to families cheated by Wall Street. Republicans have failed to gut it in Congress and in the courts. They will fail again.
The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has returned over $21 billion to families cheated by Wall Street. Republicans have failed to gut it in Congress and in the courts. They will fail again.
February 9, 2025 at 2:31 PM
So outrageous, fundamentally at odds with the public good. I don’t understand how anyone, even those who supported Trump, can think dismantling the CFPB is a positive development.
Woah. Horrific. This agency only protects consumers and guards against financial crisis. So insane. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/u...
Federal Financial Watchdog Ordered to Cease Activity
In an email to staff of the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the agency’s acting director ordered workers to cease “all supervision and examination activity.”
www.nytimes.com
February 9, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Woah. Horrific. This agency only protects consumers and guards against financial crisis. So insane. www.nytimes.com/2025/02/08/u...
Unless these cruel immensely counterproductive actions are reversed future generations will marvel that it wasn’t China that paved the way for Beijing’s dominance around the world but an American president and a billionaire he unleashed to shoot first, aim later: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/o...
Opinion | Samantha Power: Killing U.S.A.I.D. Is a Win for Autocrats Everywhere
The attacks on the agency are cruel and counterproductive.
www.nytimes.com
February 7, 2025 at 1:07 PM
Unless these cruel immensely counterproductive actions are reversed future generations will marvel that it wasn’t China that paved the way for Beijing’s dominance around the world but an American president and a billionaire he unleashed to shoot first, aim later: www.nytimes.com/2025/02/06/o...
Purported reason for Trump tariffs a sham:
See @CatoInstitute report. “Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers”
DHS says between Jan-Dec 2024, 88% of all confiscated fentanyl intercepted at US official entry points.
www.cato.org/blog/fentany...
See @CatoInstitute report. “Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers”
DHS says between Jan-Dec 2024, 88% of all confiscated fentanyl intercepted at US official entry points.
www.cato.org/blog/fentany...
Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers
Reducing deaths requires figuring out the cause, not jumping to blame a group that is not responsible.
www.cato.org
February 3, 2025 at 1:01 PM
Purported reason for Trump tariffs a sham:
See @CatoInstitute report. “Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers”
DHS says between Jan-Dec 2024, 88% of all confiscated fentanyl intercepted at US official entry points.
www.cato.org/blog/fentany...
See @CatoInstitute report. “Fentanyl Is Smuggled for U.S. Citizens By U.S. Citizens, Not Asylum Seekers”
DHS says between Jan-Dec 2024, 88% of all confiscated fentanyl intercepted at US official entry points.
www.cato.org/blog/fentany...