Ep 215 — DOJ, Why Are You Like This?

DOCKET ALERTS:   Lots of legal news out of US Agency for Global Media, the parent agency for Voice of America. Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that Kari Lake was never legally appointed CEO of USAGM, and thus her orders shutting the sub-agencies down and firing all the employees were null and void. The government appealed, but in the sloppiest way possible. Now the agency is getting sued again for violating the firewall protecting journalistic independence, forcing the networks to air AI slop praising Trump. But Kari Lake has an answer for that, and it is to call the judge a fatso.   Judges in the District of New Jersey have appointed longtime prosecutor Robert Frazer as US Attorney. And so far, Attorney General Bondi hasn't fired him.   Judge Roy Altman, a Trump appointee, seems disinclined to put an end to Trump's trollsuits right out of the gate. He's allowing the case against the BBC to proceed to discovery. And he dismissed the complaint against Capital One for tortious debanking, but allowed Trump 90 days to conduct discovery and refile.   MAIN SHOW:   We've got an update on Kilmar Abrego Garcia. The government says it has to send him to Liberia (where he does not agree to go) instead of Costa Rica (where he does agree to go) because Secretary Marco Rubio spent a lot of time negotiating with Liberia to take Abrego, and it would be so embarrassing not to send him there.   And we'll break down the Supreme Court's recent decision in Olivier v. City of Brandon, a case involving a truly obnoxious street preacher that implicates your right to sue the government.   SUBSCRIBER BONUS:    The Trump administration is suing Harvard under Title VI, claiming that the school failed to protect Jewish students and must forfeit billions.   Widakuswara v. Lake I [DC Circuit] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72521013/patsy-widakuswara-v-kari-lake/   Widakuswara v. Lake [Trial Court] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69846584/widakuswara-v-lake   Widakuswara v. Lake II [DC Circuit] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72528662/widakuswara-v-lake/   District New Jersey Appointment Order https://www.njd.uscourts.gov/sites/njd/files/STANDINGORDER2026-03.pdf   Trump Suit Against Capital One Dismissed But Can Be Refiled https://finance.yahoo.com/news/trump-suit-against-capital-one-200454780.html    Trump v. BBC https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72040010/trump-v-british-broadcasting-corporation   Trump v. Capital One https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69853458/the-donald-j-trump-revocable-trust-v-capital-one-na   US v. Harvard https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72520538/unites-states-of-america-v-harvard-university-fellows-and-president/   Abrego Garcia v. Noem (habeas petition) [docket via CourtListener] https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71191591/abrego-garcia-v-noem/?order_by=desc   Zadvydas v. Davis, 533 U.S. 678 (2001) https://scholar.google.com/scholar_case?case=16478079160883986502   Kennedy v. Bremerton School Dist., 597 U.S. _____ (2022) https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/21pdf/21-418_i425.pdf   Olivier v. City of Brandon [US Supreme Court] https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/24-993_10n2.pdf   Olivier v. City of Brandon (Appendix containing ordinance) [US Supreme Court] https://www.supremecourt.gov/DocketPDF/24/24-993/352124/20250314105732247_Olivier%20Pet.%20App.pdf   Show Links: https://www.lawandchaospod.com/ BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod