Lawfare Daily: The Trials of the Trump Administration, April 24

This episode of Lawfare Live, titled 'The Trials of the Trump Administration,' delivers a comprehensive and fast-paced analysis of a series of high-profile legal developments across the U.S. justice system, many tied to the Trump administration or its aftermath. The panel, led by Benjamin Wittes and featuring Eric Columbus, Roger Parloff, Anna Bauer, and departing fellow L.T. Edwards, examines a wide array of cases: the controversial indictment of the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) for alleged wire fraud and money laundering related to its use of donor funds to pay informants within hate groups; the shifting dynamics of the 'Grand Conspiracy' case involving John Brennan, now under the controversial prosecution of Joe DiGenova; the $1.25 million settlement awarded to Carter Page over FISA abuses; and the Justice Department’s move to vacate convictions in the remaining January 6th seditious conspiracy cases. The discussion also covers the DOJ’s capitulation in the Jerome Powell investigation, the indictment of an Army sergeant for insider betting on national security events, and the D.C. Circuit’s affirmation of a major ruling blocking Trump’s asylum restrictions. Additional topics include a federal judge’s rebuke of the government’s attempt to pressure her into ruling by a deadline, California’s 'No Vigilantes Act' being struck down on supremacy clause grounds, and a district court ruling that the Trump administration violated the First Amendment by coercing Facebook and Apple to remove ICE-tracking apps. The episode concludes with a discussion of Kash Patel’s failed defamation lawsuits and the Second Circuit’s narrow interpretation of material support to terrorist organizations in a lone-wolf attack case.