Ep 222 — Chief Justice Roberts Burned Down Democracy To Save Coal Plants

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Summary <p dir="ltr">DESCRIPTION:</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">The Onion's plan to take over Infowars looks to have <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/business/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion.html"> succeeded</a> at last.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">A judge in Rhode Island became the fifth to <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.rid.60988/gov.uscourts.rid.60988.51.0.pdf"> reject</a> the DOJ's voter roll grab. But Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, is undeterred. Now she's <a href= "https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/04/19/ag-nessel-governor-whitmer-secretary-benson-denounce-doj-demand-for-2024-ballots"> trying to snatch</a> ballots from Wayne County, Michigan. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Trump's Justice Department is <a href= "https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.40.0.pdf"> negotiating</a> with Trump's lawyers to decide how much taxpayer money to pay Trump for the illegal disclosure of his tax returns in 2020. The statutory max is $1,000 per return. He wants $10 billion. </p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">The DOJ has hired Joe diGenova, a Reagan-era US Attorney, to spice up the <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/digenova-trump-lawyer-conspiracy.html"> grand conspiracy investigation</a> into all Trump's enemies taking place in Florida under the watchful eye of Judge Aileen Cannon.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">And Pennsylvania's intermediate appellate court <a href= "https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/26MD19_4-20-26.pdf?cb=1"> rules</a> that the state's ban on abortion coverage under Medicaid violates both the Pennsylvania Equal Rights Amendment and the state constitution's equal protection provisions.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">MAIN SHOW:</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">FBI Director (for now) Kash Patel is big mad over an <a href= "https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/"> article</a> in The Atlantic reporting that his drinking is freaking out everyone around him. He's rounded up wonderweasel lawyer Jesse Binnall and filed a <a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/"> defamation trollsuit</a> in DC. This will be amazing content, and we are grateful in advance!</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">And we'll break down the <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html"> blockbuster article</a> from the New York Times on Chief Justice Roberts' invention of the modern shadow docket ten years ago to stop the "emergency" of states being asked to come up with a way to reduce carbon emissions. The Times got the <a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-papers.html"> receipts</a>, and they are ugly. So much for Mister Balls and Strikes!</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">SUBSCRIBERS:</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Alan Dershowitz is <a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html"> indulging his humiliation kink</a> at the Supreme Court. He's asking the justices to overturn the actual malice standard from New York Times v. Sulllivan so he can sue CNN for reporting what he said during Trump's first impeachment. Are his arguments good? NO. Are they hilarious? HELL YES.</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/business/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion.html"> https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/business/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion.html</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">US v. Amore [Rhode Island voter rolls]</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982644/united-states-v-amore"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982644/united-states-v-amore</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">AG Nessel, Governor Whitmer, Secretary Benson Denounce DOJ Demand for 2024 Ballots</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/04/19/ag-nessel-governor-whitmer-secretary-benson-denounce-doj-demand-for-2024-ballots"> https://www.michigan.gov/ag/news/press-releases/2026/04/19/ag-nessel-governor-whitmer-secretary-benson-denounce-doj-demand-for-2024-ballots</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Trump v. IRS</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">U.S. Installs a Trump Loyalist to Lead 'Grand Conspiracy' Case Into Trump Foes</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/digenova-trump-lawyer-conspiracy.html"> https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/digenova-trump-lawyer-conspiracy.html</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services</p> <p dir="ltr"> https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/26MD19_4-20-26.pdf?cb=1</p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Patel v. The Atlantic Monthly Group</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/"> https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">The FBI Director Is MIA</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/"> https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">"The Shadow Papers: The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court," New York Times, April 18, 2026</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html"> https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">"Read the Supreme Court's Shadow Papers," New York Times, April 18, 2026</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-papers.html"> https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-papers.html</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Dersh at SCOTUS</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html"> https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html</a></p> <p> </p> <p dir="ltr">Show Links:</p> <p dir="ltr"><a href= "https://www.lawandchaospod.com/">https://www.lawandchaospod.com/</a></p> <p dir="ltr">BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod</p> <p>Threads: @LawAndChaosPod Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod</p>

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