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

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Summary <p>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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">succeeded</a> at last.</p><p><br></p><p>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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">trying to snatch</a> ballots from Wayne County, Michigan.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>Trump’s Justice Department is <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172/gov.uscourts.flsd.706172.40.0.pdf" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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.&nbsp;</p><p><br></p><p>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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">grand conspiracy investigation</a> into all Trump’s enemies taking place in Florida under the watchful eye of Judge Aileen Cannon.</p><p><br></p><p>And Pennsylvania’s intermediate appellate court <a href="https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/26MD19_4-20-26.pdf?cb=1" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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><br></p><p>MAIN SHOW:</p><p><br></p><p>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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">defamation trollsuit</a> in DC. This will be amazing content, and we are grateful in advance!</p><p><br></p><p>And we’ll break down the <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">receipts</a>, and they are ugly. So much for Mister Balls and Strikes!</p><p><br></p><p>SUBSCRIBERS:</p><p><br></p><p>Alan Dershowitz is <a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">indulging his humiliation kink</a> at the Supreme Court. He’s asking the justices to overturn the actual malice standard from <em>New York Times v. Sulllivan</em> 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><br></p><p>The Onion Has a New Plan to Take Over Infowars</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/business/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/20/business/infowars-alex-jones-the-onion.html</a></p><p><br></p><p>US v. Amore [Rhode Island voter rolls]</p><p><a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982644/united-states-v-amore" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/71982644/united-states-v-amore</a></p><p><br></p><p>AG Nessel, Governor Whitmer, Secretary Benson Denounce DOJ Demand for 2024 Ballots</p><p><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" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">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><br></p><p>Trump v. IRS</p><p><a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72207870/trump-v-internal-revenue-service/</a></p><p><br></p><p>U.S. Installs a Trump Loyalist to Lead ‘Grand Conspiracy’ Case Into Trump Foes</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/digenova-trump-lawyer-conspiracy.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/digenova-trump-lawyer-conspiracy.html</a></p><p><br></p><p>Allegheny Reproductive Health Center v. Pennsylvania Department of Human Services</p><p>https://www.pacourts.us/assets/opinions/Commonwealth/out/26MD19_4-20-26.pdf?cb=1</p><p><br></p><p>Patel v. The Atlantic Monthly Group</p><p><a href="https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73213220/patel-v-the-atlantic-monthly-group-llc/</a></p><p><br></p><p>The FBI Director Is MIA</p><p><a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/2026/04/kash-patel-fbi-director-drinking-absences/686839/</a></p><p><br></p><p>“The Shadow Papers: The Inside Story of Five Days That Remade the Supreme Court,” <em>New York Times</em>, April 18, 2026</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket.html</a></p><p><br></p><p>“Read the Supreme Court’s Shadow Papers,” <em>New York Times</em>, April 18, 2026</p><p><a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-papers.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2026/04/18/us/politics/supreme-court-shadow-docket-papers.html</a></p><p><br></p><p>Dersh at SCOTUS</p><p><a href="https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-770.html</a></p><p><br></p><p>Show Links:</p><p><a href="https://www.lawandchaospod.com/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://www.lawandchaospod.com/</a></p><p>BlueSky: @LawAndChaosPod</p><p>Threads: @LawAndChaosPod</p><p>Twitter: @LawAndChaosPod</p><p>See Privacy Policy at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy</a> and California Privacy Notice at <a href="https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info</a>.</p>

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