Author: condor

[U, X2: Banger Of A Hearing Tomorrow @ 11:30 AM!] The Man’s Privacy Interests Are Important Here — But Shortly, A Free Press Should Be Allowed To See Kristi Noem’s Purported Basis, For Revoking A Green Card.

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Updated: Relying on fine “sneakers on the tiles” reporting at Foley Square by Matthew Russell Lee, at InnerCityPress, we’ve been able to read screen-caps of the letter — on terminals, at Foley Square.

There we learn that Noem proposes to argue tomorrow to dismiss for lack of appropriate venue. But a venue challenge cannot defeat “the great writ” (habeas corpus), without more. So it is likely that tomorrow Judge Furman will order the return of the green card holder, and his release. It is clear that Ms. Noem has not had him flown back to Manhattan (yet), from her lawyers’ two page letter.

Second Update — 03.12.2025: This morning, a second letter appeared, but not pdf-ed to the docket. It is a free expression group’s request that the able USDC Judge honor our First Amendment’s admonitions, and under the case law, make specific on the record findings, BEFORE he closes the docket to public view. That hasn’t happened here yet. Here’s that note: “LETTER addressed to Judge Jesse M. Furman from Robert J. Tolchin, Esq. dated 3-12-25 re: seeking review of public access restrictions for documents filed in this proceeding. Document filed by Shurat Hadin — Israel Law Center (Tolchin, Robert)….End updates.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The parties in the matter at right owed the able USDC Judge Furman, in Manhattan, a joint letter by 5 PM EDT today, indicating whether a hearing would be needed (at all).

By that he meant to ask whether / would the Tangerine 2.0 minion, Kristi Noem (a former MAGA Gov., in the Dakotas) admit that she had wholly-failed to follow the law, in this “snatch and grab” — and immediately return this green card holder — from rural Louisiana (where she black-sited him), to the court where his habeas petition would be heard.

The letter is now on file, but like the habeas corpus petition itself, it remains sealed — available to only the parties (and their lawyers) for inspection and copying.

That state of affairs will not persist, as Davis, Wright and Tremaine (on behalf of news gathering agencies) are likely to move as early as tomorrow to have the whole of the docket available to “We, the People” — under the covenants embedded in our First Amendment. So, until then — the public will have to show up tomorrow at 11:30 AM EDT, to Foley Square, to find out whether the gentleman/green card holder has been returned — and whether argument will be needed, for his immediate release into the city streets. Here’s the only bit visible at the moment (in full text):

…LETTER addressed to Judge Jesse M. Furman from Baher Azmy dated 3/11/25 re: Joint Letter.

Document filed by M.K., William P. Joyce, Caleb Vitello, Kristi Noem, Pamela Bondi….

We may now safely assume that this is not a sensitive Homeland Security claim by Noem, otherwise it would have been on a sealed docket, in an entirely separate courthouse. And she would not argue simply inconvenient venue here — she’d argue that a national security / Homeland Security / Patriot Act statute permitted her “snatch & grab“. She didn’t.

So… we await her admission that she acted rashly, and unlawfully — entitling the man at right to presumed monetary damages, under our federal law. Onward.

नमस्ते

Now, The First CONFIRMED Clade 1b Mpox Case… In Sao Paulo, Brazil — Out Of DRC…

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Back in August 2024, we mentioned that there had been a report of the then-current Mpox viral transmission into Brazil, but it was never confirmed as being Clade 1b. That mile marker has now been passed: a relative of a woman in Sao Paulo apparently passed the Clade 1b virus to her — after returning (unaware no doubt), from a visit to DRC.

And… this is how viral epidemics keep on rolling: without the resources to choke them off, at the point of origin. Thanks, RFK, Jr., Tangerine 2.0 and Musk. Dammit. Here’s the latest from the U. of Minn.’s excellent CIDRAP outlet:

…Brazil has reported its first clade 1b mpox case, per a notice from the national Health Ministry.

According to media reports, the patient is a 29 year-old woman from Sao Paulo, whose relative had recently returned from travel to the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). Currently the DRC is in the middle of a large mpox outbreak, with thousands of cases caused by clade 1b, a more transmissible strain of the virus.

So far this year Brazil has reported 52 cases of mpox, but all were clade 2, the strain that caused a global outbreak of the virus in 2022 and 2023, primarily among men who have sex with men.

Health Ministry officials said there are no other clade 1b cases in Brazil at this time….

[And my girl made it home without bringing any in — from Sao Paulo.] Meanwhile, that very stable genius just doubled his tariffs on Canadian steel. That already has tanked the Dow — again, in under six hours. Who are these clowns? These Nineteenth Century economic and ultra-protectionist trade theories are… dead, for a reason, boys. Buy a textbook, please. And read it. Out — will we see a SPHEREx launch tonight, or will weather be a scrub on the California space-coast?

नमस्ते

USDC Judge Cooper (In DC): FOIA Means What It Says — Musk And DOGE Are Required To Answer To The Electorate — Transparently, And Promptly.

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I think Team Trump/Musk is now batting about 0.095 — or about 3 “temporary” wins — out of over 33 losses.

And I must say: the preposterous argument that DOGE is not any part of our government… is particularly galling.

These malign idiots renamed an existing branch of the government — and now want to say it is above and beyond any federal transparency law or rule. Ahem, Mr. Musk — that is not how FOIA works, son. Here’s the excellent — well reasoned, 37 pager of an overnight opinion, out of the CREW lawsuit in DC — and a bit:

…“The Supreme Court has observed that a public informed about its government’s actions is ‘a structural necessity in a real democracy.’” Brennan Ctr., 498 F. Supp. 3d at 101 (quoting Nat’l Archives & Recs. Admin. v. Favish, 541 U.S. 157, 172 (2004)). Timely awareness is equally necessary because “stale information is of little value.” Payne Enters. v. United States, 837 F.2d 486, 494 (D.C. Cir. 1988). Thus, “in a few rare FOIA cases” involving “ongoing proceedings of national importance,” courts in this district “have concluded that a delay in processing of a FOIA request would cause irreparable harm.” Brennan Ctr., 498 F. Supp. 3d at 101 (D.D.C. 2020) (citing Ctr. for Public Integrity, 411 F. Supp. 3d at 11–13 (collecting cases)).

If the Court does not grant preliminary relief to CREW, records responsive to the USDS request will not be released anytime soon, if ever. As the government stated at oral argument, USDS is not currently processing CREW’s request because it does not believe itself to be an agency. [Ed. Note: WTAH?!?] Rough Tr. 4:1–4. The time it would take to litigate that question on the merits and thereafter begin processing would likely result in a substantial delay of years, for all practical purposes imposing an indefinite delay. By that time, the Court suspects that the information may indeed be “stale,” or at least, significantly less useful than it once was. Accordingly, “the potential for irreparable harm under these circumstances exists because ongoing public and congressional debates about issues of vital national importance cannot be restarted or wound back.” Protect Democracy Proj., 263 F. Supp. 3d at 301….

“Moreover, absent an expedited response to Plaintiff’s FOIA request, it is not clear to the Court that the public” or Congress “would otherwise have access to this relevant information.” Ctr. for Pub. Integrity, 411 F. Supp. 3d at 13. Congressional subpoenas for Musk to testify about USDS’s work have already been blocked, and the Court sees no reason to think they will ever succeed. Ivan Pereira & Jay O’Brien, Republicans Block Musk from Congressional Subpoena as DOGE Continues to Access Government Data, ABC News (Feb. 5, 2025)…. To be sure, this indicates that not all Members of Congress, nor even a majority, desire access to the requested documents. But that does not change CREW’s and the public’s important interest in obtaining these records and discussing them with the Members that do….

As set forth in the accompanying Order, the Court will direct USDS to process CREW’s request on an expedited basis but will stop short of ordering production of either the USDS or OMB Requests by March 10, 2025. In accordance with its supervisory role, however, the Court will direct the government to file a status report by March 20, 2025, including the estimated number of documents responsive to CREW’s three requests. The Court will further order the parties to meet and confer regarding a proposed processing and production timeline and to file by March 27 a joint status report proposing a schedule for expedited processing and rolling production of responsive records….

So — bit by bit — sanity is making a comeback, in the face of a lawless onslaught from Musk and Tangerine 2.0. Thank you, USDC Judge Cooper! Onward.

नमस्ते

Here Is The Capable USDC Judge Amir Ali’s Prelim. Inj., In DC — Against Tangerine 2.0’s Lawless Attack On USAID. Onward — Thanks Anon.!

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And the launch coverage of SPHEREx is about to get underway (see the fourth post, below), so I am hopping about a bit — but I wanted to get this one up right away. And it is exactly as we predicted it would all turn out.

Here is the 48 page opinion — and the bangin’ start of it:

…The provision and administration of foreign aid has been a joint enterprise between our two political branches. That partnership is built not out of convenience, but of constitutional necessity….

This case involves a departure from [a] firmly established constitutional partnership.

Here, the Executive has unilaterally deemed that funds Congress appropriated for foreign aid will not be spent. The Executive not only claims his constitutional authority to determine how to spend appropriated funds, but usurps Congress’s exclusive authority to dictate whether the funds should be spent in the first place. In advancing this position, Defendants offer an unbridled view of Executive power that the Supreme Court has consistently rejected—a view that flouts multiple statutes whose constitutionality is not in question, as well as the standards of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”). Asserting this “vast and generally unreviewable” Executive power and diminution of Congressional power, Defendants do not cite any provision of Article I or Article II of the Constitution. See generally Glob. Health, ECF No. 34.

When courts have confronted Executive overreach of the foreign policy power in the past, they have stood prepared to reaffirm Congress’s role. See Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer, 343 U.S. 579, 587–89 (1952); Zivotofsky, 576 U.S. at 62 (Roberts, C.J., dissenting) (“For our first 225 years, no President prevailed when contradicting a statute in the field of foreign affairs.”)….

Onward. We will take this nation back from the knuckle-walkers. One federal decision at a time. Trust that. And… launch time! Update: Weather issues; will try again tomorrow.

नमस्ते

Even After Being Hauled Off To Louisiana Under Cover Of Darkness — This Man Retains His First Amendment Right To Protest — Unless DHS Can Muster Cogent Evidence Of Terrorist Ties [There Are None].

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It should deeply concern even the most ardent defenders of Israel that Tangerine 2.0 grabbed a Columbia U. student leader — under cover of night, and shipped him all the way down to Louisiana, without any opportunity for the hearing he was owed, before an immigration judge — before being detained beyond forty-eight hours. He has a green card, and is married to a US citizen. This will not do. People who are free do not let even those they disagree with, and disagree vehemently with… be “disappeared”. Nope.

No matter what Tangerine — or Kristi Noem or Steven Miller or Elon Musk might think (or say), we do not jail dissidents without evidence here. And we do not deport them, either. This is a free nation. So, a pull quote from CNN, follows USDC Judge Furman’s order of this evening:

…It is hereby ORDERED that counsel for all parties appear for a conference with the Court on March 12, 2025 at 11:30 a.m. in Courtroom 1105 of the Thurgood Marshall Courthouse, 40 Centre Street, New York, New York. Counsel must confer in advance of the conference and submit a joint letter, no later than March 11, 2025, at 5:00 p.m., indicating whether the conference is necessary and addressing how the Court should handle the present Petition. If counsel do not believe a conference is required, and that briefing is appropriate, counsel should propose a briefing schedule (expedited or otherwise) in the joint letter. To preserve the Court’s jurisdiction pending a ruling on the petition, Petitioner shall not be removed from the United States unless and until the Court orders otherwise.

See, e.g., Local 1814, Intern. Longshoremen’s Ass’n, AFL-CIO v. New York Shipping Ass’n, Inc., 965 F.2d 1224, 1237 (2d Cir. 1992) (“Once the district court acquires jurisdiction over the subject matter of, and the parties to, the litigation, the All Writs Act [28 U.S.C. § 1651] authorizes a federal court to protect that jurisdiction” (cleaned up)); Garcia-Izquierdo v. Gartner, No. 04-CV-7377 (RCC), 2004 WL 2093515, at *2 (S.D.N.Y. Sept. 17, 2004) (observing that, under the All Writs Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1651, a district court “may order that a petitioner’s deportation be stayed… when a stay is necessary to preserve the Court’s jurisdiction of the case”); cf. Michael v. I.N.S., 48 F.3d 657, 661-62 (2d Cir. 1995) (holding that the All Writs Act provides a federal court of appeals reviewing a final removal order with a basis to stay removal)….

[And, from CNN:]

…He was first brought to the Elizabeth Detention Center in Elizabeth, New Jersey before being transferred over the weekend to the Central Louisiana ICE Processing Center, also known as the Jena/LaSalle Detention Facility, three different migrant rights organizations in New York told CNN. The move, they say is designed to make Khalil’s defense and access to legal resources more difficult.

A spokesperson at the ICE New York Field Office told CNN the arrest was led by the department’s Homeland Security Investigations.

Although it’s not yet clear what he is being charged with, Khalil’s arrest appears to be among the first actions following Trump’s promise to deport international students who joined the protests against Israel’s war in Gaza across college campuses last year. Legal experts point out once there is an allegation the only person who has authority to revoke a person’s immigration status such as a student visa or green card is an immigration judge.

Green card holders have broad rights as legal residents of the United States, including the right to work and protection by all laws of the United States, the person’s state of residence and local jurisdictions….

Now you know. This is getting to be a dangerous moment in US History — not entirely unlike the red scares of the 1950s. Wake up people. Speak up. Speak up, now.

नमस्ते

Foreseeable — Avoidable… And Thus… Maddening: Mpox in Tanzania.

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The news is… unwelcome.

And doubly dangerous — with USAID still more or less hamstrung and sidelined. By Trump. The viral outbreaks will continue, and likely even accelerate — as we sit on our thumbs. Dammit. And excess deaths will follow, inexorably. Always. Here’s the latest:

…Tanzania has confirmed its first two cases of mpox, the health ministry said Monday. Two individuals exhibiting symptoms were isolated and tested on Sunday, health minister Jenista Mhagama said in a statement on X.

“Among the suspects, one is a truck driver who traveled from a neighboring country to Dar es Salaam,” the statement said.

In a report by the African Union’s health agency last week, 6,034 cases of mpox have been confirmed since January in 22 countries, resulting in 25 deaths….

All of this is so profoundly… frustrating. Frustrating — because it is almost all… avoidable. Damn.

नमस्ते

In New Mexico, Et Al. v. Musk, Et Al. — The Upcoming Calendar Is Set… By USDC Judge Chutkan In DC.

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It is hard to keep track of all the players without a score card, but I think we are now over 44 federal suits against this campaign of lawless executive “orders”. While Judge Chutkan correctly denied a TRO in this one, it may yet win an injunction after the short form discovery is had, by the states, against Elon, and crew. We shall see.

In any event, here is a bit of the latest calendaring order, out of the able Judge Chutkan’s chambers in DC:

…Plaintiffs shall file their response to Defendants’ motion to dismiss by March 14,
2025….

Defendants [Musk, et al.] shall file their reply to Plaintiffs’ response by March 19, 2025….

As to Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction, Plaintiffs shall file their motion for a preliminary injunction by April 11, 2025….

Defendants shall file their response to Plaintiffs’ motion for a preliminary injunction by April 18, 2025; and

Plaintiffs shall file their reply to Defendants’ response by April 22, 2025….

Now you know — this action is by several states against Elon personally, DOGE [sic], and the agents of each — including Donald J. Trump, personally. We shall see — smile.

नमस्ते

Welp. What About ANY Of This Could POSSIBLY Be Surprising To Paul, In Any Manner? He Nurtured It!

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Paulie Mirengoff is so precious. He and Hinderaker and Johnson largely invented the claim that somehow whyte boys were the ones primarily being discriminated against — at elite law schools.

They went on to fund strike suits alleging just that. Those suits have all largely… failed.

In fact, the Supremes recently reaffirmed that considering the “whole person” was, and is an appropriate way to decide on admissions.

And yet, due in no small part to Hineraker / Mirengoff lies, Tangerine 2.0 has made lawless attacks on academic institutions a centerpiece of his new “policies”. So much so, that his DoJ “attack chihuahua“, Mr. Martin, has taken to threatening law school deans with DoJ investigations. Charming.

And yet, only now does Paul clutch his pearls — fretting that Trump and Martin are on exactly the kind of Ketamine we long warned him about. Hilarious.

Sit down Paul.

I’ll quote only the Dean’s excellent reply, in part:

…As a Catholic and Jesuit institution, Georgetown University was founded on the principle that serious and sustained discourse among people of different faiths, cultures, and beliefs promotes intellectual, ethical, and spiritual understanding. For us at Georgetown, this principle is a moral and educational imperative.

It is a principle that defines our mission as a Catholic and Jesuit institution. Georgetown University also prohibits discrimination and harassment in its programs and activities and takes seriously its obligation to comply with all federal and local laws….

Your letter challenges Georgetown’s ability to define our mission as an educational institution. It inquires about Georgetown Law’s curriculum, and asserts that your office will not hire individuals from schools where you find the curriculum “unacceptable.” The First Amendment, however, guarantees that the government cannot direct what Georgetown and its faculty teach and how we teach it. The Supreme Court has continually affirmed that among the freedoms central to a university’s First Amendment rights are its abilities to determine, on academic grounds, who may teach, what to teach, and how to teach it.

This is a bedrock principle of constitutional law — recognized not only by the courts, but by the administration in which you serve. The Department of Education confirmed law week that it cannot restrict First Amendment rights and that it is statutorily prohibited from “exercising control over the content of school curricula.”

Your letter informs me that your office will deny our students and graduates government employment opportunities until you, as Interim United States Attorney for the District of Columbia, approve our curriculum. Given the First Amendment’s protection of a university’s freedom to determine its own curriculum and how to deliver it, the constitutional violation behind this threat is clear, as is the attack on the University’s mission as a Jesuit and Catholic institution.

….We look forward to your confirming that any Georgetown-affiliated candidates for employment with your office will receive full and fair consideration….

Paul — seriously. Do f#ck right off. YOU. Are. The. Crux. Of. The. Problem.

Not. The. Solution.

I Won’t Even Bother To Link Tangerine 2.0’s Latest Three Page “Response” — On USAID Cut-Offs. It Is Simply… Silly.

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Team Tangerine this morning (Sunday, in DC) claims that the blanket terminations… were not blanket.

They claim that ordering “more detailed, individualized and expanded” rationales (their own words, in emails!) for those terminations… doesn’t defeat them ALREADY being “individualized” — despite the fact that there was literally… no text with them. Just a list of terminated contracts and L/Cs.

This silliness is compounded by the fact that the Tangerine 2.0 forces say “the list alone would have satisfied their legal obligations“. Yes, of course — but that fails to deal with this fact:

The express rulings of Judge Amir Ali (and Judge AliKhan and Judge McConnell and Judge Vargas) specifically held that the first “list only” was why in larger part… each granted TROs.

The list only didn’t comply with applicable law — and that is now the law of the case, in these suits. It cannot be challenged without either a motion to reconsider, or an appeal. And Team Tangerine 2.0 has already lost on its interim appeals — all the way to the Supremes. It is the law of the case.

As I say, there is nothing of note — by the government politicos / Tangerine forces — here, in the extraordinary Sunday motion for leave to file.

So… Monday ought to be an entertaining day in DC, indeed.

नमस्ते

NASA’s SPHEREx Will Now “Stand Down” — No New Launch Date Set, Out At Vandenberg AFB… “Safety First” — Always!

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This is actually quite a proud moment. Far from a defeat — this is a triumph — for sensible, real science… over the “hope-ium” one Elon Musk regularly trafficks in, often with disastrous consequences.

[Note that twice now — in this young new year, commercial airliners have all had to face ground stops throughout Florida — for several hours, while the skies over the Gulf of Mexico rained his “rocket debris” (after explosions!) into the warm salt waters. We are mostly lucky that none of it made landfall.]

No… this is excellent: this is why we never lost a lunar mission, during Apollo: we DO NOT go, until everything is double-, and triple-checked — and cleared by real, “ace-level” engineers. So it is, that between weather and other air traffic, we may not see a launch here until after St. Patrick’s 2025. And that is the way it SHOULD be (per NASA):

…NASA and SpaceX are standing down for tonight’s launch of the agency’s SPHEREx and PUNCH missions. The additional time will allow teams to continue rocket checkouts ahead of liftoff.

A new launch date will be announced once confirmed on the range….

Hey Elon — are you paying attention? Are you even awake yet, after losing an hour of sleep time last night?! Who knows… who knows? Onward.

नमस्ते