After securing the craven surrender of high profile liberal law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP without even entering a courtroom, an emboldened Downmarket Mussolini has ordered his comically corrupt Attorney General, Pam Bondi, to seek disciplinary actions against lawyers who are "filing frivolous claims designed to cause delays." What's a "frivolous claim?" Only Trump and Bondi know, but the note about delays makes it clear that Der Führer is angry that his fascist agenda is being blocked by numerous judicial restraining orders and hopes to do an end around the courts by threatening lawyers and law firms into not even filing suits to halt the regime in the first place.

https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/22/trump-ramps-ups-retribution-campaign-against-legal-community

Trump ramps up retribution campaign against legal community

"The memo, as a result, created a formal mechanism for Trump to unilaterally decide whether to impose politically charged sanctions through executive orders that strip lawyers of the security clearances they need to perform their jobs or prevent them from working on federal contracts.

Multiple legal experts suggested the memo would theoretically allow Bondi to decide a particular lawsuit that triggered a temporary injunction was causing an unnecessary delay, and refer the firm that filed the suit to face the effects of a punitive executive order.

That could cause a chilling effect and lead to the volume of litigation against the Trump administration to decline, the experts said. Even if the lawsuits are in fact for a legitimate purpose, there’s fear that their representation could put them in the president’s cross hairs and endanger their legal practices.

Trump also directed Bondi to open a review into the “conduct” of lawyers and their respective law firms in litigation against the federal government reaching back to the start of his first term in 2017 – and recommend whether it warranted additional punitive actions.

The memo comes as Trump in recent weeks has used executive orders targeting law firms to great effect."

Frankly, I don't have much to add here that we didn't already look at when I wrote up the Paul Weiss surrender situation we discussed a few days ago. The fact is that Trump has no legal authority to harass and punish lawyers for bringing cases before a judge to stop the Trump regime's often illegal, and frequently unconstitutional activities. Providing a check to the executive branch's power when it violates our civil rights, exceeds the President's authority, or is just straight up criming, is literally the prescribed role of the judiciary branch in the American system of government; the lawyers filing suits to stop Trump's fascist agenda aren't doing anything wrong, they're in fact doing their job as defined in the US Constitution. Trump just doesn't give a shit, and if he can't break the judges ruling against him, he'll happily try to further his authoritarian agenda by using his Department of Justice to harass the lawyers filing against his actions, and starving the law firms of federal access and contracts.

The good news here is that unlike some of their cowardly brethren in white shoe DC law firms, numerous legal advocacy organizations more closely associated with civil rights litigation, are openly stating that they have no intention of backing down. Groups like the ACLU, the Center for Reproductive Rights, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, and Democracy Forward, have all issued statements pushing back on Trump's claims and promising to not only continue the fight, but also to keep bringing more cases against an overreaching Trump regime now acting unlawfully pretty much every day.

I'm not sure how much faith I have in the lawyers and the courts to stop fascism; after all, none of these folks have an army or a police force at their disposal to enforce court orders against a fascist regime and a president already granted virtual legal immunity by a 6-3 fascist high SCOTUS. But as I mentioned elsewhere, you can't win if you don't fight, and it is impossible to install a fascist dictatorship without a whole lot of collaboration, cowardice, and capitulation by the society the fascists are trying to dominate. Win or lose, fighting back is the first step towards stopping fascism, and as a society our best hope of resisting remains acting in infinite ways, across every sector, to make it cost more in time, effort, money, and if necessary in blood, to impose fascism, than the folks doing so stand to benefit from that fascism. Saying "no" is at least a start.

#Fascism #Trump #Lawfare #CivilRights #PamBondi #DoJ #Legal #Courts

🧐Qns abt #Malaysia’s #antigraft #legal #framework
"Tei covertly filmed videos tt allegedly show snr #state #politicians soliciting & accepting #bribes.. Under 🇲🇾’s current #Whistleblower #Protection #Act, those who 1st approach e #media r automatically disqualified fr receiving legal protection.. #Criticism of the #MACC’s handling of Tei’s case has come from several quarters, including former MACC chief Latheefa Koya, who condemned the body’s decision to publicly name Tei"
https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/politics/article/3306207/protect-not-punish-whistle-blowers-malaysian-corruption-watchdog-urges

Trump has effectively neutralized the media and the law firms. Who's next?

#BrianTylerCohen #Media #MSM #Legal #Trump #Tariffs #KingDonald1

https://youtube.com/watch?v=ajpyw7FPUKM&si=GHcM7YBjx2eu-VsC

Law firms should demand Trump defend his unconstitutional attacks in court — bc they’ll win.

The Trump administration’s attacks on law firms are designed to not just dictate orthodoxy, but also to bend the legal system to President Trump’s will. These seemingly petty actions, from high officials, are setting us down a path where the legal institutions designed to protect everyone will no longer serve to check abuses of power. Everyone within the legal system —

#press #legal

#InformationsfreiheitsGesetz #IFG #FediLaw #Legal #DEpol #USpol

Da hat sie absolut Recht, denn nur so konnten engagierte Rechtsanwälte in den #USA diese vergangene Woche die #SignalGate-Affäre der #US-Regierung gerichtlich an den Pranger stellen.
Dass es nur auf bundes- & nicht auf landesebene gilt, ist eigentlich skandalös. "Accountablity" ist eigentlich einer DER zentralen #Demokratie-Garanten. Dazu ist #Transparenz der politisch Handelnden und der öffentlichen Verwaltung unabdingbar.

The #US decision to put employees of #VOA, Office of #CubaBroadcasting & USAGM on leave, terminate contracts of contract staffers & end financial support for #RFE/RL, #RFA, #MiddleEast Broadcasting Networks puts many #media workers at risk. This fundraiser will support pressing needs of staff/contributors under threat, including #legal help for staff at risk of #reprisals by foreign regimes, medical bills, &…financial hardships.” 👉 DONATE to USAGM Employee Assoc. More at https://secure.givelively.org/donate/usagm-employee-association/support-for-us-international-media-workers

The Imperative of Solidarity in Response to Assaults on #Legal Services, #Universities, & Independent #Media

“If #journalists, #lawyers, & #academics are going to be able to play the role that they need to perform as bulwarks of #democracy & the rule of #law, they & their employers must begin to think & act in collective terms.“

https://www.justsecurity.org/109439/collective-law-firms-universities-media/

#TheGremlinZoo #USPol #Immigration #Legal

The Los Angeles Times: Trump administration ends funding for legal representation of 26,000 migrant children

https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-03-21/migrant-children-legal-funding-trump

Should I Stay or Should I Go Now? 30 Days Until Martial Law...? (By Jessica Wildfire • 20 Mar 2025.) https://www.the-sentinel-intelligence.net/should-i-stay-or-should-i-go-now-30-days-until-martial-law/ Salacious title, but worryingly possible.

She links (Safe Travel Trans Americans Passport Policy) https://19thnews.org/2025/03/safe-travel-trans-americans-passport-policy/
(TGNC Checklist under Trump) https://lambdalegal.org/tgnc-checklist-under-trump/

(Travel State gov page on passport help on sex marker) https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/passport-help/sex-marker.html
(Reddit thread A Guide for Americans to Leave) https://www.reddit.com/r/AmerExit/comments/urwlbr/a_guide_for_americans_that_want_to_get_out_of/

(SF Chronicle on the Insurrection Act) https://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/openforum/article/insurrection-act-president-trump-20201819.php

"Meanwhile, corporate media asks, “Can he do that?” These stories are engineered to distract the public with technicalities. While everyone’s debating what they can and can’t do, they are doing it.

We know this administration’s pattern of loose interpretation when it comes to law and historical precedent. There’s no reason to believe he’ll stop here, instead using this act to use force against anyone his administration considers a threat, regardless of their status or what they’re protesting.

You also have to remember this country has a long, established history of censoring speech and leading witch hunts. During WWI, god help you if you didn’t buy enough liberty bonds or called yourself a pacifist.

We’re the land of moral panics.

Every single one of this administration’s actions have been building toward this moment, when the president suspends our civil and human rights. It explains why they’ve taken such aggressive action toward federal agencies, firing tens of thousands of workers and purging their ranks of anyone who might say no. They’ve already been testing boundaries, daring courts to stop them as they shut down government operations and kidnap U.S. citizens."

(some bullshit from an insecure asshole puppetted for power) https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/01/declaring-a-national-emergency-at-the-southern-border-of-the-united-states/
(How to move out of the USA) https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurabegleybloom/2024/11/04/how-to-move-out-of-the-us/

#politics #pol #US #USA #USA2025 #UnitedStates #UnitedStatesOfAmerica #travel #holiday #vacation #trip #passport #getaway #weekend #Summer #USpol #USApol #USpolitics #USApolitics #policy #legislation #legislature #law #legal #contract #TipsAndTricks #tips #idea #ideas #suggestion #suggestions #GetOut #fantasticMovie #Horrifying #butFantastic

Reuters: News Corp sued by Brave Software, a Google search engine rival. “News Corp has been sued by Google search engine rival Brave Software, which seeks to forestall a lawsuit by Rupert Murdoch’s company for when readers are directed to copyrighted articles from the Wall Street Journal and New York Post.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/15/reuters-news-corp-sued-by-brave-software-a-google-search-engine-rival/

Why Techdirt Is Now A Democracy Blog (Whether We Like It Or Not)
https://www.techdirt.com/2025/03/04/why-techdirt-is-now-a-democracy-blog-whether-we-like-it-or-not/

" #tech and #legal #journalists have... seen how #technology can be wielded to consolidate #power... and how smoke & mirrors claims about #innovation can mask old-fashioned power grabs. It’s a playbook we watched #Musk perfect at #Twitter, and now we’re seeing it deployed on a national scale."

#Musk #Doge #Coup #Trump #Politics #USPol #Law #News #USA

It used to be that people committed crimes to make money.

Now, with the complete collapse of federal law enforcement, programmed social media algorithms and the corruption of the republican party, they commit crimes to get famous.

Then the criminals can run for republican office or start a podcast.

#republicans #crime #criminals #podcast #socialmedia #media #news #legal #lawenforcement

Lambda Legal's HIV Know Your Rights Page

"Our HIV Know Your Rights page is designed to empower individuals with essential information about their rights at work, in health care, and beyond. Please note that this resource is intended for general informational purposes only and should not be considered legal advice."

#HIV #KnowYourRights #Legal #LGBTQIA #LGBTQ #LGBT #Trans #Queer

Yamhill County News Register: Whatchamacolumn: Yet another raid on legal notices in newspapers. “In the guise of saving money, the latest proposal to the Oregon Legislature would allow publication of legal notices on any website carrying some kind of local news, so long as 25 percent is locally composed. In other words, anyone with a computer could become sole publisher of public messages […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/03/03/whatchamacolumn-yet-another-raid-on-legal-notices-in-newspapers-yamhill-county-news-register/

@aaron.rupar

You can't argue with ignorant lawyers. They always win in their mind.
#law
#legal

#Defense Sec #PeteHegseth thanked Adm Franchetti & Gen Slife “for their service & dedication to our country” & requested nominations for their replacements.

Hegseth did not say why he was firing the judge advocates general. But in his Senate confirmation hearing, he criticized #military #lawyers for placing needless #legal restrictions on soldiers in battle — putting “his or her own priorities in front of the war fighters….”[IOW making sure the #law was not broken, no #WarCrimes were committed]

🤔

Ich bin mir nicht mal sicher ob das hier #legal ist, wenn deutsche #Behörden #Wahlkampfhilfe für die #AfD spielen ..

Immerhin gab es ja offensichtlich noch keine klare politische Vorgabe zu dem ganzen Themenkomplex. Das ist also eigenmächtiges politisches Handeln der #Verwaltung in #MecklenburgVorpommern.

Holla, Popolla.

https://www.t-online.de/nachrichten/deutschland/innenpolitik/id_100607168/mecklenburg-vorpommern-behoerden-legen-allen-syrern-ausreise-nah.html

🤨

Trump Contradicts His Own White House’s Legal Filing — Admits ‘I Put a Man Named Elon Musk in Charge’ of DOGE
https://www.mediaite.com/news/trump-contradicts-his-own-white-houses-legal-filing-admits-i-put-a-man-named-elon-musk-in-charge-of-doge/

"Musk’s technical role is likely to be a major point of contention in the many #legal battles involving #DOGE. If he is deemed to not have a role with the cost-cutting outfit, he may be able to avoid legal scrutiny.

But #Trump, on Wednesday, seemed to remove any doubt about who’s running the show at DOGE."

#ElonMusk #Musk #GOP #Politics #Coup #News #US #USA

"The #PrivacyAct prohibits an agency from disclosing someone’s records—even within the agency—unless that person approves in writing or the agency meets one of the law’s 12 exceptions. Most of the exceptions deal with fairly specific circumstances...

But there are also two broad, vague exceptions..."
https://www.wired.com/story/privacy-act-doge-lawsuits/

#ElonMusk #Musk #Doge #Lawsuit #Resistance #Resist #Privacy #Law #Legal #Data #Information #Government #Politics #US #USPol #USA #News #USNews

Publisher Mediahuis has sued X for scam advertisements.

According to the complaint, advertisements on X contained links to fictitious articles that included the logo of the Irish Independent and the byline of one of its journalists.

The publisher said that the scam advertisements were published and promoted on the platform and shared by ''verified'' users carrying a blue check.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250219-publisher-mediahuis-has-sued-x-for-scam-advertisements?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward

#Ireland #X #SocialMedia #Media #Journalism #Publishing #Advertising #Legal #Cour

Das hat sich bald erledigt.

"Merz: Legalisierung von Cannabis rückgängig machen "

https://www.home.cdu.de/artikel/merz-legalisierung-von-cannabis-rueckgaengig-machen

#Merz #Cpartei #Canabis #Legal #Illegal
#Diskriminisierung #Kriminell #Hanf

Is the NIH move to cap funding for indirect costs related to research at universities legal?

Lawyers: What are your thoughts?

#NIH #education #academia #science #education #research #funding #grants #USA #law #legal #LegalNews #LawFedi

https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/02/08/nih-cuts-billions-dollars-biomedical-funding-effective-immediately/
---
https://www.congress.gov/bill/118th-congress/senate-bill/2624/text#idb8c8da7e72004649a1981282ee566f2c
---
Reference for the Bill listed above:
https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-45/subtitle-A/subchapter-A/part-75

OnlyFans dodges UK probe into underage users.

Britain’s media regulator Ofcom has dropped its investigation into whether OnlyFans was doing enough to stop under-18s using its platform.

The London-based adult subscription site boasts more than 300m users worldwide, with some of the platform’s most successful creators earning millions of dollars a year.

https://mediafaro.org/article/20250205-onlyfans-dodges-uk-probe-into-underage-users?mf_channel=mastodon&action=forward

#OnlyFans #Ofcom #Tech #Investigation #Media #Regulation #Legal

TorrentFreak: Publishers Ramp Up Pressure vs. Anna’s Archive, Sci-Hub, Z-Library & Libgen. “The world’s major publishers claim that unlicensed libraries cast a permanent shadow over authors’ ability to make a living from their work. In common with the movie and movie industry counterparts, site-blocking is one of the weapons of choice, albeit against well-prepared opponents.”

https://rbfirehose.com/2025/02/04/torrentfreak-publishers-ramp-up-pressure-vs-annas-archive-sci-hub-z-library-libgen/

Esteemed #Fediverse

in these dark times, meeting the community physically feels more needed than ever.

Since we organized the official @apconf #ActivityPub Conf all the ActivityPub Events were always officially fun.

#FOSDEM is near
Sat
The Policy Group starts with a waffles breakfast and I'd like to recommend the

Legal and Policy Dev Room
H.1301 (Cornil) starting 10:30
by wonderful @tmarble

then (yay)

Social Web Dev Room
UA2.118 (Henriot)
https://fosdem.org/2025/schedule/track/social-web/

and

https://socialwebfoundation.org/2025/01/04/social-web-after-hours-at-fosdem-2025/

#fosdem25 #OpenProtocols #SocialWeb #Federation #Policy #Legal 💖

https://theconversation.com/fewer-journalists-are-training-to-be-court-reporters-thats-a-problem-for-justice-246737

"Journalists are allowed to report from court hearings. The publicity puts pressure on witnesses to tell the truth, helps quell false rumours about cases, and can lead to other victims coming forward or new evidence being uncovered."

#openjustice #court #law #legal #journalism

Whistleblowers need a solid strategy when disclosing information. Using official channels rarely brings wanted change, but it's usually where most concerned employees start.

At @hushlineapp, we're working to build a team around someone disclosing information, potentially pairing them with a lawyer, journalist, filmmaker, or a mental health professional, to help to protect the #whistleblower and their interests.

https://simpleflying.com/new-report-the-faa-ignores-majority-whistleblower-complaints/

#legal #journalism #business #opensource #nonprofit

#usa #california #uspol #legal #law #gaza #palestine #genocide https://www.codepink.org/calawsuit?recruiter_id

Engadget: Australia demands big social platforms pay local news publishers. “Australia is not messing around when it comes to big tech. Last month the country introduced a law that, if passed, would ban all people 16 and younger from social media. Now, its coming after social media and search engines alike, ensuring they pay publishers for their content after Meta backed out of doing so, the […]

https://rbfirehose.com/2024/12/13/engadget-australia-demands-big-social-platforms-pay-local-news-publishers/

Greetings and good evening! I need help down here in #Georgia. My #trans (adult) child is trying to change their name, and we aren't sure whether the #petition needs to be #notarized or not. The clerk won't answer any questions. The form itself doesn't appear to have space for a notary stamp. Can anyone with #legal knowledge or who has done a #NameChange here let us know? We really don't want to have to re-file after January 😬 thank you!! #askFedi #fediHelp #law #lawyer #question

Every year, we get a wave of new media entering the public domain.

If this interests you, check out this chart that helps navigate the "labyrinthine rules of US copyright".

https://guides.library.cornell.edu/copyright/publicdomain
#Legal #Music #Media

They can't stop pretending to be victims: "Israel’s opposition leaders fiercely criticized the ICC’s move. Benny Gantz... saying it showed “moral blindness” and was a “shameful stain of historic proportion that will never be forgotten.”"
#genocide #CrimesAgainstHumanity #EthnicCleansing #WarCrimes #legal #ICC #Israel #fascism #Zionism #GenocideJoe #ICC #ICJ #UN
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/europe/international-criminal-court-issues-arrest-warrants-for-netanyahu-and-hamas-officials/article_b833a728-cfac-5904-81d0-e0e164587148.html

https://www.europesays.com/1607682/ France Court Orders Google To Halt News Search Scheme #france #internet #legal #media #SYND

Genocide is the name of this event.

"One of the most startling aspects of Israel’s campaign against Hamas in Gaza has been the destruction wreaked on the territory’s health sector. Over the past 13 months, the Israeli military has besieged and raided at least 10 hospitals, saying the attacks are a military necessity because Hamas uses the facilities as command and control bases."
#Israel #Palestine #legal #warcrimes #ethniccleansing #genocide #CrimesAgainstHumanity
https://www.thestar.com/news/world/middle-east/takeaways-from-aps-report-on-three-hospitals-in-northern-gaza-raided-by-israeli-troops/article_f9ca1e73-628b-5d43-8be8-d00070565f48.html

The Sleepy Copyright Office in the Middle of a High-Stakes Clash Over AI

The attention stems from a first-of-its-kind review of copyright law in the age of artificial intelligence. The #technology — which feeds off creative content — has upended traditional norms around #copyright, which gives owners of books, movies and music the exclusive ability to distribute and copy their works.

#LibraryOfCongress #artificialintelligence #AI #intellectualproperty #IP #legal #tech

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/01/25/technology/ai-copyright-office-law.html