The Malicious Incompetence of Trump's DOJ
6/15/20261 hr 19 min
Kate and Leah cover this week’s three Supreme Court opinions—one featuring a killer Ketanji Brown Jackson dissent—before turning to legal news, where bad behavior is everywhere. We’ve got a violent judge who can’t park in Idaho, politically motivated prosecutors in Chicago, and Trump’s generationally incompetent personal lawyers failing to do basic lawyering. Finally, Leah speaks with Mary Moriarty, Hennepin County (MN) Attorney, about the charges her office has filed against ICE agents, the breakdown in cooperation between local authorities and the feds, and FAFO, the new coalition of prosecutors fighting back against federal overreach. The paperback edition of Leah’s book, Lawless, featuring brand-new material is out on Tuesday, June 16. Buy it here!
Favorite things:
- Leah: The Supreme Court Doesn’t Own the Constitution, Jamelle Bouie (NYT); Supreme Court rejects Alabama's request to let it kill Jeffery Lee with nitrogen gas this week, Chris Geidner (Law Dork)
- Kate: The Hill, Harriet Clark
Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026!
- 6/20/26 – New York City
Learn more: http://crooked.com/events
Buy Melissa’s bestselling book, The U.S. Constitution: A Comprehensive and Annotated Guide for the Modern Reader
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLeah Litman· Host0:00
Strict Scrutiny is brought to you by Americans United for Separation of Church and State. The Trump administration's excessive Christian nationalist rhetoric is only building as we move toward the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Those most caught in the crossfire are federal workers specifically. A multi-faith group of federal employees filed a new lawsuit against the US Department of Agriculture for violating the separation of church and state, and the religious freedom promised in our Constitution. Our friends at Americans United for Separation of Church and State received emails from multiple USDA employees. A handful of employees reached out saying the proselytizing Easter email sent by Secretary of Agriculture Brooke L. Rollins to more than 100,000 USDA employees is an abuse of power that violates the separation of church and state promised in the First Amendment. They are absolutely right. Not only is it in the First Amendment, it's in the first sentence of the First Amendment, quote, "No law respecting an establishment of religion." And no means no, as in no proselytizing government employees. The hits just keep on coming from this administration, and Americans United is doing their best to keep up the fight against Christian nationalism. If you want to help, head to au.org/crooked to learn more about their work and how you can get involved.
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