The Conversation -- March 18, 2025

Josh Gerstein of Politico: “A federal judge sharply questioned the Trump administration Monday about its decision to rush three planes carrying Venezuelan nationals out of U.S. airspace under ... Donald Trump’s unprecedented invocation of wartime deportation powers against a criminal gang. James Boasberg, the chief judge of the federal district court in Washington, was clearly galled by the government’s actions and legal arguments in the case, particularly its assertion that an order he issued Saturday to turn around any planes carrying such deportees had no force once they were outside U.S. territorial waters.... Boasberg implied that the government had intentionally hurried the planes off the ground on Saturday afternoon because the government knew he had scheduled a hearing at 5 p.m. Saturday. 'Any plane that you put into the air in or around that time, you knew that I was having a hearing at 5,' the judge said with evident frustration.... Deputy Associate Attorney General Abhishek Kambli claimed Monday that the government was free to ignore [Boasberg's] oral order [to turn the planes around because] 'An injunction is not ordered until it’s in the written filing.'... Boasberg also rejected the Justice Department’s claim that he lacked any authority over the flights once they cleared U.S. airspace.... The power of federal courts does not 'lapse at the water’s edge' or 'the airspace’s edge.'... DOJ further frustrated Boasberg by refusing to provide almost any details about the deportation operation, repeatedly invoking national security to defend the secrecy.” ~~~

~~~ Justin Jouvenal, et al., of the Washington Post: “The Trump administration’s battle with the federal court system escalated sharply on Monday, with government lawyers calling for the removal of a judge who blocked the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members and refusing to answer some questions in court. The administration for weeks has questioned the authority of courts to constrain the president, harshly attacking judges who issue nationwide injunctions and finding ways to circumvent certain adverse rulings. Some legal experts describe the pushback as a breakdown in the fragile balance of powers between the branches of government, which includes lower courts making initial rulings about executive initiatives that can be appealed all the way to the Supreme Court.... The showdown reached a climax at a testy hearing Monday evening at which James E. Boasberg, the chief judge for the U.S. District Court in D.C., demanded the government explain why it had appeared to flout his Saturday evening order requiring planes deporting migrants to turn around mid-flight.” This is an update of a story linked yesterday. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bear in mind that the public doesn't know the names of people Trump deported, we don't know their ages (some may be juveniles), and we have no way to know whether or not they may be "terrorists" or "criminals," as the administration asserts, or just ordinary people yearning to be free. Moreover, these people -- who, as far as we know, have committed no crimes in the U.S. and have been convicted of no crimes -- have been dumped in prisons in a country (El Salvador) known for harsh jail conditions. The people being imprisoned now are being locked up for the color of their skin (as far as we know). But if Trump gets away with this, there is nothing stopping his thugs from picking us up while we're looking over the artichokes at Wegman's. They can pack us off to Guantanamo, no matter what we look like. They can just do it, and no one will know. ~~~

~~~ Kyle Cheney, et al., of Politico: “This latest collision between Trump and the judicial branch — in which the White House and its allies are openly assailing the judge weighing the validity of Trump’s orders — is a more intense version of the clashes that have stymied his administration since Inauguration Day. Judges have sought to slow or stop some of Trump and Elon Musk’s efforts to overhaul the federal bureaucracy and workforce, saying they have run afoul of Congress’ spending authority and laws governing hiring and firing of federal workers.... The administration’s legal tangles underscore its make-decisions-first, figure-out-a-legal-defense-later approach to policy making.... But it was the fight over Trump’s invocation of the Alien Enemies Act — the 1798 law granting the president power to deport nationals of a wartime enemy nation — that seemed to push the conflict closest to a crisis.... When [Judge James] Boasberg refused [the government's plea] to cancel a Monday afternoon hearing, DOJ asked a federal appellate court to remove him from the case altogether, an extraordinary step to circumvent judicial scrutiny.” ~~~

~~~ Digby, on the White House's defying a court order: “... their game is to find the legal line, step over it, and dare anyone to push back. Lather, rinse. repeat. Now with virtual immunity granted by the Roberts court, Trump feels he’s above the law and untouchable. He IS the law[.] A defiant White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt told reporters, 'If the Democrats want to argue in favor of turning a plane full of rapists, murderers, and gangsters back to the United States, that’s a fight we are more than happy to take.' Next up from the Trump WH, it’s the 'They just needed killin'' defense. The Constitution and the rule of law are inconveniences.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I'm so confused. One of the arguments the Trump administration is making is that it could not comply with Judge Boasberg's order because at the time he ordered return of the planes, at least some of them were over international waters, where he had no jurisdiction. But wait! Weren't the flight over the brand-new Gulf of America??? Aren't those our waters now? ~~~

     ~~~ Homan: "I Don't Care What the Judges Think." Ivana Saric of Axios: Donald "Trump's border czar Tom Homan on Monday doubled down on the decision to defy a court order that barred the deportation of alleged Venezuelan gang members.... The White House's decision to disregard a federal judge's order has set up a legal battle that could make its way to the Supreme Court and define the limits of Trump's deportation powers.... Homan claimed in a Fox News interview Monday that the two deportation flights to El Salvador did not need to be turned around because they were already above international waters when the order came through. 'We are going to make this country safe again ... I'm proud to be a part of this administration. We are not stopping. I don't care what the judges think. I don't care what the Left thinks. We're coming,' he added. Asked what was coming next in the administration's deportation efforts, Homan said: 'Another flight. Another flight every day.'"

Avery Lotz of Axios: Donald "Trump claimed Monday that former President Biden's preemptive pardons to members of the House Jan. 6 select committee and others are 'VOID' and 'VACANT' because they were 'done by Autopen.'... Experts cast doubt on Trump's rationale, and said it was unlikely that a court would allow a president to revoke or nullify his predecessor's pardons.... Trump contended in a late-night Truth Social post that Biden's pardons are 'hereby declared VOID, VACANT, AND OF NO FURTHER FORCE OR EFFECT' and that the 'necessary Pardoning Documents were not explained to, or approved by, Biden.' The committee members should 'fully understand that they are subject to investigation at the highest level,' Trump wrote. He claimed without evidence that the members of the committee, which include former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), were 'probably responsible for the Documents that were signed on their behalf' without Biden's knowledge." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: In the middle of the night, one of Trump's phone buddies puts an idea in his ugly fat head, and he just goes with it, tweeting it out to the world. ~~~

     ~~~ Update. Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: “There is no power in the Constitution or case law to undo a pardon, and there is no exception to pardons signed by autopen. But Mr. Trump’s assertion, which embraced a baseless right-wing conspiracy theory about former President Joseph R. Biden Jr., was a new escalation of his antidemocratic rhetoric. Implicit in his post was Mr. Trump’s belief that the nation’s laws should be whatever he decrees them to be. And it was a jolting reminder that his appetite for revenge has not been sated.” (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Bear in mind that the graf above is the second paragraph in a news story about the President* of the United States, It appears on the online front page of the Both-Sides New York Times. The paragraph, in that context, is as extraordinary as the bunk the article describes. McCreesh describes Trump as a lying, vengeful autocrat, and his editors said, "Print it!"

Shawn McCreesh of the New York Times: Donald “Trump said on Monday evening that he was ending Secret Service protection for former President Joseph R. Biden Jr.’s son Hunter and daughter Ashley. Not only did Mr. Trump declare in a social media post that Hunter Biden — who has been a Trump target for years — would lose his protection 'effective immediately,' he mentioned his whereabouts: 'He is currently vacationing in, of all places, South Africa, where the Human Rights of people has been strenuously questioned.' The post merged two of Mr. Trump’s recent fixations: He has talked constantly about his predecessor and the Biden family since returning to office. And he has talked a lot lately about what he sees as the plight of white farmers in post-apartheid South Africa.... He has been on a revenge tour since he returned to the Oval Office, and he has several times exerted his power to revoke Secret Service protection from perceived enemies. His animus toward the Biden family is in part what motivated the former president to pardon his son.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Hunter Biden needs Secret Service protection in large part because Trump his repeatedly vilified him to his unstable, violent MAGA followers; now Trump not only removes Hunter's protection, he puts a bullseye on him by stating his whereabouts. Donald Trump is a vicious, twisted old man.

Travis Andrews of the Washington Post: “... Donald Trump visited the Kennedy Center on Monday, where he presided over a meeting of its refashioned board of trustees and discussed changes to the institution’s annual Honors, including possibly hosting the ceremony himself.... The Washington Post obtained audio of the meeting, in which the board voted to expand the committee that chooses Kennedy Center honorees. Trump and board members floated names such as Paul Anka, Sylvester Stallone, Johnny Mathis and Andrea Bocelli for the award. The president also suggested giving awards to Elvis Presley, Luciano Pavarotti and Babe Ruth, though the Kennedy Center Honors are not given posthumously. Pavarotti was honored in 2001. Trump floated expanding the event to include politicians, executives and athletes.... At other points during the meeting, Trump shared personal stories and anecdotes, including about the first time he saw 'Cats' and which members of the cast he found attractive.” MB: Remembrances of Hard-ons Past. Ugh!

Chris Cameron of the New York Times: Donald “Trump moved on Monday to stack the boards overseeing U.S. military service academies with conservative activists and political allies, including Michael T. Flynn and Walt Nauta, who were charged in connection to earlier investigations of Mr. Trump and his presidential campaign. Mr. Nauta, a military aide working as a White House valet while Mr. Trump was president, was appointed to the board overseeing the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md. Mr. Nauta was charged with aiding Mr. Trump in obstructing the government’s efforts to retrieve a trove of highly sensitive documents that Mr. Trump kept after he left office.... Mr. Flynn, a retired lieutenant general and a national security adviser to Mr. Trump during his first term, was named to the oversight board of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, in New York. Mr. Flynn twice pleaded guilty to lying to the F.B.I. about his conversations with a Russian diplomat during a wider investigation into contacts between the first Trump presidential campaign and Russian officials. Mr. Trump later pardoned Mr. Flynn. Other allies of the president appointed to the oversight boards included Charlie Kirk, a conservative activist whose organization aided Mr. Trump in the 2024 election; Dina Powell, a deputy national security adviser to Mr. Trump; Sean Spicer, Mr. Trump’s first White House press secretary; and Maureen Bannon, the daughter of Steve Bannon who helps run his podcast.”

David Sanger of the New York Times: “... talking to reporters on Air Force One while returning from Florida on Sunday night, Mr. Trump made clear that his scheduled phone conversation with Mr. Putin on Tuesday would be focused on what lands and assets Russia would retain in any cease-fire with Ukraine. He will, in essence, be negotiating over how large a reward Russia will receive for its 11 years of open aggression against Ukraine, starting with its seizure of Crimea in 2014 and extending through the full-scale war Mr. Putin started three years ago. White House aides have made clear that Russia will certainly retain Crimea — in one of those odd twists of history, the location of the weeklong Yalta Conference in February 1945 — and strongly suggested it would get almost all of the territory it holds.” ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: I do not understand why the U.S. president* is in charge of negotiating an end to Russia's aggresive wars against Ukraine.

This Is Horrifying. Arthur Allen of Kaiser Foundation Health News: "National Institutes of Health officials have urged scientists to remove all references to mRNA vaccine technology from their grant applications, two researchers said, in a move that signaled the agency might abandon a promising field of medical research. The mRNA technology is under study at the NIH for prevention and treatment of infectious diseases, including flu and AIDS, and also cancer. It was deployed in the development of covid-19 vaccines credited with saving 3 million lives in the U.S. alone — an accomplishment ... Donald Trump bragged about in his first term.... A senior official at the National Cancer Institute confirmed that NIH acting Director Matthew Memoli sent an email across the NIH instructing that any grants, contracts, or collaborations involving mRNA vaccines be reported up the chain to Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s office and the White House." (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: How about leeches, Bobby? Are leeches okay to study as cancer & AIDS cures?

Annie Karni of the New York Times: “Senator Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York and the minority leader, on Monday postponed a multicity tour to promote his forthcoming book, citing security concerns amid backlash to his decision to vote with Republicans for a stopgap spending bill to stave off a government shutdown.... Many Democratic activists, desperate for their leaders to stand up to President Trump, have been staging protests outside of Mr. Schumer’s Brooklyn home and calling for his resignation. Online, they have been organizing protests for every stop on his book tour.” Politico's story is here. (Also linked yesterday.) ~~~

     ~~~ Marie: Of course I have no idea if Schumer's book is any good, but I know that the title suggests its topic is: “Antisemitism in America: A Warning.” So losing the opportunity to promote the book and its message is one more reason Schumer should not have caved to the Trump/Musk administration. ~~~

~~~ Noah Berlatsky of Public Notice on how Donald Trump  and others on the right use antisemetic and anti-Palestinian smears to deprive Jews of their identities and their rights to independent opinions. (Also linked yesterday.)

Maggie Haberman, et al., of the New York Times: “Starlink, the satellite internet service operated by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, is now accessible across the White House campus. It is the latest installation of the Wi-Fi network across the government since Mr. Musk joined the Trump administration as an unpaid adviser.... Mr. Musk, who is now an unpaid adviser working as a 'special government employee' at the White House, controls Starlink and other companies that have regulatory matters before or contracts with the federal government.... White House officials said that Starlink had 'donated' the service and that the gift had been vetted by the lawyer overseeing ethics issues in the White House Counsel’s Office.”

About Those “Bulletproof” Cybertrucks. Christopher Jasper of the Telegraph: Elon Musk’s Tesla has been forced to halt sales of its electric Cybertruck pickup amid mounting concern about metal panels falling off the supposedly indestructible vehicles. Customers posting on the Cybertruck Owners Club website – as well as on Mr Musk’s own X, formerly Twitter – said they had been told by agents that deliveries were on hold. Electric vehicle-enthusiast website Electrek said the decision was taken amid increasing instances of trim and panels 'flying off the supposedly “bulletproof” electric truck.'” (Also linked yesterday.) 

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Israel's Wars. The Washington Post's live updates of developments Tuesday are here: “Israel’s military launched deadly strikes on the Gaza Strip early Tuesday, endangering its fragile ceasefire agreement with Hamas after the first phase of the deal expired earlier this month and as negotiators struggled to reach consensus on next steps. In an announcement, the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli Security Agency said it was conducting 'extensive strikes' on purported Hamas targets in the enclave. The office of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he told the IDF to 'take strong action' against Hamas, citing its alleged 'repeated refusal' to release hostages and 'its rejection of all the proposals it has received' from mediators and the U.S. special envoy to the Middle East, Steve Witkoff.” ~~~

     ~~~ A New York Times story is here.