Versus Trump

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Latest Episodes:

What A Year It Was Dec 28, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie, Jason, and Easha recap the year that was and offer some themes and predictions.

The trio start with a massive lightning round of updates. If you're wondering what happened to all those cases you heard about earlier in the year, you'll find out here. They then offer up a few themes and then get into 2019 predictions, hot takes, and even a resolution or two.

Thanks for a great year, listeners! We'll be back with more in 2019...

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

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What Happened To Obamacare? Dec 20, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Charlie and Jason discuss Friday's unexpected ruling that the current version of the Affordable Care Act—that is, Obamacare—is unconstitutional and must be entirely struck down.

Jason and Charlie first discuss the nature of the case and wonder whether anyone actually has standing to bring this claim, though they are less skeptical than some others that there is no standing here. They then briefly discuss the constitutional merits and agree that the mandate is technically unconstitutional under the first Obamacare Supreme Court case. But what happens next? Both Jason and Charlie are skeptical that the whole law must fall, as the court held.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes

The ruling in Texas v. U.S. is here.
Take Care contributor Nick Bagley's piece on standing in The Atlantic is here.
Jason mentioned a Cato post criticizing the decision. That's here.
Abbe Gluck's post about what the ACA contains is here.

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Why All The Court-Jumping? Dec 13, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Jason discuss the Trump Administration's fondness for Court-hopping: that is, taking matters directly to the Supreme Court without waiting for the usual appellate process to conclude.

Jason and Easha first discuss the inside baseball of the way appeals normally work, which leads them to a discussion of cert. before judgment—that is, when the Supreme Court takes a case before it's had the normal appellate review, which usually means two levels. They then look at a few instances of the Supreme Court asking for this unusual form of review: two DACA cases and the transgender ban case. They wonder whether this new practice will have long-term impacts on the government's relationship with the Court. And then they talk about the census case, in which the Administration repeatedly asked for emergency relief from the Supreme Court—and, after not finding too much early success, got the Supreme Court to review an important issue on an expedited basis.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes

The duo mentioned a 2011 SCOTUSblog post by Kevin Russell talking about cert. before judgment. That's here.
Cases mentioned in this episde include two DACA cases (here and here) and the transgender ban case (here).

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Versus Whitaker, In-Depth Dec 06, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, the gang is re-united, and they discuss the Supreme Court motion contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General.

Jason, Easha, and Charlie finally get a chance to do a three-person pod, and they use it to discuss Michaels v. Whitaker (or Rosenstein?). In this case, a Supreme Court petitioner has filed a motion to substitute Deputy AG Rod Rosenstein as Acting Attorney General instead of Matthew Whitaker, whom Trump designated, on the ground that Whitaker's appointment is illegal. The gang discuss the statutory law governing appointments as well as the impact of the Appointments Clause of the Constitution. They then wonder whether the Supreme Court may take up the issue directly or whether the question is more likely to first work its way through lower courts.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes

SCOTUSblog's case page is here. That page links to the motion to substitute, the response, the reply, and the amicus brief that Easha mentioned.

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Asylum Ain't Easy, but This Case Is Nov 29, 2018

Show notes

Versus Trump is a podcast where we discuss how the Trump Administration is breaking the law, and what people are doing about it. Listen in the player below or directly on Pippa, and subscribe here with any podcast player or here in iTunes.

Versus Trump is hosted by Jason Harrow, Easha Anand, and Charlie Gerstein. You can listen to previous episodes, and access archived show notes, here. And you can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

On this week's episode, Easha and Charlie discuss a recent challenge by immigration groups to the Trump administration's new attempt to bar asylum claims by refugees who entered the United States without crossing a border checkpoint. Turns out that . . . the Trump administration should lose, and it did. But Easha offers some great--and new to Charlie--background on immigration law, and the two of them discuss why this case is, indeed, as easy as it looks.

Charlie mentions an article by Sarah Stillman for the New Yorker, which you can find here, and you can read the district court's decision against the administration here.

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Versus Trump: Trump Versus Jim Acosta Nov 22, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Easha and Charlie talk about the Trump administration's revocation of Jim Acosta's "hard pass," the press credential that allows White House correspondents to enter the press room unescorted. As usual, you can listen online below, and subscribe via this page with any podcast player or here in iTunes.

The two start with the saga of the lawsuit, which went in front of a district court judge before the Trump administration capitulated. They talk about whether there's a Due Process Clause problem with revoking the press credential (especially given that the Trump administration apparently doctored a video in order to justify the revocation). They then discuss whether there's a First Amendment right at stake, and Charlie explains why that can't possibly be. They close with some thoughts about the Administrative Procedures Act claim and a Trump Nugget about Jeff Sessions' parting gift--a DoJ memo gutting consent decrees.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

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Versus Whitaker Nov 15, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason has a solo episode where he talks about a motion by Maryland contending that Matthew Whitaker was not legally appointed as Acting Attorney General.

Because of work and vacations, Jason is flying solo this week. He soldiers on by giving his thoughts about the appointment of Matthew Whitaker as Acting AG and the new motion by Maryland contending the appointment is illegal. (After the episode taped, the government released a legal opinion on Whitaker's appointment. That's here.)

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes

Maryland's Motion in Maryland v. US is here. The government's legal opinion on Whitaker's appointment, which was released after the episode was taped, is here.

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Trump The Racketeer Nov 01, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk about a new lawsuit alleging that Trump and his children were part of a racketeering enterprise that engaged in fraud in connection with their supposed endorsement of a multi-level marketing operation. (Disclosure: Joshua Matz, the publisher of Take Care, is among the counsel to the Plaintiffs in this suit. We chose this topic without consulting Joshua, and the hosts had no involvement in the lawsuit.)

They start the conversation by discussing the background of the claims in the well-researched new lawsuit. The suit runs to 160 pages of detailed allegations that the Trump family claimed endorse the multi-level marketing operation run by a company called ACN, but the Trumps failed to disclose that they were paid for their appearances and endorsements, and they in fact new little to nothing about the business. Charlie then explains what RICO is and why this might fit in the definition of the law. Jason and Charlie then go over what might happen next and wonder whether this will move the needle for anyone.

The duo then also offer an update on the Wilbur Ross deposition issue they've been following closely, do a bit of listener feedback, and end with a few thoughts about the idea of Trump abolishing birthright citizenship by executive order.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes

The Complaint in Jane Doe v. The Trump Corporation is here.

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Can Courts Stop Trump From Violating The First Amendment? Oct 25, 2018

Show notes

This week, Jason and Charlie talk about a new lawsuit by a group of journalists (filed by the legal group Protect Democracy) that hopes to stop President Trump from threatening adverse government action against those who criticize him.

They start the conversation by discussing the background of the claims in the creative new lawsuit. The suit lists several adverse actions the President has taken against those people who have offered what he views as negative coverage of him—for instance, potentially raising Amazon's postage rates in response to perceived negative coverage by the Jeff Bezos-owned Washington Post—and requests an injunction from prohibiting the President from taking similar retaliatory action against those critical of the Administration. Charlie and Jason then ask: does a group of journalists have standing to make this claim? If so, will they win? And even if they have a good legal claim, can get the injunction they want?

The duo then updates the Wilbur Ross deposition issue they've been following closely and end with a Versus Trump constitutional trivia question. Know the answer? Email versustrumppodcast@gmail.com.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes

Protect Democracy's case page for the case is here. It contains links to the Complaint and other info on the case.
The Supreme Court's order related to the Ross deposition is here.

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Trump Wins One Versus Stormy Oct 18, 2018

Show notes

On this week's episode of Versus Trump, Jason and Charlie talk about the recent decision that dismissed Stormy Daniels' defamation lawsuit against the President.

They start the conversation by discussing the background of the defamation lawsuit, which was brought after the President tweeted "A sketch years later about a nonexistent man. A total con job, playing the fake news media for fools (but they know it)!" After clearing some nasty procedural weeds, they explain Anti-SLAPP motions and discuss the somewhat peculiar reasoning the judge gave for dismissing the suit. Although they both agree with the outcome, they are not sure about the grounds here. That leads to a discussion of what might be happening in general with cases brought against the President personally. They close with an update on the Wilbur Ross deposition matter.

You can find us at @VersusTrumpPod on twitter, or send us an email at versustrumppodcast@gmail.com. You can buy t-shirts and other goods with our super-cool logo here.

Notes