Ep 219 — DOJ In Disarray

DOCKET ALERTS:

Judge Brian Murphy blocked termination of TPS for 5,000 Ethiopians.

DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin will continue Noem's tradition of announcing his intention to violate the law in advance, so as to give litigants a heads up.

Michael Avenatti moves to a halfway house, remains a full-way non-lawyer.

And Democrats overperformed in Tuesday's special elections.

MAIN SHOW:

Crazytimes continue at the DOJ as Trump's goons jockey to replace Pam Bondi. Acting AG Todd Blanche is professing his love for Trump at the podium. US Attorney for DC Jeanine Pirro can't indict a ham sandwich, and juries are telling her to take a hike. Politico says Harmeet Dhillon, head of the DOJ's Civil Rights Division, is in the running for the top job. She's currently trying to indict January 6 Committee witness Cassidy Hutchinson for perjury — which has exactly nothing to do with civil rights. And Dhillon's office keeps losing when she sues states demanding they turn over their voter rolls.

Will Republicans invoke the 25th Amendment to remove Trump from office? (No.) But the fact that we're asking the question shows how far we've come.

And in Tennessee, Kilmar Abrego Garcia is trying to get his human smuggling case dismissed on grounds of vindictive prosecution. Both the government and Garcia filed their briefs this week. The government claims that prosecution started with an article in the local paper, the Tennessee Star. Which is weird because the case was reopened in Baltimore the week before the article was published — and DHS is actually the source of the reporting!

Blanche Steals Bondi's Brown Nose

https://lawandchaospod.substack.com/p/blanche-steals-bondis-brown-nose

Justice Dept.'s Civil Rights Division Is Investigating Star Witness Against Trump

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/us/doj-cassidy-hutchinson-investigation-trump.html

Kilmar Abrego Garcia [TN criminal docket]

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.tnmd.104622/

2022 TN Traffic Stop of Kilmar Abrego Garcia Was Day Three of Trip That Originated in Houston, Took Detour to St. Louis, Crossed Trafficking Hubs and Areas with MS-13

https://tennesseestar.com/justice/2022-tn-traffic-stop-of-kilmar-abrego-garcia-was-day-three-of-trip-that-originated-in-houston-took-detour-to-st-louis-crossed-trafficking-hubs-and-areas-with-ms-13/tpappert/2025/04/21/

African Communities Together v. Noem [TPS for Ethiopians]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72178312/african-communities-together-v-noem/

Mullin weighs using airport customs as leverage against sanctuary cities

https://www.foxnews.com/politics/mullin-weighs-using-airport-customs-leverage-against-sanctuary-cities

Judge Jeanine's Big Audition

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/judge-jeanine-pirro-attorney-general-trump-jerome-powell.html

Inside the battle to be Trump's next attorney general

​​https://www.politico.com/news/2026/04/09/trump-attorney-general-blanche-dhillion-pirro-00864988

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