Ep 237 — A Slush Fund By Any Other Name Would Still Reek

DOCKET ALERTS:

The Supreme Court issued orders today, opinions coming Thursday.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Jeanine Pirro, the US Attorney for DC, is investigating banks for "debanking" conservatives.

Judge James Boasberg benchslapped Pirro's effort to magic away his order quashing her abusive subpoena on the Federal Reserve.

DOOFUS OF THE DAY: A judge in Mississippi disqualified all the lawyers in a case after finding that both sides cited fake cases hallucinated by AI.

MAIN SHOW:

The battle over the Kennedy Center continues. At the eleventh hour, the Center's Board appealed the order to take Trump's name off the building, citing a new rule that would strip all funding from the institution if Trump's name came down. The trial judge denied the requested stay, and so did the Circuit Court. Meanwhile, the Washington National Opera is suing the Kennedy Center for expropriating its $17 million endowment.

In the Eastern District of Virginia, Judge Leonie Brinkema issued a preliminary injunction blocking the administration from implementing the Anti-Weaponization Fund whether under a new name or not.

New reporting from Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan in the New York Times reveals two revealing memos from White House advisor Will Scharf on suspending the writ of habeas corpus and the Insurrection Act.

SUBSCRIBER BONUS:

A federal judge in Massachusetts blocked Texas AG Ken Paxton's investigation into the Democratic fundraising platform ActBlue, holding that it was plainly retaliatory for its support for his Democratic Senate rival James Talarico.

SCOTUS Orders List June 15

https://www.supremecourt.gov/orders/courtorders/061526zor_5if6.pdf

Jeanine Pirro's Prosecutors Probe Big Banks for Alleged 'Debanking'

https://www.wsj.com/finance/regulation/jeanine-pirros-prosecutors-probe-big-banks-for-alleged-debanking-13568e9b

Powell/Fed Reserve Subpoenas

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/72490330/in-re-grand-jury-subpoenas

ActBlue v. Paxton

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73285205/actblue-llc-v-paxton/

Washington National Opera v. US

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73476333/washington-national-opera-v-united-states/

Beatty v. Trump [DC Circuit]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73477160/joyce-beatty-v-donald-trump

Withers v. City of Aberdeen [AI Attorney Sanctions]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/69485760/withers-v-city-of-aberdeen

Floyd v. DOJ [docket via CourtListener]

https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/73383692/floyd-v-department-of-justice/?order_by=desc

Maggie Haberman and Jonathan Swan,"Frustrated by Courts, Trump Weighed Suspending a Constitutional Right," New York Times, June 15, 2026

https://www.nytimes.com/2026/06/15/us/politics/trump-scharf-habeas-corpus-insurrection-act.html

Will Scharf Habeas Corpus memo

https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/2afc51a03e41c257/7f0f0dff-full.pdf

Will Scharf Insurrection Act memo

https://static01.nyt.com/newsgraphics/documenttools/ab7a26e5d4b63268/402f052f-full.pdf

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