Harry Litman

La Jolla

Executive Producer and Host at Talking Feds

Founder and Writer at Talking Feds Substack

Host & exec prod, @talkingfedspod. FCA Lawyer. Teach con law at UCSD& UCLA. Senior Fellow USC. Former US Atty, Dep Assis AG. Former LATimes Columnist.

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Articles

"Fight Fiercely, Harvard!"

1 week ago | contrarian.substack.com | Harry Litman

A terrific round table of Alisyn Camerota, Bill Kristol, and Mike Podhorzer join Harry on to analyze a week in which only a couple things went right for Trump, but they were big-ticket items. The House R’s dragged the “big beautiful bill” over the finish line by a single vote. And the Supreme Court gave Trump a big victory that will permit him to fire leaders of certain important agencies without cause. But otherwise the courts forcefully rejected Trump’s overreaching executive orders.
Trump's Injustice System Is Deeply Abnormal -- And Truly Authoritarian

2 weeks ago | nationalmemo.com | Harry Litman

Veterans of the Department of Justice, including me, did our best to sound the alarm bell as the Trump/Bondi regime made clear its plans to do away with the professional norms that have guided prosecutorial behavior for generations. It was a tricky argument. For the vast majority of people who haven’t served in the department or internalized its virtually hallowed set of operating principles, the panicked cry that “the norms are falling” could be hard to appreciate. It sounds abstract and lawyerly.
Down the road of criminal contempt? (Live video with Harry Litman)

2 weeks ago | allrisenews.com | Adam Klasfeld |Harry Litman

The Trump administration’s actions have been called “lawless” by multiple federal judges. Three courts are probing whether officials engaged in criminal contempt. Our system still has checks and balances: One is journalism that empowers the People. In nearly two decades as a legal journalist, I struggle to remember any time before this year when a federal judge warned sitting U.S. government officials that they faced a risk of criminal contempt.
Art of the Self Deal

2 weeks ago | contrarian.substack.com | Harry Litman

If you like your presidential travel mixed with $B self-enrichment for Trump and sons, this is the week for you, guided by a terrific panel of Peter Baker, Tara Setmayer, and Jacob Weisberg. Trump makes for the Gulf States with bags open for booty before coming back to face the unraveling of his big beautiful bill of tax breaks for the wealthy funded by sacrifices in health & welfare for the rest of us. We end with the legal landscape and the DOA scheme to suspend habeas corpus.
Will Abrego-Garcia Ever See the Light of Day Again: A Discussion with Sen. Chris Van Hollen

3 weeks ago | contrarian.substack.com | Harry Litman

Harry talks with Maryland Senator Chris Van Hollen, who has been at the forefront of the efforts to keep attention on the nightmarish treatment of Kilmar Abrego-Garcia. Abrego-Garcia was pulled from the car he was driving and next thing he knew was in a notorious prison in El Salvador, the very place that a judge had ruled he could not be sent because of the risk of persecution. Senator Van Hollen went to El Salvador to meet with Abrego-Garcia.
Trump's 'Palace In The Sky' Is A Constitutional Affront -- But Who Will Stop It?

3 weeks ago | nationalmemo.com | Harry Litman

Having brought Congress completely to heel in the political sphere, Donald Trump is now seeking to write them out of the Constitution. Both of his biggest moves of the past week entail the evisceration of a constitutional role the Framers very plainly and expressly wanted Congress to play. That is the case for the flirtation with suspension of habeas corpus, which only Congress can do.
What's Happening at the Supreme Court?

3 weeks ago | contrarian.substack.com | Harry Litman |Steve Vladeck

Founding Contrarian Harry Litman and our resident SCOTUS expert Steve Vladeck of Georgetown dig into what went down today in the high-stakes birthright citizenship argument: what did the justices say, what are the stakes for the nation, and what was on tap today in this nuanced, massively consequential case.
Trump Writes Congress out of the Constitution—and Congress Says Fine

3 weeks ago | newrepublic.com | Harry Litman

Having brought Congress completely to heel in the political sphere, Donald Trump is now seeking to write them out of the Constitution. Both of his biggest moves of the past week entail the evisceration of a constitutional role the Framers very plainly and expressly wanted Congress to play. That is the case for the flirtation with suspension of habeas corpus, which only Congress can do.
Trump Writes Congress out of the Constitution-and Congress Says Fine

3 weeks ago | yahoo.com | Harry Litman

Having brought Congress completely to heel in the political sphere, Donald Trump is now seeking to write it out of the Constitution. Both of his biggest moves of the past week entail the evisceration of a constitutional role the Framers very plainly and expressly wanted Congress to play. That is the case for the flirtation with suspension of habeas corpus, which only Congress can do.
Third Term Threat

3 weeks ago | contrarian.substack.com | Harry Litman

It was a week that brought a series of stinging court defeats for Trump and his bevvy of executive orders, which have as a common theme the disregard of constitutional limits. Michael Scherer, Ali Vitali, and Charlie Sykes join Harry on to consider whether Trump is adjusting his approach or just erratic. They break down Trump’s recent legacy media blitz before moving to the inauspicious mess of his tariff policy. Finally, they take up the significance of the defeat of the Ed Martin nomination.