First graduating class of Arizona State University law school, then 8 years at DOJ Antitrust Division (4 as DAAG) and 38 years at Jones Day; now retired.
Joined April 2022
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Trump is very consistent. He’s with you as long as that is useful to him.
Trump to Kan News: "It’s very likely that I’ll support Netanyahu in the elections, but I need to see who’s running. He needs to be more rational."
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the last line is the killer: this act of performative empathy and law breaking by a legal professional who had sworn to uphold the law resulted in her career ending with a felony conviction and the illegal alien being deported. so be it.
Judge upholds the conviction of former Wisconsin judge Hannah Dugan for helping immigrant evade ICE | Scott Bauer, Associated Press
A federal judge on Tuesday declined to overturn a Wisconsin judge's obstruction of justice conviction for helping a man evade immigration officers who showed up at a courtroom looking to detain him.
The case against Hannah Dugan, who resigned from the Milwaukee County Circuit Court following her conviction, was an early test of how the courts would respond to President Donald Trump's sweeping immigration crackdown.
Trump allies branded Dugan as an activist judge, while her supporters said she was unfairly targeted.
U.S. District Judge Lynn Adelman postponed Dugan's sentencing on June 3 to consider arguments about whether he should overturn her conviction. But Adelman said in his ruling Tuesday that Dugan's conviction would stand. He did not immediately set a sentencing date.
"The court's decision is wrong," Dugan's legal defense team said in a statement.
Questions about a similar case in Virginia
Dugan's attorney had argued that her conviction in helping Eduardo Flores-Ruiz leave the courthouse was invalid and should be overturned. He said that was necessary because a federal appeals court in April overturned a key Virginia immigration case that the judge and prosecutors had cited in Dugan's case.
In the Virginia case, an immigrant who was in the country illegally was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents and later escaped. He was recaptured and indicted on a charge of obstructing a pending immigration proceeding.
The federal appeals court found that the ICE action did not constitute a "pending proceeding," as is required under the federal obstruction law.
Dugan's attorneys argue that she should not have been charged because there was no "pending proceeding" against the immigrant in her courtroom being sought by ICE agents, only a warrant filed for his arrest. The filing of a warrant does not constitute a "proceeding" under the law, Dugan's attorneys argued.
Prosecutors countered that the facts in the Virginia case are different and don't apply to Dugan's. They also argued that other cases support Dugan's conviction.
Adelman said the attempted arrest of Flores-Ruiz did count as a "pending proceeding," in part because it was a planned and targeted operation rather than an arrest resulting from a random encounter.
"Defendant argues that ICE was acting as a law enforcement agency here," Adelman wrote. "But this ignores the fact that, unlike, say, the FBI, ICE can issue its own warrants and adjudicate and effectuate a removal, as it did with Flores-Ruiz, without the involvement of a court. This makes a difference."
Dugan faces 5 years in prison, but will likely get probation
Dugan, 67, faces up to five years in prison after a jury convicted her on Dec. 19, but she is unlikely to be sentenced to time behind bars. Federal sentencing guidelines generally call for probation for defendants like her, who have no criminal history and are convicted of a nonviolent crime.
Dugan resigned from her position as a Milwaukee County circuit judge two weeks after her conviction amid threats of impeachment from Republican state lawmakers. She had been a judge for nine years.
The Trump administration brought the case against Dugan as the president pressed ahead with his sweeping immigration crackdown. Trump's administration and his allies branded Dugan as an activist judge, while Dugan's attorneys said she was being unfairly targeted and argued, unsuccessfully, that she was immune from being charged because she was a judge.
Dugan's case marked the first time that a state judge in Wisconsin went to trial on charges of obstructing immigration agents. She was acquitted of concealing an individual to prevent arrest, a misdemeanor.
Dugan helped an immigrant wanted by ICE agents
On April 18, 2025, immigration officers went to the Milwaukee County courthouse after learning Flores-Ruiz had reentered the country illegally and was scheduled to appear before Dugan for a hearing in a state battery case.
Dugan confronted agents outside her courtroom and directed them to the chief judge's office because she told them their administrative warrant wasn't sufficient grounds to arrest Flores-Ruiz.
After the agents left, she led Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a private jury door. Agents spotted Flores-Ruiz in the corridor, followed him outside and arrested him after a foot chase. A week later, FBI agents arrested Dugan in the courthouse, leading her outside in handcuffs.
Flores-Ruiz was deported in November.
pbs.org/newshour/politics/ju…
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Politicians who are only that eventually become unattractive. This is the core except:
"Biden’s struggles with communication surely flowed in part from his age — read “Original Sin” by Jake Tapper and Alex Thompson to see how his staff shielded him from the public as his condition deteriorated — but they may also reflect that he was an imperfect vessel for the positions he felt compelled to take. The cradle Catholic ambivalently supporting abortion rights. The author of the 1994 crime bill as a champion of racial justice. The Democrat who won the nomination precisely because he was perceived as more centrist and moderate, the not-Bernie candidate who could beat Trump, while also pledging to deliver “one of the most progressive administrations in American history.”Is it that Biden communicated poorly or that he didn’t quite believe it all himself?"
Jun 16
Saying this in 2023 (long before the debate) was my "original sin." Not because I was wrong, but because saying it out loud was considered treasonous and a betrayal. Satisfying, however, to read that historians agree. via @CarlosNYT
"Now she [Jill Biden] wonders if she should have engaged with the news cycle more aggressively."
“He did not just fail to tout his achievements; he seldom even tried,” Michael Kazin, a historian at Georgetown, complains.
*Biden’s “lack of a declarative, coherent message largely ceded to his opponents the upper hand in defining his education legacy,” writes Natalia Mehlman Petrzela of the New School.
nytimes.com/2026/06/16/opini…
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This may turn out to be a good thing if it does indeed end the "nonpartisan" -- i.e., embedded Democrats -- civil service. This was another of the "sounds good but has terrible unanticipated consequences" ideas of the early progressives. Led directly to the creation of a permanent class of pro-government employees -- and why not, since their paychecks depended on continued government activism -- that could and has, as we have seen with Trump, slow down or actually prevent the imposition of policies that did not align with their policy preferences or paycheck protection philosophies. The notion that government employees could be unionized should have ended the fantasy of a "non-partisan" civil service; maybe this litigation will finally kill it off.
Jun 17
The US Federal Circuit has granted a rare initial en banc hearing for an extremely important case: 2 career immigration judges are challenging their firing under “Article II” without cause & in defiance of Civil Service protections—Trump's attempt to trash nonpartisan civil service.
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storage.courtlistener.com/re…
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the notion that politicians, especially EU politicians, are capable of making this calculation is laughable
AI innovation or protecting people? The EU chooses....both.
Recent updates make EU's AI rules more workable, helping EU companies compete.
The EU also doesn’t allow AI to be used in ways that could harm safety and rights or sexually objectify people.
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boy is this right. can't possibly align with the crazy Ds and can't possibly align with the fickle and way-too-frequently unprincipled Rs. which is why I am officially an I; there is no other home available.
I have proudly been a political independent since January 2005.
But I have never felt as politically homeless as I do now.
As @MarkHalperin would say, I'm sure I speak for tens of millions.
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nothing he says here was not known the first day after the news broke. but TT affirmatively chose to try to salvage what turned out to be a bad decision by bluffing their way out of the obvious consequences. and now they have to live with the obvious consequences of the decision to tell the rest of their peers that we are completely bought into the new money is king climate in college football, whatever it means for relations with our conference peers or what messages it sends to athletes. these guys had already shown that they would try to buy their way into relevance, and then then put an exclamation point on that position. the only proper response is to continually let them know that we all think they are dirtbag hypocrites with no principals other than win at any cost. that's a position, but when you take it you live with it.
Brendan Sorsby is filing a motion to dismiss his case against the NCAA with prejudice
Texas Tech told Sorsby that in spite of the injunction, he would not be allowed to play this season for Red Raiders
Cody Campbell told @KLBKNews that TTU had to make best decision for school
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joe sims retweeted
Jun 17
How do they not feel embarrassment, constantly claiming they can end all the world's problems with some small fraction of the amount of money they spend every single year?
Jun 16
With $300 billion, we could end homelessness, fund cancer research for 40 years, and give every child free pre-K for over 7 years. Instead, Trump is sending it to Iran. This is not America First. Not even close.
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Iran War One was in June 2025.
Iran War Two was in February 2026. It could have been the last and final war. That’s no longer the case.
Unless Iran changes and becomes a normal nation, Iran War Three is inevitable.
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Jun 17
The paragraph that swallows all the other paragraphs of the MOU appears to be #8, which postpones specifics of the removal/destruction of all enriched uranium by 60 days. Everything else boils down to: Iran can export oil and will not molest the Strait.
The other provisions are contingent upon that future agreement. It is, in a phrase, a cease-fire while the parties negotiate for a minimum of 60 days while oil and other trade through the Strait resumes (and presumably while Israel, UAE and our Gulf allies harden their infrastructure and the U.S. conducts intense BDA.)
The editors of @WSJ were prescient yesterday when they wrote:
“A strong nuclear deal isn’t hard to define: Zero uranium enrichment and plutonium reprocessing, no stockpile of enriched uranium, all relevant nuclear facilities, centrifuges and manufacturing sites dismantled, complete disclosure and unrestricted inspections. Iran’s attestation that it doesn’t seek the bomb is meaningless. It has always said that—and done the opposite. A good deal has to remove capabilities.
A promise now to find a solution for the enriched uranium over 60 days means little, unless it specifically commits Iran to removing, diluting or destroying the entire stockpile on a reasonable timetable. Merely disposing of the ‘highly enriched uranium’ doesn’t work when enrichment even to the low-seeming 3.67% is already 70% of the way to weapons-grade.”
The MOU leaves open the fate of the 3.67% stockpile and says nothing about (1) inspections and dismantlement of Pickaxe Mountain and (2) missiles and drones. That’s all still on the table.
The announcement and signing ceremony bring to mind Dr. Kissinger’s “peace is at hand” statement on October 26, 1972, a declaration that was followed by President Nixon’s order for the “Christmas Bombings” two months later.
The post-“peace is at hand” talks to end the war in Vietnam broke down December 13, 1972. About 50 days after “peace was at hand,” the Christmas Bombings began on December 18 and lasted for two weeks. (741 B-52 sorties were dispatched, dropping 20,000 tons of bombs on Hanoi and Haiphong, damaging 80 percent of the electricity supply grid and killing, by Hanoi count, over 1,600 civilians. The United States lost 15 of its B-52s and 11 other aircraft during the attacks.)
The North Vietnamese quickly agreed to resume the talks and signed the final Paris Peace Treaty.
Don’t be surprised by a replay of this sequence but without a final resolution. In this period, the U.S. should be surging every defensive capability it can to our allies while our Gulf allies continue construction of alternative means of oil export.
Crude oil is around $76.5 a barrel at this time so the markets see short term relief and medium term uncertainty. The MOU is neither a disaster nor a breakthrough. It’s a more formal pause.
Jun 17
From @business (h/t “News Items” for link: substack.news-items.com) the MOU:
Below is the text of the 14-point draft memorandum, as seen by Bloomberg News.
1. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States, together with their allies in the current war, declare upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding an immediate and permanent end to the war on all fronts, including Lebanon, and undertake that from now on they will not launch any hostile action against each other, and will refrain from the threat or use of force against each other. The final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article and the remaining Articles.
2. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to respect each other's sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to refrain from interfering in each other's internal affairs.
3. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States undertake to negotiate and reach a final agreement within a maximum period of 60 days, extendable by mutual consent.
4. Immediately upon the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, the United States Lift the naval blockade and prevent any interference or obstruction against the Islamic Republic of Iran, and restore traffic within a maximum of 30 days to its full capacity; the traffic of ships shall be proportional to the pre-war volume of traffic on the part of the Islamic Republic of Iran. The United States also undertakes to withdraw its forces from the surrounding areas within 30 days after the final agreement.
5. Upon signing this Memorandum of Understanding, the Islamic Republic of Iran will immediately take steps to ensure that the movement of merchant ships from the Persian Gulf to the Sea of Oman and vice versa is resumed within 30 days to the pre-war volume, taking into account the need for the removal of technical obstacles and the neutralization of mines by Iran.
6. The United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to create a comprehensive plan agreed upon by both parties for the rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, While ensuring financing of at least $300 billion. The implementation mechanism of this plan, as part of the final agreement, will be formulated within 60 days.
7. The United States commits to ending, on a schedule to be agreed upon as part of the final agreement, all types of sanctions currently facing the Islamic Republic of Iran, including resolutions of the United Nations Security Council and the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and all unilateral U.S. sanctions, both primary and secondary.
8. The Islamic Republic of Iran reiterates that it will never produce nuclear weapons. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States have agreed that the fate of enriched material and the fate of all other mutually agreed nuclear-related issues, including Iran's nuclear needs, will be adequately addressed in a final agreement; the final agreement will confirm the provisions of this Article.
9. The Islamic Republic of Iran and the United States agree that, pending a final agreement, they will maintain the status quo: Iran will maintain the status quo on its nuclear program, and the United States will not impose new sanctions on Iran or strengthen its forces in the region.
10. United States undertakes that immediately after the signing of this Memorandum of Understanding, and until the date of the lifting of sanctions, the United States Treasury Department will issue waivers for exports of Iranian crude oil, petrochemical products and their derivatives, and all related services, including banking, insurance, transportation, and the like. 1/
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Harvesting just one kidney from 20% of America’s politicians would give a new kidney to EVERY SINGLE PERSON currently on the transplant waiting list.
If Elon Musk paid my ultra-millionaire wealth tax, we could pay for child care for all three and four year olds in America.
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This is so silly. Does any sentient human expect Vindman to win a Senate race? More likely to be charged with treason.
"But surely no one in the Republican high command thought they would be trailing or tied in 10 critical Senate races at this stage. That sound you hear is a five-alarm fire bell at GOP HQ."
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Typically stupid comment by Warren. I was personally involved in 15-20 matters where some staff wanted to sue and the decision makers said no, and I’m just one lawyer. Happens all the time. variety.com/2026/film/news/t…
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joe sims retweeted
Jun 15
Yeah, Trump is making a mockery of the White House.
Biden Christmas 👇
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Jun 16
Holy Cross president (and former law professor) Vincent Rougeau says Constitution “has passed its sell-by date.” americamagazine.org/short-ta… Seems to me that he has passed his.
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This is utterly ridiculous. So Israel is supposed to sit around and let terrorists shoot rockets at it without shooting back, just so Trump’s imaginary win over Iran does not collapse?
Jun 16
WATCH: Trump: "Without the United States there would be no Israel, without me, there would be no Israel ... I've had a great relationship with Bibi, but now Bibi has to be more responsible with respect to Lebanon ...
I'm not happy with the way Israel has handled themselves with Lebanon and Hezbollah."
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RT @elissa_hachem: Vance is talking about the Regime as if he is conducting a transaction in a corporate environment assigning them KPI’s a…
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This is unbelievable.
Jun 16
Trump: I suggested to Israel that Syria should deal with Hezbollah; I think they would do a better job.
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joe sims retweeted
Jun 16
“The United States undertakes, together with its regional partners, to create a comprehensive plan agreed upon by both parties for the rehabilitation and economic development of the Islamic Republic of Iran, While ensuring financing of at least $300 billion.”
If true this would be utterly disastrous
Jun 16
If this is accurate it’s a complete disaster.
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joe sims retweeted
Jun 16
Here is the failure that unites Obama and Trump, the blind spot neither administration will name: Mahdism, a religious belief that Iran must set the stage for the return of the Twelfth Imam, who disappeared from the planet as a child, but will return. The Revolutionary Guard promotes ideological zeal over competence. Devout believers in a militaristic Mahdism control Iran’s three pillars of power—its militias, its missiles, and its nuclear program. These are men for whom the destruction of Israel is not policy but prerequisite, a barrier to be removed so the Twelfth Imam may return. This is not opinion. It is the presuppositional foundation on which the regime operates.
You cannot deter an actor who may welcome the fire he is supposed to fear.
ewerickson.substack.com/p/a-…
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