The White House and its new helipad and the ballroom, right, under construction, are pictured on the South Lawn, as seen from the Washington Monument, August 23, 2026, in Washington.

The Roberts Court: Poised to Bless the Trump Ballroom

by James D. Zirin August 24, 2026August 24, 2026

Roberts allows construction to continue until the court considers the case. Translation: The disastrous, Congress-skirting monstrosity will get built.

Signs Of Spine: Republican senators are beginning to show an ounce of resistance to President Trump and his loyalist Department of Justice. Here, acting U.S. Attorney General Todd Blanche arrives to meet with Senate Republicans at the U.S. Capitol on May 21, 2026 in Washington.

Law and Justice

Todd Blanche’s Hobson’s Choice

by James D. Zirin June 2, 2026June 2, 2026

Go along with Trump’s most corrupt schemes, like the settlement slush fund, or become attorney general. Republican U.S. senators, finally showing some spine, are unlikely to let him do both.

Trump and Todd Blanche obsess over James Comey’s seashells while using Orwellian language to sanitize real violence in the Iran war.

Politics

Trump and Blanche’s Orwellian Language and How Much of Washington Echoes It

by James North May 15, 2026May 15, 2026

Ask James Comey how they’ve managed to hype his seashells while downplaying real killing.

Shell Shock: Former FBI Director James Comey has been indicted again for posting a photo showing seashells arranged to form the numbers “86” and “47.” Here, Comey speaks during a Senate Intelligence Committee hearing on Capitol Hill, June 8, 2017, in Washington.

Law and Justice

James Comey Is Insufferable. The Trump Charges Against Him Are Absurd

by James D. Zirin May 13, 2026May 13, 2026

The former FBI director has been indicted for a threat spelled with seashells. Why this lawfare will falter.

Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Hannah Dugan leaves the federal courthouse after a hearing in Milwaukee on Thursday, May 15, 2025.

Law and Justice

Trump DOJ’s Prosecution of a Wisconsin Judge Is a Travesty

by James D. Zirin December 31, 2025December 30, 2025

As federal agents sought to arrest a Mexican national during a state court hearing, Judge Dugan let him use an exit usually reserved for jurors, and the DOJ literally made a federal case out of it. Her conviction should be set aside.