In the Media
(NYT) (September 19): Draft Bill Would Authorize Trump to Kill People He Deems Narco-Terrorists
Jack comments on draft legislation that would grant the president broad authorization to wage war against drug cartels designated as terrorists, noting that “this is an open-ended war authorization against an untold number of countries, organizations and persons that the president could deem within its scope.”
Not Another Politics Podcast (September 12): Should Unelected Judges Be Deciding National Policy?
Jack discusses Trump v. Casa and unpacks the rise and fall of universal injunctions.
(Mother Jones) (September 8): Project 2026: Trump’s Plan to Rig the Next Election
Ari Berman quotes Bob’s statement on Executive Functions that Trump’s executive order claiming authority over independent agencies “lays fresh groundwork for an attack on the outcome of elections that involves claims of compromised or errant voting machinery.”
(NYT) (September 2): Trump’s Most Fateful Teardown is Happening Now
Bob comments on the necessity of showing the connection between the norm-breaking nature of Trump’s presidency and governing failure.
(NYT) (August 28): Trump has Dropped an ‘Atomic Bomb’ on the Department of Justice
David French quotes Jack’s remarks from the “Liberalism in the 21st Century” conference.
Josh Gerstein and Kyle Cheney quote Jack’s post on X, “The firing of Lisa Cook ‘for cause’ may be pretextual, but it is not obviously illegal.”
Stay Tuned with Preet Bharara (August 22): FBI Raids John Bolton’s Home: What it Means
Bob and Jack speak with Preet Bharara about the norms surrounding executive power and law enforcement, covering Trump’s use of the Justice Department, the risks of politicized prosecutions, the limits of constitutional safeguards, and the dangers of unchecked emergency powers.
(The Guardian) (August 21): The Umpire who Picked a Side: John Roberts and the Death of Rule of Law in America
Ed Pilkington quotes Bob’s statement in his Executive Functions post noting that “there is yet no final resolution” from the Supreme Court on key Trump-era provocations.
(The UnPopulist) (August 20): Why Courts Can’t Save America From this President
Jack speaks on a panel entitled “Liberalism at a Time of Constitutional Crisis: Taking Stock of U.S. Democracy” with Francis Fukuyama, Ruth Marcus, and Benjamin Wittes. Wittes analyzes Jack’s remarks regarding the politicization of the DOJ on Lawfare.
The Bully’s Pulpit Podcast (August 8): When the President Comes for the Lawyers
Bob explains how executive orders targeting law firms revealed vulnerabilities inherent to Big Law and created a chilling effect on the legal profession.
(WAPO) (July 24): It’s time for Trump to fire Pam Bondi
Jason Willick quotes Bob’s statement in his recent post about the Jeffrey Epstein matter that the “absolute control over the department [Trump] has wanted and has now achieved in Trump 2.0 cuts in various ways, not all helpful to a president in conditions of scandal.”
(The National Journal) (July 16): Q&A with Bob Bauer
Bob discusses the administration’s executive power arguments and its rejection of ethical norms.
(NYT) (July 3): Trump Claims Sweeping Power to Nullify Laws, Letters on TikTok Ban Show
Following the release of letters from DOJ to companies related to the non-enforcement of the TikTok ban, Jack said about the ban that “[r]ecent past presidents have been aggressive in exercising law enforcement discretion, but they haven’t suspended the operation of a law entirely or immunized its violation prospectively.”
(The Economist) (July 3): The Supreme Court keeps helping Donald Trump
Jack says that interim orders at the Supreme Court now constitute “the merits docket for presidential power.”
(NYT) (June 23): Was Trump’s Iran Attack Illegal? Presidential War Powers, Explained.
The Times quotes Jack’s statement in his Executive Functions post that he does not know whether the June 21 U.S. attack on Iran was constitutional “because the constitutional law of war powers is inscrutable.”
(NYT) (June 2): A Fiery Brief Fueled by Conservatives Helped Put Trump’s Tariffs in Peril
The Times quotes Jack’s claim in his recent Executive Functions post that the legal issues underlying Trump’s IEEPA tariffs are “hard and close.”
(NYT) (April 30): Trump’s Maximalist Assertion of Presidential Power Tests the Rule of Law
The Times quotes Jack’s statement that Trump 2.0 “is massively different” from Trump 1.0. Jack said about the courts, “The administration hasn’t crushed them yet, but they are trying to.” He added, “I definitely think this situation is a much more dangerous threat to the rule of law than the last time.”
Interesting Times Podcast (April 17): What if There’s No Way to Stop Trump’s Approach to Power?
Jack speaks with Ross Douthat about how the Trump administration is working to increase executive power—both within the executive branch and with respect to the other branches—and what checks might constrain those efforts.
(NYT) (April 4): How Trump Has Tuned Out a Key Justice Dept. Legal Office
Jack says that cutting out the Office of Legal Counsel is part of Trump’s broader strategy “designed to ensure that the president can do whatever he wants, without any internal executive branch legal constraints on his will.”
(New Yorker) (April 4): Has Trump’s Legal Strategy Backfired?
The New Yorker quotes Jack’s claim in his Executive Functions post that the Trump administration’s “open disrespect toward and aggressive political attacks on lower court judges will surely have a negative impact on the way that some and maybe most Supreme Court Justices approach the legal issues coming to the Court.”
The Economist (March 26): Big law’s capitulation to Donald Trump is a business failure
Bob comments on the ramifications of Paul Weiss’s agreement with President Trump for law firm hiring.
American Compass Podcast (March 14): Jack Goldsmith on the Unitary Executive
Jack speaks with Oren Cass about the Trump administration’s theories of executive power, how they fit into the Supreme Court’s executive power jurisprudence, and the checks that are currently operating (or not) to constrain the administration.
(NYT) (March 10): Aftershocks of Supreme Court’s Immunity Ruling Echo in New Trump Cases
Thew Times features Jack’s draft article on the meaning and likely consequences of the Supreme Court’s decision in Trump v. United States. See the draft article here: The Presidency After Trump v. United States.
(NYT) (March 4): ‘Trump Is the Real Thing’
Thomas Edsall in his op-ed cites Jack’s post on the executive power implications of Trump v. United States. See the Executive Functions post here.
All In With Chris Hayes Podcast (Feb. 25)
Bob discusses the aberrant lawyering within the Trump administration.
Nonzero Podcast (Feb. 25): Trump 2.0 and the Law
Jack talks with Robert Wright to break down the Trump administration’s aggressive legal moves and norm violations and explains their historical and political context.
(WAPO) (Feb. 9): Trump White House says it can talk to Justice Dept. on criminal cases
Bob comments on the Trump administration’s communications with the DOJ.
(NYT)(Feb. 6): The Trump Crisis Deepens
David French in his op-ed discusses Bob and Jack’s The Trump Executive Orders as “Radical Constitutionalism.”
Bob worries that Trump thinks he has “gotten around norms and ethics of the DOJ by picking ‘my guys.’”
(The New Yorker) (Feb. 3): How Donald Trump Is Transforming Executive Power
Jack speaks with Isaac Chotiner about the legality of the Trump executive orders.
The Dispatch Podcast (Jan. 30): The Great and Powerful President
Jack joins Sarah Isgur and David French to discuss unitary executive theory.
Jack on greatness in presidents and the likelihood of Donald Trump succeeding in his second term.
MSNBC (Jan. 16): Cabinet nominees questioned over allegiance to Trump in confirmation hearings. WATCH
Bob talks with Katy Tur about the significance of Justice Department appointees with demonstrated loyalty to the president.
The Atlantic (Jan. 9): Bob Bauer: Trump Is Poised to Turn the DOJ Into His Personal Law Firm
Bob assesses the impact of Trump loyalists atop the Justice Department.
MSNBC (Dec. 24): Bob Bauer and Jack Goldsmith join Jen Psaki WATCH // LISTEN TO PODCAST
Bob and Jack discuss Trump's plans to dismantle government and push the limits of presidential power in a second term.
Jack in dialogue with Kate Shaw and David French on key legal questions likely to arise in the second Trump administration.