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Attorney General Pam Bondi testified on Wednesday before the House Judiciary Committee regarding the Justice Department’s release of documents pertaining to its investigation of convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. (NYT.) (WSJ.)
Conflicting accounts emerged to justify the Federal Aviation Authority’s temporary shutdown of airspace over El Paso, Texas on Tuesday. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that a military response to an invasion of Mexican drug cartel drones caused the shutdown, while the New York Times reported that the closure arose from federal immigration officials’ use of an anti-drone technology without providing aviation officials time to assess its risks to commercial flights. (NYT.)
Four states led by Democrats filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Wednesday in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois seeking to block the administration from rescinding $600 million in public health funds. (Complaint.) (NYT.)
Judge Carl J. Nichols (D.D.C.) on Monday denied a motion to dismiss a defamation lawsuit filed by electronic voting machine company Smartmatic against Sidney Powell, President Trump’s former lawyer. (Opinion.) The plaintiff alleges Powell spread false information that the company’s voting machines were tampered with during the 2020 presidential election. Eugene Volokh distilled the parties’ legal arguments. (The Volokh Conspiracy.)
Judge Timothy J. Kelly (D.D.C.) on Wednesday preliminarily enjoined the Trump administration from transferring 20 inmates whose death row sentences were commuted by President Biden to the country’s most restrictive prison facility in Colorado. (Opinion.) The New York Times reported that the ruling halted the Trump administration’s effort “to follow through on promises to make the conditions of the men’s incarceration as punishing as possible in response to the show of leniency by Mr. Biden.” (NYT.)
The House of Representatives on Wednesday passed legislation that would require individuals to show proof of U.S. citizenship to vote and would authorize the Department of Homeland Security to seize voter registration data from the states. (NYT.) (WSJ.)
The House of Representatives passed a joint resolution on Wednesday to terminate President Trump’s tariffs on Canada.(Joint Resolution.) (NYT.)
The Pentagon is reportedly preparing to deploy a second aircraft carrier to the Middle East as the U.S. weighs a military attack against Iran. (WSJ.)
Anna Bower, Eric Columbus, and Troy Edwards reported on the Justice Department’s attempts to seek an arrest warrant for former CNN anchor Don Lemon. (Lawfare.) The trio also analyzed prosecutors’ legal arguments against Lemon and eight others who were indicted in connection to a protest at a Minnesota church. (Lawfare.)
Andrew C. McCarthy published the last installment of a five-part series on President Trump’s financial entanglements with the United Arab Emirates. (National Review.)
The Editorial Board of the Washington Post argued that the Justice Department’s “failed attempt to indict Democratic lawmakers for constitutionally protected speech is a new low.” (WaPo.)
Andrew C. McCarthy argued the Justice Department’s attempt to prosecute sitting members of Congress increases the chances that President Trump will be impeached if Democrats retake control of the House after the November midterm elections. (National Review.)
Bill Shipley defended the FBI’s search and seizure of 2020 presidential election ballots inside a Georgia election facility as “an opportunity to take and examine evidence that is being withheld and cannot otherwise be examined without the seizure.” (Shipwreckedcrew.)
Pending Interim Order Applications Involving the U.S. Government in the Supreme Court
Blanche v. Perlmutter: The government filed an emergency application on October 27 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a district court interlocutory injunction that temporarily reinstated Shira Perlmutter to her role as Register of Copyrights while litigation over her removal continues. Chief Justice Roberts formally set a deadline of November 10 for a response to the application. Perlmutter submitted a response on November 10. Blanche submitted a reply on November 12. The Court deferred the application for stay on November 28 pending the Court’s decisions in Trump v. Slaughter and Trump v. Cook.
Trump v. Cook: The government filed an emergency application on September 18 requesting the Supreme Court to stay a preliminary injunction issued by a district court that blocked President Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. Cook filed an opposition to the request on the same day. The Chief Justice formally set a deadline of September 25 for a response to the application. Cook filed a response on September 25. On October 1, the Court deferred action on the stay application pending oral argument in January 2026 and established a supplemental briefing schedule. Additional amicus briefs were filed on October 29. Both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19 and the Court heard oral argument on Jan. 21, 2026.