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The Department of Justice on Friday filed a notice of appeal to the Fourth Circuit challenging a Nov. 24 district court order that dismissed the prosecutions against Letitia James and James Comey on the ground that Lindsey Halligan’s appointment as Interim U.S. Attorney was unlawful. (Notice.) (Politico.) See a previous Roundup for background.
The U.S. military struck dozens of sites in Syria on Friday in retaliation for a Dec. 13 ambush on a military base in Palmyra, Syria that killed two American soldiers and their interpreter. Officials told the Washington Post that the strikes targeted Islamic State infrastructure and weapons storage locations. (WaPo.)
The U.S. Coast Guard on Saturday attempted to seize the Bella 1, a sanctioned oil tanker linked to Venezuela, which did not submit to being boarded and continued traveling northeast into the Atlantic Ocean. The Coast Guard successfully boarded another tanker, the Centuries, earlier that day. (NYT.)
The DOJ on Sunday reinstated an online image from the Jeffrey Epstein files that includes photographs of President Trump after temporarily removing it on Saturday. The department stated that the image had been removed for further review “for potential further action to protect victims.” (X.) At least thirteen of the thousands of Epstein-related files released on Friday had been removed without explanation by Saturday, according to the BBC. (BBC.) Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche stated during an interview on Sunday that the DOJ is “not redacting information around President Trump.” (NYT.)
Reps. Ro Khanna and Thomas Massie said on Sunday that they plan to pursue a contempt resolution against Attorney General Pam Bondi over the Justice Department’s failure to fully release Epstein-related records by the statutory deadline. (WaPo.)
CBS News on Sunday removed a planned “60 Minutes” segment on Venezuelan men deported to a prison in El Salvador. In a statement, CBS said that the segment “needed additional reporting” and would air at a later date. The correspondent who reported the planned segment, Sharyn Alfonsi, called the decision “political” in a private note to CBS colleagues. (NYT.)
Hannah Natanson and Meryl Kornfield chronicled the transformation of the federal bureaucracy in 2025. (WaPo.)
Peter Baker argued that “Trump’s reinvention of the presidency has altered the balance of power in Washington in profound ways that may endure long after he departs the scene.” (NYT.)
Andrew McCarthy contended that Trump has no authority to classify fentanyl as a weapon of mass destruction. (National Review.)
Ed Whelan reviewed President Trump’s 2025 judicial appointments, noting fewer appellate judges taking senior status than expected, a slower pace of appellate nominations compared with Trump’s first term and Biden’s first year, and generally high-quality appellate picks, with the exception of Third Circuit judge Emil Bove. (National Review.)
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. The Court set argument for January 21, 2026, and both sides filed supplemental briefs on November 19.
Trump v. Illinois: The government filed an emergency application on October 17 requesting the Supreme Court stay a district court order barring the deployment of the National Guard to Illinois. Justice Barrett formally set a deadline of October 20 for a response to the application. Illinois and the City of Chicago submitted a response on October 20. President Trump filed a reply on October 21. On October 29, Justice Barrett requested supplemental briefs to be filed by November 10. President Trump, as well as Illinois and the City of Chicago, both filed supplemental letter briefs on November 10 and supplemental letter replies on November 17.