January 12, 2026

Debunking Trump’s Bullsh*t Legal Arguments for Invading Venezuela

1 hour 49 minutes

Leah, Kate, and Melissa preview January’s major SCOTUS cases, including disputes over trans kids' participation in team sports, a concealed-carry ban in Hawaii, and Trump’s attempt to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook. The hosts are then joined by Georgetown Law Professor Marty Lederman to break down the administration’s flimsy legal case for the regime-change operation in Venezuela, as well as the Court’s shadow docket ruling on the federalization and deployment of the National Guard in Chicago. Finally, some news: the horrific murder of Renee Good in Minneapolis, the Court’s opinion in an important habeas case, and an unhinged tweet from Trump’s Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights.

Favorite things:

Leah: Jan Crawford’s attack on SCOTUS “corruption” narrative was its own substantive-free narrative, Chris Geidner (Law Dork); The Year America Broke Open, Sherrilyn Ifill (Sherrilyn’s Newsletter); State v. Johnson (Wyoming Supreme Court); Heated Rivalry by Rachel Reid and on HBO Max (Game Changers series); Rally for America's Workforce: PAWA to the People on Wednesday, 1/14/26 at 12:00pm at Upper Senate Park in DC

Kate: Audition, Katie Kitamura; A Marriage at Sea: A True Story of Love, Obsession, and Shipwreck, Sophie Elmhirst; The Wager: A Tale of Shipwreck, Mutiny and Murder, David Grann; The Power Broker: Robert Moses and the Fall of New York, Robert Caro; FOTP Steve Vladeck’s Senate Judiciary Committee testimony

Melissa: The Heir Apparent, Rebecca Armitage; Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow, Gabrielle Zevin; Ziwe’s interview with Vince Staples

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2026!

3/6/26 – San Francisco

3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Buy Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

Get tickets for STRICT SCRUTINY LIVE – The Bad Decisions Tour 2025!

3/6/26 – San Francisco

3/7/26 – Los Angeles

Learn more: http://crooked.com/events

Order your copy of Leah's book, Lawless: How the Supreme Court Runs on Conservative Grievance, Fringe Theories, and Bad Vibes

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