Note: Norman Eisen is on vacation. Joshua Kolb, senior counsel and manager of rapid legal response at Democracy Defenders Action, is writing in his stead this week.
It’s been a summer of profound discontent for Donald Trump. As his poll numbers keep dwindling and he flounders in his war of choice in Iran, he continues to suffer a series of bodyblows in the courts, hampering his attempts to break the law, weaponize his power to punish the innocent, and use the government as a personal piggybank. Every step of the way, Democracy Defenders Fund and Action — supported by you, our dear Contrarians — has been meeting him and delivering defeat after defeat. Now, staggering from the shellacking, Trump is trying to resuscitate many of these cases. But he will meet the same fate.
Perhaps the most embarrassing flop has been right in Trump’s backyard, where the Reflecting Pool fiasco continues. We at Democracy Defenders Fund, along with our co-counsel Washington Litigation Group and Steptoe LLC, represent Davey Hearn, the decorated Olympian who was falsely blamed for damage at the Reflecting Pool. The Department of Justice charged Davey with a felony, threatening him with jail for doing nothing wrong. The case was finally dismissed last week, after Jeanine Pirro admitted they didn’t have evidence to support the charges and that the damage to the pool was because of contractor failure — a contractor selected by the Trump administration without the normal competitive bidding process.
But even after the case was dismissed, Trump and his acolytes, including Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, have continued to bash our client and promote the false narrative that vandalism, rather than shoddy construction work, is to blame for the mess. And this week, the Wall Street Journal reported that the Department of Justice is looking into potentially bringing new charges against Davey. So, on Thursday night, we filed our latest brief, further demonstrating why the court needs to dismiss these charges with prejudice. If the case is dismissed without prejudice, as the government wants, that leaves open the possibility that the government could bring this case back, even after its damning admissions. As we said in our brief, “The record in this case demonstrates a substantial and specific risk that, if the indictment is dismissed without prejudice, Mr. Hearn will face renewed charges, however meritless, driven by political pressure rather than the evidence.”
That’s why Norm Eisen and I, along with our colleagues representing Davey, will be back in court in Washington, D.C., on September 4 fighting to make sure this case is closed for good.
This tussle comes on the heels of two other seminal victories that we, with our partners, secured against Trump at the Supreme Court this term: his unconstitutional attempt to outlaw birthright citizenship and his illegal endeavor to fire Lisa Cook from the Federal Reserve Board of Governors.
Trump’s effort to unconstitutionally rewrite the 14th Amendment by fiat and eradicate our nation’s bedrock principle of birthright citizenship was one of the central missions of his administration. He signed an executive order purporting to outlaw birthright citizenship on day one of his second term. But, just minutes later, we were in court with our wonderful colleagues to defend this essential constitutional protection. We immediately secured an injunction to prevent the order from going into effect, and after a winding road, with Trump fighting vigorously for this cruel and unlawful policy, we argued the case before the Supreme Court — and won. The court affirmed that the Constitution’s Citizenship Clause puts “the question of citizenship ‘once and forever [to] rest.’”
But, failing to take the hint, Trump has come back with another EO targeting birthright citizenship. And within moments, we went right back to court to stop that dead in its tracks and ensure that the protections currently in place — which the Supreme Court just affirmed — continue to protect all our clients and babies born in the United States.
And finally, after our second Supreme Court victory against Donald Trump this term, in which the court ruled that Trump could not peremptorily fire Cook, a letter from the White House last week indicated that the president was “considering” trying to remove her from her role again. As Norm said in a statement with our co-counsel representing Cook, Abbe Lowell: “These allegations are as baseless now as they were a year ago when President Trump tried to remove Governor Cook and interfere with the independence of the Federal Reserve. No matter what President Trump tries to do next, this much is clear under the facts and Supreme Court precedent — there is no valid cause for removing Governor Cook. As we did before, we will challenge this latest pretext and preserve her position and the historic role of the Fed.”
All told, this paints a picture of a flailing president, unable to accept defeat, making futile attempts to revive his dead darlings. But his losses, which aren’t just limited to these three cases, continue to pile up. And no matter how often he tries to come back, with your support, we will be there to stop him. Your paid subscriptions help us fight these battles, Contrarians, and they also fund the all the great journalism at the Contrarian, which you can see for yourself in this roundup of the week’s best coverage.
Elections & What Comes Next
How Democrats Win in 2026 and Beyond
Jennifer Rubin laid out our generational opportunity to reset politics. “When Democrats don’t mince words, and instead underscore realities such as ‘big corporations get massive tax breaks and then turn around and lay off American workers,’ voters take them seriously.”
Congress Needs a Succession Plan
“Congress does not reflect the country it serves,” wrote Daniella Ballou-Aares, her opening argument for a slate of reforms as necessary for Democrats on the Hill as for Republicans. “The practical path forward is clear: adopt chair term limits, establish a retirement standard, and support strong candidates from outside traditional political circles.”
To Save American Democracy, GTFO (Get the Feds Out)
Kim Rogers and Eric Ming wrote on how to protect voting in the face of Trump’s attacks on election integrity: minimize the federal presence at the polls. “Nearly 10,000 officials run our elections across 50 states and thousands of local jurisdictions. There’s no single lever to pull, no single office to pressure, and no single database to hack. That’s the whole point.”
How Progressive Economic Policy Can Win Over Voters and the Future of Tariff Refunds
On the podcast this week, economists Jared Bernstein and Devesh Kodnani talked about affordability, the cost-of-living crisis, and how progressive Democrats can build policy momentum. “I think you do need to zoom out and say there are fundamental imbalances around [the] economy. There are broken markets in our economy.”
Bigotry, Xenophobia, Cowardice
He Wants to “Round Up Every Muslim” — and Oversee the Oil Industry In Texas
Tim Dickinson went deep on Bo French, the Lone Star MAGA candidate running for statewide office who openly believes in the “great replacement theory,” has called Native Americans “third world savages,” and is now being backed by Gov. Greg Abbott and the rest of the Texas GOP. “Bo French is MAGA, unmasked.”
We Can Thank Brett Kavanagh for Trump’s Latest Attacks on Birthright Citizenship
Leah Litman wrote on Trump’s two new executive orders to restrict citizenship, which, she argued, were made possible by the Supreme Court’s loophole-inviting rejection the first time around. “The latest executive orders are a transparent effort to take the existing, extremely narrow exceptions to birthright citizenship and broaden them beyond recognition.
The Red Scare Returns to America
Katherine Stewart put the Trump administration’s favorite new scapegoat script in its all-too-obvious historical context. “Republicans are using the Red Scare tactics now for the same reasons as before. It’s not about promoting democratic debate; it’s about distracting from the current administration’s corruption and incompetence, criminalizing dissent, and laying the groundwork for authoritarianism.”
The Tea ft. Tara Setmayer, CEO
April Ryan was joined on The Tea this week by Tara Setmayer, CEO of The Seneca Project, to discuss the reigniting of Republican Islamophobic attacks and Trump’s great escape — from the journalists he was attempting to use as a human shield. “It is out of control that a president would use the people that he calls ‘the enemy of the people’ as decoys.”
Healthcare Threats
Todd Blanche’s Wishful Thinking on Abortion
Jennifer Weiss-Wolf advised voters that attacks on reproductive rights are going to keep happening under the newly-confirmed AG — however quietly he may try to get away with them. “The Trump administration would prefer abortion rights stay out of the public discourse…. Voters need to stay savvy, aware, and disciplined; this is an administration that thrives on distraction.”
Politicized ‘Common Sense’ Hyperbole Puts the Public’s Health at Risk
Dr. Julie Sweetland wrote on Trump’s new executive order on childhood vaccines, and how the administration’s rhetorical sense-washing has created new headwinds for true public health policy. “No amount of “clean living” can insulate a family from extreme heat, an unsafe food supply, or preventable disease outbreaks in shared spaces.”
Fighting Back
America Needs More Allies Who Look Like Cheryl Reeve
Carron J. Phillips shone a light on Minnesota Lynx coach Cheryl Reeve, an all-too-rare leading voice in sports on issues from Black Lives Matter to the trans community. “Though examples of white women championing causes that do not benefit them are rare, history demonstrates that when they do support minority causes, the potential for meaningful change increases significantly.”
The Contrarian Covers the Democracy Movement
This week, we saw protests against ICE barbarity and more in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Maryland, Missouri, California, Wisconsin, and elsewhere. Get help organizing from Indivisible, find protests in your area at mobilize.us, and send us your protest photos at submit@contrariannews.org.
Say No to Flock, Stand Up for Big Bend
In our latest Contrarian Calls to Action, we featured ways to defend yourself against the rise of the Big-Brother-like surveillance of Flock and similar tech companies, whose cameras are used by police departments nationwide; how to Stand Up for Science and show your support for Dr. Anthony Fauci; an opportunity to register eligible high schoolers to vote; and how to say no to the Big Bend border wall.
Culture, Cartoons, & Fun Stuff
This week, our cartoonists took on home and Cabinet “improvements” (A Botched Installation, Nick Anderson; On the Precipice, Michael de Adder; The Caterer Leaves, Michael de Adder), murky waters (Deflecting Pool, Nick Anderson), butterfly effects, and more (Tom the Dancing Bug, Ruben Bolling).
Two Ships: Jamestown 1619, Plymouth 1620, and the Struggle for the Soul of America
Abraham Kenmore spoke with historian David S. Reynolds about his new book on two fateful American arrivals and their place in centuries of debate about what American society should be. “For many people today, the Mayflower is just a bunch of quaint pilgrims in hats…. No, they were the radicals of their era.”
Democracy Defenders: Please continue ensuring that he remains a loser! And thank you.
This is what happens when you have a crime lord who's too stupid to think up any new crimes: He has to recycle the old ones. It gets boring, doesn't it? No wonder his Reality TV show got cancelled!
(YAWN) I AM ANTIFA!