Sam Levine

I went to Missouri, where voters are furious over a GOP-attempt to gerrymander maps. "“Everybody wants to motherfuck the secretary of state,” said Bernie Ryan, a 64-year-old electrician in St Louis. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New: US prosecutors refuse to say if they secretly obtained Don Lemon’s phone records www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Senator Ron Wyden and Rep. Pramila Jayapal today asked a government watchdog to investigate the use of administrative summonses. Story: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New: The Trump administration secretly obtained 6 months of phone records for a journalist without a search warrant or any judicial oversight, raising alarm over an obscure legal tool it is deploying www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New: A week after Donald Trump’s speech on elections, DHS still hasn’t provided with a list of suspected non-citizens or explained methodology of how it went about flagging them www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Join @lexmcmenamin.com and @samrlevine.bsky.social for an AMA today at 2pm ET on Reddit's r/politics about the Prairieland case, where Texas anti-ICE protesters were sentenced to 450 years in prison.

Texas anti-ICE protesters convicted of terrorism charges sentenced to at least 50 years in prison www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

“They’re both cherry picking a particular year, they’re cherry picking a particular method and they’re ignoring this long term more concerning trend in the data.”

Breaking news: A jury convicted people who protested outside an ICE facility in Texas of providing material support to terrorists, and other charges in a closely watched case in which the gov't argued the protesters were "Antifa". www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

A dispatch from a tiny Fort Worth courtroom ina hugely important case in which the Trump administration is prosecuting a group of anti-ICE protesters on terror charges, claiming they are "antifa" www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

Judge declares a mistrial during jury selection in closely-watched Texas case charging ICE protesters as terrorists after lawyer wears shirt with civil rights movement images www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

I’ve just confirmed that, after a WH official informed the gathered secretaries of state from all over the US that Bondi, Gabbard, and Noem would attend their conference today and answer questions, ALL of them were no shows.

Outrage as Pam Bondi requests Minnesota voter file amid ICE surge www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

The White House posted a digitally altered image of a woman who was arrested in Minneapolis, a Guardian analysis has found www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

A must read story by my colleague Ed Pilkington on the children and families affected by Trump’s cuts to cancer research www.theguardian.com/us-news/ng-i...

Former top ethics official at DOJ says department at one point was considering whether it could accept the funds from private law firms and then temporarily hire the firm attorneys at their current salaries www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026...

New: Inside the Trump administration’s effort to prosecute a group of protesters in Texas with terrorism charges. The case is more complex than the administration has let on, according to a Guardian review of court records and interviews with family www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Good morning from Milwaukee. The trial of Judge Hannah Dugan is scheduled to kick off today at 9 a.m. Central Time. Look out for coverage throughout the week on All Rise News. www.allrisenews.com/p/hannah-dug...

New: Donald Trump may have issued a mass pardon for voter fraud when he pardoned Rudy Giuliani and others this month www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I went to Moberly, Missouri to understand how an under-the-radar grassroots effort is on the brink of blocking a new gerrymandered congressional map from going into effect www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

New: Former FHFA and FHFAOIG officials raise questions about Bill Pulte’s criminal referral of Lisa Cook. One called it “bizarre.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

New: An immigration judge ordered a New York waiter released on bond. ICE is refusing to release him. How the Trump admin is taking advantage of a rarely used rule to keep people detained when judges grant them bond www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

When Mike Gordon showed up for work on June 27, he was having one of the best weeks of his career. By the end of the day, he was fired. I profiled Gordon, a career prosecutor who was fired for taking on high profile Jan 6 cases. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Our analysis of detailed arrest and deportation data hows just how drastically the ICE immigration enforcement apparatus has transformed under Trump. With @wcraft.bsky.social & Andrew Witherspoon.

New: As Trump wages an attack on the legal system, lawyers are setting up their own firms to defend those targeted by the administration www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Scoop: DOJ officials asked some attorneys in the civil rights division to reconsider their decision to leave amid a mass exodus of lawyers www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Scoop: All of the managers in DOJ's voting section have been remove and political appointees have told attorneys to dismiss all active cases without explanation www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

I interviewed @allisonjriggs.bsky.social about efforts to overturn her election to the NC supreme court. “This is not just a North Carolina problem. This is an existential threat to democracy," she said. www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

NEW on @npr.org: A DOGE staffer working in the Social Security Administration has been pushing questionable claims about noncitizens voting — apparently using data that court records suggest DOGE shouldn't have. More on the claims and the latest in DOGE access concerns:

New: Nearly two dozen law firms have quietly scrubbed deferences to diversity on their webpages, and some have revised their descriptions of pro-bono work to remove areas that don't align with Trump administration goals www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Both houses of the Mississippi legislature voted overwhelmingly to create an in-person early voting option, but a procedural block prevented it from being sent to Gov. Tate Reeves, killing the bill for this session. apnews.com/us-news/tate...

North Carolina judges back Republican colleague in bid to toss votes and overturn election www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

More than 80 ex-staffers of top law firm express ‘deep outrage’ over Trump deal www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

SCOTUS hears a dispute this morning over Louisiana’s congressional map with huge stakes for how race is used in redistricting www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

“I will tell you that judges are human, just like everybody else. We have emotions, we have fears, we have concerns for our family members and for our own safety,” said Judge Esther Salas. “It does impact a judicial officer.” www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025...

Sec. Noem sent a letter to the National Association of Secretaries of State *on Friday* that states would be able to "continue to receive products and services offered by CISA security advisors and through the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center."

North Carolina denies Republican request to disqualify 60,000 votes in state supreme court race www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

NC state board of election is beginning hearing on request to throw out 60,000 votes in state supreme court contest that was decided by around 700 votes www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

Most recent Murdoch succession drama was reportedly set off by an episode of the HBO show "Succession" www.nytimes.com/2024/12/09/b...

U.S. district judge Beryl Howell rejected a pro se request sent by Rudy Giuilani asking for an extension to respond to civil contempt request. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Lawyers for Ruby Freeman and Shaye Moss say that Rudy Giuliani should be held in civil contempt by default because he never responded to their motion. Background: www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

What is a presidential pardon and how has it been used in the US? www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024...

The last recount for an Iowa legislative race wrapped up yesterday and confirmed Democratic State Rep Monica Kurth defeated Nathan Ramker by 45 votes in HD-98 (part of Davenport). Republicans will have a 67-33 Iowa House majority, up from 64-36 for the past two years. #ialegis

JUST IN: A Minnesota recount confirms that Democrat Dan Wolgamott won reelection. This was last district to be recounted. This means the state House will be tied, 67-67. (A GOP win here would have given them the edge.) Unclear what a power-sharing agreement will look like.

Another update (as of 2:23 PM on 11-25) in NC Associate Supreme Court Election Recount: Now up to 70 out of 100 counties reporting their recount (63% of total ballots cast) Riggs (D): -48 change Griffin (R): +21 change Recount ends Wednesday Source: s3.amazonaws.com/dl.ncsbe.gov... #ncpol

Great piece by @npr.org's Miles Parks -- will Trump's high turnout win cause Republicans to rethink opposition to voting access? www.npr.org/2024/11/18/n...

NEWS: North Carolina's GOP legislature overrode the Dem governor's veto of a bill that will force sheriffs to do ICE's bidding. It retaliates against the wave of Black sheriffs who won on promises to stop helping ICE in 2018. @psfrench.bsky.social previewed the bill last year for Bolts: