The Week Ahead

 

The Week Ahead: We started the week with questions about the incomplete release of the Epstein Files and whether Jack Smith’s behind-closed-doors testimony on the Hill would be made public. There was also interesting news about the aggressive approach Senator Mark Kelly’s lawyer took with Pete Hegseth in a letter demanding that the Secretary communicate with him about the investigation. To date, Hegseth had been using it for political talking points in the media. All of these issues will continue to be live in the coming week.

A Conviction, Two Orders, and A Lawsuit: We reviewed the conviction of Judge Hannah Dugan in Wisconsin and the likely issues on appeal. Then there were a pair of interesting judicial rulings. In D.C., Judge Boasberg certified a class action for people the Trump administration deported to El Salvador’s notorious CECOT prison. In Florida, Judge Aileen Cannon entered an order that will permit the government to drag out the delay before Volume II of Jack Smith’s special counsel report is released to at least February, despite an 11th Circuit ruling that was critical of her for not ruling in the matter earlier. Special counsel reports are routinely released. And finally, there was news of a lawsuit over Trump’s renaming of the Kennedy Center.

Live with Norm Eisen and Joyce Vance: One of the lawyers behind the lawsuit challenging Trump’s ability to add his own name to the Kennedy Center, Norm Eisen, joined us to explain the lawsuit and how they’ve threaded the needle on the sticky issue of who has the right to sue.

Which Side Is DOJ On: The Epstein Files: We tracked the most interesting information released by DOJ. If you’ve been out of the loop for the holiday, this is a piece you’ll definitely want to take a look at. DOJ is behaving more like Donald Trump’s lawyer than the people’s—and certainly not the victims’/survivors’ lawyer—in this matter... 

Five Questions with Criminal Justice Reform Leader Adam Gelb: This week, Donald Trump took credit for the drop in crime in the country, claiming it was the result of closing the southern border. In this very timely interview, CCJ’s Adam Gelb discusses the organization’s report, which fills in the four-year gap since the feds stopped publishing detailed arrest data and shows that the arrest rate has fallen by 25% since 2019, with a 50% drop in drug arrests. In other words, crime is down despite the decrease in arrests. We discuss what data-driven criminal justice policy could look like, and Adam offers some important insights as we head into a midterm election cycle where Trump is going to try to take credit for events set in motion by others.

He Looks Like A Witness To Me: Trump’s Christmas Day post “to the many Sleazebags who loved Jeffrey Epstein” on Truth Social was more than just the sort of predictable trash this president. As I read through it, it struck me that Trump sounds like a witness. While Pam Bondi’s DOJ protects the president like a client, there’s a possibility of congressional hearings or even civil cases down the road. Whether he ever takes the stand or not, Trump clearly knows a lot more about Epstein’s conduct than he’s ever made public.

These are complicated legal times, and it’s easy for the truth to get lost in the chaos. Civil Discourse doesn’t just track today’s headlines—it connects them to the legal and political history that explains why they matter. We won’t forget what’s at stake or let Trump and his allies rewrite the past.

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We’re in this together,

Joyce Vance