In a stunning twist that shocked absolutely no one not living in a Mar-a-Lago basement, a federal judge has told America First Legal to take their Freedom of Information Act cosplay and shove it. Judge Trevor McFadden, apparently not having attended the same “law school” as AFL’s Stephen Miller (which was apparently just a converted wing of the Trump Tower mailroom), ruled that the Judicial Conference and Administrative Office are not, in fact, secret executive agencies hiding under the judiciary’s robes.
This legal dumpster fire was started by Miller’s crack team of constitutional scholars who argued that courts should FOIA-disclose their Democratic lawmaker communications – because apparently when you’re obsessed with transparency, you only want to shine the light on people who disagree with you. The request came predated the current administration, but the lawsuit was filed during Trump’s second term, proving once again that when conservatives lose, they just keep litigating like it’s a Twitter feud.
The brilliance of Miller’s legal theory was that these judicial entities are “executive agencies overseen by the president, not the courts” – which, coming from the administration that keeps calling the judiciary a “deep state swamp,” is like a pyromaniac complaining about secondhand smoke. Chief Justice John Roberts, named as defendant in his capacity as Judicial Conference head, must be thrilled about being sued by the same people who keep calling him a RINO while simultaneously demanding he answer to Trump.
McFadden’s ruling was basically the judicial equivalent of “Sir, this is a Wendy’s” – explaining that FOIA was never intended to cover judicial branch entities, and that nothing about these offices suggests the president should supervise them. This comes as devastating news to Trump allies who apparently believe the Constitution is a choose-your-own-adventure novel where the president gets to fire anyone who disagrees with him.
Meanwhile, Fix the Court’s Gabe Roth, bless his heart, suggested Congress could actually pass laws to increase judicial transparency instead of having right-wing groups file frivolous lawsuits. Radical idea! Though knowing Congress these days, they’d probably just pass a law requiring judges to tweet their grocery lists while simultaneously banning TikTok.
The real question is: when will America First Legal realize that “America First” doesn’t mean “America Only Files Lawsuits When They Lose”?
Armchair patriot. Believes in the free market, cold beer, and that there’s always a guy named George behind every CNN segment.
Former remote-throwing champion turned #1 couch commentator on liberal panic in the media. Born in Texas (or so his mug says), he earned a degree in Fake Newsology & Beer Philosophy from YouTube University.
