Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar

Tom “T.M.” Wolf

@tomtmwolf.bsky.social

255 followers 406 following 180 posts

Director of Democracy Initiatives at the Brennan Center. Founder/Organizer of the Historians Council on the Constitution. By night, I write. My novel SOUND (FSG/Faber) and more: tomtmwolf.com.

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

David Noll 's avatar David Noll @david.noll.org
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The one silver lining in Trump v. US is that the majority opinion is so sloppy and imprecise that it will be simple to limit. But to do that, we need a new court. Until then, lower courts should aggressively adopt the narrowest readings possible.

3 replies 5 reposts 17 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

David_j_roth's avatar David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social
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Sending a bunch of based realtors and off-duty cops into the Capitol building to murder the speaker of the house, in my official capacity of President of the United States.

12 replies 230 reposts 1201 likes

Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social
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A shoutout as always to my colleagues on the Historians Council on the Constitution, who have helped equip us and many others to respond to this moment with their committed scholarship

www.brennancenter.org/historians-c...

1 replies 0 reposts 2 likes

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Nathan Kalmoe (he/him)'s avatar Nathan Kalmoe (he/him) @nathankalmoe.bsky.social
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'We'll kill you if you try to stop us' is terrorism.

6 replies 109 reposts 377 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

b-boy bouiebaisse's avatar b-boy bouiebaisse @jbouie.bsky.social
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i think we should see the Trump v. United States ruling as a group of Republican apparatchiks taking their opportunity to vindicate Nixon and write the unitary executive into the Constitution. www.nytimes.com/2024/07/02/o...

44 replies 306 reposts 1146 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Adam Rothman's avatar Adam Rothman @adamrothman.bsky.social
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"Today’s Supreme Court has just recreated one of the most despicable cases in English history, a case that signified the apex of absolutism in British history and was repudiated by a revolution for the damage it caused."

5 replies 85 reposts 246 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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If you don’t know @earlymodjustice.bsky.social, her research that eventually convinced Pence about the impropriety of ‘alternate’ electors theory on January 6, 2021. She was a lead authors on the brief that destroyed the originalist case for pres immunity. Here’s her take on today’s decision

1 replies 13 reposts 26 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

David Noll 's avatar David Noll @david.noll.org
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Saying someone is presumptively immune from prosecution then barring the introduction of evidence of their mental state is a neat trick.

9 replies 54 reposts 327 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Stephen West's avatar Stephen West @stephenwest.bsky.social
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"In Trump v. United States, Donald Trump’s defenders on the Supreme Court repeat one of the most basic principles of American constitutional government: 'The president is not above the law.' They then proceed to obliterate it." - @adamserwer.bsky.social

0 replies 2 reposts 6 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Pwnallthethings's avatar Pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings.bsky.social
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Not that anyone particularly cares about original meaning, but think folks should still say it out loud: For all of the things that are unclear in the founding documents and unknowabilities of what the Founders intended, "the President can kill anyone or commit a coup" was *never* legally arguable

19 replies 233 reposts 1172 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Chris Hayes's avatar Chris Hayes @chrislhayes.bsky.social
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Things are bad but all the more reason for optimism of the will and rejection of doomerism and nihilism. Only way out is through.

99 replies 293 reposts 1475 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Adam Serwer's avatar Adam Serwer @adamserwer.bsky.social
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The Supreme Court’s ruling putting presidents above the law must be understood not simply as a grant of immunity for past crimes, but an enthusiastic endorsement of those he will commit if given the chance. www.theatlantic.com/politics/arc...

25 replies 523 reposts 1424 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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Before SCOTUS' ruling, here's our historian's brief which argues there is no basis in founding era history for the idea that presidents should enjoy immunity. In fact, the founders believed that presidents should be accountable under the rule of law. www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

2 replies 41 reposts 75 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Joanne Freeman's avatar Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social
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Welp.
I think we’ll hear about presidential immunity from SCOTUS today.

The fact that this is an open question is stunningly wrong-headed.

You certainly can’t claim the founders wanted it.
Or rather, you can.
But you’d be wrong.
Here’s a brief explaining why.

www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

3 replies 35 reposts 102 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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Yes I'm fairly convinced that the anti-monarchical American Revolution wasn't so wild about allowing presidents to act like kings!

1 replies 5 reposts 15 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social
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Top comment on Migos’ “Handsome and Wealthy”

0 replies 0 reposts 0 likes

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Rachel Shelden's avatar Rachel Shelden @rachelshelden.bsky.social
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Kate Shaw’s good piece on Loper Bright highlights the cynicism of #SCOTUS repeatedly invoking democracy & “history and tradition” to build its own power.

The history of the Court (at least from the era most of the justices care about) is of a very weak judiciary. 🗃️

www.nytimes.com/2024/06/29/o...

1 replies 17 reposts 29 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Dan Hon's avatar Dan Hon @danhon.com
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Ok fine that's what the FDA says but what do the COURTS reckon an acceptable pasteurization method should be just in case you know I want to save money at my milk processing plant

3 replies 27 reposts 119 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

James Fallows Tierney's avatar James Fallows Tierney @jamesftierney.bsky.social
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Maybe my class next year will be titled “historical administrative law"

2 replies 3 reposts 41 likes

Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social
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Kagan with the sick burn amid the ashes of Chevron...

0 replies 0 reposts 2 likes

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Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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on the very day the Supreme Court's conservatives said 'we know best' and put themselves in charge of complicated agency decisions one of the geniuses confused nitrous oxide and nitrogen oxide. So they had to have a do over. Not exactly an auspicious start.

www.forbes.com/sites/alison...

43 replies 566 reposts 1442 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Joanne Freeman's avatar Joanne Freeman @jbf1755.bsky.social
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NOT OVER. Never give in, folks. Never.

3 replies 14 reposts 94 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

David_j_roth's avatar David_j_roth @davidjroth.bsky.social
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I don't want some egghead bureaucrat telling me whether there's poison in the water I drink. Ideally I'd want that decided by a 29yo judge who went to a "biblical law school" and does not believe dinosaurs existed, and then to have that decision reaffirmed six years later by the Supreme Court.

73 replies 1483 reposts 5164 likes

Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social
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SCOTUS just eliminated Chevron in its continued assault on the government's power to solve problems.

And it's butchered history (again). If you're wondering just how, click on over to Gautham Rao.

Then read our brief that anticipated a lot of this: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

1 replies 9 reposts 21 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Nicholas Grossman's avatar Nicholas Grossman @nicholasgrossman.bsky.social
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SCOTUS Power grabs Major Questions Doctrine: If it's a Big Deal, the Court gets extra power, and what's a Big Deal is up to the Court Civil Rights Act: Renewal was Constitutional before, but Justices feel like the law isn't helpful now Chevron: Experts can't make expert decisions, only judges can

7 replies 90 reposts 302 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Stephen West's avatar Stephen West @stephenwest.bsky.social
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This week promises a wave of SCOTUS opinions – some of them sure to invoke “history and tradition” while mangling the facts and ignoring the work of actual historians. In anticipation of which, I'll reshare the image below, and point out that with a little photoshopping it will make a timely meme!

0 replies 5 reposts 15 likes

Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social
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SCOTUS just eliminated Chevron in its continued assault on the government's power to solve problems.

And it's butchered history (again). If you're wondering just how, click on over to Gautham Rao.

Then read our brief that anticipated a lot of this: www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

1 replies 9 reposts 21 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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"agencies have no special competence in resolving statutory ambiguities. Courts do." ❌ "The Framers anticipated that courts would often confront statutory ambiguities and expected that courts would resolve them by exercising independent legal judgment." ❌ This is a fictional rendering of history.

3 replies 13 reposts 72 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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"Nothing in the New Deal era or before it thus resembled the deference rule the Court would begin applying decades later to all varieties of agency interpretations of statutes." ❌

0 replies 1 reposts 5 likes

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Liz Smith-Pryor's avatar Liz Smith-Pryor @lizsp.bsky.social
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As a former lawyer now academic historian the Supreme Court’s understanding and abuse of history drives me absolutely up the wall. They should be ashamed of themselves but I don’t think that’s a feeling known to the majority on the Court. My hot take of the day.

0 replies 6 reposts 6 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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Gorsuch's concurrence is a truly amateurish bit of English legal history that has a few crafty citations to Blackstone, Maitland et al but overlooks the ENTIRE fiscal-military revolution and tax state, which as Ron Burgundy put it, was kind of a big deal

1 replies 2 reposts 5 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Gautham FC's avatar Gautham FC @gauthamrao.bsky.social
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Chevron famously said, "Judges are not experts in the field, and are not part of either political branch of the Government." Today, Roberts and the other chaos agents on the court say: "Judges are the only experts in any field, and can dictate policy to either political branch of the Gov't"

15 replies 260 reposts 901 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Kevin Morris's avatar Kevin Morris @kevintmorris.bsky.social
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Eleven years ago, SCOTUS gutted the Voting Rights Act in #ShelbyCounty, arguing that "things have changed" since the 1960s. Today, we know that things have changed since this ruling: namely, that the turnout gap exploded in formerly-covered places 1/n
www.brennancenter.org/our-work/res...

4 replies 191 reposts 417 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Holly Brewer's avatar Holly Brewer @earlymodjustice.bsky.social
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My oped w/ Laura Edwards“In Rahimi, the Court allowed for gun regulations for those under restraining orders for domestic violence. But it retained the myopic history-and-traditions test, which requires historical research to justify every gun regulation.”

washingtonmonthly.com/2024/06/23/t...

3 replies 28 reposts 77 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Adam Rothman's avatar Adam Rothman @adamrothman.bsky.social
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Two outstanding historians, Holly Brewer and Laura Edwards, argue that "the regulation of violence—including gun violence and domestic violence—is part of the history and traditions of this nation" AND that the "history and traditions" test is flawed. washingtonmonthly.com/2024/06/23/t...

6 replies 42 reposts 133 likes

Reposted by Tom “T.M.” Wolf

Anna O Law's avatar Anna O Law @unlawfulentries.bsky.social
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If you're looking to history to provide one definitive answer as to the meaning of the Constitution or how to do statutory interpretation, historical analysis is not, and never will be "One neat trick."

0 replies 3 reposts 9 likes

Tom “T.M.” Wolf's avatar Tom “T.M.” Wolf @tomtmwolf.bsky.social
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Historians Council members mobilized to respond to SCOTUS’s Rahimi opinion. Key insights from Laura Edwards and Jennifer Tucker 🧵⬇️

1 replies 2 reposts 1 likes