@kyledcheney.bsky.social
Senior legal affairs reporter at POLITICO with a focus on democracy, the balance of power and the clash between the Trump administration and courts.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJudge Kelly underscores that the White House didn't even bother to provide any evidence for the claim that the banned outlets jeopardized national security with their reporting — or that Trump himself had even made such a determination. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialBREAKING: Judge Kelly has renewed his orderer ending President Trump's ban on POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW from the White House, calling it a violation of press freedom based on a flimsy "national security" pretext.
w/ @joshgerstein
www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJUST IN: Judge Reyes has barred the Trump administration from cutting down additional trees on the East Potomac golf course through at least Oct. 26.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJUST IN: SCOTUS has granted cert in a case that could define what it means to provide "material support" to terrorists.
The case involves a man who was hired to cook meals for a terrorist camp in Nigeria and fled, he says, once he realized their true aims. www.ca4.uscourts.gov/opinions/242...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialHAPPENING NOW: Judge Reyes is furious. She has repeatedly told the government to inform her before any major demolition work was done on the golf course. The abrupt removal of 500 trees, without notice, "has cost the government all of its credibility" in this case.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJudge Rochon was supposed to hold a hearing Tuesday but decided to rule immediately, after the administration declined to defend the legality of the ads.
Her order bars the White House and other Trump admin agencies from resuming the campaign.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialBREAKING: A judge has ordered an immediate halt to the taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ads, including any slated to run tonight. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialNEW: DOJ declined to defend the legality of the $20m taxpayer-funded pro-Trump ad campaign funded by Border Patrol dollars — but suggested it would end today.
Common Cause says that assurance is not enough and note DOJ ignored the judge's inquiry about Trump's role.
www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialAnd an OMB official says the $20m for the ads came from funds originally appropriated under the Working Families Tax Cut Act. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialA senior CBP official says the agency has spent roughly $19 million on the recently aired pro-Trump ads but that they will be ending Sunday.
The official says the ads are for “recruitment” and knows of “no plans” for future buys. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialA federal judge has sanctioned a DOJ attorney for accusing an ICE detainee's attorney of misconduct without any evidence.
The punishment: Two hours of legal training about the "special role of US attorneys" and the need to support claims with evidence.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialThe official lifting of sanctionson Russian diesel through April 2027. ofac.treasury.gov/media/937216...
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialThe United States is now importing fuel from Russia, per President Trump.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialAll good! It’s a cardinal sin for legal journalists to post about rulings without a link, with only a few exceptions.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialThere are only so many characters, just click the link 😎
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialYou can click the link to the ruling and see that it’s Jesus Bernal in California, a federal district court judge.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJUST UNSEALED: A judge ruled this week that the first Trump admin's "Remain in Mexico" policy illegally subjected thousands of people – many with meritorious asylum claims — to horrifically dangerous and violent conditions and deprived them of access to attorneys.
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialNEW: DOJ repeatedly argued that Trump himself had invoked national security to ban media outlets from the WH. But Judge Kelly noted that Trump had been making a different case in his public comments and it was hard to reconcile.
w/ @joshgerstein
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJUST IN: Judge Kelly appears inclined to grant longer-term block on President Trump's ban of POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW from the White House. He seems most bothered by the lack of due process preceding the ban but is also weighing First Amendment concerns. Details TK
@kyledcheney.bsky.socialJUST IN: A judge has blocked ICE's policy "to stop collecting biometric information" from detainees that they need to pursue lawful status, like visas for human trafficking survivors and other crime victims.
