Lee Kovarsky
@kovarsky.bsky.social
13K followers 710 following 820 posts
Professor of Law, University of Texas. Habeas corpus, death penalty, some other law stuff, sentient space robots, kids who don't listen to me, and hot sauce. BIO: https://law.utexas.edu/faculty/lee-kovarsky/
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kovarsky.bsky.social
I really think a lot of folks who are christian unnecessarily extend charity to this sort of discourse and have a hard time understanding just how batshit ridiculous it sounds to the rest of us. like there's no segment of jewish people that is like "hmm that's interesting and challenging."
maxkennerly.bsky.social
Ross Douthat treats this guy like they're having some deep conversation about the relationship of Christianity and the government, but the dude is a garden-variety dull, shallow, hateful, worthless bigot with nothing interesting to say, just endless riffs on "God hates everything/everyone I do."
Douthat: So that’s the first purpose of your political project, for America to stop making God angry.

Wilson: Yes. And most people think that when they are confronted with that project, they think that we want to get our tentacles into everything and start controlling everything. I actually think we need limited government. The government should be significantly smaller than it is, and we need to curtail a lot of the busybodyness that we have. That’s why I would call myself a theocratic libertarian. There is a true libertarian element in this, and yet, the transcendent grounding for what we’re talking about means that we acknowledge the authority of God.

We have racked up quite a body count of awful crimes, and I believe the only way out is for us to repent and turn to Christ. This would be things like no more Pride parades, no more drag queen story hours, no more abortion on demand, no more legalized same-sex unions — all of that, done. That’s the repentance part.
kovarsky.bsky.social
You seem insufferable, so I’ll mute you and never think about you ever again. Thanks! Enjoy your weekend, I’ll enjoy mine. I’ll be with my kids having a great time at a concert!
kovarsky.bsky.social
cool thanks i take it that means you dont have a wristband
kovarsky.bsky.social
if anyone has an extra wristband for austin city limits tomorrow (sat), LMK
kovarsky.bsky.social
Paul Ingrassia - and I mean this in the most disparaging way possible - is not a serious person, will not be suing anyone, and had no business near official power of any sort.
annabower.bsky.social
Paul Ingrassia is now threatening to sue Politico:

“This vexatious political attack masquerading as "journalism" is defamatory and will be addressed in forthcoming litigation.”
October 10, 2025
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Re: Statement on behalf of my client Paul Ingrassia regarding last night's story, Key Trump nominee accused of sexual harassment, POLITICO (Oct. 9, 2025), https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/09/ingrassia-trump-harassment-dhs-
00596545
POLITICO's hit piece about Mr. Ingrassia is calculated to cause maximum harm to his promising career — and torpedo his nomination for Special Counsel. This vexatious political attack masquerading as "journalism" is defamatory and will be addressed in forthcoming litigation.
To be 100% crystal clear, so that there is zero room for doubt: Mr. Ingrassia did not engage in any wrongdoing in connection with the matters reported. As POLITICO itself reported: "The woman, whom POLITICO is not naming, said in a statement that she 'never felt uncomfortable' about Ingrassia's behavior and said she had never made a complaint." This is one of the only accurate parts of POLITICO's otherwise fantastical and fictional partisan fairy tale.
Accordingly, one last time, I call upon POLITICO to publicly apologize and issue a full retraction of this disgraceful and partisan sludge.
/s/ Edward Andrew Paltzik
taylordykema.com
kovarsky.bsky.social
Minor point: Olivia Horton was my RA who helped revise the second edition of the habeas casebook; almost certainly knows more about obscure habeas procedure than anyone in the courthouse.
rparloff.bsky.social
Plaintiffs attorneys at counsel table are Andrew Rossman, Simon Sandoval-Moshenberg, Sascha Rand, Jonathan Cooper, & Olivia Horton. All are from the Quinn Emanuel firm excerpt Sandoval-Moshenberg, who's an immigration specialist who was Abrego's first lawyer after his 2025 arrest.
/11
kovarsky.bsky.social
FWIW I think this is more about the self selection of judges than the fraction of the law school community that would resist your framing.
kovarsky.bsky.social
Honestly this is incoherent and stupid. Nobody is surrendering, all of us who are actual stakeholders are trying to resist it however we can. I have no idea what you are talking about keyboard hero.
kovarsky.bsky.social
Unfortunately I teach at a school that will not ignore what they sign
kovarsky.bsky.social
Yeah but he’s really rich and once attended a university so
kovarsky.bsky.social
Like come on man. “Just try to hide the stuff about abolishing departments if a professor says mean things about something trump likes.”
kovarsky.bsky.social
and at the executives discretion. It’s an extortionist “offer” to formalize an agreement to be extorted - with the requirements worded in ways that no academic with a single ounce of self respect could defend.

What is a “conservative idea”? What is “belittling”? Abolish a whole department?

/e
kovarsky.bsky.social
In addition to what Mike says the op ed is deeply dishonest insofar as it omits the most troubling parts of the pact, which require universities to “abolish” departments that “belittle” “conservative ideas,” or face a clawback of all funding - with all of this determined unreviewably 1/
mbkplus.bsky.social
This is an op-ed from one of the framers of the Trump administration’s compact with universities. Regardless of whether one believes the litany of accusations the beginning, the idea of the compact and its mechanics are completely bad faith: [1/2]
Opinion | Trump’s ‘Compact’ With Universities Is Badly Needed
www.nytimes.com
kovarsky.bsky.social
I do think he most fully formed legal ideas are and have been around executive power and look unfortunately he got his test run
kovarsky.bsky.social
*confront THE FACT that
kovarsky.bsky.social
One thing people miss (that Linc captures) is that it’s not clear at all that Roberts is trying to help Trump in some crass political way.

It’s instead the endless sanitizing of T’s conduct so that Roberts doesn’t have to confront that his normative view of the presidency is a governance disaster.
kovarsky.bsky.social
Not one requiring her to rent the property
kovarsky.bsky.social
Gotcha - yes also perfectly selective in addition to being obtuse
kovarsky.bsky.social
I don’t think it is a misstatement though. There’s no ownership agreement even alleged. Paragraph 6 jumps from an origination agreement term not to enter into a coownership agreement that requires her to rent to paragraph 7 which just says she rented - not pursuant to ownership agreement tho.
kovarsky.bsky.social
There is no allegation that she was ever part of some agreement containing such an arrangement. Paragraph 7 just says that she herself rented it out at some point. (No proof of ownership agreement to do so even alleged, this is fucking embarrassing.)
kovarsky.bsky.social
Had a chance to read this. Paragraph 6 alleges that her origination agreement barred her from entering a timeshare or co-ownership agreement that required her to rent or to turn possession over to someone else.

1/