Peter M. Shane
@petermshane.bsky.social
Constitutional and admin law prof. Author, Democracy's Chief Executive (U. Cal. 2022). Podcast host @DemChiefExecPod. @Monthly contributor. Corgi-obsessed.
Pinned
Peter M. Shane
@petermshane.bsky.social
· Jul 21
This Is the Presidency John Roberts Has Built
The country is witnessing the creation of an all-powerful institution, and one man is responsible.
www.theatlantic.com
“Trump’s use of executive power is not a distortion of the Roberts Court’s theory of the presidency; it is the Court’s theory of the presidency, brought to life.” My take in The Atlantic. www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archiv...
I once had a client via my law school’s post-conviction legal clinic who asked me to get him “a forthwith.” When I asked for specifics, he told me a buddy of his got out of Danbury with a judicial order that he be released “forthwith.” “I want one of those,” he said. Sane level of understanding.
The president is such a bumbling idiot he thinks tweeting out the word "hereby" a couple times on his white supremacist social media site is the same thing as making an actual law.
The only story here is the one about a mentally diminished, increasingly erratic president who thinks he's a king.
The only story here is the one about a mentally diminished, increasingly erratic president who thinks he's a king.
It should go without saying, but the president has no authority to do this, and anyone reporting the story needs to say as such.
November 28, 2025 at 10:20 PM
I once had a client via my law school’s post-conviction legal clinic who asked me to get him “a forthwith.” When I asked for specifics, he told me a buddy of his got out of Danbury with a judicial order that he be released “forthwith.” “I want one of those,” he said. Sane level of understanding.
Equally to the point, Richard Nixon on a bad day and under the influence of alcohol, was not as deranged as this.
It should go without saying, but the president has no authority to do this, and anyone reporting the story needs to say as such.
November 28, 2025 at 10:12 PM
Equally to the point, Richard Nixon on a bad day and under the influence of alcohol, was not as deranged as this.
Let’s face it. Hegseth won’t give up until he has inadvertently made Kelly the leading presidential contender for 2028.
November 25, 2025 at 2:50 PM
Let’s face it. Hegseth won’t give up until he has inadvertently made Kelly the leading presidential contender for 2028.
“Without prejudice” inconsequential in context because statute of limitations has passed for the acts with which Comey was charged.
BREAKING: Comey case dismissed without prejudice. Halligan invalidly appointed, judge rules. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
November 24, 2025 at 9:41 PM
“Without prejudice” inconsequential in context because statute of limitations has passed for the acts with which Comey was charged.
FBI Director releasing info without authority on eve of 2016 Election say what?
Comey: "I'm grateful the court ended the case against me, which was a prosecution based on malevolence & incompetence... I was inspired by the career people who refused to be part of this travesty. It cost some of them their jobs, but it preserved their integrity, which is beyond price"
November 24, 2025 at 9:20 PM
FBI Director releasing info without authority on eve of 2016 Election say what?
Now that post-breakfast brain has kicked in, I remember that, although The Harder They Come had a long run during my Harvard undergrad years, the movie that ran *forever* was King of Hearts with Alan Bates.
This is a sad note on which to start the week. Central Square Theater ran The Harder They Come for years, as I recall, during my time in college. His voice is unforgettable. Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Icon, Dies at 81 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/a...
Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Icon, Dies at 81
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 1:08 PM
Now that post-breakfast brain has kicked in, I remember that, although The Harder They Come had a long run during my Harvard undergrad years, the movie that ran *forever* was King of Hearts with Alan Bates.
This is a sad note on which to start the week. Central Square Theater ran The Harder They Come for years, as I recall, during my time in college. His voice is unforgettable. Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Icon, Dies at 81 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/a...
Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Icon, Dies at 81
www.nytimes.com
November 24, 2025 at 12:43 PM
This is a sad note on which to start the week. Central Square Theater ran The Harder They Come for years, as I recall, during my time in college. His voice is unforgettable. Jimmy Cliff, Reggae Icon, Dies at 81 www.nytimes.com/2025/11/24/a...
Now, do “Imagine.”
November 22, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Now, do “Imagine.”
These seditious words are from the '24 DoD Manual for Courts-Martial: "It is a defense to any offense that the accused was acting pursuant to orders unless the accused knew the orders to be unlawful or a person of ordinary sense and understanding would have known the orders to be unlawful." (II-136)
November 20, 2025 at 6:53 PM
These seditious words are from the '24 DoD Manual for Courts-Martial: "It is a defense to any offense that the accused was acting pursuant to orders unless the accused knew the orders to be unlawful or a person of ordinary sense and understanding would have known the orders to be unlawful." (II-136)
AFAIK, no law bars the release of files relevant to open law enforcement investigation. It’s a norm DOJ has usually tried to follow but not always, e.g., the release of EPA investigation files that led to the firing of Rita Lavelle. Another norm is not shielding exec branch wrongdoing from Congress.
November 17, 2025 at 8:05 PM
AFAIK, no law bars the release of files relevant to open law enforcement investigation. It’s a norm DOJ has usually tried to follow but not always, e.g., the release of EPA investigation files that led to the firing of Rita Lavelle. Another norm is not shielding exec branch wrongdoing from Congress.
If Trump now supports a House vote to release all Epstein files, why not just release them?
November 17, 2025 at 5:45 AM
If Trump now supports a House vote to release all Epstein files, why not just release them?
Siri, what’s a four-word euphemism for ‘corruption?’”
November 15, 2025 at 10:44 PM
Siri, what’s a four-word euphemism for ‘corruption?’”
I am mystified by the fierceness of Trump's behavior on the Epstein files. So many Trump misdeeds have produced only yawns or disbelief from his base. Sic-cing Pam Bondi on Democrats will only keep the story in the news. Stonewalling just reinforces speculation there is something terrible to hide.
November 14, 2025 at 9:25 PM
I am mystified by the fierceness of Trump's behavior on the Epstein files. So many Trump misdeeds have produced only yawns or disbelief from his base. Sic-cing Pam Bondi on Democrats will only keep the story in the news. Stonewalling just reinforces speculation there is something terrible to hide.
And we thought the snowflakes were in DC
you guys, there are flurries in Brooklyn.
November 11, 2025 at 3:23 PM
And we thought the snowflakes were in DC
If you think it was a Dem victory to prevent a Trump evisceration of the Government Accountability Office, a reminder: The 15-year term of the current head of GAO, the Comptroller General, ends in December. Not holding my breath for any Trump-appointed successor to hold Trump to account.
November 10, 2025 at 11:18 PM
If you think it was a Dem victory to prevent a Trump evisceration of the Government Accountability Office, a reminder: The 15-year term of the current head of GAO, the Comptroller General, ends in December. Not holding my breath for any Trump-appointed successor to hold Trump to account.
When Hakeem Jeffries was asked if Mamdani would be the face of the party, the competent answer would have been, "The Democratic Party has and will continue to have many 'faces.' Our vision for the future will be pluralist, accommodating different policy agendas in different parts of the country."
In competitive primaries around the U.S. next year, candidates will decide the Democratic Party’s direction on a host of policy issues, and ultimately whether it has a center-left or left-wing vision for the future.
Where Democrats Will Duel Next for the Party’s Future
In Michigan, Maine and many other states, primary candidates will decide the party’s direction on a host of policy issues, and ultimately whether it has a center-left or left-wing vision.
nyti.ms
November 9, 2025 at 7:44 PM
When Hakeem Jeffries was asked if Mamdani would be the face of the party, the competent answer would have been, "The Democratic Party has and will continue to have many 'faces.' Our vision for the future will be pluralist, accommodating different policy agendas in different parts of the country."
In @nytimes.com Letters to the Editot:
November 9, 2025 at 1:23 AM
In @nytimes.com Letters to the Editot:
And thus shall “tosser” in American slang mean the opposite of what it means in British slang!
November 7, 2025 at 12:06 AM
And thus shall “tosser” in American slang mean the opposite of what it means in British slang!
Love this!
Our gyro
Sandwich man leaving court
November 7, 2025 at 12:03 AM
Love this!
He suffers from Con Dementia.
If nothing else, the Trump administration is doing wonders to highlight the importance of jury trials.
November 6, 2025 at 11:33 PM
He suffers from Con Dementia.
“Sandwich Man let out his cry:
‘Lettuce stand up or tomato we die!”
‘Lettuce stand up or tomato we die!”
THE BALLAD OF SANDWICH MAN
This is the taLE of Sandwich Man,
Whose aim was straight and true,
Who fought for his home with deli meats
As any man should do.
Border Patrolman Lairmore
Wore armor thick snd strong
When he felt the sting of a whole wheat roll
He shouted, “This is wrong!!
This is the taLE of Sandwich Man,
Whose aim was straight and true,
Who fought for his home with deli meats
As any man should do.
Border Patrolman Lairmore
Wore armor thick snd strong
When he felt the sting of a whole wheat roll
He shouted, “This is wrong!!
November 6, 2025 at 11:30 PM
“Sandwich Man let out his cry:
‘Lettuce stand up or tomato we die!”
‘Lettuce stand up or tomato we die!”
Nope, it was Workday. Or maybe Frederick Taylor and the Gilbreths.
It was me. I ruined the workplace.
Did Men With No Rizz Ruin the Workplace?
November 6, 2025 at 5:46 PM
Nope, it was Workday. Or maybe Frederick Taylor and the Gilbreths.
Brookings has posted a paper by Bob Litan and me on tomorrow's SCOTUS tariff cases. We think challengers have the better case, long-term economic implications are limited, but that these will be important developments in shaping the trajectory of executive power. www.brookings.edu/articles/leg...
Legal and economic aspects of the Supreme Court’s upcoming tariff decisions | Brookings
Peter Shane and Robert Litan explain the legal context of the International Economic Emergency Powers Act ahead of Supreme Court hearings.
www.brookings.edu
November 4, 2025 at 6:59 PM
Brookings has posted a paper by Bob Litan and me on tomorrow's SCOTUS tariff cases. We think challengers have the better case, long-term economic implications are limited, but that these will be important developments in shaping the trajectory of executive power. www.brookings.edu/articles/leg...
The odds Trump knows the difference between Niger and Nigeria are . . .A kidnapping in Niger tests Trump promise to bring all Americans home www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
A kidnapping in Niger tests Trump promise to bring all Americans home
Kevin Rideout, a Christian missionary in Niger, was taken from outside his house in Niamey last month. U.S. officials are scrambling to track him down.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 3, 2025 at 3:17 PM
The odds Trump knows the difference between Niger and Nigeria are . . .A kidnapping in Niger tests Trump promise to bring all Americans home www.washingtonpost.com/world/2025/1...
Tip to the Senate: You have Art. I, Section 5 authority to object to any further extension of the House’s recess and get them back to D.C. Might be a good move!
November 1, 2025 at 11:52 AM
Tip to the Senate: You have Art. I, Section 5 authority to object to any further extension of the House’s recess and get them back to D.C. Might be a good move!