Taylor Kordsiemon
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tkords.bsky.social
Taylor Kordsiemon
@tkords.bsky.social
370 followers 1.1K following 320 posts
Dad. Lawyering in Utah. Occasional pretend scholar. Movies. Books.

Lawyer Work: https://www.mc2b.com/taylor-kordsiemon
Pretend Scholar Work: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/cf_dev/AbsByAuth.cfm?per_id=3465182
Posts Replies Media Videos
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
annabower.bsky.social
Per NY Times’s Michael Grynbaum on X, this is Sharyn Alfonsi’s email to her “60 Minutes” colleagues in full:
News Team, Thank you for the notes and texts. I apologize for not reaching out earlier. I learned on Saturday that Bari Weiss spiked our story, INSIDE CECOT, which was supposed to air tonight. We (Ori and I) asked for a call to discuss her decision. She did not afford us that courtesy/opportunity. Our story was screened five times and cleared by both CBS attorneys and Standards and Practices. It is factually correct. In my view, pulling it now-after every rigorous internal check has been met is not an editorial decision, it is a political one. We requested responses to questions and/or interviews with DHS, the White House, and the State Department. Government silence is a statement, not a VETO. Their refusal to be interviewed is a tactical maneuver designed to kill the story. If the administration's refusal to participate becomes a valid reason to spike a story, we have effectively handed them a "kill switch" for any reporting they find inconvenient. If the standard for airing a story becomes "the government must agree to be interviewed," then the government effectively gains control over the 60 Minutes broadcast. We go from an investigative powerhouse to a stenographer for the state. These men risked their lives to speak with us. We have a moral and professional obligation to the sources who entrusted us with their stories. Abandoning them now is a betrayal of the most basic tenet of journalism: giving voice to the voiceless. CBS spiked the Jeffrey Wigand interview due to legal concerns, nearly destroying the credibility of this broadcast. It took years to recover from that "low point." By pulling this story to shield an administration, we are repeating that history, but for political optics rather than legal ones. We have been promoting this story on social media for days. Our viewers are expecting it. When it fails to air without a credible explanation, the public will correctly identify this as corporate censorship. We are trading 50 years of "Gold Standard" reputation for a single week of political quiet. I care too much about this broadcast to watch it be dismantled without a fight. Sharyn
December 22, 2025 at 3:37 AM
tkords.bsky.social
I haven’t seen anyone say this yet, but I’m kinda surprised that Keyonte George isn’t being mentioned in the Most Improved conversation.

Last season: 16.8-3.8-5.6 splits on 39% shooting.

This year: 22.9-4-6.8 splits on 44.4% shooting.

#TakeNote
December 16, 2025 at 5:39 AM
tkords.bsky.social
1. When did social media become the essential means to combat the dangerousness of the right?
2. No point in trying to combat the right on a platform rigged against the left.
3. Efficacy aside, I’m not going to participate on a platform when my doing so financially benefits its Nazi owner.
mattyglesias.bsky.social Matthew Yglesias @mattyglesias.bsky.social · 6d
IMO it's hard to combat the dangerousness of the right by participating in a platform where they aren't present.
explaintrade.com Dmitry Grozoubinski @explaintrade.com · 7d
I think the best way to explain the X vs Bluesky preference is whether a person thinks the left is more annoying than the right is dangerous.

The reason so many Noah Smiths end up on the X side of that equation is that while the left annoys them personally, the right mostly endangers other people.
December 16, 2025 at 5:06 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
jerryedwards.bsky.social
I don't know, Aaron. I think we need to take this seriously. In fact, after surveying hundreds of years of history in the past few days, I've written an article assessing the originalist case here:
papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers....
December 16, 2025 at 3:58 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
anthonymkreis.bsky.social
Birthright citizenship under the common law, a thread:

I have done this many times on social media, in print, and in media interviews, but not to be accused of taking others’ not seriously enough, by plainly stating the law and history of birthright citizenship, I’m taking the time here:
December 12, 2025 at 2:28 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
mmasnick.bsky.social
Oh. Cool. Just as the President is using every power he can to suppress dissent and stifle speech, @whitehouse.senate.gov and the @judiciarydems.senate.gov are trying to hand Trump a new tool to suppress speech online.

What a joke.
judiciarydems.senate.gov Senate Judiciary Democrats 🇺🇸 @judiciarydems.senate.gov · 9d
Sen. WHITEHOUSE: We finally are moving to file a bipartisan Section 230 repeal bill. Waiting any longer serves no useful purpose.
December 12, 2025 at 11:37 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
joshchafetz.bsky.social
1/ A few thoughts about @williambaude.bsky.social’s comment in yesterday’s NYT chat that, “It’s amazing how many of our problems today could be solved by a Congress that was willing and able to legislate in response to national problems.” www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/o...
Opinion | At the Supreme Court, Scenes From a Judicial Backlash
www.nytimes.com
December 10, 2025 at 9:44 AM
tkords.bsky.social
I had a hearing in front of Judge Gibson today. She’s one of the best and most thoughtful judges in the state. And I say that even though she denied my motion today.
sltrib.com The Salt Lake Tribune @sltrib.com · 12d
GOP House Majority Leader Casey Snider accused Gibson of ignoring Utah’s Constitution and injecting politics into the process, calling the map she approved "the most gerrymandered and extreme district that the state has ever seen."
December 10, 2025 at 5:22 AM
tkords.bsky.social
This also illustrates just how stupid and shortsighted it was for the NYT to suck up to Trump. Incredible act of self-sabotage.
pbump.com Philip Bump @pbump.com · 12d
Every part of this is bonkers. The intro is bonkers. The transition to his health is bonkers. The mention that other presidents didn't need cognitive exams is bonkers. The claim that this screening test is somehow hard is bonkers. The idea that criticism of him is treason is bonkers. All of it.
There has never been a President that has worked as hard as me! My hours are the longest, and my results are among the best. I’ve stopped Eight Wars, saving many millions of lives in the process, created the Greatest Economy in the History of our Country, brought Business back into the United States at levels never seen before, rebuilt our Military, created the Largest Tax Cuts and Regulation Cuts, EVER, closed our open and very dangerous Southern Border, when previous Administrations were unable to do so, and created an “aura” around the United States of America that has led every Country in the World to respect us more than ever before. In addition to all of that, I go out of my way to do long, thorough, and very boring Medical Examinations at the Great Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, seen and supervised by top doctors, all of whom have given me PERFECT Marks — Some have even said they have never seen such Strong Results. I do these Tests because I owe it to our Country. In addition to the Medical, I have done something that no other President has done, on three separate occasions, the last one being recently, by taking what is known as a Cognitive Examination, something which few people would be able to do very well, including those working at The New York Times, and I ACED all three of them in front of large numbers of doctors and experts, most of whom I do not know. I have been told that few people have been able to “ace” this Examination and, in fact, most do very poorly, which is why many other Presidents have decided not to take it at all. Despite all of this, the time and work involved, The New York Times, and some others, like to pretend that I am “slowing up,” am maybe not as sharp as I once was, or am in poor physical health, knowing that it is not true, and knowing that I work very hard, probably harder than I have ever worked before. I will know when I am “slowing up,” but it’s not now! After all of the work I have done with Medical Exams, Cognitive Exams, and everything else, I actually believe it’s seditious, perhaps even treasonous, for The New York Times, and others, to consistently do FAKE reports in order to libel and demean “THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES.” They are true Enemies of the People, and we should do something about it. They have inaccurately reported on all of my Election Results and, in fact, were forced to apologize on much of what they wrote. The best thing that could happen to this Country would be if The New York Times would cease publication because they are a horrible, biased, and untruthful “source” of information. Thank you for your attention to this matter. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!
December 10, 2025 at 4:35 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
willbunch.bsky.social
It's great that the media, Congress is going all Watergate on one of Trump's many crimes, the 'double-tap' murder of 2 Caribbean sailors

But the reality is that Trump's death cult has killed hundreds of thousands, mostly through senseless USAID cuts

My new column www.inquirer.com/columnists/a...
The Trump regime murders that aren’t on video | Will Bunch Newsletter
Plus, troubled Mount Airy Lodge is a perfect Trump venue.
www.inquirer.com
December 9, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
theophite.bsky.social
it is incredible that legalizing watergate has been the overriding ideological project of the american right for fifty years
December 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
jedshug.bsky.social
Sunstein posted an admirably frank essay yesterday on the Unitary Executive Theory:
How he participated in this elite bipartisan political consensus —
and how he has been persuaded by overwhelming historical evidence that he & other high-ranking lawyers were wrong.
open.substack.com/pub/casssuns...
The Unitary Executive
Notes on how people know things
open.substack.com
December 8, 2025 at 12:19 PM
tkords.bsky.social
Worthwhile thread compiling recent scholarship demonstrating the nonexistence of a good faith debate on birthright citizenship.
evanbernick.bsky.social Evan Bernick, a finite mode with a smol hooman and a lorg floof @evanbernick.bsky.social · 14d
Amplifying the voices of people who tried for an entire year to come up with an “originalist” case against birthright citizenship and failed to persuade anyone who wasn’t already persuaded is not worth it.

Signed, a guy who spent an entire year refuting them
December 7, 2025 at 11:02 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
davejorgenson.bsky.social
The Paul Dano/Quentin Tarantino thing is so funny because everyone is instantly on Paul Dano’s side. He doesn’t even have to respond.
December 6, 2025 at 3:45 AM
tkords.bsky.social
It’s a serious problem that CJ Roberts is currently the Court’s “moderate” swing vote and the animating theme of his entire career has been extinguishing minority voting rights.
December 5, 2025 at 5:03 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
If you see John Roberts in person, be sure to tell him he’s a worse Chief Justice than Roger Taney (pronounced “tawny”). That’s a nerd burn that will hit him where it counts.
December 5, 2025 at 12:23 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
anthonymkreis.bsky.social
Shipwrecked and not using any communications equipment.

This is a crime against humanity. Everyone involved should be prosecuted for murdering stranded civilians in cold blood.

www.cnn.com/2025/12/04/p...
Exclusive: Survivors clinging to capsized boat didn’t radio for backup, admiral overseeing double-tap strike tells lawmakers | CNN Politics
The two men killed as they floated holding onto their capsized boat in a secondary strike against a suspected drug vessel in early September did not appear to have radio or other communications device...
www.cnn.com
December 5, 2025 at 1:03 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
stephenwolf.bsky.social
The Supreme Court just handed Texas Republicans at least 2 more House seats & possibly up to 5 despite the state GOP explicitly justifying their remap based on an unconstitutional use of race in redistricting.

Unsurprising from this court, and it's a bad sign for the upcoming Voting Rights Act case
stevenmazie.bsky.social Steven Mazie @stevenmazie.bsky.social · 17d
BREAKING: Supreme Court sides with Texas Republicans in fight over congressional map. The new gerrymandered map will be used in the 2026 midterms. The vote is 6–3, with the Republican appointees siding with Texas.
December 4, 2025 at 11:27 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
leahlitman.bsky.social
just an utter joke of a court.
stevevladeck.bsky.social Steve Vladeck @stevevladeck.bsky.social · 17d
#BREAKING: Over dissents from the three democratic appointees, #SCOTUS puts Texas's new House maps back into effect for (and, presumably, through) the 2026 midterms.

The three Democratic appointees, in an opinion by Justice Kagan, dissent.

I'll post the ruling shortly.
December 4, 2025 at 11:22 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
leahlitman.bsky.social
Texas & DOJ said that’s what was going on!

So apparently the way to stop discriminating on the basis of race is to … allow some discrimination on the basis of race when it’s to secure Republicans electoral advantage.

Just lawless partisan hackery. No fact finding deference. No legal basis.
December 4, 2025 at 11:31 PM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
johnpfaff.bsky.social
I want to make sure I have this clear:

A Trump admin that is clearly itching to deploy the military to US cities in ways that likely break the law is INSTANTLY throwing senior generals under the bus the moment they face the least bit of scrutiny?
kenwhite.bsky.social Giraffe Or Possibly Popehat @kenwhite.bsky.social · 20d
That’s a very attractive red shirt you’re wearing Admiral Bradley
ronfilipkowski.bsky.social Ron Filipkowski @ronfilipkowski.bsky.social · 20d
If Admiral Bradley didn’t realize before that these cowards were setting him up to take the fall, he knows it now. Time to hire a good lawyer.
December 2, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
swin24.bsky.social
Even if you think the Hegseth and trump spin is believable either they ordered the illegal murders, or they are currently covering for and hiding, aiding and abetting, and refusing to prosecute other murderers in their government

Either way, it is really scandalous! Take your pick I guess
December 2, 2025 at 12:58 AM
tkords.bsky.social
Professor Kreis is getting slammed here, but anyone familiar with his body of work should know that it is ridiculous to accuse him of reacting in bad faith here.

But I think the problem with the grading is two-fold. 🧵
December 1, 2025 at 7:09 PM
tkords.bsky.social
Those poor DOJ lawyers who have to defend this in the contempt proceedings.

Jk screw those guys.
atrupar.com Aaron Rupar @atrupar.com · 21d
KARL: Did you know about the judge's order when you issued your order for the planes to continue?

KRISTI NOEM: This is an activist judge. We comply with all federal orders that are lawful and binding.
December 1, 2025 at 2:56 AM
Reposted by Taylor Kordsiemon
kevinmkruse.bsky.social
Every single congressional Democrat needs to be out there, right now, insisting that Pete Hegseth resign right now and announcing that he will be held accountable for committing war crimes.

If you do not demand accountability here and now, they will only become more emboldened.
washingtonpost.com The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 23d
Exclusive: Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth gave an order to “kill everybody” in the first strike on suspected drug boats in the Caribbean. After two men survived, the mission commander ordered a second strike to comply with Hegseth’s instructions, according to two sources.
Hegseth order on first Caribbean boat strike, officials say: Kill them all
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth issued a verbal order to kill all crew members in the Sept. 2 strike on a suspected drug boat. Navy SEALs fired a second missile.
www.washingtonpost.com
November 28, 2025 at 7:19 PM