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Brian Keyser

@fellowwhopoints.bsky.social
372 followers 103 following 62 posts

Health policy @americanprogress.bsky.social, focussing on consolidation, Medicare, PBMs, drug pricing, and systemic reforms. Believer in primary care. Recovering entrepreneur. Cheese evangelist. Theater lover. Traveler. All opinions my own.

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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
Sending one-time $500 checks to fewer than 1 million people, which the White House started doing yesterday, won't do anything to help the millions of people whose health insurance premiums increased thousands of dollars per year. www.americanprogress.org/article/a-50...
americanprogress.org
A $500 Check Will Not Solve the Health Care Premium Crisis
President Trump’s proposed $500 check cannot make up for thousands of dollars in higher marketplace premiums.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Health insurance is far and away the biggest social safety net gap American families face, made worse by the OBBBA, argues @emily-gee.bsky.social for @NOTUSPerspectives.bsky.social: tinyurl.com/jb2ezaa9
tinyurl.com
What Is the Most Significant Gap in the Social Safety Net for American Families?
Cathy Hooker, Amanda Renteria, Lindsay Ryan, Gopi Shah Goda, Claudet Miranda-Zambrano, Jon-Paul Bianchi, Bruce D. Meyer, Maya Rockeymoore Cummings, Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, Emily Gee, Greg Acs
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 15/05/2026
Finally, someone speaks the truth! No-stretch jeans are better!
nytimes.com
Denim Nerds Are Right. Classic, Broken-In Cotton Jeans Last Forever.
All-cotton jeans are real jeans, and if you break them in properly, they can be even more comfortable than stretch-denim pairs.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 08/05/2026
My new commentary in @Fortune.com sounds the alarm on how the Trump administration is making a covert attempt to privatize Medicare. fortune.com/2026/05/07/m...
fortune.com
Auto-enrollment in Medicare Advantage isn't a nudge. It's a trap | Fortune
I research health policy for the Center for American Progress. Auto-enrollment is privatization by inertia.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 18/03/2026
Vermonters don't need Medicare Advantage plans to protect them from high costs. Medicare Advantage actually costs taxpayers 14% more than traditional Medicare while limiting access to care. They need an out-of-pocket spending cap in traditional Medicare!
vtdigger.org
Vermonters adjust to a health care landscape without Medicare Advantage  - VTDigger
For some, the transition has been relatively smooth. For others, the accumulation of many disparate costs is smothering.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 09/03/2026
Claude is the worst intern imaginable. This is a fireable offense!
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 06/02/2026
As usual, the cruelty is the point. People with low-incomes, women, and racial and ethnic minorities are harmed by Trump's petty grudges against blue states.
thehill.com
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 14/01/2026
Medicaid & CHIP cover almost half of American children. A new CMS policy means we’ll know less about their health. My colleague @jillrose.bsky.social explains: tinyurl.com/bdn2bzkt
tinyurl.com
States no longer have to report Medicaid, CHIP vaccination rates to CMS, further undermining immunization
Medicaid and CHIP cover almost half of American children. A new CMS policy means we will know less about their health.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 15/12/2025
RIP Rob Reiner. “This Is Spinal Tap,” “When Harry Met Sally …” and “The Princess Bride" are as responsible as my parents for turning me into who I am today. Such a tragic loss (and getting more tragic).
nytimes.com
Live Updates: Reiners’ Son Booked for Murder in the Stabbings of Director and His Wife
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 09/12/2025
Don't be fooled: Health Savings Accounts aren't insurance and can't replace enhanced premium tax credits. CAP Health explains @nzmurphy.bsky.social @americanprogress.bsky.social
americanprogress.org
Senate Republicans’ HSA Plan Can’t Replace the Enhanced Premium Tax Credits
The Senate Republican response to the looming expiration of the ACA’s enhanced tax credits is a patchwork of policies that will shift costs onto patients and weaken insurance markets.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 29/11/2025
I didn’t realize that I am a broken reader until I read this. Thank goodness there’s hope!
nytimes.com
Opinion | I Was Once a Broken Reader. I Found My Way Back to Books.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
New report from Alex Thornton, Claire Koyle, and myself reveals how private-equity’s short-term focus on profit is concerning in health care, where quality of care and patient safety should be the highest priorities. @americanprogress.bsky.social
americanprogress.org
5 Consequences of Private Equity’s Expansion in Health Care Services
The rapid rise of private equity’s influence over health care providers such as hospitals, nursing homes, and physicians’ practices threatens competition, affordability, patient safety, and worker wel...
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 30/10/2025
It's Medicare open enrollment time! If you or anyone you love is signing up for Medicare, please read this column. And don't get tricked by a Medicare Advantage sales pitch!
healthcareuncovered.substack.com
The Great Medicare Bazaar Is Back — and So Are the Sales Pitches
Insurers once again flood seniors with “free” Medicare Advantage offers. Consumer protections, like those enacted by Congress to address Medigap marketing practices years ago, are urgently needed.
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Reposted by Brian Keyser
Steven Mazie @stevenmazie.bsky.social · 08/09/2025
SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in a college applicant's file is blatantly unconstitutional ALSO SCOTUS: considering race as one factor in targeting whom to detain and deport is cool cool cool
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 06/08/2025
How will the passage of Trump's megabill affect your state? @americanprogress.bsky.social explains, state by state: ⇣ www.americanprogress.org/article/stat...
americanprogress.org
State Fact Sheets: How the Trump Administration and Congressional Republicans Are Increasing Costs for American Families
This series of fact sheets provides insights into how the OBBBA and the administration’s policies will increase the costs of health care, food, energy, and borrowing in each state in the near future.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 12/06/2025
Health care across the country is in DANGER. If Planned Parenthood is “defunded,” nearly 200 health centers could close, and more than 1.1M patients could lose access to care. Contact your senator and tell them not to “defund” Planned Parenthood: ppact.io/care
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 04/06/2025
Our health care system prioritizes profits over patients. This is the inevitable result. Maybe we should have different priorities. Just a thought.
healthcareuncovered.substack.com
Family Sues UnitedHealth’s Optum Rx and Walgreens Over Son’s Preventable Death
The price of 22-year-old Cole Schmidtknecht’s inhaler jumped from $70 to $500 overnight. Days later, he was gone.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 11/05/2025
You know how you keep thinking, "Nothing can surprise me anymore?" Wow. That keeps being super wrong. This is absolutely unbelievable. At least we can rest easy knowing that Congress will exercise its authority and remove him from office for this massive unconstitutional grift. My head is spinning.
nytimes.com
Trump Administration Live Updates: Trump Is Said to Be Getting Qatari 747 for Air Force One, and Post-Presidency Travel
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 06/05/2025
Trump and Dr. Oz's push for fully privatized Medicare should alarm all of us. @andreaducas.bsky.social and David Lipschutz explain why for @MarketWatch.com: www.marketwatch.com/story/trumps...
marketwatch.com
Trump’s push to privatize Medicare would be a disaster for seniors
Medicare Advantage is more costly for Americans than traditional Medicare. So why does Trump favor it?
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 29/04/2025
A great summation from Rachel Madley at HEALTH CARE Un-Covered of how Congress wants to cut the lifesaving care real people receive when cutting actual fraud being committed by giant corporations would save more money.
healthcareuncovered.substack.com
Cutting Care From Patients Saves Only a Fraction of What Cutting Insurance Abuse Would
Lawmakers say cuts to Medicaid and CHIP will save money — but patients will pay with their lives, while Big Insurance cashes in.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 18/04/2025
A small step toward reform of Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs), but it shows that D's and R's are aligned on this. Congress can and should pass the Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM) Transparency Act! @cantwell.senate.gov
beckershospitalreview.com
Arkansas first state to ban PBMs from owning pharmacies - Becker's Hospital Review | Healthcare News & Analysis
Arkansas has become the first state to ban pharmacy benefit managers from owning pharmacies after Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders signed House Bill 1150 into law April 16.  The legislation, sponsored by s...
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 07/04/2025
This informative piece by @americanprogress.bsky.social senior fellow @shwoolf.bsky.social on the assault on DEI explains how failing to track racial disparities will lead to tragic outcomes. @milbankfund.bsky.social
milbank.org
Behind the Assault on Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion | Milbank Memorial Fund
Upon taking office, President Trump terminated diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs throughout the government. Federal agencies, including the
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
This does not bode well.
nytimes.com
Supreme Court Lets Trump Suspend Grants to Teachers
In boilerplate letters, the administration told recipients that the grants supported diversity efforts and were wasteful.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 04/04/2025
Medicaid access provides peace of mind to millions of Americans. No one understands this better than my colleague @seemiaroll.bsky.social. In this op-ed for @NCNewsline, she shares vulnerably about her family’s experience:
ncnewsline.com
Medicaid made my brother’s final weeks more peaceful • NC Newsline
disability rights advocates calls on Congress not to cut or limit Medicaid benefits via work, requirements, block grants, or lifetime caps
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Oh goddess... Calley Means at #POLITICOHealth just said NIH research hasn't been cut, just bureaucracy. Do these clowns believe the garbage they are spewing? Apparently research can happen without paying for buildings, janitorial services, and equipment.
politico.com
POLITICO's 2025 Health Care Summit - POLITICOPOLITICOSearchSearchClose
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 02/04/2025
Watching Calley Means at #POLITICOHealth twist himself into a pretzel explaining how corporations profiting off making kids sick aren't profiting off making kids sick, the way to stop them is to fire regulators, regulations aren't regulations, these are not the droids you're looking for...
politico.com
POLITICO's 2025 Health Care Summit - POLITICOPOLITICOSearchSearchClose
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 29/03/2025
Former health insurance execs like @wendellpotter.bsky.social and Ed Weisbart of @pnhp.bsky.social know how desperate the situation is. We should listen to them.
nymag.com
The Confessions of Health-Insurance Executives
Champagne for record profits. Being ordered to “execute some hostages.” Why four men quit and spoke out.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 24/03/2025
Great piece from @dropsitenews.com explaining how they are coming for your Medicare. Fight back, before it's too late!
dropsitenews.com
Dr. Oz and the Plot Against Medicare
Medicare Advantage plans are killing seniors and bankrupting hospitals. Now the Trump administration is preparing to make them mandatory, ending Medicare as we know it.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 19/03/2025
Make America Segregated Again! This may not (immediately) lead to separate drinking fountains, but it is going to allow contractors to discriminate against trans people. And this was done without notice or public comment, the new standard for this administration. Bad news for democracy and justice.
npr.org
'Segregated facilities' are no longer explicitly banned in federal contracts
The Trump administration cut a clause from federal contracting rules that had been on the books since the 1960s: Companies are no longer explicitly prohibited from having segregated facilities.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
Four of these five heath care companies that filed for bankruptcy protection last year are partially or fully owned by private equity firms. Coincidence? Or are private equity and health care incompatible? (Hint: it's not coincidence.)
beckersasc.com
5 healthcare bankruptcies affecting physicians  - Becker’s ASC
Physician practice bankruptcy filings hit a six-year high in 2024, according to a report on Chapter 11 bankruptcy filings from healthcare restructuring advisory firm Gibbins Advisors.  Here are five m...
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
The flue vaccine committee meeting in secret might not seem like the biggest deal, but this is democracy dying in darkness, in real time. First they came for my flue vaccine and I said nothing....
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
I've been fantasizing about challenging Schumer in a primary since 2020. I think it's time to form an exploratory committee. Any volunteers?
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 14/03/2025
If Congressional Republicans slash Medicaid funding, Iowa’s economy could lose $8 billion over the next decade. Read my piece with @suedins.bsky.social on Bleeding Heartland.
bleedingheartland.com
Cutting Medicaid would harm Iowa's health and economy
All Iowans would bear the burden of lost revenues to the state and the associated job losses, provider shortages, and closed businesses.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
The best thing about our tragically dysfunctional health care system? Nursing shortages, corporate profit motives, unaffordable care, impossible wait times, lack of insurance, and violence against health workers combine to make great TV!* *A small price to pay for our worsened lives.
youtube.com
The Pitt | Official Trailer | Max
YouTube video by Max
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
What more could I possibly say...
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 13/03/2025
This is surprising. What could senators have seen in Weldon that is worse than what they saw in RFK Jr?
nytimes.com
White House Withdraws Nominee for C.D.C. Director
Dr. Dave Weldon was to have appeared on Thursday in a confirmation hearing before the Senate health committee. He has close ties to Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the new health secretary.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
Wait! I thought I heard that California had gone to hell in a hand basket. Apparently it hasn't affected their happiness! Half of the top ten happiest cities are in the Golden State!
wallethub.com
Happiest Cities in America in 2025
Happiest Cities in America in 2025
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 11/03/2025
How many people are covered by Medicaid or CHIP in your congressional district? My colleagues at CAP can tell you!
americanprogress.org
Medicaid and CHIP Coverage Mapped by 119th Congressional Districts
Who is covered by Medicaid and CHIP in your congressional district? How many women have Medicaid? How many children, older people, or working-age adults are on Medicaid? Find out here.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 07/03/2025
Not every crisis is about DOGE. We must not lose sight of problems that have been growing for decades. Something is very wrong with our values when we refuse to pay workers enough to pay rent and choose not to build enough housing for everyone. We need a moral reset that puts people over profits.
nytimes.com
Opinion | America Is Pushing Its Workers Into Homelessness
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
Is this just theater to protect against lawsuits accusing Musk of exceeding his authority? Or are Secretaries taking their authority back? Could Congress do the same? I'm not holding my breath.
politico.com
Trump to Cabinet: Musk has no authority to fire workers
The president convened his secretaries, with Musk, to clarify power.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
There's no doubt that our health care "system" needs massive reforms. That's why I do what I do. But this is NOT the way to go about it. Let's stop president Trusk from destroying everything while we also design a plan for meaningful reform!
healthcaredive.com
The top 3 impacts of Trump’s health data purge
Interrupted access to health-related data has already led to worse outcomes and could undermine faith in the U.S. healthcare system, experts say.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 06/03/2025
I fill my regular prescription at my local independent pharmacy. It's usually about $6 with my insurance, but yesterday it was $48. Without insurance it was $17. Aren't Pharmacy Benefit Managers (PBMs) supposed to negotiate lower prices for insurance beneficiaries?
propublica.org
When Buying Prescription Drugs, Some Pay More With Insurance Than Without It
As insurers ask consumers to pay a greater share of their drug costs, it may be cheaper to pay cash than use your insurance card. One expert estimates that consumers could be overpaying for as many as...
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 05/03/2025
I hope this doesn't go unnoticed. The GSA is suggesting using private equity practices like sale-leasebacks, which often bankrupt businesses, for government buildings. No doubt to fund tax cuts for the rich now, while burdening the rest of us with long term lease payments on buildings we once owned.
gsa.gov
Statement regarding GSA’s disposal of non-core assets
GSA’s Public Buildings Service’s (PBS) foundational mission is to deliver cost-effective workspace solutions for its federal agency customers, enabling them to fulfill their missions for the American
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
There is a common theme to all of Trump/Musk's actions in the last five weeks. Whether it's shuttering USAID, firing federal workers for no reason, taking away Medicaid coverage, bullying Zelensky, or whatever they are going to do tomorrow, the cruelty is the point.
trevorklee.substack.com
The performative cruelty of it
I’ve tried never to write about politics or, indeed, any hot button issues in my blog.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 01/03/2025
I know you’re overwhelmed and terrified already, but please read or watch this interview to understand how illegal, unconstitutional, and dangerous this administration’s actions really are. Then call your member of congress and tell them to exercise their power to stop it.
open.substack.com
Musk In Your Computers: An Interview With Nathan Tankus
On risks to democracy nobody even thought about
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 28/02/2025
Measles is highly contagious—but it’s also highly preventable. State policymakers play an important role in encouraging families to protect themselves, argues @jillrose.bsky.social
governing.com
Let’s Not Throw Away Proven Protections for Children’s Health
Anti-vaccine sentiment was rising even before the COVID-19 pandemic. We’re seeing the ugly results play out in Texas, with dozens of children suffering from measles and one dying.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 26/02/2025
This is deeply concerning. WaPo no longer cares to have a broad-based opinion section that covers all views? Just Jeff's view, apparently.
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 25/02/2025
New analysis from my colleagues at CAP:
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Brian Keyser @fellowwhopoints.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
The cruelty is the point.
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Reposted by Brian Keyser
southpaw @nycsouthpaw.bsky.social · 14/02/2025
AUSA Hagan Scotten, former clerk for John Roberts, really put some mustard on his resignation letter.
BY EMAIL
Re: United States v. Eric Adams, 24 Cr. 556 (DEH)
Mr. Bove,
I have received correspondence indicating that I refused your order to move to dismiss the indictment against Eric Adams without prejudice, subject to certain conditions, including the express possibility of reinstatement of the indictment. That is not exactly correct. The U.S.
Attorney, Danielle R. Sassoon, never asked me to file such a motion, and I therefore never had an opportunity to refuse. But I am entirely in agreement with her decision not to do so, for the reasons stated in her February 12, 2025 letter to the Attorney General.
In short, the first justification for the motion-that Damian Williams's role in the case somehow tainted a valid indictment supported by ample evidence, and pursued under four different U.S. attorneys is so weak as to be transparently pretextual. The second justification is worse.
No system of ordered liberty can allow the Government to use the carrot of dismissing charges, or the stick of threatening to bring them again, to induce an elected official to support its policy objectives.
There is a tradition in public service of resigning in a last-ditch effort to head off a serious mistake. Some will view the mistake you are committing here in the light of their generally negative views of the new Administration. I do not share those views. I can even understand how a Chief Executive whose background is in business and politics might see the contemplated dismissal-with-leverage as a good, if distasteful, deal. But any assistant U.S. attorney would know much i i red oril, in this ily. wing the perset arthro he Reside is ving to,
give him that advice, then I expect you will eventually find someone who is enough of a fool, or enough of a coward, to file your motion. But it was never going to be me.
Please consider this my resignation. It has been an honor to serve as a prosecutor in the
Southern District of New York.
Yours truly,
Hagan Scotten
Assistant United States Att…
818269386378