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Jess Bravin

@jessbravin.bsky.social

21K followers 2.5K following 446 posts

Senior special writer, The Wall Street Journal (on leave). Visiting Lecturer, UC Davis School of Law. Author, "The Terror Courts"; "Squeaky." Founder: Raymond Chandler Square, L.A. City Historic-Cultural Monument No. 597.

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 28/08/2026

On the 50th anniversary of the March on Washington, I looked at how @wsj.com covered the Aug. 28, 1963 event (see: www.wsj.com/articles/how...). Several years later, I discovered our report contained serious errors. Six decades late, we ran this correction: www.wsj.com/articles/cor...

Corrections & Amplifications

Corrections & Amplifications for the edition of Sept. 19, 2023

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 18/06/2026

"Now we wait for the bee."

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 09/06/2026

Even on sabbatical, I'm still waiting for them...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 31/05/2026

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 20/05/2026

Among his other distinctions, the late Barney Frank took a lonely stance against fellow lawmakers' practice of creating inane titles for legislation so as to backfill memorable acronyms. "It's an abuse of the English language," he told @WSJ in 2011. www.wsj.com/articles/SB1...

Congress Finds, in Passing Bills, Names Can Never Hurt You

In recent years, acronym addicts on Capitol Hill have created a Scrabble board of legislative titles, including PATRIOT, HAPPY and DREAM.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

She and other @wsj.com colleagues were there to receive the Katharine Graham Award for Courage and Accountability for their reporting on Trump's Epstein connections and the administration's approach to them.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 26/04/2026

In 2024. Sadie Gurman and I wrote about the rise of political violence in America. Last night she was in the ballroom when shots rang out. www.wsj.com/politics/ele...

Essay | American Politics Takes a Violent Turn

A second assassination attempt against Trump is part of a rising tide of threats and harassment against public officials across the political spectrum

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 14/04/2026

Attn: @benstiller.redhour.com

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 09/04/2026

As a @berkeleylaw student, I cross-registered to take Peter Schrag's seminar, "Initiative and Referendum," at @GoldmanSchool. Profound, illuminating and idealistic beneath his cynical mien, Schrag was as great a teacher as he was a journalist. www.nytimes.com/2026/04/07/b...

Peter Schrag Dies at 94; Wrote of Dangers of California’s Populist Streak

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 24/03/2026

FOIA request filed Feb. 27, 2006. Response sent March 24, 2026.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 06/03/2026

"From Wall Street to Main Street, the Journal's got you covered." -- @wsj.com

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 18/02/2026

The Rev. Jesse Jackson was instrumental in persuading President Trump to commute ex-Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s sentence for various political corruption convictions www.wsj.com/articles/cle...

WSJ News Exclusive | Clemency for Rod Blagojevich Came After Long Campaign Tailored to Trump

Rod Blagojevich’s release from federal prison last week culminated a nearly two-year campaign to put the once-prominent Democrat’s case on President Trump’s agenda, orchestrated by a volunteer adviser...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 04/02/2026

For @washingtonpost.com proprietor Jeff Bezos, perspective from Charles Foster Kane: youtu.be/tzhb3U2cONs?...

Citizen Kane - How to Run a Newspaper

YouTube video by William Canfield

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Long overdue recognition for John Carpenter's "The Thing."

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Kristen Waggoner, conservative Christian legal crusader, aims to anchor Trump-era gains in constitutional bedrock www.wsj.com/us-news/law/... w/Maggie Severns

Kristen Waggoner’s Legal Crusade for Conservative Christian Values

Kristen Waggoner’s Legal Crusade for Conservative Christian Values

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

A federal appeals court on Wednesday allowed President Trump to continue deploying National Guard units on the streets of Washington, D.C., at least temporarily www.wsj.com/politics/pol... via @WSJ

Appeals Court Allows Trump’s National Guard Deployment in D.C.

The city argued that the president violated home-rule laws by sending the military onto the capital’s streets.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 16/12/2025

Superb piece, Carol.

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 10/12/2025

The Wall Street Journal published a Page One story on the inmates' treatment Oct. 10: www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

Biden Spared 37 Killers From Execution. Trump Ordered Up a Lifetime of Torment.

Even America’s harshest federal prison, where inmates spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, was too good, one official said. “I’ve got no problem with gruel.”

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

In 2018, we flagged Humphrey's Executor as a restraint on presidential power SCOTUS nominee Brett Kavanaugh was determined to overrule. He gets his chance today, when the Court hears Trump v. Slaughter www.wsj.com/articles/the...

The Case That Shaped Brett Kavanaugh’s Thinking on Presidential Power

Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh has repeatedly cited a 1935 case, in which the court rejected President Roosevelt’s bid to fire an appointee of President Hoover, as a misguided dilution of the p...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 20/11/2025

A federal judge ruled Thursday that President Trump’s mobilization of the National Guard to bolster crime-fighting in Washington violates several laws www.wsj.com/us-news/law/... via @wsj.com

Judge Rules National Guard Deployment in Washington, D.C., Was Unlawful

The order, which was put on hold until Dec. 11, is a setback to the president’s effort to use the guard in the nation’s capital.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Justice Gorsuch to co-author children’s book about the Declaration of Independence www.kcra.com/article/gors...

Justice Gorsuch to co-author children’s book about the Declaration of Independence

Justice Neil Gorsuch said Thursday he will co-author a children’s book next year focused on the Declaration of Independence, a departure from the headier book the conservative jurist authored last yea...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

"A very cautious man": Chief Justice Roberts faces a defining challenge from as he enters his third decade leading the Supreme Court www.wsj.com/politics/pol... via @wsj.com

Chief Justice Roberts Faces Career-Defining Decision on Trump

The Supreme Court’s tariff case comes as the chief justice is under pressure from the president, the public and other judges.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

President Trump’s global tariffs ran headlong into a skeptical Supreme Court on Wednesday www.wsj.com/politics/pol... w/@GavinBade

Trump’s Tough Day at Supreme Court Puts Tariffs in Jeopardy

The prospect of a loss by the administration raises questions about the president’s alternatives—and what happens to money that has already been collected.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

Tariffs at SCOTUS: Trump’s Position Appears to Be on the Ropes www.wsj.com/livecoverage... via @wsj

Trump’s Position Appears to Be on the Ropes

President Trump’s case for tariffs looked in trouble after the first hour of argument, after justices across the ideological spectrum expressed skepticism, if not incredulity, of his claim that a 1977...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

The 50-Year-Old Ruling That Could Matter for the Tariffs Case www.wsj.com/livecoverage... Follow Our Live Team Coverage:

The 50-Year-Old Ruling That Could Matter for the Tariffs Case

There are no prior court decisions addressing whether the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, or Ieepa, the 1977 law Trump invoked, gives the president unilateral power to impose tariffs. The...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 20/10/2025

A federal appeals court will allow President Trump to deploy the National Guard to Portland, Ore., despite objections from state and local officials www.wsj.com/politics/pol... via @wsj.com

Appeals Court Allows Trump Administration to Deploy National Guard in Portland

The decision lifts a temporary order that had stopped the dispatch of state Guard members to the Oregon city in response to protests.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 16/10/2025

Following @princeton.edu, @georgetownuni.bsky.social selects a former law clerk to Justice John Paul Stevens as its president. www.washingtonpost.com/education/20...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Flashback 2: Biden follows A.G. Garland's advice to leave three men convicted of hate crimes or terrorism on death row, and commute 37 others whose cases resemble most murderers who get life or a term of years: Dec. 23, 2024: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Biden Commutes Sentences of 37 Death Row Inmates

The move prevents President-elect Donald Trump from executing most men on federal death row.

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 13/10/2025

Flashback: Biden, who campaigned on abolishing capital punishment, weighs whether to commute all 40 inmates on the federal death row, Dec. 2024: www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

Exclusive | Biden Weighs Commuting Sentences of Death Row Inmates

Such a move would frustrate President-elect Donald Trump’s ability to resume the rapid pace of executions that marked his first term.

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 11/10/2025

“I’ve got no problem with gruel.” Under orders from Trump, officials seek to make the life sentences of 37 convicted killers more like a living hell. The men were spared the death penalty by Biden. www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

Biden Spared 37 Killers From Execution. Trump Ordered Up a Lifetime of Torment.

Even America’s harshest federal prison, where inmates spend 23 hours a day in solitary confinement, was too good, one official said. “I’ve got no problem with gruel.”

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 08/10/2025

War Resister: @WSJ Stylebook conscientiously objects to bellicose rebranding of DoD. www.wsj.com/arts-culture...

Vol. 38, No. 8: Department of War

In the latest Wall Street Journal stylebook bulletin, a note on the revival of an old name for what is still officially the Defense Department.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 07/10/2025

Illinois officials sued to stop Trump from deploying National Guard forces to Chicago wsj.com/us-news/illi... w/@McCormickJohn @victoria_alb3

Illinois Sues to Block Trump’s National Guard Deployment

The lawsuit, filed by the state of Illinois and the city of Chicago, comes as the administration’s confrontation with Democratic-led states escalated nationwide.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 30/09/2025

Mendocino journalist @mattlafever.bsky.social draws on my first book, SQUEAKY, to reconstruct the Manson Family's failed plot to expand to Northern California. www.sfgate.com/northcoast/a... @sfgate.com

Manson Family's plot to expand to Northern Calif. may have ended in murder

Northern California's fog and forests still carry Manson's shadow.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

LISTEN: Are Trump’s Lethal Attacks on Drug Boats Legal? I join Vera Bergengruen and host Caitlin McCabe WSJ's What's News podcast to discuss the president's militarization of a criminal law problem. www.wsj.com/podcasts/wha...

Are Trump’s Lethal Attacks on Drug Boats Legal? - What’s News - WSJ Podcasts

In the past month, the Trump administration has ordered a trio of military attacks against boats suspected to be transporting drugs from South America to the U.S. However, little information has been ...

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Comey Case Explained: The Trump administration charged the former FBI director with making a false statement and obstruction when he testified in 2020 about testimony he gave in 2017 regarding a @WSJ story published in October 2016. A closer look: www.wsj.com/us-news/law/...

What to Know About the Criminal Case Against James Comey

Prosecutors allege the former FBI director lied to Congress, but legal experts say there are significant hurdles to overcome.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

The Free State's leading newspaper, where H.L. Mencken once held forth:

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Farewell to a great writer and even better human being whose columns helped so many.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

The U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission @america250.bsky.social has been in disarray for years, as @wsj.com has reported down the line. For instance: www.wsj.com/politics/pol...

Planners Battle Over Marking U.S. 250th Anniversary

The federal effort to commemorate 2026, mired in dissension, faces allegations of impropriety.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

Disarray continues at the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission @America250, which fired its exec director, a 25-year-old ex-Fox News producer the White House had recommended, for a slew of alleged improper actions www.wsj.com/politics/pol... w/@meridithmcgraw

Exclusive | Group Organizing America’s 250th Birthday Fires Executive Director

A bipartisan commission terminated Ariel Abergel after an Instagram post related to Charlie Kirk, he said.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Supreme Court to reconsider limits Congress has imposed on the president’s power to fire top officials www.wsj.com/us-news/law/... w/@WheelerLydia

Supreme Court to Reconsider Limits on President’s Power to Fire Top Officials

The justices for now have allowed Trump to remove the FTC’s last remaining Democratic commissioner.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 22/09/2025

Listen 🎧: President Trump says he’s ready to order more National Guard troops to American cities. Natalie Andrews and I discuss the nation’s mixed reactions and possible legal and political futures on @wsj.com's What's News podcast: on.wsj.com/3o375VH

WSJ What’s News

What's News brings you the biggest news of the day, from business and finance to global and political developments that move markets. Get caught up in minutes twice a day on weekdays, then take a step...

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 18/09/2025

The Trump administration asked the Supreme Court to let it remove Fed governor Lisa Cook from the central bank’s board while a lawsuit challenging the president’s effort to fire her proceeds www.wsj.com/politics/pol... via @wsj.com

Trump Administration Asks Supreme Court to Allow Removal of Fed Governor Lisa Cook

The emergency request comes after a lower court rejected the administration’s bid to lift an order stopping the president from removing Lisa Cook from her post.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

In 2007, I attended the DC premiere for perhaps Redford's worst movie, "Lions for Lambs." But I did get this shot!

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 17/09/2025

In 2007, I attended the DC premier for perhaps Redford's worst movie, "Lions for Lambs." But I did get this shot!

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Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 16/09/2025

Farewell, Condor: youtu.be/FVfELXJZpXQ?...

Three Days of the Condor (1975) - World Trade Center Scene

YouTube video by 4K Archivist

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 15/09/2025

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

A year ago, Sadie Gurman and I wrote about the increasing expectation of violence in America's political climate: www.wsj.com/politics/ele... via @wsj.com

Essay | American Politics Takes a Violent Turn

A second assassination attempt against Trump is part of a rising tide of threats and harassment against public officials across the political spectrum

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 11/09/2025

On Tuesday, I spoke with KCRW-FM's Elise Hu about an earlier era of political violence: www.kcrw.com/news/shows/p...

50 years ago in CA, a US president was almost assassinated 2 different times

As the trial for an alleged assassin of President Trump begins this week, KCRW looks back on September 1975, when two different women planned to kill President Gerald Ford.

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

No Question: Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Jess Bravin @jessbravin.bsky.social · 10/09/2025

Dissenters Call It Racial Profiling: The U.S. Supreme Court granted a Trump administration request to remove restrictions on immigration raids in Los Angeles while litigation continues www.wsj.com/us-news/law/... via @wsj.com

Supreme Court Lifts Limits on Immigration Raids in Los Angeles

The order lets the Trump administration proceed with patrols that earlier targeted largely Latino areas.