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Kyle Cheney

@kyledcheney.bsky.social
295K followers 434 following 2.9K posts

Senior legal affairs reporter at POLITICO with a focus on democracy, the balance of power and the clash between the Trump administration and courts.

PostsRepliesMedia
Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 20h
NEW: DOJ repeatedly argued that Trump himself had invoked national security to ban media outlets from the WH. But Judge Kelly noted that Trump had been making a different case in his public comments and it was hard to reconcile. w/ @joshgerstein www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
politico.com
Judge seems poised to reinforce block of Trump’s White House media ban
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly previously restored White House access for POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 21h
JUST IN: Judge Kelly appears inclined to grant longer-term block on President Trump's ban of POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW from the White House. He seems most bothered by the lack of due process preceding the ban but is also weighing First Amendment concerns. Details TK
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
JUST IN: A judge has blocked ICE's policy "to stop collecting biometric information" from detainees that they need to pursue lawful status, like visas for human trafficking survivors and other crime victims. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
Here are the witnesses who may testify at the hearing:
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
JUST IN: The Trump administration is asking Judge Sooknanan to shut out the public from next week's hearing on its use of Guantanamo Bay as an ICE deportation holding facility. s3.documentcloud.org/documents/28...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 07/10/2026
JUST IN: A federal judge has tossed the Trump administration's lawsuit against Michigan over the state's square-footage requirements for egg-laying hens. No standing, she concludes. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
UOCAVA just might be unconstitutional under his reading. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Under Clement's theory, DOJ says, the longstanding federal law requiring states to accept ballots from overseas and military voters could be unconstitutional. To which Clement says ... www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
DOJ argues that Congress' power to set voter qualifications was affirmed in a 1970 Supreme Court decision that backed the power to lower the voting age to 18 — and reaffirmed by SCOTUS this year in the late-arriving ballots case.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Yet in dozens of recent cases, DOJ has relied on this statute — in many cases it's the only charge — knowing no appeals court has ever ruled on it. Several other judges are now weighing it, with Leibowitz's ruling and Clement's brief at their disposal. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
Judge Leibowitz became the first to rule on the issue and said the statute was an unconstitutional infringement on states' exclusive authority to set voter qualifications. His ruling was informed by a brief from veteran SCOTUS litigator Paul Clement. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 06/10/2026
NEW: The Trump DOJ's recent crackdown on illegal voting relies on an rarely used statute — "voting by aliens" — that some experts, and as of last week one federal court, believe is unconstitutional. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Judge Gary Brown, a Trump appointee in New York, rebukes ICE for arresting two people erroneously — including a U.S. citizen — and later claiming "mistaken identity." "ICE agents falsified official records," he says. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 05/10/2026
Judge Stadtmueller, a Reagan appointee in Wisconsin, orders the release of an ICE detainee in part because of the "systemic rigging of bond hearings against detainees." storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 02/10/2026
DOE announced last week that it was publishing a list of foreign donors to U.S. institutions who had previously been promised confidentiality. Last night, a judge blocked the publication, citing risks of retaliation for donors from repressive regimes. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
JUST IN: A judge in D.C. has barred DOJ from re-charging Davey Hearn over the Reflecting Pool damage, saying Trump's commentary and pressure on prosecutors had permanently tainted the case. www.democracydefendersfund.org/wp-content/u...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
NOTABLE: It appears, at least initally, that the justices have declined DOJ's invitation to take up a much broader constitutional question about the due process rights of ICE detainees. The ACLU had asked them to focus only on the statutory issue. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
politico.com
Supreme Court will rule on Trump’s ICE detention policy
Lower courts have overwhelmingly rejected ICE’s novel view of its detention authority.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 01/10/2026
BREAKING: The Supreme Court has agreed to rule on the legality of ICE's mandatory detention policy, weighing in on an issue that has been ovewhelmingly rejected by district and appeals courts but has nevertheless roiled the justice system nationwide. www.politico.com/news/2026/10...
politico.com
Supreme Court will rule on Trump’s ICE detention policy
Lower courts have overwhelmingly rejected ICE’s novel view of its detention authority.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
JUST IN: A federal judge has denied DOJ's effort to obtain Georgia's complete, unredacted voter list, the latest in a string of more than two dozen defeats for the Trump administration in efforts to obtain state voter rolls. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
storage.courtlistener.com
#146 in United States v. Raffensperger (N.D. Ga., 1:26-cv-00485) – CourtListener.com
ORDER. It is ORDERED that Defendant Raffensperger and Intervenor-Defendant's BVMF's Motions to Dismiss (Docs. 16, 23 ) are GRANTED IN PART as set forth in this Order. Intervenor-Defendants' Common Cau...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 30/09/2026
NEW: The Justice Department's ethics complaint seeks recusal of Minnesota federal judges for speaking to the NYT about their efforts to manage the deluge of ICE detention cases that flooded their dockets during Operation Metro Surge. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Justice Department files ethics complaint against Minnesota federal judges
DOJ alleges the district judges showed bias when they spoke to The New York Times about the administration’s immigration enforcement efforts.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
GOP members appeared more focused on Smith's alleged sins against Congress than against Trump. And they (along with friendly Democrats) ultimately gave Smith a platform to bat down the claims they have long raised against him and his team. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Republicans wanted Jack Smith to give them a smoking gun. They got a gaffe instead.
The former special counsel’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was marked by personal insults rather than new revelations.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
Republicans used Smith's hearing today — the coda of a 2-year investigation — to hurl insults at him and home in on the procedures he used in his Trump probe. They spent no time rebutting his findings about Trump or the substance of the charges. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Republicans wanted Jack Smith to give them a smoking gun. They got a gaffe instead.
The former special counsel’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was marked by personal insults rather than new revelations.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NEW: It's hard these days for members of Congress to transcend the news cycle with viral moments in committee hearings. Sen. Schmitt today raised the bar with an allegation against Jack Smith that imploded in real time. w/ Chris Marquette www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Republicans wanted Jack Smith to give them a smoking gun. They got a gaffe instead.
The former special counsel’s appearance before the Senate Judiciary Committee was marked by personal insults rather than new revelations.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NEW: We launched this tracker in May, when ICE's detentions had been rejected about 10,000 times by federal courts. It's doubled in less than five months. See and sort the latest numbers, plus read the rulings. www.politico.com/news/2026/05...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 29/09/2026
NEW: Sen. Eric Schmitt exposed Jack Smith — as a Caitlin Clark fan. Schmitt's erroneous effort to catch Smith in a lie resulted in Smith confirming he went to see Clark's Iowa Hawkeyes play the Terrapins in Maryland in 2023. w/ Chris Marquette www.politico.com/live-updates...
politico.com
Sen. Eric Schmitt pins down Jack Smith — as a Caitlin Clark fan
It appeared that the Missouri Republican misinterpreted a text message reference to the "hawks."
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Reposted by Kyle Cheney
Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
BREAKING: #SCOTUS again rejects GOP bid to tweak Missouri district lines to pick up another U.S. House seat, chides lower federal courts for ignoring Purcell principle and interfering in state decisions just prior to election. Remarkably, no noted dissent. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Supreme Court again snubs GOP gerrymander in Missouri
Justices also warned federal courts not to interfere with state decisions.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
SCOTUS, with no noted dissent, has some sharp words for how the MO Secretary of State handled the matter despite a binding ruling by the Missouri Supreme Court. The lower courts misapplied Purcell, the justices say.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
BREAKING: The Supreme Court is requiring Missouri to use its 2022 map in the general election, rejecting a late push by lower courts to require the state to implement a GOP-friendlier 2025 gerrymandering.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
A lawyer for POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW said this week that Trump uses national security as a “talisman” to try to insulate his policies from challenge. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
The executive is typically afforded wide latitude on national security matters — so it makes sense as a legal strategy. But judges eyeing the ballroom and the press ban called it a pretext. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
NEW: Trump’s ballroom? Actually it’s a ‘military complex.’ Trump’s arch? Also a ‘military complex.’ That press ban? A national security move. The president keeps cloaking pet projects in NatSec rationales — and judges are increasingly looking askance. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Trump’s ‘magic words’: National security
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
JUST IN: A federal judge (Trump-appointed Stephanie Gallagher) has held the Trump administration in contempt for deporting a man to El Salvador in violation of three court orders. She's ordering the government to return him. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
Tonight’s state dinner guests at the White House with President Xi include: • Chief Justice John Roberts, • Jane Sullivan Roberts, Spouse • Justice Amy Coney Barrett • Jesse Barrett, Spouse • Justice Brett Kavanaugh • Ashley Estes Kavanaugh, Spouse
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
NEW: The Trump administration is asking SCOTUS to let it resume third-country deportations without the due process protections — like more than 24 hours notice and availability of fear-based challenges — ordered by lower courts. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Trump admin asks Supreme Court to lift limits on third-country deportations
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
JUST IN: A federal judge has issued a permanent injunction upbraiding ICE for mass arrests that have strained detention facilities and forced detainees all over the country into "overcrowded, squalid, and degrading rooms for excessive periods of time" www.nysd.uscourts.gov/sites/defaul...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Kelly's ruling ensures that the three outlets can resume their White House access just in time for Chinese President Xi Jinping's state dinner, which the Justice Department cited, somewhat bizarrely today, as a reason to maintain the ban. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Judge restores White House access for POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the return of press credentials President Donald Trump had revoked.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Citing the urgent needs of a "free press" Judge Kelly's restraining order brushed off the administration's national security claims as after-the-fact justification for a ban Trump imposed over disagreements with the outlets' reporting. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Judge restores White House access for POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the return of press credentials President Donald Trump had revoked.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
NEW: A federal judge ordered the White House to immediately restore hard passes for POLITICO, CNN and MSNOW, saying President Trump's ban punished "routine" reporting and the WH provided zero evidence for its national security claims. w @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Judge restores White House access for POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the return of press credentials President Donald Trump had revoked.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
One of the “sensitive” stories the White House accused Politico of publishing was based on quotes from a background briefing on Iran … arranged by the White House and provided to multiple news outlets. t.co/lUZRJiNcje
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
NEW: Judge Kelly signaled Wednesday he was skeptical of the constitutionality of President Trump's media ban and said he would rule on it "as soon as I can." w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Judge appears skeptical of Trump’s effort to ban news outlets from White House
U.S. District Judge Timothy Kelly, a Trump appointee, said he would rule soon.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
These are the stories from each outlet that the administration said included sensitive information that justified the president's ban: www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
The WH also appeared to hastily offer a chance for the news organizations to contest their revocations after-the-fact, calling the president's decision "preliminary." It's a nod to the likelihood that courts will view the abrupt revocations as a due process violation www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
MORE: One Politico story cited by the WH is about a one-page Secret Service handout to Senate Republicans describing security improvements associated with Trump's ballroom project. Yet the filing describes it as an"intricate" and "internal" doc. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
Trump is using the fight to try to overturn a 49-year-old precedent that requires equal access to the WH press area for journalists. A lawyer for the media orgs — POLITICO, CNN and MS NOW — called DOJ's argument "exceptionally weak." Hearing at 3:30 p.m. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Trump cites national security, midterms coverage to defend press ban
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
NEW: DOJ is justifying President Trump's ban on media orgs by citing stories about sensitive topics like depleted U.S. munitions, the war in Iran, Trump's ballroom security features and ... bad "vibes" at the GOP midterm convention w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Trump cites national security, midterms coverage to defend press ban
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
DOJ officials were emphatic that the postman's story was a cautionary tale about the hazards of mail voting. The man said he had no political agenda and didn't meant to toss the ballots, which were mixed in with the marketing mail. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Trump’s drive to raise fears of election mischief zeroes in on Utah mailman
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
NEW: Lazy postman or election tampering mastermind? DOJ says a Utah mailman — who tossed 300 undelivered primary ballots in the trash — helps justify Trump's crackdown But the man told investigators he was just tossing a pile of ads to ligthen his load. www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 22/09/2026
DEPT. OF UNCANNY TIMING: A ruling *today* from the D.C. Circuit underscored the steep hill facing Trump's ban on three media organizations from the White House. The lead author: Trump appointee Judge Neomi Rao. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Appeals court’s Capitol steps ruling may signal trouble for Trump on media ban
The D.C. Circuit reaffirmed Tuesday that government restrictions on First Amendment activity must be “viewpoint neutral.”
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
NEW: It's the gerrymander that won't die. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has revived a GOP-friendly Missouri map expected to net the party a congressional seat — despite what everyone thought was an earlier death knell from SCOTUS. w/ @joshgerstein.bsky.social www.politico.com/news/2026/09...
politico.com
Appeals court revives GOP gerrymander in Missouri that Supreme Court killed off twice
The 8th Circuit on Monday blocked a ruling from the state’s highest court that sharply rebuked the Republican secretary of state.
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Kyle Cheney @kyledcheney.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
JUST IN: A federal judge has tossed the defamation lawsuit by Cassidy Hutchinson's former lawyer, Stefan Passantino, against MSNBC commentator Andrew Wesissman. ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...
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