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Pema Levy

@pemalevy.bsky.social
4.9K followers 448 following 283 posts

Reporter at @MotherJones.bsky.social Send me secure tips: pemalevy[at]proton.me pemalevy.33 (Signal)

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Reposted by Pema Levy
Lawrence Hurley @lawrencehurley.bsky.social · 28/09/2026
Major u-turn from Justice Alito as Supreme Court reveals he will no longer participate in the big climate change case being argued next week. Previously, the court told NBC News there was no reason for him to step aside despite his earlier recusal in same case.
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Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
DHS SAVE database has long and documented history of producing false positives of non-citizens voting, leading to sensational headlines of alleged voter fraud that turn out to be untrue on closer inspection. In St. Louis County, MO, for example at least 81% of the names flagged were incorrect
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 25/09/2026
BREAKING: SCOTUS allows DHS to use its Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements (SAVE) database with Social Security info, staying a district court order that had vacated the new policy. Justice Jackson dissents for the three Dem appointees. www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25p...
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Josh Gerstein @joshgerstein.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
JUST IN: Trump admin goes to #SCOTUS again to preserve 3rd-country deportation program based on categorical determinations that receiving countries won't torture or persecute deportees. Unusual DOJ ask to KBJ to send admin stay request to full court. Doc: www.documentcloud.org/documents/28...
documentcloud.org
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Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 24/09/2026
Deep dives like this really put into perspective what Chief Justice Rehnquist was doing in 2000 when he resurrected the Court’s precedents of the 1870s and 1880s, writing that their authors “had intimate knowledge and familiarity with the events surrounding the adoption of the Fourteenth Amendment.”
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
One of the things I learned in writing this piece is that in 1873, a former confederate official asked SCOTUS to weaponize the 14th Amendment against biracial government. The court refused at the time. But in 2026, that's exactly what the Supreme Court did.
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Ari Berman @ariberman.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
By destroying Voting Rights Act and gutting 14th & 15th amendments the Roberts Court is recycling legal arguments once used by Confederates and white supremacists to destroy Reconstruction Please read my deep dive w/ @pemalevy.bsky.social in @motherjones.com www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 23/09/2026
In destroying the Voting Rights Act and gutting the 14th and 15th amendments, the Roberts court is recycling legal arguments once advanced by Confederates and white supremacists to destroy Reconstruction. From me and @ariberman.bsky.social
motherjones.com
Jim Crow was on the ash heap of history. Then came the Roberts court.
The disaster the justices have unleashed has its roots in one of the darkest periods of our past.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson once described the Trump admin as desiring a "catch me if you can" system of justice. That's exactly what they are doing here, disappearing people so their families and lawyers don't know where they are until it's too late. apnews.com/article/ice-...
apnews.com
AP Exclusive: ICE hides locations of thousands of detainees with final removal orders
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has stopped publicly revealing where it is holding most detainees who are subject to final deportation orders, in a move that has made it harder for lawyers an...
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 21/09/2026
“To me, it’s just another iteration of disappearing people,” she said. “Why would we do that in the United States of America? It’s something we’d hear about in another country and be concerned about individual rights and due process.”
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The Washington Post @washingtonpost.com · 18/09/2026
Exclusive: More American service members have died in the Middle East during the ongoing Iran war than the Pentagon has disclosed publicly, according to six U.S. officials familiar with the data.
washingtonpost.com
More U.S. troops have died amid Iran war than Pentagon has disclosed publicly
Officials who spoke with The Post expressed frustration that the additional loss of life in the Middle East is not reflected in the Defense Department’s casualty database.
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Jeremy Schulman @jeremyschulman.bsky.social · 17/09/2026
Absolutely fascinating essay from @pemalevy.bsky.social that I'm pretty sure I don't agree with, but she makes a strong case!
motherjones.com
How the Supreme Court seized power to rule over the rest of us
A false mythology put the justices on top. The people could knock them down.
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Daphna Renan @daphnarenan.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
"The country was never supposed to be run by judges sitting on high, and it doesn’t have to be." A powerful dive into Supremacy, my book with @nikobowie.bsky.social out this week, and I can't wait to read @rachelshelden.bsky.social's The Political Supreme Court!
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Reposted by Pema Levy
Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 16/09/2026
The Kennedy Center was never the city’s most daring arts venue. It was something better: all ours.
motherjones.com
The Kennedy Center was part of DC life. Trump destroyed it.
It was never the city's most daring arts venue. It was something better: all ours.
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Rachel Shelden @rachelshelden.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
Terrific review of SUPREMACY by @nikobowie.bsky.social and @daphnarenan.bsky.social alongside my book, THE POLITICAL SUPREME COURT: 
Picture of this quotation from Pema Levy’s article “How the Supreme Court seized power to rule over the rest of us”:

“As Bowie, Renan, and Shelden show, this is not how its always been, or how it's supposed to be. To take back their power, the people must simply demand it.”
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Michael Mechanic @michaelmechanic.bsky.social · 15/09/2026
From @ariberman.bsky.social and @pemalevy.bsky.social: "By sanitizing [Trump's] effort with the language of executive orders, rule-making, and court documents, the administration hoped to blind people to the election-stealing scheme underneath it all. It was an attempted heist in broad daylight."
motherjones.com
Supreme Court blocks Trump’s mail ballot scheme
The decision prevents massive disenfranchisement and chaos in November.
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Niko Bowie @nikobowie.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
“This is no way to run a democracy.” Fantastic synthesis in @motherjones.com of Supremacy and @rachelshelden.bsky.social’s can’t-miss book on The Political Supreme Court
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 16/09/2026
The Supreme Court rules over us, with 5 unelected judges wiping out legislation passed by the people's representatives. Is this how democracy is supposed to work? Two new books argue the court seized power it was never intended to have. And how to take it back. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
How the Supreme Court seized power to rule over the rest of us
A false mythology put the justices on top. The people could knock them down.
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Reposted by Pema Levy
Aaron Reichlin-Melnick @reichlinmelnick.bsky.social · 11/09/2026
Thousands of immigrants did the hard, dirty work of clearing rubble and toxic dust and debris from Ground Zero. Many were undocumented laborers sent to work every day with no special PPE, and got cancer as a result. Now some of those same people are living in fear of ICE. www.npr.org/2026/09/11/n...
npr.org
They cleaned up ground zero. Now many are hiding from ICE
After 9/11, thousands of rescue and cleanup crews went to work at ground zero. They were exposed to toxic debris and experienced psychological trauma. Today, many say they live in fear of deportation.
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Barred and Boujee aka Madiba Dennie @audrelawdamercy.blacksky.app · 11/09/2026
Big piece from me today about how Mississippi poisoned Black people's water and lied about it, and originalist judges aren't convinced that's a constitutional problem ballsandstrikes.org/law-politics...
ballsandstrikes.org
Fifth Circuit: Unfortunately, Originalism Means the Government Is Allowed to Poison Your Drinking Water
By defining constitutional rights as narrowly as possible, conservative judges make it easy to conclude that those rights do not exist.
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Madison Pauly @msjpauly.bsky.social · 08/09/2026
Former Levi's exec Jennifer Sey fanned a culture war over trans athletes in a league that has none—to the benefit of her clothing brand, XX-XY Athletics. "I know my mom isn’t that invested" in the WNBA, her son told me. "But...I guess the vultures will circle." www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The woman profiting off the WNBA's trans panic
Sophie Cunningham set off a firestorm. Jennifer Sey was ready to capitalize.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 04/09/2026
This is not happening because it's legal, but because the Supreme Court said Trump could go ahead and do it anyway.
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Doug Lindner @douglindner.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
Running out the clock—and deciding what happens in the meantime—is one of the MAGA justices’ favorite weapons. Dem president tries to do something? Let’s pause until your term is over. MAGA president tries to do something? Need to let it play out while we deliberate.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 02/09/2026
The ballroom is another chapter in the This Is John Roberts' Fault storyline (even though he objected to letting it go forward). Roberts' immunity decision told presidents they could crime with impunity. Now he's fretting that Trump has, in fact, ignored the law www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
It’s just too late for John Roberts to say he doesn't like Trump’s ballroom
The president's lawlessness is the chief justice's fault.
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Hypervisible @hypervisible.blacksky.app · 27/08/2026
“A review of meeting minutes, local reporting, state opioid expenditure disclosures, and invoices obtained via public records requests reveals that at least twelve sheriffs’ offices and police departments have since 2024 spent their opioid funds on Flock cameras.”
motherjones.com
Police are spending opioid settlement funds on Flock cameras
Historic opioid settlements were supposed to be a lifeline for underserved communities. But much of that money is flowing to law enforcement.
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James West @jamespwest.bsky.social · 27/08/2026
👀 Congressman Max Miller suggests he has dirt on his ex-father-in-law Senator Bernie Moreno in a rare interview with @abbyvesoulis.bsky.social after a custody hearing in Cleveland on Wednesday. WATCH:
youtube.com
Max Miller Just Suggested He Has Dirt on Bernie Moreno
“There are certain things that he would like me to remain quiet about.” A heated scene unfolded at the Cuyahoga County family court in Cleveland on Wednesday, as the key players in a bitter dispute…
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Kiera Butler @kieraevebutler.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
New from me: Gun YouTuber Brandon Herrrera ("the AK Guy") is poised to go to Congress from a district that includes Uvalde. 96 percent of his campaign contributions are not from his district, but rather, a dispersed network of, well, internet randos. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Memes and machine guns: How Brandon Herrera built a path to Congress
His financial supporters live everywhere—except in his Texas district.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 26/08/2026
Supreme Court justices used to do their own grocery shopping. Now they need 24/7 security and a police force dedicated to just them. They helped create this new world, and in doing so, lost the privilege of living in it. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Supreme Court’s security upgrade fits the world it helped make
The justices keep ruling for Trump—but don't trust him to keep them safe.
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404 Media @404media.co · 17/08/2026
SCOOP: 404 Media placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it. What did we find? It ended up at an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books. Yes. This is literally the logo outside the Amazon warehouse door. Read now:
404media.co
We Tracked a Shipment of Rare Books. It Ended at an Amazon AI Training Facility
We placed a tracking device in a shipment of rare books to see which AI company was buying it, and found an Amazon facility where Amazon scans and destroys books.
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Anna Merlan @annamerlan.bsky.social · 14/08/2026
NEW: I wrote about Joseph McBride, the lawyer for Andrew and Tristan Tate, and the various unusual tactics he’s using to try to get them out of jail, including a flood of AI images. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The Tate brothers’ lawyer is on an aggressive, AI-riddled quest to win their release
Joseph McBride's strident defense of the accused rapists includes a flood of faked propaganda images.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 05/08/2026
About 350,000 Haitians in the US have lost their legal status in light of a US Supreme Court decision that allows the Trump administration to gut the Temporary Protected Status program. No other state will feel the repercussions of the loss of Haitian TPS recipients more than Florida.
motherjones.com
Florida’s nursing homes are bracing for life without Haitian TPS workers
The Supreme Court ended their legal status. Patients will pay the price.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 31/07/2026
Perhaps the calculation of Fauci's lawyers was that Republicans' couldn't muster 60 votes to force a vote on the contempt charge? That seems like the only reason to lean toward a contempt prosecution over a perjury one.
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Kiera Butler @kieraevebutler.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
I wrote about the inevitable conspiracy theories being spun up around Fauci's diary. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
Covid truthers are claiming Fauci’s diary was “scrubbed”
Because of course they are.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 29/07/2026
Ironically, Ho abandons his previous defense of birthright citizenship in a speech on "judicial courage" and judicial selection because the new litmus test for a Trump Supreme Court pick is a willingness to end birthright citizenship.
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Hannah Levintova @h-lev.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
1/ Last summer, @acleek.bsky.social and I started getting emails from staffers of a company called American Healthcare Systems. They told us that their hospitals were in financial chaos and that they were struggling to care for patients. So we started digging: www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
A for-profit hospital slashed costs. Then a patient froze to death on its roof.
A little-known company grew on promises to save distressed hospitals. Instead, it sunk them into financial chaos.
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Greg Lipper @theglipper.bsky.social · 28/07/2026
“Their 14-month-old daughter, Giovanni, was found crying beside her mother’s body in southern Guatemala.”
stlpr.org
Overland couple shot dead in Guatemala after local ICE stop led to deportations
The couple’s 14-month-old daughter was found crying beside her mother’s body in a sugarcane field last week, according to Guatemalan authorities and media.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 22/07/2026
“The push to exclude trans girls from girls’ sports has never really been about transgender athletes. There’s a much bigger gender war that they are fighting about inherent, fixed biological difference.”
motherjones.com
The Heritage Foundation only wanted to protect women's sports when it was about trans athletes
Not anymore.
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Jen Bendery @jbendery.bsky.social · 22/07/2026
She fueled lies about the Jan. 6, 2021 attack, advocated removing GOP senators who voted to convict Trump + smeared several GOP senators, including Lindsey Graham, who just died last week. Senate Republicans voted to confirm her anyway. Including Graham's sister. www.huffpost.com/entry/live-u...
huffpost.com
Senate GOP Confirms Trump Court Pick Who Smeared Them On Social Media
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Chris Geidner @chrisgeidner.bsky.social · 13/07/2026
BREAKING: Federal judge finds that Trump's IRS suit was improper because Trump controlled both sides of the litigation. Judge Kathleen Williams also sanctions Trump's lawyers, issues monetary sanctions, and harshly criticizes DOJ's "untenable" conduct. More to come at Law Dork: www.lawdork.com
The Parties used the existence of federal litigation as a means of conferring legitimacy upon a course of action that they were unwilling to subject to judicial review.
The context of the "settlement," the relationships of the people involved in negotiating and approving it, the ethical implications of their conduct, and the Parties' swift efforts to
dismiss this case after the Court raised fundamental jurisdictional questions all support this conclusion. Accordingly, the Court expressly finds that Plaintiffs acted in bad faith.
See Sofaly v. Portfolio Recovery Assocs., LLC, 155 F.4th 289, 295 (3d Cir. 2025) (monetary sanctions were proper under the court's inherent power where the lawyers acted in bad faith and committed fraud on the court by using "their clients to bring
contrived lawsuits"). That finding is enough to invoke the Court's inherent authority. See JTR Enter., LLC V. Columbian Emeralds, 697 F. App'x 976, 986 (11th Cir. 2017) ("The key to invoking a court's inherent power to sanction is a finding of bad faith.") (citation
omitted).
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 10/07/2026
Reminder: Memphis is still “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Task force members have reportedly killed at least two people in four days.
motherjones.com
Memphis is “under full-blown occupation” by ICE. Here’s why you may not know that.
Community members face retaliation for trying to spread the word out, a lawsuit alleges.
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Just Security @justsecurity.org · 10/07/2026
Thursday night, President Trump removed all members of bipartisan Election Assistance Commission. We just published an expert backgrounder on the implications and what the commission's professional staff can and cannot now do. By the Institute for Responsive Government's Aaron Blacksberg
justsecurity.org
What is the Election Assistance Commission With No Commissioners?
An expert backgrounder on the implications of President Trump's removal of all members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission.
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Mother Jones @motherjones.com · 02/07/2026
The largest part of the Supreme Court's 194-page decision on birthright citizenship is Justice Clarence Thomas's dissent. To Thomas, the 14th Amendment applied only to the freed people after the Civil War. In a concurrence, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson takes on Justice Thomas.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
This term, SCOTUS targeted democracy and racial equality in its steady shift toward autocracy The GOP justices disenfranchised minorities, green lit anti-immigrant policies, and demoted Congress to a suggestion-making body. Trump and the court grew more powerful www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
This Supreme Court term was about weakening democracy
The justices shifted power from minorities and Congress to the president and themselves.
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Russ Choma @russchoma.bsky.social · 02/07/2026
It wouldn't be a Trump financial disclosure day w/out some mystery... like, who is Base Co. LTD, and why did they pay a $2m non-refundable fee to Trump? This from a Korean biz pub back in Feb suggests a construction co &/or liquor conglomerate? dbr.donga.com/kfocus/view/...
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Alito and Thomas showing so much disdain for the "feudal" and "medieval" principle of birthright citizenship is so rich. In every other case, they are like, you have to do exactly what they did centuries ago! See Alito on birthright citizenship versus his 13th century authority for overturning Roe.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Birthright citizenship hangs by a thread. The promise of equality under the law, of rights for all born here, of a fair shot for everyone, is one vote away from oblivion. We are one vote away from, effectively, a racial caste system. www.motherjones.com/politics/202...
motherjones.com
The Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship
A 5-4 decision shows the nation is one vote away from creating a subclass of children.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
Please note that Kavanaugh just told us in the birthright citizenship case that the constitution doesn't have to apply to things that the framers couldn't have foreseen. Just file that away for later.
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 30/06/2026
I really want to know if Roberts voted for cert in birthright citizenship case b/c he thought he would show how reasonable the court is as a pr ploy, only to discover he had a bare majority. Or did the dissenters take the case b/c they thought they had a shot to overturn birthright citizenship?
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Pema Levy @pemalevy.bsky.social · 29/06/2026
Getting to Thomas' dissent in the Cook case and what a banger. Among many things, he defends Trump's made-up mortgage fraud accusation against Cook as sufficient cause to remove her. This from the justice who let a billionaire buy his mom's house from him and never disclosed it as required by law.
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