
Strict Scrutiny Will SCOTUS Join the GOP War on Mail-in Ballots?
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Mar 30, 2026 Elora Mukherjee, director of Columbia Law School's Immigrants' Rights Clinic who litigates asylum and represents detained immigrants. Ian Bassin, founder of Protect Democracy who defends democratic institutions and fights election threats. They debate Watson v. RNC and risks to mail‑in and early voting. They unpack asylum metering, the fight over birthright citizenship, and conditions at the Dilley detention center.
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Judge Finds Pentagon Press Policy Viewpoint Discrimination
- The D.C. district court found the Pentagon press policy unconstitutional viewpoint discrimination for barring reporters who refused loyalty-style gag agreements.
- Ian Bassin highlights the heightened public interest in unfettered Pentagon reporting during wartime and the legacy of press access protections.
Collective Tech Pushback Beat Pentagon Retaliation
- In Anthropic litigation, the court held the Pentagon's public blacklist and pressure tactics against a vendor were unlawful First Amendment retaliation.
- Bassin praises collective pushback from AI researchers and competitors as a rare, effective defense against authoritarian divide-and-conquer tactics.
DOJ Distances Itself From DHS Misrepresentations
- The SDNY publicly blamed DHS for repeatedly misleading DOJ about courthouse-arrest policies, signaling intra-administration fracture and DOJ's attempt to preserve credibility.
- Bassin reads this as DOJ distancing professional lawyers from political lawlessness ahead of potential accountability.









