Sarah K. Burris

Former special counsel Jack Smith sent Senate Judiciary Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-IA) a new letter about setting the record straight with his public testimony, Politico reported on Friday.

The letter, written by lawyers for Smith, delivered a sly jab at President Donald Trump for leveraging law enforcement against his political enemies while alleging that Smith had done so.

“Such political meddling in prosecutorial decision making undermines the credibility of the Justice Department and the integrity of any subsequent enforcement actions,” wrote Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, the Smith lawyers at the firm Covington & Burling....

The acquittal of Sean Dunn, also known as "Sandwich Guy," on Thursday came as a welcome "act of resistance" to President Donald Trump's takeover of Washington, D.C. Slate's legal analysts Dahlia Lithwick and Mark Joseph Stern discussed on Friday.

Chatting on the "Amicus" podcast, the experts called it "one of the greatest acts of resistance to the regime that you could imagine."

In many ways, the case became emblematic of the D.C. "takeover," which began in August, flooding the streets with federal agents and National Guard soldiers under the guise of reducing crime, they argued. ...

Republicans have refused to negotiate a deal with Democrats to extend healthcare subsidies under the Affordable Care Act until they pass the continuing resolution previously approved by the House.

On Friday, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) introduced a public proposal on the Senate floor to do both simultaneously: pass the spending package and extend the subsidies for one year. He proposed a bipartisan working group to continue ongoing budget negotiations and explore long-term healthcare solutions.

The plan could make things more difficult in the House, where Speaker Mike Johnson has refused to bring members back to work. He has argued that they did their job and passed the spending bill. If the Senate passes Schumer's proposal, the House would theoretically return. ...

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) will speak Friday afternoon on the Senate floor about a proposal to end the shutdown.

Democrats have been strident in their efforts to return Affordable Care Act subsidies to those who have received them for years, but Republicans have refused. Senate Republicans have been more willing to support restoring those subsidies, but House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) and many other Republican members refuse to support the plan.

Thus far, senators have agreed only to allow a vote on restoring the subsidies, not to support the passage of a bill. Democrats have opposed Republican promises because there's no assurance they'll abide by the deal once they get what they want. ...

Judge Michael Nachmanoff has rejected the Justice Department's effort to block access to grand jury minutes in the case of former FBI Director James Comey, Lawfare's Roger Parloff said, posting the decision.

Comey was indicted by a grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia for allegedly lying to Congress. His lawyer requested all the information from that grand jury as part of his defense, but the DOJ turned over only some of it.

Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick rejected the DOJ's efforts to block those, and the DOJ appealed. ...