DOJ Just Convicted Several People of Imaginary Antifa Terrorism
Release Date: 03/20/2026
Thomas and Lydia Take the Marriage Exam
Opening Arguments
In this very special episode, Thomas and Lydia Smith celebrate their 11th wedding anniversary in the most normal and romantic way possible: subjecting themselves to an extended interrogation about their marriage by a federal agent. After setting the scene in a (very slightly) parallel universe in which Thomas was born in Canada and committed a series of Nickelback-related misdemeanors before overstaying his student visa, Matt draws from his twenty years of experience in sitting through hundreds of immigration interviews to play out an unscripted simulation of what his clients and their U.S....
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DOJ Asks Judge to Grant Trump an Emergency Ballroom
Opening Arguments
The United States Department of Justice has reached a humiliating but undeniably hilarious new low in its defense of Donald Trump's illegal efforts to create a massive new building on the White House grounds without approval from his Congressional landlords.. Are the president's balls really a matter of national security? Did three of the most important people in DOJ really just put their names on a filing which reads more like a Trutth Social post than a serious motion in a serious case? We waltz in for a closer look. (3/31/2026) (4/27/2026)
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When You Oppose War, But Not Religiously
Opening Arguments
OA1256 - Will there ever be a draft again? Who knows. But if there is, what does one have to do to claim "conscientious objector” status? During the Vietnam War, the Supreme Court grappled with how to apply that explicitly religious statutory exemption to people whose modern beliefs don’t seem to fit the religious mold that Congress defined in the 40s. Jenessa walks us through the court’s mental gymnastics to avoid ever admitting that anyone could be an atheist, and the concurrence that calls it out. Note: The analysis of the Free Exercise Clause in this episode is specific to the time...
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SPLC Indicted for Being the SPLC; 10 Commandments in Classrooms; Trump’s Stupid Ballroom
Opening Arguments
OA1255 - Has the Southern Poverty Law Center really just been indicted for helping to provide information to the FBI? Did the Trump administration really just tell a federal judge that building a White House ballroom was a matter of “national security”? Did the 5th Circuit really just require Texas to display the 10 Commandments in every public school classroom? We take on these questions and many more before getting to our footnote: Did a Rolls-Royce hating bear really just commit insurance fraud in California? Indictment in (filed April 21, 2026) , Public Citizen (April 22, 2026) ...
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Leaked Supreme Court Memos Reveal the Shadow Docket's Extremely Stupid (and Corrupt) Origins
Opening Arguments
VR29 - Thomas, Lydia, and Matt go deep on the “Shadow Papers,” the 2016 shadow docket memos recently leaked to The New York Times which reveal the truth about the deliberations preceding the first time of many times to come that the Supreme Court stopped the government from enforcing something before any court had a chance to rule on it. Can anyone still possibly believe that John Roberts is only there to call “balls and strikes” after seeing how enthusiastically he is pitching for the energy lobby in these documents? Why are these glorified work emails so important, and what can we...
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An Under-the-Radar Copyright Case with Huge Implications
Opening Arguments
OA1254 - An underreported on case called Cox Communications, Inc. v. Sony Music Entertainment could be a much bigger deal than it seems. Record labels say Cox let repeat infringers run wild on its network and a jury hit them with a massive verdict. Cox says it’s not the internet police and shouldn’t be on the hook for what users do. So how far does that responsibility go? When does “you could have stopped this” turn into legal liability? We break down the DMCA’s “repeat infringer” rules and why this case isn’t just about piracy. The real question is whether companies can be...
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Trump Puts the “Pervert” in Perversion of Justice
Opening Arguments
OA1253 - It’s spring cleaning time in this week’s news, in which we answer patron questions on everything from DOJ lying to a federal judge about ICE’s policy on arresting immigrants in courthouses to DOJ lying about violating court orders. Also: the Trump administration’s unbelievable gift to some of the worst of the worst J6rs, the D.C. Circuit’s inexplicable termination of Judge Boasberg’s contempt proceedings against the administration for violating his orders, and a major ruling in one of the most important deportation cases in US history. We chase these shots of 200-proof...
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Go to Hell, Swalwell.
Opening Arguments
VR28 - On this week’s Vapid Response, we survey the fallout from California Congressman Eric Swalwell’s recent exposure as a longtime sexual predator and ensuing swift exit from both the California governor’s race and Congress itself. What does Swalwell’s fall say about how our country’s two political parties handle these kinds of allegations in 2026--and can we once again count on The Federalist to deliver the stupidest possible take on the situation? We then briefly revisit the single worst take on the allegations raised against Brett Kavanaugh during his 2018 confirmation process...
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Peaceful Protestors Are Facing Decades in Prison - Inside the Prairieland Trial
Opening Arguments
OA1252 - Just one month ago, nine people were convicted in a Texas federal court for their participation in a protest outside the Prairieland ICE facility in a first-ever prosecution in which the Department of Justice claimed that support for so-called “Antifa” constituted “material support for terrorism.” What can we learn from the plight of the Prairieland defendants about how the Trump administration is punishing dissent, and where do things go from here? We are joined by Ron, a community member who attended the trial, and Prairieland defense attorney Xavier de Janon of the...
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Farewell to Pam Bondi, the worst AG in US History... SO FAR!
Opening Arguments
OA1251 - We begin with a rare Friday appearance from OA democracy correspondent Jenessa Seymour, who stops in to provide some unequivocal good news from this week’s elections. Then: a temperature check on how mad should we be that the Supreme Court has cleared the way for Steve Bannon’s conviction to be reversed, an appropriately respectful review of former Attorney General Pam Bondi’s career, and a footnote involving an extremely litigious German tourist who made the most of his short time in New York City in the most American way possible. in U.S. v. Bannon (filed 2/6/2026)...
info_outlineOA1245 - Federal prosecutors have just secured the first convictions in US history in which the Department of Justice has brought charges relating to associations with “Antifa,” an organization which demonstrably does not exist. We take a closer look at the plight of the eight defendants convicted on charges relating to a noise protest outside of an ICE detention center in Prarieland, Texas to break down the unusual legal basis for this case, understand how protesters were cast as terrorists, and what this all means for the future of American dissent.
Then in better news, we take a closer look at the recent bar complaint against one of Trump’s favorite lawyers (and our favorite MAGA characters) and AG Pam Bondi’s efforts to claim that the feds can hold up similar investigations brought by state regulators. Matt explains why this proposed rule is not only obviously illegal but doomed to fail before providing some news you can use in today’s footnote: the official OA guide on how to get away with a $100 million jewelry heist.
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Superseding Indictment #1 in United States v. Arnold (2025)
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Jury verdict in in United States v. Arnold (2025)
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“Meet the Defendants,” DFW Defense Committee website
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“Specification of Charges in the matter of Edward R. Martin Jr.” District of Columbia Board on Professional Responsibility (3/6/2026)
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“Review of State Bar Complaints and Allegations Against Department of Justice Attorneys,” Federal Register (3/5/2026)
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