Sandwich Guy is free! Sean Dunn was acquitted of simple assault by a jury of his peers. Meanwhile, Lindsey Halligan continues to face difficulties in her case against James Comey, and the Justice Department generally is having trouble finding a sufficient number of qualified attorneys. That’s all in this week’s free show.

There’s much more this week for paying subscribers, including:

* A look at why Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson chose to delay a ruling that would have forced the Trump administration to pay SNAP benefits.

* U.S. Senators voted themselves a legal right to sue if the government obtains their phone records, and the House grudgingly went along. The provision might get repealed after an outcry. But if it doesn't, does that violate the 27th Amendment? And even if it does, is there any recourse?

* The adventures of Bill Pulte.

* Federal pardons for participants in fake elector conspiracies (who really mostly need to worry about state charges anyway).

* Another victory for Ann Selzer.

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On this week's show for everyone: two court decisions direct the Trump administration to continue sending SNAP (food stamp) funds to states and the administration has chosen not to appeal these orders — likely not relishing the politics of withholding SNAP funds — but the legal situation may get more complicated if the shutdown does not end soon. Plus: more motions from James Comey.

For paying subscribers: legal wrangling over federal immigration enforcement in Chicago; some AUSAs who were placed on leave for daring to call January 6 a “mob” “riot” in a sentencing memo; a Tennessee man who spent a month in jail on the extremely thin claim that a political meme he posted was a terroristic threat; and the strange scandal of now-former FDA official George Tidmarsh and Aurinia.

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This week, both James Comey and Letitia James continue to seek dismissal of the criminal charges brought against them, and one argument they’ve both made will be considered by a judge from another state. We talk about why that's happening, we also discuss a lesson from the Barry Bonds steroids case that could be relevant for Comey, and we look at a complaint James has made about Halligan’s communications about grand jury proceedings to a reporter. That, plus a look at Ninth Circuit action in the national guard cases and a look at a sloppy defamation lawsuit from Paul Ingrassia, constitutes this week’s free show.

Beyond the paywall, we talk about an effort from the D.C. bar to impose new burdens on law firms that might, theoretically, enter into settlement deals with the government, an dwhen a state could prosecute an ICE officer for breaking state law (not never, is the short answer), and our discussion of how some judges are now getting in trouble for their misuse of AI in drafting opinions.

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