The Department of Justice (DOJ) claimed to the Supreme Court this week that President Donald Trump has near limitless authority to deploy troops within the U.S. Meanwhile, Trump pardoned dozens of people who backed his effort to overturn the 2020 presidential election. 

Plus: A federal judge delayed the high-profile trial of Rep. LaMonica McIver amid mounting questions about political prosecutions under Trump.

Thank you very much for reading. If you have any thoughts or concerns, please reach out to me at knutson@democracydocket.com.

Jacob Knutson, reporter

More bad news for Trump’s acting U.S. attorneys

• So far, judges have determined that three of Trump’s interim U.S. attorneys have been serving unlawfully. 
  
  
• The bad news for these Trump-loyalist prosecutors continued this week after defense attorneys representing two men in California asked a federal judge to completely oust Bill Essayli from the top of the Central District of California. 
  
  
• The attorneys argued Essayli’s recent social media posts show he's unconstitutionally serving as an "inferior officer" without Senate approval. The judge previously stripped Essayli of his interim U.S. attorney title but allowed him to continue supervising the Central District of California as first assistant U.S. attorney.
  
  
• Separately, the Campaign for Accountability (CAP), a government watchdog group, asked the state bar associations in both Florida and Virginia to investigate Lindsey Halligan, a former personal attorney for Trump who he tapped to lead prosecutions against his political foes. 
  
  
• The watchdog alleged that Halligan violated a "myriad" of regulations through the prosecutions of former FBI Director James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James. 
  
  
• “Halligan's actions appear to constitute an abuse of power and serve to undermine the integrity of the [DOJ] and erode public confidence in the legal profession and the fair administration of justice," CAP’s complaint alleges.
  
  
• A federal court will hear arguments today on Comey’s and James’ consolidated motions to dismiss their cases based on what they argue was Halligan’s unlawful appointment.

Dive Deeper: Judge delays trial against Rep. LaMonica McIver

A federal judge indefinitely pushed back the trial of Rep. LaMonica McIver (D-N.J.) on assault charges, which was set to start this week. 

• McIver, the first sitting member of Congress to be criminally prosecuted by the Trump administration, faces a three-count charge of “forcibly impeding” officers during a chaotic confrontation between federal agents and elected officials outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) facility in Newark earlier this year. If convicted, she could face a maximum sentence of 17 years in prison.
  
  
• U.S. District Judge Jamel Semper is mulling whether to toss the charges against McIver in part over a series of prejudicial statements the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made against her, including a press release falsely accusing her of domestic terrorism. Two weeks after hearing oral arguments on McIver’s motions to dismiss, Semper has yet to rule.
  
  
• Separately, the Third Circuit Court of Appeals has yet to rule on whether Alina Habba, another one of Trump’s former personal attorneys who’s led the prosecution against McIver, can continue serving as New Jersey's top federal prosecutor.

To do list

• TransRooted, a Colorado-based group, is hosting a virtual legal observer training tonight at 7 p.m. ET. Join to learn how to safely document law enforcement interactions at demonstrations in order to protect civil liberties. Find out more here.
  
  
• This Thanksgiving through Cyber Monday, We Ain’t Buying It is organizing a boycott of major corporations supporting and enabling the Trump administration, including Target, Home Depot and Amazon. Find out more here.

Odds and ends

• Ethics officials fired after investigating Trump’s attack dog: Bill Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director and one of Trump’s favored attack dogs, fired Fannie Mae oversight officials investigating whether he improperly accessed mortgage documents belonging to New York AG James and other Democratic officials, the Wall Street Journal reported.
  
  
• Trump asks appeals court to allow use of force against protesters, media: The Trump administration asked the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals to lift a district court order barring federal agents from indiscriminately deploying tear gas and firing less-than-lethal munitions against peaceful protesters and members of the media in Chicago.
  
  
• ICE accused of pepper-spraying child in a drive-by: Just days after the federal judge restricted the use of force by federal agents in Chicago, Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were accused of pepper-spraying a one-year-old girl and her dad as they were driving to a grocery store.

Quote of the week

Mark Wolf, a Reagan-appointed judge, announced his resignation in an Atlantic essay this week, explaining that he can no longer remain silent in the face of the “existential threat to democracy and the rule of law” posed by the Trump administration:

My reason is simple: I no longer can bear to be restrained by what judges can say publicly or do outside the courtroom. President Donald Trump is using the law for partisan purposes, targeting his adversaries while sparing his friends and donors from investigation, prosecution, and possible punishment. 

This is contrary to everything that I have stood for in my more than 50 years in the Department of Justice and on the bench. The White House’s assault on the rule of law is so deeply disturbing to me that I feel compelled to speak out. Silence, for me, is now intolerable.