It’s epic corruption in plain sight. History shows that after scandal comes reform — often, but not always. In January, the ...

What if political parties are a big part of the answer? I know, I know. You have mixed feelings about parties. So did James ...

In a shocking and lawless opinion, the Supreme Court granted presidents broad protections from criminal prosecution for “official acts” they undertake while in office. This ruling from the Court’s ...

The U.S. incarceration system is broken. Prisons are largely unable to address the underlying circumstances that can lead to crime, such as mental illness and lack of housing or education. They are ...

An increasingly familiar story played out earlier this month when the Supreme Court issued yet another after-hours “shadow docket” order undermining voting rights. This time, the order put a hold on a ...

Bad data and a politicized overhaul could spread election fraud lies and disenfranchise voters. The Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements, or “SAVE,” program was designed to help states ...

Six state legislatures curbed judicial independence in 2024. Twenty-one bills in nine states would have injected more politics into how judges are selected. No bills were enacted, though one ...

The Voting Rights Act, now just one year shy of its 60th anniversary, has served an indispensable role in safeguarding communities of color from racially discriminatory election systems, voting laws, ...

You’re read­ing The Brief­ing, Michael Wald­­­­­man’s weekly news­­­­­­­­­let­ter — receive it in your inbox. “In America,” Thomas Paine wrote at the founding, “the law is king.” Amid today’s ...

Since the Supreme Court largely deregulated election spending in 2010 in Citizens United, wealthy donors and special interests have pumped more and more money into the political process. Small donor ...

UPDATE: On June 21, the Senate parliamentarian ruled that this provision should not be included in the budget reconciliation bill, and it was subsequently removed. Buried in the House’s budget ...