James Sample

“If we waited for the Supreme Court to voluntarily cede ethics enforcement power to others, we would have better odds waiting for Godot,” he said. “Congress can and should pursue meaningful mechanisms to enforce the code.” nytimes.com/2023/11/14/us/…

This is exceptionally well done and spot-on, Terry. For what it’s worth (not intended as self-promotional so much as genuine agreement), I found the argument so disheartening (for the reasons you state and others) that I attempted to “flowchart” it on my substack. open.substack.com/pub/jamessampl…

@micyoung75 Exactly. 🎯. My take on yesterday’s argument in flowchart form open.substack.com/pub/jamessampl…

Two tracks. Same day. Sunday night at 8:31 PM: Trump demanded the SAVE Act pass with "No Mail-In Voting" bundled in, threatened to kill the Senate filibuster to get it done, and told Thune to identify Republican senators who vote no for primaries. Monday morning: the Supreme Court heard arguments in the RNC's challenge to Mississippi's law allowing mail ballots postmarked by Election Day to arrive within five days. Conservative justices appeared skeptical. The Washington Post today: the court "appeared likely" to limit mail-in balloting. The Trump administration filed an amicus brief supporting the RNC. Solicitor General Sauer argued the case himself — his eighth Supreme Court appearance, signaling the administration's priority level. Twenty-nine states plus DC allow at least some late-arriving ballots. Fourteen allow it for regular mail voters. Twenty percent of Alaska's absentee ballots in 2022 arrived after Election Day. Senator Murkowski said no state would be more affected than Alaska. The RNC submitted zero documented fraud cases from late-arriving ballots. Mississippi's own Republican AG is defending the state law against his own party's national committee. This is what a two-track strategy to end mail voting looks like in real time.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) announced the Senate will take President Trump's "SAVE America Act" to the floor next week for debate. Critics warn the bill could restrict voter registration. @mychaelschnell and @jamesjsample join @AnaCabrera. ms.now/ana-cabrera-re…

Full SAVE Act discussion with @danabrams at youtu.be/ZkIOpDONa-k

JOINING US - @NoahShachtman, @arash_tehran, @edwardfishman, @lawofruby, @jamesjsample, Ret. Gen. Mark Kimmitt, @MaloneySuzanne, @RepRobinKelly, @jamieagernc, @PeterBeinart, @MaxRose4NY, and @PabloTorre.

The Imperial Presidency open.substack.com/pub/jamessampl…

I am soft-launching a Substack focused on rigorous, accessible discussions of democracy. The first article "The Imperial Presidency," will be published late tonight. Subscribing (link in welcome post below) is free! open.substack.com/pub/jamessampl…

Why did Trump decide to fire Noem now? 'The answer is optics', James Sample says tells @KatyTurNBC ms.now/katy-tur/watch…

@tlow @RepAdamSmith @PattyMurray @SenatorCantwell About to make this point - or try

Swapping Mullin for Noem means nothing. DHS must stop violating the law and the Constitution. Period. Concentration camps run by for-profit companies are immoral. DHS should be dismantled to protect the people of this country. @RepAdamSmith @PattyMurray @SenatorCantwell

@tlow @RpsAgainstTrump @Scout2462 Agree completely.

@jamesjsample @RpsAgainstTrump @Scout2462 Yeah, I think it’s hurting us. The majority should be entitled to govern imo.

BREAKING: U.S. Senate blocks a resolution to force Donald Trump to end Iran strikes without congressional approval. 53–47. Republican Sen. Rand Paul voted for the resolution, breaking with his party, while Democratic Sen. John Fetterman voted no with Republicans.

@tlow @RpsAgainstTrump @Scout2462 The Senate: Land > People.

@RpsAgainstTrump @Scout2462 This is when we suffer from the racist, planter, anti-democratic legacy that is the US Senate. The Dakotas and the Carolinas have 8 Republican senators and a total of 17 million people. California—home to 40 million people—has 2 senators.

Coming up on The @DeanObeidallah Show: @Harrison_J_Mann @glennkirschner2 @jamesjsample ☎️: 866-997-4748 🔊: SiriusXM.us/Dean

NEW and BREAKING: In a major reversal, the Trump admin is NOW trying to walk back its decision to walk away from defending the law firm executive orders in court. DOJ just notified the four fighting law firms that it now intends to continue defending the legality of the orders in court. A day ago, DOJ had a very different position. w/ @Jonesieman @DevlinBarrett nytimes.com/2026/03/03/us/…

@tlow 💯. Exceedingly smart and insightful — especially so on the geopolitics of the region. Cares deeply. Thinks deeply. Expresses clearly.

Ayman Mohyeldin, an Egyptian-American Muslim (his father is Egyptian, his mother is Palestinian), brings very insightful regional cultural analysis to MSNOW’s news coverage of the Levant and of the Middle East.

Do you mean to tell me that the same Justice Department who put up a giant banner of Donald Trump’s face has been withholding documents from the Epstein files to protect the President? I’m shocked.

Great job America

@IlyaSomin @ItWasACoup @TheAtlantic Strong article, Ilya.

My new @TheAtlantic article about our win in tariff case. Covers many issues, including major questions, nondelegation, implications for rule of law, and Trump's plan to use Section 122 to impose new tariffs (gift link): theatlantic.com/ideas/2026/02/…