#federaltradecommission — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #federaltradecommission, aggregated by home.social.
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https://www.europesays.com/news/27881/ NYU Langone Hospital Is Subpoenaed Over Youth Trans Care #ChildrenAndChildhood #DonaldJ #ExecutiveOrdersAndMemorandums #FederalBureauOfInvestigation #FederalTradeCommission #Gender #Headlines #Hormones #hospitals #JusticeDepartment #NewYorkUniversityLangoneHealth #NewYorkUniversityLangoneMedicalCenter #News #Subpoenas #TeenagersAndAdolescence #TopStories #transgender #trump #UnitedStatesAttorneys #UnitedStatesPoliticsAndGovernment #youth
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https://www.europesays.com/ie/469740/ Why ‘looking poor’ is crucial for a comfy retirement in America. How fake social status could be ruining your finances #Business #DaveRamsey #Éire #FederalTradeCommission #FinancialFraud #FinancialFuture #IE #Ireland #PeerGroup #PersonalFinance #PersonalFinances #PersonalFinance #Retirement #SocialPressure
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New Zealand seeks public input on ad regulation rules https://www.byteseu.com/1971334/ #AdvertisingTechnologies(Adtech) #ConsumerRights #CorporateSocialResponsibility(CSR) #DataProtection #DataPrivacy #ECommerce(eCommerce) #FederalTradeCommission #Greenwashing #HateSpeech #HiddenFees #InfluencerMarketing #MarketingTechnologies(MarTech) #NewZealand #NewZealand(NZ) #PersonalData #RegulatoryTechnology #retail #RetailMedia #reviews #Risk&Compliance #SocialMedia #TechnologyGifts
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Trump vs. Powell: Interest rates, investigation and a replacement
April 22 (UPI) — Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell‘s term is nearing its end and President Donald Trump…
#Economy #DonaldTrump #FederalReserve #FederalReserveSystem #FederalTradeCommission #FranklinDelanoRoosevelt #georgewbush #JeromePowell #jimmycarter #PamBondi #SupremeCourt #TopStories #U.S. #WoodrowWilson
https://www.europesays.com/2937926/ -
Illegal price fixing: California substantiates accusations against Amazon
The US state accuses Amazon of pressuring various brands to drive up prices at competing retailers.
#Amazon #FederalTradeCommission #Kartellrecht #Wirtschaft #news
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Illegale Preisabsprachen: Kalifornien untermauert Vorwürfe gegen Amazon
Der US-Bundesstaat wirft Amazon vor, verschiedene Marken unter Druck gesetzt zu haben, um konkurrierende Einzelhändler zu Preiserhöhungen zu bewegen.
#Amazon #FederalTradeCommission #Kartellrecht #Wirtschaft #news
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Knowledge is power. Feel free to help yourself to some:
https://youtu.be/bbbgfnpJN9w?si=9MD_0d5zXb6ouDsx
#uschamberofcommerce #lewispowell #powellmemo #useconomics #consumer #labor #environmental #socialcontract #workers #shareholder #politicalcombat #uspol #jointorganizing #jointfundingn #tradeorganization #bigbusiness #businesscrusade #corporatepolitics #lobbyists #ftc #federaltradecommission #consumeradvocate #congress #advertising #reaganadministration #corporatemisbehavior #corporateamerica #scotus #citizensunited -
Knowledge is power. Feel free to help yourself to some:
https://youtu.be/bbbgfnpJN9w?si=9MD_0d5zXb6ouDsx
#uschamberofcommerce #lewispowell #powellmemo #useconomics #consumer #labor #environmental #socialcontract #workers #shareholder #politicalcombat #uspol #jointorganizing #jointfundingn #tradeorganization #bigbusiness #businesscrusade #corporatepolitics #lobbyists #ftc #federaltradecommission #consumeradvocate #congress #advertising #reaganadministration #corporatemisbehavior #corporateamerica #scotus #citizensunited -
https://www.europesays.com/people/6153/ SoftBank’s growing stakes in Nvidia, TSMC show founder Masayoshi Son’s focus on AI gear #AbuDhabi #AmpereComputing #Arizona #ArmHoldings #ArtificialSuperintelligence #ComgestAssetManagement #DataCentre #DonaldTrump #FederalTradeCommission #IntellectualProperty #Japan #MasayoshiSon #MGX #Nvidia #OpenAI #OracleCorp #semiconductor #SoftBankGroupCorp #StargateProject #StartUp #TMobile #TSMC #VisionFund #YoshimitsuGoto
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#OkCupid gave 3 million dating-app photos to facial recognition firm, #FTC says
OkCupid and its owner #Match Group reached a settlement with the #Trump administration for not telling dating-app customers that nearly 3 million user photos were shared with a company making a facial recognition system. OkCupid also gave the #facialRecognition firm access to user location information and other details without customers' consent, the #FederalTradeCommission said.
#privacy -
https://www.europesays.com/be/6516/ Antwerp pursues clearer lab-created diamond regulations #Antwerp #AntwerpWorldDiamondCentre #AWDC #B2B #bangles #BusinessToBusiness #chain #charms #consumer #DavidClarinval #diamonds #Directory #Fairs #FederalTradeCommission #Industry #information #JAA #Jeweller #Jewellery #KarenRentmeesters #knowledge #LabCreatedDiamonds #magazine #NaturalDiamonds #News #productivity #products #RapaportNews #retailers #sales #Services #stores #subscribers #suppliers #trends #watches
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https://www.europesays.com/uk/764747/ Why ‘looking poor’ is crucial for a comfy retirement in America. How fake social status could be ruining your finances #Business #DaveRamsey #FederalTradeCommission #Finance #FinancialFuture #LendingTree #PeerGroup #PersonalFinance #PersonalFinances #retirement #SocialPressure #UK #UnitedKingdom
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Why ‘looking poor’ is crucial for a comfy retirement in America. How fake social status could be ruining your finances
In your 60s and 70s, the goal should be to retire well, not impress your friends and family.…
#NewsBeep #News #Personalfinance #Business #CA #Canada #DaveRamsey #FederalTradeCommission #Finance #financialfuture #LendingTree #peergroup #personalfinances #PersonalFinance #Retirement #socialpressure
https://www.newsbeep.com/ca/475109/ -
Why ‘looking poor’ is crucial for a comfy retirement in America. How fake social status could be ruining your finances
In your 60s and 70s, the goal should be to retire well, not impress your friends and family.…
#NewsBeep #News #Personalfinance #Business #DaveRamsey #FederalTradeCommission #Finance #financialfuture #LendingTree #peergroup #personalfinances #PersonalFinance #Retirement #socialpressure #UK #UnitedKingdom
https://www.newsbeep.com/uk/425779/ -
Why ‘looking poor’ is crucial for a comfy retirement in America. How fake social status could be ruining your finances
In your 60s and 70s, the goal should be to retire well, not impress your friends and family.…
#NewsBeep #News #Personalfinance #AU #Australia #Business #DaveRamsey #FederalTradeCommission #Finance #financialfuture #LendingTree #peergroup #personalfinances #PersonalFinance #Retirement #socialpressure
https://www.newsbeep.com/au/479982/ -
https://www.europesays.com/ie/337436/ Why ‘looking poor’ is crucial for a comfy retirement in America. How fake social status could be ruining your finances #Business #DaveRamsey #Éire #FederalTradeCommission #FinancialFuture #IE #Ireland #LendingTree #PeerGroup #PersonalFinance #PersonalFinances #PersonalFinance #Retirement #SocialPressure
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Politics: US trade watchdog sends stern letter regarding Apple News
FTC Chairman Andrew Ferguson believes Apple disadvantages conservative media with its algorithm. The consequences are still unclear.
#FederalTradeCommission #Medien #Politik #TimCook #DonaldTrump #Wirtschaft #news
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Politik: US-Handelsaufsicht schreibt bösen Brief wegen Apple News
FTC-Vorsitzender Andrew Ferguson glaubt, dass Apple mit seinem Algorithmus konservative Medien benachteiligt. Welche Konsequenzen das hat, ist noch unklar.
#FederalTradeCommission #Medien #Politik #TimCook #DonaldTrump #Wirtschaft #news
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FTC Chairman Warns Apple Over News Choices On Its Aggregation Site
#News #Politics #AndrewFerguson #Apple #AppleNews #ElectionLine #FederalTradeCommission #FTC #TimCookhttps://deadline.com/2026/02/ftc-apple-news-tim-cook-letter-1236716669/
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Media Ratings Site NewsGuard Sues Trump FTC, Claims Unconstitutional Effort “To Censor Speech”
#News #Politics #AndrewFerguson #ElectionLine #FederalTradeCommission #FTC #NewsGuard #Newsmaxhttps://deadline.com/2026/02/newsguard-trump-ftc-lawsuit-1236711308/
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Media Ratings Site NewsGuard Sues Trump FTC, Claims Unconstitutional Effort “To Censor Speech”
#News #Politics #AndrewFerguson #ElectionLine #FederalTradeCommission #FTC #NewsGuard #Newsmaxhttps://deadline.com/2026/02/newsguard-trump-ftc-lawsuit-1236711308/
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Media Ratings Site NewsGuard Sues Trump FTC, Claims Unconstitutional Effort “To Censor Speech”
#News #Politics #AndrewFerguson #ElectionLine #FederalTradeCommission #FTC #NewsGuard #Newsmaxhttps://deadline.com/2026/02/newsguard-trump-ftc-lawsuit-1236711308/
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Media Ratings Site NewsGuard Sues Trump FTC, Claims Unconstitutional Effort “To Censor Speech”
#News #Politics #AndrewFerguson #ElectionLine #FederalTradeCommission #FTC #NewsGuard #Newsmaxhttps://deadline.com/2026/02/newsguard-trump-ftc-lawsuit-1236711308/
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Trump’s Firing of a Fed Governor
If you listened to the January 21 oral argument in Trump v. Cook, you …
#Economy #AmyConeyBarretrt #BrettKavanaugh #DonaldTrump #FederalReserve #FederalReserveBoardofGovernors #FederalReserveSystem #FederalTradeCommission #gwynnewilcox #Humphrey'sExecutor #JeromePowell #johnroberts #KathyBoyle #LisaCook #meritsystemsprotectionboard #NationalLaborRelationsBoard #SamuelAlito #SolicitorGeneralJohnSauer. #SupremeCourt #Trumpv.Cook
https://www.europesays.com/2751575/ -
„#TrumpMobile“ – #FTC soll Werbeversprechen prüfen | heise online https://www.heise.de/news/US-Handelsaufsicht-soll-Trump-Phone-auf-irrefuehrendes-Marketing-pruefen-11144824.html #TrumpPhone #DonaldTrump #FederalTradeCommission
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US trade oversight to examine "Trump Phone" for misleading marketing
Members of Congress and Senators are turning to the FTC, partly because "Made in USA" was promised for the golden smartphone.
#DonaldTrump #FederalTradeCommission #Journal #Mobiles #Smartphone #Wirtschaft #news
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US-Handelsaufsicht soll „Trump Phone“ auf irreführendes Marketing prüfen
Kongressabgeordnete und Senatoren wenden sich an die FTC, unter anderem, weil „Made in USA“ für das goldene Smartphone versprochen wurde.
#DonaldTrump #FederalTradeCommission #Journal #Mobiles #Smartphone #Wirtschaft #news
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Federal Agencies May Soon Lose Power to Regulate Independently of Trump’s Will
SCOTUS has signaled a willingness to no longer insulate agency personnel from decisions made by the executive branch. -
Federal Agencies May Soon Lose Power to Regulate Independently of Trump’s Will
SCOTUS has signaled a willingness to no longer insulate agency personnel from decisions made by the executive branch. -
The F.T.C. Chairman Who Tilted the Agency to #Trump
#AndrewFerguson , the chairman of the #FederalTradeCommission , during a #HouseAppropriationsSubcommittee on #FinancialServices and General Government hearing in May.
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/08/technology/ftc-andrew-ferguson-regulator.html
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The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos [Unofficial] @[email protected] ·Same Product, Same Store, but on Instacart, Prices Might Differ
https://fed.brid.gy/r/https://www.nytimes.com/2025/12/09/business/instacart-algorithmic-pricing.html
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Civil Discourse – Monday in Court and Beyond – Joyce Vance
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Monday in Court and Beyond
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comBy Joyce Vance, Dec 08, 2025
Your paid subscription makes Civil Discourse possible—independent, informed analysis in a moment when noise can drown out reason. Join a community that refuses to give up on democracy—or on understanding it. –Joyce Vance
Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year. She sued.
In a landmark 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor, the Supreme Court held that Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove certain executive branch officials. That longstanding precedent has been on a collision course with Donald Trump’s quest for maximal power for as long as he’s been in office. Today, a Court that has been very sympathetic to Trump heard argument in Slaughter’s case.
The type of executive branch positions at stake are appointments to high-ranking positions in quasi-independent federal agencies like the FTC and others, including the Federal Reserve. The top line question is whether presidents can fire them in the absence of misconduct. We discussed the backstory to Humphrey’s Executor here, back in March. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired an FTC Commissioner, writing to him that “your mind and my mind [don’t] go along together on either the policies or the administering of the Federal Trade Commission.” The Court held that Congress intended to restrict a president’s power of removal to cases involving inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that Roosevelt couldn’t dismiss Humphrey simply because they were of different minds on policy.
That precedent is about as on-point as they come. It suggests that Slaughter, who had done nothing wrong, should win her case. She was advised of her termination in an email that said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with [the Trump] Administration’s priorities.”
But our tea leaf reading at the start of the term, which concluded that the Court would weigh in for Trump, appears to have been on target. We based that analysis on the fact that the Court declined to stay Slaughter’s dismissal from the FTC until it could hear the case. If there had been a majority, or something close to it, inclined to follow Humphrey’s Executor and rein Trump in, the Court would have prevented the firing from taking effect until it could hear the case. The fact that they allowed her dismissal to take effect implied the Court was prepared to undo the precedent that would have prohibited it. Oral argument bore out that conclusion.
Justice Kagan went straight to the heart of the matter when Solicitor General John Sauer argued the government’s case. She pointed out that “the central proposition of your brief” was that the Vesting Clause of the Constitution gives all of the executive power to the president. “Once you’re down this road, it’s a little difficult to see how you stop,” Justice Kagan said. Sauer talked over her and around her, but never disagreed. The government’s position, even though it didn’t go this far today, is that everything that happens in the executive branch is at the president’s pleasure. Everything. That could include matters like who DOJ indicts, what businesses the EPA regulates, and all sorts of individualized decisions that are currently made by people with expertise, guided by long-standing practices and ethical constraints.
“To that point, when Justice Kagan asked whether a decision against Slaughter would apply to other similarly situated agencies, Sauer ducked. He told her the Court could just “reserve” making a decision on other agencies because those cases were not in front of the Court today. Justice Kagan responded that “logic has consequences,” and that even if the Court dropped a footnote saying it wasn’t deciding other cases as Sauer suggested, it would just be a dodge; it wouldn’t mean anything for future cases, where the government would be free to argue for an unprecedented level of control in the hands of the president, using Slaughter as support, if the Court decides it in the manner the government requested.” Joyce Vance’s Quote…
Justice Sotomayor said to Sauer, “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent.” Justice Alito invited Sauer to respond. “The sky will not fall,” he said, adding, “The entire government will move toward accountability to the people.” Justice Sotomayor ultimately responded, “What you’re saying is the president can do more than the law permits.” There was silence for a moment. Then Sauer hurriedly repeated a few of his earlier points and concluded that Humphrey should be reversed.
We don’t know precisely how the Court will rule, but the Chief Justice tipped his hand a bit, saying “the precedent” had “nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today,” and claiming that the FTC back then was different, and “had very little, if any executive power,” suggesting different rules might apply today for an agency that had become more powerful. It’s the sophistic kind of reasoning we have seen before when the Roberts Court twists itself into pretzel logic so that it can reverse longstanding precedent—while pretending it is doing nothing of the sort.
A decision in this case is likely to come at the end of the term, late next June or the first week in July, although it could come at any time. It is likely to be one of the most consequential of this term.
A lot more happened today that is worthy of our attention. But because there is so much of it, instead of trying to cover it all, I’ll flag some of the most important developments here, and you can read further on any of them that interest you. We will take them up in more detail as they develop.
- ProPublica, widely regarded as a highly credible source of independent investigative journalism (they broke the story on Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting vacation travels and other favors from conservative power players) reported today that some of Trump’s mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud, according to records they reviewed. While living in New York, he claimed two 1993 real estate purchases made within two months of each other in Florida would both become his principal residence. The report says: “The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called ‘deceitful and potentially criminal.’” Trump has accused multiple political adversaries of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence, and that appears to be the rationale behind federal criminal investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, and California Representative Eric Swalwell, and others, although there are at best flimsy facts to support the allegations.
- Twelve former FBI agents sued Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with others, alleging “unlawful retaliation” because they were fired for kneeling in response to protests in Washington, D.C., after George Floyd’s murder. The lawsuit is based on First Amendment violations and also points out the wisdom of the plaintiffs’ decision to kneel with the crowd: “As a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Monday in Court and Beyond
Tags: 1935, Chief Justice Roberts, Civil Discourse, December 8 2025, DOJ, FBI Agents, Federal Trade Commission, Fired for Kneeling, FTC Commissioner, Humphrey's Executor, John Sauer, Joyce Vance, Justice Alito, Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, Mortgage Fraud by Trump, ProPublica, Rebecca Slaughter, SCOTUS, U.S. Supreme Court#1935 #ChiefJusticeRoberts #CivilDiscourse #December82025 #DOJ #FBIAgents #FederalTradeCommission #FiredForKneeling #FTCCommissioner #HumphreySExecutor #JohnSauer #JoyceVance #JusticeAlito #JusticeKagan #JusticeSotomayor #MortgageFraudByTrump #ProPublica #RebeccaSlaughter #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt
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Civil Discourse – Monday in Court and Beyond – Joyce Vance
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Monday in Court and Beyond
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comBy Joyce Vance, Dec 08, 2025
Your paid subscription makes Civil Discourse possible—independent, informed analysis in a moment when noise can drown out reason. Join a community that refuses to give up on democracy—or on understanding it. –Joyce Vance
Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year. She sued.
In a landmark 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor, the Supreme Court held that Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove certain executive branch officials. That longstanding precedent has been on a collision course with Donald Trump’s quest for maximal power for as long as he’s been in office. Today, a Court that has been very sympathetic to Trump heard argument in Slaughter’s case.
The type of executive branch positions at stake are appointments to high-ranking positions in quasi-independent federal agencies like the FTC and others, including the Federal Reserve. The top line question is whether presidents can fire them in the absence of misconduct. We discussed the backstory to Humphrey’s Executor here, back in March. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired an FTC Commissioner, writing to him that “your mind and my mind [don’t] go along together on either the policies or the administering of the Federal Trade Commission.” The Court held that Congress intended to restrict a president’s power of removal to cases involving inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that Roosevelt couldn’t dismiss Humphrey simply because they were of different minds on policy.
That precedent is about as on-point as they come. It suggests that Slaughter, who had done nothing wrong, should win her case. She was advised of her termination in an email that said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with [the Trump] Administration’s priorities.”
But our tea leaf reading at the start of the term, which concluded that the Court would weigh in for Trump, appears to have been on target. We based that analysis on the fact that the Court declined to stay Slaughter’s dismissal from the FTC until it could hear the case. If there had been a majority, or something close to it, inclined to follow Humphrey’s Executor and rein Trump in, the Court would have prevented the firing from taking effect until it could hear the case. The fact that they allowed her dismissal to take effect implied the Court was prepared to undo the precedent that would have prohibited it. Oral argument bore out that conclusion.
Justice Kagan went straight to the heart of the matter when Solicitor General John Sauer argued the government’s case. She pointed out that “the central proposition of your brief” was that the Vesting Clause of the Constitution gives all of the executive power to the president. “Once you’re down this road, it’s a little difficult to see how you stop,” Justice Kagan said. Sauer talked over her and around her, but never disagreed. The government’s position, even though it didn’t go this far today, is that everything that happens in the executive branch is at the president’s pleasure. Everything. That could include matters like who DOJ indicts, what businesses the EPA regulates, and all sorts of individualized decisions that are currently made by people with expertise, guided by long-standing practices and ethical constraints.
“To that point, when Justice Kagan asked whether a decision against Slaughter would apply to other similarly situated agencies, Sauer ducked. He told her the Court could just “reserve” making a decision on other agencies because those cases were not in front of the Court today. Justice Kagan responded that “logic has consequences,” and that even if the Court dropped a footnote saying it wasn’t deciding other cases as Sauer suggested, it would just be a dodge; it wouldn’t mean anything for future cases, where the government would be free to argue for an unprecedented level of control in the hands of the president, using Slaughter as support, if the Court decides it in the manner the government requested.” Joyce Vance’s Quote…
Justice Sotomayor said to Sauer, “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent.” Justice Alito invited Sauer to respond. “The sky will not fall,” he said, adding, “The entire government will move toward accountability to the people.” Justice Sotomayor ultimately responded, “What you’re saying is the president can do more than the law permits.” There was silence for a moment. Then Sauer hurriedly repeated a few of his earlier points and concluded that Humphrey should be reversed.
We don’t know precisely how the Court will rule, but the Chief Justice tipped his hand a bit, saying “the precedent” had “nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today,” and claiming that the FTC back then was different, and “had very little, if any executive power,” suggesting different rules might apply today for an agency that had become more powerful. It’s the sophistic kind of reasoning we have seen before when the Roberts Court twists itself into pretzel logic so that it can reverse longstanding precedent—while pretending it is doing nothing of the sort.
A decision in this case is likely to come at the end of the term, late next June or the first week in July, although it could come at any time. It is likely to be one of the most consequential of this term.
A lot more happened today that is worthy of our attention. But because there is so much of it, instead of trying to cover it all, I’ll flag some of the most important developments here, and you can read further on any of them that interest you. We will take them up in more detail as they develop.
- ProPublica, widely regarded as a highly credible source of independent investigative journalism (they broke the story on Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting vacation travels and other favors from conservative power players) reported today that some of Trump’s mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud, according to records they reviewed. While living in New York, he claimed two 1993 real estate purchases made within two months of each other in Florida would both become his principal residence. The report says: “The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called ‘deceitful and potentially criminal.’” Trump has accused multiple political adversaries of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence, and that appears to be the rationale behind federal criminal investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, and California Representative Eric Swalwell, and others, although there are at best flimsy facts to support the allegations.
- Twelve former FBI agents sued Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with others, alleging “unlawful retaliation” because they were fired for kneeling in response to protests in Washington, D.C., after George Floyd’s murder. The lawsuit is based on First Amendment violations and also points out the wisdom of the plaintiffs’ decision to kneel with the crowd: “As a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Monday in Court and Beyond
Tags: 1935, Chief Justice Roberts, Civil Discourse, December 8 2025, DOJ, FBI Agents, Federal Trade Commission, Fired for Kneeling, FTC Commissioner, Humphrey's Executor, John Sauer, Joyce Vance, Justice Alito, Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, Mortgage Fraud by Trump, ProPublica, Rebecca Slaughter, SCOTUS, U.S. Supreme Court#1935 #ChiefJusticeRoberts #CivilDiscourse #December82025 #DOJ #FBIAgents #FederalTradeCommission #FiredForKneeling #FTCCommissioner #HumphreySExecutor #JohnSauer #JoyceVance #JusticeAlito #JusticeKagan #JusticeSotomayor #MortgageFraudByTrump #ProPublica #RebeccaSlaughter #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt
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Civil Discourse – Monday in Court and Beyond – Joyce Vance
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Monday in Court and Beyond
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comBy Joyce Vance, Dec 08, 2025
Your paid subscription makes Civil Discourse possible—independent, informed analysis in a moment when noise can drown out reason. Join a community that refuses to give up on democracy—or on understanding it. –Joyce Vance
Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year. She sued.
In a landmark 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor, the Supreme Court held that Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove certain executive branch officials. That longstanding precedent has been on a collision course with Donald Trump’s quest for maximal power for as long as he’s been in office. Today, a Court that has been very sympathetic to Trump heard argument in Slaughter’s case.
The type of executive branch positions at stake are appointments to high-ranking positions in quasi-independent federal agencies like the FTC and others, including the Federal Reserve. The top line question is whether presidents can fire them in the absence of misconduct. We discussed the backstory to Humphrey’s Executor here, back in March. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired an FTC Commissioner, writing to him that “your mind and my mind [don’t] go along together on either the policies or the administering of the Federal Trade Commission.” The Court held that Congress intended to restrict a president’s power of removal to cases involving inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that Roosevelt couldn’t dismiss Humphrey simply because they were of different minds on policy.
That precedent is about as on-point as they come. It suggests that Slaughter, who had done nothing wrong, should win her case. She was advised of her termination in an email that said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with [the Trump] Administration’s priorities.”
But our tea leaf reading at the start of the term, which concluded that the Court would weigh in for Trump, appears to have been on target. We based that analysis on the fact that the Court declined to stay Slaughter’s dismissal from the FTC until it could hear the case. If there had been a majority, or something close to it, inclined to follow Humphrey’s Executor and rein Trump in, the Court would have prevented the firing from taking effect until it could hear the case. The fact that they allowed her dismissal to take effect implied the Court was prepared to undo the precedent that would have prohibited it. Oral argument bore out that conclusion.
Justice Kagan went straight to the heart of the matter when Solicitor General John Sauer argued the government’s case. She pointed out that “the central proposition of your brief” was that the Vesting Clause of the Constitution gives all of the executive power to the president. “Once you’re down this road, it’s a little difficult to see how you stop,” Justice Kagan said. Sauer talked over her and around her, but never disagreed. The government’s position, even though it didn’t go this far today, is that everything that happens in the executive branch is at the president’s pleasure. Everything. That could include matters like who DOJ indicts, what businesses the EPA regulates, and all sorts of individualized decisions that are currently made by people with expertise, guided by long-standing practices and ethical constraints.
“To that point, when Justice Kagan asked whether a decision against Slaughter would apply to other similarly situated agencies, Sauer ducked. He told her the Court could just “reserve” making a decision on other agencies because those cases were not in front of the Court today. Justice Kagan responded that “logic has consequences,” and that even if the Court dropped a footnote saying it wasn’t deciding other cases as Sauer suggested, it would just be a dodge; it wouldn’t mean anything for future cases, where the government would be free to argue for an unprecedented level of control in the hands of the president, using Slaughter as support, if the Court decides it in the manner the government requested.” Joyce Vance’s Quote…
Justice Sotomayor said to Sauer, “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent.” Justice Alito invited Sauer to respond. “The sky will not fall,” he said, adding, “The entire government will move toward accountability to the people.” Justice Sotomayor ultimately responded, “What you’re saying is the president can do more than the law permits.” There was silence for a moment. Then Sauer hurriedly repeated a few of his earlier points and concluded that Humphrey should be reversed.
We don’t know precisely how the Court will rule, but the Chief Justice tipped his hand a bit, saying “the precedent” had “nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today,” and claiming that the FTC back then was different, and “had very little, if any executive power,” suggesting different rules might apply today for an agency that had become more powerful. It’s the sophistic kind of reasoning we have seen before when the Roberts Court twists itself into pretzel logic so that it can reverse longstanding precedent—while pretending it is doing nothing of the sort.
A decision in this case is likely to come at the end of the term, late next June or the first week in July, although it could come at any time. It is likely to be one of the most consequential of this term.
A lot more happened today that is worthy of our attention. But because there is so much of it, instead of trying to cover it all, I’ll flag some of the most important developments here, and you can read further on any of them that interest you. We will take them up in more detail as they develop.
- ProPublica, widely regarded as a highly credible source of independent investigative journalism (they broke the story on Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting vacation travels and other favors from conservative power players) reported today that some of Trump’s mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud, according to records they reviewed. While living in New York, he claimed two 1993 real estate purchases made within two months of each other in Florida would both become his principal residence. The report says: “The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called ‘deceitful and potentially criminal.’” Trump has accused multiple political adversaries of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence, and that appears to be the rationale behind federal criminal investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, and California Representative Eric Swalwell, and others, although there are at best flimsy facts to support the allegations.
- Twelve former FBI agents sued Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with others, alleging “unlawful retaliation” because they were fired for kneeling in response to protests in Washington, D.C., after George Floyd’s murder. The lawsuit is based on First Amendment violations and also points out the wisdom of the plaintiffs’ decision to kneel with the crowd: “As a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Monday in Court and Beyond
Tags: 1935, Chief Justice Roberts, Civil Discourse, December 8 2025, DOJ, FBI Agents, Federal Trade Commission, Fired for Kneeling, FTC Commissioner, Humphrey's Executor, John Sauer, Joyce Vance, Justice Alito, Justice Kagan, Justice Sotomayor, Mortgage Fraud by Trump, ProPublica, Rebecca Slaughter, SCOTUS, U.S. Supreme Court#1935 #ChiefJusticeRoberts #CivilDiscourse #December82025 #DOJ #FBIAgents #FederalTradeCommission #FiredForKneeling #FTCCommissioner #HumphreySExecutor #JohnSauer #JoyceVance #JusticeAlito #JusticeKagan #JusticeSotomayor #MortgageFraudByTrump #ProPublica #RebeccaSlaughter #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt
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Civil Discourse – Monday in Court and Beyond – Joyce Vance
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Monday in Court and Beyond
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comBy Joyce Vance, Dec 08, 2025
Your paid subscription makes Civil Discourse possible—independent, informed analysis in a moment when noise can drown out reason. Join a community that refuses to give up on democracy—or on understanding it. –Joyce Vance
Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year. She sued.
In a landmark 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor, the Supreme Court held that Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove certain executive branch officials. That longstanding precedent has been on a collision course with Donald Trump’s quest for maximal power for as long as he’s been in office. Today, a Court that has been very sympathetic to Trump heard argument in Slaughter’s case.
The type of executive branch positions at stake are appointments to high-ranking positions in quasi-independent federal agencies like the FTC and others, including the Federal Reserve. The top line question is whether presidents can fire them in the absence of misconduct. We discussed the backstory to Humphrey’s Executor here, back in March. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired an FTC Commissioner, writing to him that “your mind and my mind [don’t] go along together on either the policies or the administering of the Federal Trade Commission.” The Court held that Congress intended to restrict a president’s power of removal to cases involving inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that Roosevelt couldn’t dismiss Humphrey simply because they were of different minds on policy.
That precedent is about as on-point as they come. It suggests that Slaughter, who had done nothing wrong, should win her case. She was advised of her termination in an email that said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with [the Trump] Administration’s priorities.”
But our tea leaf reading at the start of the term, which concluded that the Court would weigh in for Trump, appears to have been on target. We based that analysis on the fact that the Court declined to stay Slaughter’s dismissal from the FTC until it could hear the case. If there had been a majority, or something close to it, inclined to follow Humphrey’s Executor and rein Trump in, the Court would have prevented the firing from taking effect until it could hear the case. The fact that they allowed her dismissal to take effect implied the Court was prepared to undo the precedent that would have prohibited it. Oral argument bore out that conclusion.
Justice Kagan went straight to the heart of the matter when Solicitor General John Sauer argued the government’s case. She pointed out that “the central proposition of your brief” was that the Vesting Clause of the Constitution gives all of the executive power to the president. “Once you’re down this road, it’s a little difficult to see how you stop,” Justice Kagan said. Sauer talked over her and around her, but never disagreed. The government’s position, even though it didn’t go this far today, is that everything that happens in the executive branch is at the president’s pleasure. Everything. That could include matters like who DOJ indicts, what businesses the EPA regulates, and all sorts of individualized decisions that are currently made by people with expertise, guided by long-standing practices and ethical constraints.
“To that point, when Justice Kagan asked whether a decision against Slaughter would apply to other similarly situated agencies, Sauer ducked. He told her the Court could just “reserve” making a decision on other agencies because those cases were not in front of the Court today. Justice Kagan responded that “logic has consequences,” and that even if the Court dropped a footnote saying it wasn’t deciding other cases as Sauer suggested, it would just be a dodge; it wouldn’t mean anything for future cases, where the government would be free to argue for an unprecedented level of control in the hands of the president, using Slaughter as support, if the Court decides it in the manner the government requested.” Joyce Vance’s Quote…
Justice Sotomayor said to Sauer, “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent.” Justice Alito invited Sauer to respond. “The sky will not fall,” he said, adding, “The entire government will move toward accountability to the people.” Justice Sotomayor ultimately responded, “What you’re saying is the president can do more than the law permits.” There was silence for a moment. Then Sauer hurriedly repeated a few of his earlier points and concluded that Humphrey should be reversed.
We don’t know precisely how the Court will rule, but the Chief Justice tipped his hand a bit, saying “the precedent” had “nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today,” and claiming that the FTC back then was different, and “had very little, if any executive power,” suggesting different rules might apply today for an agency that had become more powerful. It’s the sophistic kind of reasoning we have seen before when the Roberts Court twists itself into pretzel logic so that it can reverse longstanding precedent—while pretending it is doing nothing of the sort.
A decision in this case is likely to come at the end of the term, late next June or the first week in July, although it could come at any time. It is likely to be one of the most consequential of this term.
A lot more happened today that is worthy of our attention. But because there is so much of it, instead of trying to cover it all, I’ll flag some of the most important developments here, and you can read further on any of them that interest you. We will take them up in more detail as they develop.
- ProPublica, widely regarded as a highly credible source of independent investigative journalism (they broke the story on Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting vacation travels and other favors from conservative power players) reported today that some of Trump’s mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud, according to records they reviewed. While living in New York, he claimed two 1993 real estate purchases made within two months of each other in Florida would both become his principal residence. The report says: “The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called ‘deceitful and potentially criminal.’” Trump has accused multiple political adversaries of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence, and that appears to be the rationale behind federal criminal investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, and California Representative Eric Swalwell, and others, although there are at best flimsy facts to support the allegations.
- Twelve former FBI agents sued Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with others, alleging “unlawful retaliation” because they were fired for kneeling in response to protests in Washington, D.C., after George Floyd’s murder. The lawsuit is based on First Amendment violations and also points out the wisdom of the plaintiffs’ decision to kneel with the crowd: “As a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Monday in Court and Beyond
#1935 #ChiefJusticeRoberts #CivilDiscourse #December82025 #DOJ #FBIAgents #FederalTradeCommission #FiredForKneeling #FTCCommissioner #HumphreySExecutor #JohnSauer #JoyceVance #JusticeAlito #JusticeKagan #JusticeSotomayor #MortgageFraudByTrump #ProPublica #RebeccaSlaughter #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt
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Civil Discourse – Monday in Court and Beyond – Joyce Vance
Civil Discourse with Joyce Vance
Monday in Court and Beyond
Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.comBy Joyce Vance, Dec 08, 2025
Your paid subscription makes Civil Discourse possible—independent, informed analysis in a moment when noise can drown out reason. Join a community that refuses to give up on democracy—or on understanding it. –Joyce Vance
Donald Trump fired Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter earlier this year. She sued.
In a landmark 1935 decision, Humphrey’s Executor, the Supreme Court held that Congress could put limits on the president’s authority to remove certain executive branch officials. That longstanding precedent has been on a collision course with Donald Trump’s quest for maximal power for as long as he’s been in office. Today, a Court that has been very sympathetic to Trump heard argument in Slaughter’s case.
The type of executive branch positions at stake are appointments to high-ranking positions in quasi-independent federal agencies like the FTC and others, including the Federal Reserve. The top line question is whether presidents can fire them in the absence of misconduct. We discussed the backstory to Humphrey’s Executor here, back in March. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt fired an FTC Commissioner, writing to him that “your mind and my mind [don’t] go along together on either the policies or the administering of the Federal Trade Commission.” The Court held that Congress intended to restrict a president’s power of removal to cases involving inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, and that Roosevelt couldn’t dismiss Humphrey simply because they were of different minds on policy.
That precedent is about as on-point as they come. It suggests that Slaughter, who had done nothing wrong, should win her case. She was advised of her termination in an email that said her “continued service on the FTC is inconsistent with [the Trump] Administration’s priorities.”
But our tea leaf reading at the start of the term, which concluded that the Court would weigh in for Trump, appears to have been on target. We based that analysis on the fact that the Court declined to stay Slaughter’s dismissal from the FTC until it could hear the case. If there had been a majority, or something close to it, inclined to follow Humphrey’s Executor and rein Trump in, the Court would have prevented the firing from taking effect until it could hear the case. The fact that they allowed her dismissal to take effect implied the Court was prepared to undo the precedent that would have prohibited it. Oral argument bore out that conclusion.
Justice Kagan went straight to the heart of the matter when Solicitor General John Sauer argued the government’s case. She pointed out that “the central proposition of your brief” was that the Vesting Clause of the Constitution gives all of the executive power to the president. “Once you’re down this road, it’s a little difficult to see how you stop,” Justice Kagan said. Sauer talked over her and around her, but never disagreed. The government’s position, even though it didn’t go this far today, is that everything that happens in the executive branch is at the president’s pleasure. Everything. That could include matters like who DOJ indicts, what businesses the EPA regulates, and all sorts of individualized decisions that are currently made by people with expertise, guided by long-standing practices and ethical constraints.
“To that point, when Justice Kagan asked whether a decision against Slaughter would apply to other similarly situated agencies, Sauer ducked. He told her the Court could just “reserve” making a decision on other agencies because those cases were not in front of the Court today. Justice Kagan responded that “logic has consequences,” and that even if the Court dropped a footnote saying it wasn’t deciding other cases as Sauer suggested, it would just be a dodge; it wouldn’t mean anything for future cases, where the government would be free to argue for an unprecedented level of control in the hands of the president, using Slaughter as support, if the Court decides it in the manner the government requested.” Joyce Vance’s Quote…
Justice Sotomayor said to Sauer, “You’re asking us to destroy the structure of government and to take away from Congress its ability to protect its idea that the government is better structured with some agencies that are independent.” Justice Alito invited Sauer to respond. “The sky will not fall,” he said, adding, “The entire government will move toward accountability to the people.” Justice Sotomayor ultimately responded, “What you’re saying is the president can do more than the law permits.” There was silence for a moment. Then Sauer hurriedly repeated a few of his earlier points and concluded that Humphrey should be reversed.
We don’t know precisely how the Court will rule, but the Chief Justice tipped his hand a bit, saying “the precedent” had “nothing to do with what the FTC looks like today,” and claiming that the FTC back then was different, and “had very little, if any executive power,” suggesting different rules might apply today for an agency that had become more powerful. It’s the sophistic kind of reasoning we have seen before when the Roberts Court twists itself into pretzel logic so that it can reverse longstanding precedent—while pretending it is doing nothing of the sort.
A decision in this case is likely to come at the end of the term, late next June or the first week in July, although it could come at any time. It is likely to be one of the most consequential of this term.
A lot more happened today that is worthy of our attention. But because there is so much of it, instead of trying to cover it all, I’ll flag some of the most important developments here, and you can read further on any of them that interest you. We will take them up in more detail as they develop.
- ProPublica, widely regarded as a highly credible source of independent investigative journalism (they broke the story on Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito accepting vacation travels and other favors from conservative power players) reported today that some of Trump’s mortgages match his description of mortgage fraud, according to records they reviewed. While living in New York, he claimed two 1993 real estate purchases made within two months of each other in Florida would both become his principal residence. The report says: “The Trump administration has argued that Fed board member Lisa Cook may have committed mortgage fraud by declaring more than one primary residence on her loans. We found Trump once did the very thing he called ‘deceitful and potentially criminal.’” Trump has accused multiple political adversaries of mortgage fraud for claiming more than one primary residence, and that appears to be the rationale behind federal criminal investigations into New York Attorney General Letitia James, California Senator Adam Schiff, and California Representative Eric Swalwell, and others, although there are at best flimsy facts to support the allegations.
- Twelve former FBI agents sued Attorney General Pam Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel, along with others, alleging “unlawful retaliation” because they were fired for kneeling in response to protests in Washington, D.C., after George Floyd’s murder. The lawsuit is based on First Amendment violations and also points out the wisdom of the plaintiffs’ decision to kneel with the crowd: “As a result of their tactical decision to kneel, the mass of people moved on without escalating to violence.”
Editor’s Note: Read the rest of the story, at the below link.
Continue/Read Original Article Here: Monday in Court and Beyond
#1935 #ChiefJusticeRoberts #CivilDiscourse #December82025 #DOJ #FBIAgents #FederalTradeCommission #FiredForKneeling #FTCCommissioner #HumphreySExecutor #JohnSauer #JoyceVance #JusticeAlito #JusticeKagan #JusticeSotomayor #MortgageFraudByTrump #ProPublica #RebeccaSlaughter #SCOTUS #USSupremeCourt
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The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos [Unofficial] @[email protected] ·Who Is Andrew Ferguson, the FTC Chairman Who Tilted the Agency to Trump?
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Can presidents fire all federal bureaucrats at will? Supreme Court to hear case with major implications
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Can presidents fire all federal bureaucrats at will? Supreme Court to hear case with major implications
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FTC Action Hits Illuminate Education Over Massive Student Data Breach https://thecyberexpress.com/ftc-action-targets-illuminate-education/ #IlluminateEducationDataBreach #FederalTradeCommission #datasecurityfailures #IlluminateEducation #TheCyberExpressNews #proposedFTCorder #TheCyberExpress #DataBreachNews #FirewallDaily #FTCComplaint #CyberNews #FTCaction
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(18 Nov) Meta wins monopoly trial, convinces judge that social networking is dead https://s.faithcollapsing.com/xb4bc #antitrust-law #facebook #federal-trade-commission #instagram #meta #monopoly #policy #reels #tiktok #whatsapp #youtube
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(18 Nov) Meta wins monopoly trial, convinces judge that social networking is dead https://s.faithcollapsing.com/xb4bc #antitrust-law #facebook #federal-trade-commission #instagram #meta #monopoly #policy #reels #tiktok #whatsapp #youtube
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(18 Nov) Meta wins monopoly trial, convinces judge that social networking is dead https://s.faithcollapsing.com/xb4bc #antitrust-law #facebook #federal-trade-commission #instagram #meta #monopoly #policy #reels #tiktok #whatsapp #youtube
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(18 Nov) Meta wins monopoly trial, convinces judge that social networking is dead https://s.faithcollapsing.com/xb4bc #antitrust-law #facebook #federal-trade-commission #instagram #meta #monopoly #policy #reels #tiktok #whatsapp #youtube
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(18 Nov) Meta wins monopoly trial, convinces judge that social networking is dead https://s.faithcollapsing.com/xb4bc #antitrust-law #facebook #federal-trade-commission #instagram #meta #monopoly #policy #reels #tiktok #whatsapp #youtube
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The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos [Unofficial] @[email protected] ·
Meta’s Victory Opens the Way for Silicon Valley to Go Deal Shopping
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Landmark ruling: Meta does not have a social media monopoly
US company Meta has prevailed in a long-standing lawsuit with the US Federal Trade Commission (FTC). A breakup of the company is likely off the table.
#FederalTradeCommission #Instagram #Facebook #Netzpolitik #SocialMedia #TikTok #Wettbewerb #WhatsApp #news
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Wegweisendes Urteil: Meta hat kein Social-Media-Monopol
Der US-Konzern Meta hat in einem langjährigen Prozess mit der US-Handelsaufsicht FTC obsiegt. Eine Aufspaltung des Konzerns dürfte damit vom Tisch sein.
#FederalTradeCommission #Instagram #Facebook #Netzpolitik #SocialMedia #TikTok #Wettbewerb #WhatsApp #news
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Judge Rules For Meta In FTC’s Antitrust Case That Challenged Acquisition Of Instagram And WhatsApp
#News #Politics #ElectionLine #Facebook #FederalTradeCommission #Instagram #METAhttps://deadline.com/2025/11/meta-wins-antitrust-case-1236621807/
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The New York Times - Breaking News, US News, World News and Videos [Unofficial] @[email protected] ·
Meta Did Not Violate the Law When It Bought Instagram and WhatsApp, a Judge Rules