MAGA Media Law 101

As journalists, a-listers, and some of the most vociferous critics of journalism from the Trump administration gather for the White House Correspondents’ Dinner, Dahlia Lithwick tackles the president and his allies’ tactics to chill the press and undermine the First Amendment. In conversation with Guardian columnist and former New York Times public editor, Margaret Sullivan she explores the Trump administration’s use of meritless, high-dollar defamation suits, focusing on FBI Director Kash Patel’s $250 million lawsuit lodged against The Atlantic this week. Sullivan links democratic decline to media decline, citing oligarch ownership, consolidation, weakened local news, reduced public media, and corporate leaders’ capitulation via settlements and editorial interference. Margaret’s newsletter, American Crisis can be found here: margaretsullivan.substack.com/ Next, Dahlia and co-host Mark Joseph Stern examine New York Times’ reporting on leaked Supreme Court memos showing the 2016 Clean Power Plan stay as a pivotal shadow docket moment that perfectly illustrates how activity on the shadow docket is driven by institutional grievance rather than legal urgency. They also dissect Trump’s renewed attacks on the justices despite their frequent support for his agenda. Want more Amicus? Join Slate Plus to unlock weekly bonus episodes with exclusive legal analysis. Plus, you’ll access ad-free listening across all your favorite Slate podcasts. You can

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MAGA Media Law 101 is an episode from Amicus With Dahlia Lithwick | Law, justice, and the courts by Slate Audio.

This episode is 1:03:43 long.

This episode was published on Apr 25, 2026.

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