January 23, 2026 — Aloha Friday Morning Report

Bryan covered a Washington Post report documenting severe DOJ prosecutor shortages, with DOJ playing "musical chairs" with a shrinking roster while sending lawyers from other states to cover Minneapolis caseloads. Bryan noted he was personally receiving recruitment emails for contractor positions. Concurrently, DOJ announced plans to escalate legal action against protesters and elected officials in states. A federal magistrate refused to approve charges against journalist Don Lemon for reporting on a protest against ICE inside a church where an ICE field director served as pastor.

A Tennessee court entered a judgment against Coney Island Auto Parts (Brooklyn, NY), but Coney Island argued Tennessee lacked personal jurisdiction over it and simply ignored the ruling. The Tennessee plaintiff eventually convinced a New York court to enforce the judgment in New York. Coney Island then moved to vacate under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 60(b)(4) — which allows voiding a judgment that is itself void for lack of jurisdiction — arguing that if Tennessee never had jurisdiction, the judgment never existed. The problem: Rule 60 requires a motion within a "reasonable time." The Supreme Court unanimously held that even though a void judgment presents a strong argument, the "reasonable time" standard remains flexible and contextual — it doesn't mean there's no time limit. Coney Island had learned of the Tennessee judgment within roughly six months to a year and then waited six years to challenge it. Six years was not a reasonable time.

Following the January 14 status hearing, Judge Engelmayer denied the amicus curiae petition by Congressmen Massie and Khanna, who sought to appear in Maxwell's criminal case and request appointment of a special master to oversee DOJ's compliance with the Epstein Files Transparency Act. Two grounds: (1) amicus curiae cannot file substantive motions or raise issues the parties have not raised — they assist the court, they don't drive it; (2) the criminal court's jurisdiction is limited to guilt and punishment; enforcing a transparency statute is a civil matter, outside that grant. Denial without prejudice, with an implied roadmap to file as a civil action. Bryan also noted that crime victims' rights in the Maxwell case — whether victims have independent standing to move for file release — remain unaddressed by the ruling.

Judge Novak of the Eastern District of Virginia formally closed his inquiry into whether Special Counsel Lindsay Halligan had been fraudulently representing herself as the U.S. Attorney for the district without Senate confirmation. The judge struck "United States Attorney" from her signature block on all filings, barred her from using that title before his court, and issued a formal statement comparing her conduct unfavorably to the tradition of confirmed prosecutors in the district — noting "that ethos has come to an end." The following day, AG Pam Bondi announced Halligan's departure via tweet, blaming Democrats. Bryan offered a brief eulogy: "Godspeed, Lindsay. Godspeed."