The Slatest

July 25: The Trump Tweet That Could Feature Prominently in Jack Smith’s Next Indictment

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Trump, wearing a red tie, frowns and stares ahead while seated between his lawyers in court.
Andrew Kelly/Pool/Getty Images

Thanks to a recent Supreme Court decision, the next Trump indictment could prominently feature one of the former president’s tweets. Dennis Aftergut and Laurence H. Tribe dig into how Donald Trump’s inflammatory tweet about Mike Pence during the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol could fit into Jack Smith’s case. Aftergut and Tribe explain how the Supreme Court’s decision in Counterman v. Colorado could affect whether threats are assessed as constitutionally protected free speech, or as “true threats” that are not covered by the First Amendment.

Plus: If you are trying to make sense of the most recent developments in Trump’s legal woes, we’ve got you covered. Norman L. Eisen, Ryan Goodman, Joshua Kolb, and Jacob Gaba unpack the “surprise” Jan. 6 crime in the DOJ’s target letter to Trump. And Shirin Ali lays out what exactly the fake electors scheme was.

Supreme Court consequences

It’s only been a few weeks since the Supreme Court’s ruling in 303 Creative, but homophobic business owners are already having a field day with it, writes Hila Keren. The court’s license to discriminate is so broad that it is now being applied “beyond web designing, outside of the wedding industry, and to more than same-sex couples.”

Courting the justices

Clarence Thomas in his justice’s robe, against a cranberry-colored backdrop.
Photo illustration by Slate. Photo by Erin Schaff-Pool/Getty Images.

Young Trump-appointed appellate court judges are pulling out all the stops to stand out as potential nominees for the Supreme Court. But one judge stands out for his shamelessness, according to Steven Lubet, going so far as “publishing a 270-page paean to Justice Clarence Thomas.”

Bark Brandon?!

Remember Major, Joe Biden’s German shepherd that got booted from the White House because he couldn’t stop biting people? Well, it turns out that the Bidens’ new German shepherd, Commander, seems to have the same problem (biting people). Ben Mathis-Lilley has the details.

Obsessed with the owl

The green Duolingo owl mascot gleefully holds a pencil and stands in front of a board displaying the user's Duo streak: 502 days.
Photo illustration by Slate

You can’t learn a language on a free app. And even if you could, what’s the point? Andrew Moseman explores why we just can’t quit using Duolingo, even though it’s not very effective.

Pizza mafia

For pizzaiolos, there is nothing more high-stakes than having Dave Portnoy—the blogger, podcaster, and Barstool Sports founder—review their pies. Luke Winkie takes us on a journey to learn how a bro-y entertainment personality became America’s most make-or-break food critic.

Today, Slate… * STARTED AS AN INTERNET GAG, THEN GREW INTO AN IRL PHENOMENON

… much like Barbenheimer! Sam Adams explains what is really driving the hype behind this summer’s much-memed blockbuster double feature.

Thanks so much for reading! We’ll see you tomorrow.