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May 20, 2026

4 entries on this date.

DOJ opinion declares Presidential Records Act unconstitutional; court orders White House to comply

In April 2026, the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel issued a memorandum opinion declaring the Presidential Records Act — the post-Watergate law that makes presidential records public property and requires their preservation — unconstitutional, and advised that President Trump need not comply with it. On May 20, 2026, U.S. District Judge John Bates granted a preliminary injunction in American Historical Association v. Trump, holding the Act "likely constitutional," finding a substantial risk that covered records were not being preserved, and ordering most Executive Office of the President staff to comply. The injunction takes effect at 9 a.m. on May 26, 2026; it binds White House staff but not the President or Vice President directly.

DOJ swore in active-duty military JAG officers as temporary immigration judges

On May 20, 2026, the Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) held an investiture at the DOJ Great Hall swearing in 77 permanent and 5 temporary immigration judges — the largest single class in the agency's history. The 5 temporary judges are active-duty military Judge Advocate General (JAG) attorneys, the first cohort detailed under an August 2025 Pentagon authorization to assign up to 600 military lawyers to the immigration courts. The buildout follows the removal of more than 100 sitting immigration judges and the hiring of enforcement-aligned replacements, and is explicitly aimed at accelerating deportation cases.

Pentagon cuts recognized military faith codes from ~211 to 31, dropping minority faiths

A May 20, 2026 Defense Department memorandum signed by Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Anthony Tata cut the military's list of officially recognized religious affiliation codes from roughly 211 to 31, dropping an estimated 180 minority faiths and worldviews — including atheists, humanists, pagans, Wiccans, Druids, Heathens/Asatru, deists, Unitarian Universalists, and spiritualists. The reduction, directed by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, preserves majority faiths while removing the de-recognized groups' access to formal chaplain support.

Fayette County schools Superintendent Liggins fabricated a legal threat to intimidate critic, state Rep. Camuel

On May 20, 2026, Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Demetrus Liggins slid a legal-threat document he fabricated -- falsely attributed to a Louisville law firm -- under the office door of Kentucky state Rep. Adrielle Camuel, a district employee who had publicly criticized his leadership, and left additional copies at other district office locations in Lexington. The law firm named in the document confirmed it had never represented or communicated with Liggins, and an investigation the district later commissioned concluded Liggins acted in a "calculated effort" to intimidate Camuel. The Fayette County school board placed Liggins on paid leave in June 2026, and he submitted his retirement in August 2026, days before the investigation's findings were released.