Debunking Trump’s Bullsh*t Legal Arguments for Invading Venezuela

Strict scrutiny is brought to you by Americans United for separation of church and state. We are all legal nerds here, and we know that precedent set in any area of the law ripples out across our lives in so many ways. Our right to religious freedom is one of the most sacred areas of the law, protecting almost every aspect of our daily lives, rights we all hold dear, like LGBTQ rights, freedom to choose the type of health care you need, and ensuring a well funded and inclusive public school system. Protecting the separation of church and state is, in fact, protecting the very foundation of our democracy. If you're looking for ways to more deeply understand the connection of and from religion to so many of the civil justice issues we see today, you should check out the Summit for Religious Freedom or SURF, an annual conference held in Washington DC and virtually April twenty seventh twenty twenty six. At SURF, advocates, organizers, faith leaders, atheists, and everyone in between come together to take on the growing threats of Christian nationalism and the efforts to impose one narrow religious belief on us all. This is a movement for big change and collaboration across the entire spectrum of religious beliefs and nonbelief that strengthens our democracy, protects public schools, reproductive and LGBTQ rights, and more. Be part of the movement that's pushing back and standing up for freedom. Register to attend today at the srf.org. Mister chief justice, may it please the court? It's an old joke, but when I argue a man argues against two beautiful ladies like this, they're going to have the last word. She spoke not elegantly, but with unmistakable clarity. She said, I ask no favor for my sex. All I ask of our brethren is that they take their feet Welcome back to Strict Scrutiny, your podcast about the Supreme Court and the legal culture that surrounds it. We're your hosts. I'm Leah Littman. I'm Kate Shaw. And I'm Melissa Murray. And this is your first regular episode of 2026, the new year, and here's what we have in store for you. First, we'll be previewing the cases the court will hear in its first sitting of 2026. And then we are going to chat about the array of legal news that happened over the last couple of weeks as the old year ended and the new year started, and we couldn't let any of this pass without actually remarking on it. So get ready for that. And for that part of our conversation, we are going to be joined by a very special guest. So stay tuned for that. But first, case previews. So the court has some major cases on its docket for its January sitting, and we're gonna focus today on three of those. One is a pair of cases, West Virginia versus BPJ and Little versus Hecox, that are being argued on the same day. Both are challenges …