# Carl Nichols **Carl John Nichols** (b. 1970, Rhinebeck, New York) is a U.S. District Judge for the District of Columbia, a [[Donald Trump]] appointee of the first term, and since May 2026 the presiding judge of the [[FISA Court]]. In the vault he is the *other* trial judge in the 2026 mail-voting fight: while [[Indira Talwani]] in Boston has enjoined the Postal Service rule that implements [[Executive Order 14399]], the parallel challenge brought by the Democratic Party's campaign committees and congressional leadership — *DSCC v. Trump*, filed April 1, 2026 — sits before Nichols in Washington, and he has so far declined to block anything. ## Background Dartmouth (A.B. 1992) and the University of Chicago Law School (J.D. 1996); law clerk to Judge Laurence Silberman of the D.C. Circuit (1996–97) and to Justice [[Clarence Thomas]] (1997–98). Private practice at Boies Schiller (partner 2002), then the Justice Department during the George W. Bush administration as deputy assistant attorney general in the Civil Division's Federal Programs Branch and principal deputy associate attorney general; partner at WilmerHale from 2009 until his appointment. A [[Federalist Society]] member (2003–08 and again in 2018), per his Senate questionnaire. Trump first nominated him in June 2018 for the seat vacated by Richard W. Roberts; the nomination lapsed at the end of the 115th Congress and was resubmitted January 23, 2019. The Senate confirmed him **55–43 on May 22, 2019**; he received his commission June 25, 2019. Chief Justice Roberts named him to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court in March 2024 and he became its presiding judge on May 19, 2026. ## Notable rulings - **The Bannon contempt trial (2022).** Presided over the jury trial that convicted [[Steve Bannon]] of contempt of Congress for defying the January 6 committee. - ***United States v. Miller* (March 2022).** Alone among the D.C. district judges to consider the question, held that a January 6 defendant could not be charged under the obstruction-of-an-official-proceeding statute without a showing that he tampered with documents or records. Every other judge had gone the other way; the Supreme Court adopted his reading in *Fischer v. United States* (2024), and hundreds of January 6 charges were dropped or resentenced as a result. - **Dominion defamation suits (August 2021).** Denied motions to dismiss [[Dominion Voting Systems]]' suits against [[Sidney Powell]], [[Rudy Giuliani]] and [[Mike Lindell]], letting the cases proceed. - **TikTok (2020).** Twice enjoined the Commerce Department's implementation of Trump's August 2020 executive order against TikTok. - **USAID (February 2025).** Issued, then declined to extend, a temporary restraining order against placing 2,200 USAID employees on administrative leave, finding on the later record that no overseas employee was actually being *required* to return. ## The 2026 mail-voting case *DSCC v. Trump* (D.D.C.), consolidated with the LULAC and NAACP challenges to [[Executive Order 14399]], was reassigned to Nichols on April 9, 2026 after the government successfully sought a new judge. On **May 28, 2026** he denied the plaintiffs' preliminary injunction for lack of standing — the Postal Service had not yet issued a final rule — and the D.C. Circuit affirmed on **July 28, 2026** on ripeness grounds. When the [[USPS]] final rule was published August 26, the plaintiffs renewed their motions (August 25 and 28). On **September 4, 2026** — hours after Talwani's preliminary injunction in Massachusetts — the Justice Department filed its opposition before Nichols, describing the rule as imposing "modest informational requirements on senders of outbound federal ballot mailings" and arguing that it "does not displace a single State election law." Talwani's ruling does not bind him; as of this writing the renewed motions are pending. The structural point is the one the [[USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal]] page makes from the other side: the same rule is simultaneously enjoined in one district and, in the government's telling to a second district, a modest postal regulation — and the second judge is one the government asked for. ## See Also - [[Indira Talwani]] · [[USPS Federal Ballot Mail Portal]] · [[Executive Order 14399]] · [[Mail-in Voting]] - [[USPS]] · [[Democracy Docket]] · [[FISA Court]] - [[Steve Bannon]] · [[Dominion Voting Systems]] · [[Sidney Powell]] · [[Rudy Giuliani]] · [[Mike Lindell]] - [[Clarence Thomas]] · [[Federalist Society]]