GREENBELT, Md. – As an attorney, Thomas Goldstein routinely argued cases before the Supreme Court and published a popular blog about the nation’s highest court. Unbeknownst to friends and colleagues, Goldstein also became an ultra-high-stakes poker player who grossed tens of millions of dollars in winnings but racked up a staggering gambling debt.
The secretive side of Goldstein’s life has been the focus of a six-week trial in Maryland for a tax-evasion case against the SCOTUSblog co-founder. His indictment a year ago sent shockwaves through the legal community in the nation’s capital, where Goldstein argued more than 40 cases before the Supreme Court before retiring in 2023.
As the trial drew to a close on Wednesday, Justice Department…

