A federal judge in Minnesota has tossed out multiple Department of Justice (DOJ) grand jury subpoenas aimed at Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz (D), Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey (D) and other officials in the state. U.S. District Judge Patrick Schiltz wrote there was “no doubt” the DOJ issued the subpoenas to “harass” political opponents of President…
A Utah judge denied an effort by Tyler Robinson’s lawyers to have his former roommate and lover be subpoenaed to testify at next month’s preliminary hearing ahead of Robinson’s trial for allegedly killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Judge Tony Graf denied two motions by Robinson’s lawyers in a Utah County court Monday, including one to have […]
Gov. Tim Walz's viral jab at Trump over the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool cleanup drew conservative blowback pointing to Minnesota's fraud scandal.
Comedian John Oliver warned Sunday that President Donald Trump's profane attack on Barack Obama is going to come back to haunt him.On "Last Week Tonight," the HBO host zeroed in on Trump's G7 appearance in France, where the president, seated beside Egyptian leader Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, mocked Obama's 2015 nuclear deal, which Trump tore up in his first term, and claimed Iran once "laughed at Obama" and called him "a stupid son of a b----" over a $1.7 billion payment.Oliver pointed out that Trump's own memorandum of understanding commits Iran to receiving at least $300 billion in reconstruction aid. “If Iran called Obama a stupid son of a b---- for letting them get $1.7 billion, I think we’re about to find out what the Persian word is for someone 300 times dumber than that,” Oliver quipped.The host argued the agreement is "less a comprehensive peace deal and more a plan to eventually have one, with some pretty big holes in it," noting it "doesn’t even address Iran’s nuclear program—supposedly the whole point of this war in the first place.” He also flagged that the deal has been criticized within Trump's own party.Even as Trump keeps boasting that his deal beats the one Obama struck in 2015, the former president gave his own verdict in an NBC interview that aired Friday.“We’ve now fought a war, spent billions and billions of dollars, you know, put enormous strain on our military, a lot of people have died, and it feels like we’re back where we were before we started the war,” Obama said. “Except maybe a little bit worse.”
A veteran federal prosecutor's grand jury misconduct is so pervasive that the Justice Department now expects to review more than 100 cases she handled going back to 2007.A court filing in the Northern District of Illinois names the collapsed prosecution of the "Broadview Six" as the case that started it all. News reports identify the lead prosecutor as Sheri Mecklenburg, a nearly two-decade veteran of the Justice Department whose conduct before a grand jury unraveled a high-profile case against six Democratic officials and activists arrested for protesting outside a Chicago Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility during the Trump administration's "Operation Midway Blitz" deportation campaign.Prosecutors made three attempts to indict the protesters on a rare felony conspiracy charge.During those attempts, Mecklenburg allegedly dismissed grand jurors who were skeptical of the government's case, had private conversations with grand jurors outside formal proceedings, and told jurors she would "never ask you to charge somebody if I didn't think there was probable cause." One dismissed juror had told her the case was "a crock of s— then and I still think it is.""I have never seen the types of prosecutorial behavior before a grand jury that I saw in those transcripts," U.S. District Judge April Perry said. "That trust has been broken."The Broadview Six case collapsed entirely, with all charges dismissed with prejudice.A separate court filing revealed Mecklenburg had ex parte contact with grand jurors in an unrelated arson case, telling them she "can prove this case" and that "we don't catch the smart ones." The government now estimates her conduct will trigger a review of grand jury minutes in more than 100 cases since 2007.Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) called Trump's Justice Department a campaign to "bully, prosecute, punish and silence" political foes. Slate noted the Department of Justice admitted to "weaponizing a prosecution against Trump's foes."Sen. Dick Durbin (D-IL) confirmed Mecklenburg's detail to the Senate Judiciary Committee was terminated after the misconduct became public.
Alan Dershowitz is scheduled to sit down with the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee on July 20 as part of its sprawling investigation into Jeffrey Epstein and the government's handling of his case, according to Politico."I asked to be allowed to set the record straight and correct various misconceptions," Dershowitz said in a text message. "I look forward to doing so."The prominent defense attorney, whose past clients include O.J. Simpson and President Donald Trump, was part of the legal team that negotiated Epstein's controversial 2008 plea deal, which let the financier plead guilty to Florida state charges, including soliciting prostitution from a minor, and avoid federal sex-trafficking charges. Critics have long argued the lenient deal allowed Epstein, who died by suicide in a New York jail in 2019, to keep abusing girls for years before his later arrest.Dershowitz, who has said he wants to testify publicly and "about everything," has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing connected to Epstein's crimes. He has also proclaimed his innocence over an accusation by Virginia Giuffre, who alleged Epstein trafficked her to him. Giuffre withdrew the claim in 2022, saying she "may have made a mistake." She died last year.Dershowitz's appearance would add to a roster of high-profile figures the committee has questioned, including Bill Clinton, Hillary Clinton, Bill Gates and Ghislaine Maxwell, as Epstein's survivors continue demanding answers. The panel is also expected to interview investor Leon Black, whose Epstein ties have faced scrutiny for years.
The President is threatening jail time for the alleged vandals he's blaming for damaging the Reflecting Pool on the National Mall in Washington.
Federal judge rules subpoenas linked to Trump’s immigration operation were ‘issued for unlawful reasons’US politics live – latest updatesA federal judge agreed to quash the US federal government’s subpoenas of leaders in Minnesota issued during the Trump administration’s controversial immigration crackdown on the state earlier this year.The US Department of Justice issued subpoenas to the Minnesota governor, Tim Walz; the attorney general, Keith Ellison; the Minneapolis mayor, Jacob Frey; and other local officials in the Twin Cities in January. Continue reading...
