Washington Examiner

Judge allows Trump to refile $15 billion lawsuit against the New York Times

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A federal judge declined to dismiss President Donald Trump’s multibillion-dollar lawsuit against the New York Times on Monday, giving him roughly four weeks to amend his case after the outlet moved to toss it on First Amendment grounds. District Judge Steven Merryday gave Trump’s legal team until Aug. 27 to amend and refile his $15 […]

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Clock is ticking to stop Trump from slapping 'magic paint' on historic landmark: Report

Raw Story

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Clock is ticking to stop Trump from slapping 'magic paint' on historic landmark: Report

Preservationists are moving to block President Donald Trump's plan to test a controversial paint on the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, warning the project could cause irreparable damage to the historic landmark, according to a new report.In an emergency injunction request set to be filed Thursday, the law firm Cultural Heritage Partners argues that the administration's plan to paint four small test panels on the building's Gilded Age façade is being carried out without proper expert oversight, reported CNN."The testing concerns us because no one outside the White House knows who is conducting the testing or what protocols they're following, and qualified preservation experts have had no chance to weigh in," said Greg Werkheiser, the firm's founding partner.Trump has long criticized the EEOB's gray granite exterior, calling it "ugly" and a "really bad color," and has pushed to coat the building — either fully or partially — in white to better match the White House.His preferred solution is a mineral silicate paint he has privately refers to as "magic paint," which the administration claims will strengthen the stone and prevent water intrusion – but those claims are disputed by experts.In March, the plaintiffs presented findings from 25 unnamed specialists in historic restoration and silicate paint, who concluded the material doesn't chemically bond with granite, would cause permanent damage during the priming process, and would not actually strengthen or protect the stone as claimed. Preservationists also warn the paint could trap moisture inside the granite, accelerating deterioration rather than preventing it.Adding to the controversy, the administration has shifted oversight of the project away from the General Services Administration — which normally holds statutory authority over the 1888 building — to the White House's own Office of the Administration. Critics say this move could allow the project to sidestep the review process Congress mandated to protect historic federal properties.The administration maintains the panel testing doesn't commit it to full-scale painting and says it's still working through required environmental and historical reviews with two other federal bodies, the Commission of Fine Arts and the National Capital Planning Commission — both of which have been staffed with Trump allies and would need to approve any final plan.Beyond the paint test, the administration also plans a broader facade assessment, including extracting up to ten two-inch stone samples from deteriorating sections of the building for lab analysis. It remains unclear how quickly U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee overseeing the case, will rule on the injunction request once filed.

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New Don Lemon court filing alleges federal officer lied to the judge

Alternet.org

1 hour ago

New Don Lemon court filing alleges federal officer lied to the judge

A new court filing from ex-CNN host Don Lemon was filed Wednesday, alleging that a Department of Homeland Security officer lied under oath in a statement to the judge in his case. Lemon is included with several other journalists charged by the Department of Justice, which claims that Lemon and other reporters were protesting when they were filming at a Minnesota church where one of the pastors was coordinating with immigration agents. National security expert Marcy Wheeler noted that this is the second time the Justice Department has asked Judge Douglas Minko to accept a complaint from an ICE agent who watched the video of the church broadcast and testified to what was in it. According to Lemon's filing, the agent made false claims about the journalists joining in the chanting from protesters. "That sworn allegation about Mr. Lemon was false," the filing states. "The government did not produce the draft complaint affidavit until July 17, 2026. At the July 24 hearing, the government explained that it submitted the affidavit to the Court in late January, but the Court did not sign it. The government then 'took Chief Judge Schiltz's advice' and obtained a grand jury indictment on January 29, 2026. Thus, only two days before securing the indictment, the government submitted a complaint affidavit falsely alleging that Mr. Lemon and the other journalists joined in the chanting. The timing strongly suggests that the government presented the same false account of the journalists' conduct to the grand jury."On Friday, in a rare move, Judge Minko ordered that the Justice Department turn over all testimony and evidence presented to the grand jury at the time. Their specific request is to find whether this sworn statement and any others were used to secure a grand jury indictment.The proceedings for a grand jury are typically kept secret, but in recent events, judges have allowed that information to be released to the defense in trial courts. In a recent Chicago case, the Justice Department was found to have misled the grand jurors and even dismissed jurors that they felt wouldn't give them the indictment they sought. That case involved six political leaders and activists protesting outside of an ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. The charges have been dropped and the accused have asked for a special counsel to investigate the incident. Judge Minko said that he wanted to examine the information himself first. However, Matthew Ebert, who represents freelance journalist Georga Fort, said that the government has made false claims about his client already, including in sworn affidavits, Minneapolis Public Radio reported last week. “The presumption of regularity has collapsed,” Ebert said.Justice Department prosecutor Neville Hedley told the judge that no false information in earlier documents made it into the indictment. That doesn't indicate whether the information was revealed to the grand jury to obtain the indictment, however. “These were not material falsehoods," Hedley said. “This was a mistake, this was a miscommunication.”The affidavit signed by DHS-ICE Special Agent Timothy Gerber reads, "Broadcast video obtained from Cities church also shows ARMSTRONG, ALLEN, LEMON, RICHARDSON, KELLY, FORT, LUNDY, CREWS chanting with agitators and obstructing parishioners' path of travel."Hedley didn't indicate what was "miscommunicated" in the claim. Lemon and his attorneys have alleged that the case against him and the journalists is "weak."

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Republican goes to war against judge Trump singled out for impeachment

Alternet.org

1 hour ago

Republican goes to war against judge Trump singled out for impeachment

After President Donald Trump singled him out for possible impeachment, a Republican lawmaker is officially going to war against Judge James Boasberg with a new bill inspired by GOP grievances against him, per a report from Bloomberg.Boasberg is a Washington D.C., federal district judge appointed by former President Barack Obama, who first drew the ire of MAGA Republicans in 2025 when he ruled against Trump's attempt to use the Alien Enemies Act as a means to carry out his mass deportation agenda. Those same Republicans later accused him, with no evidence, that he had forced his way onto a case against the Trump administration for its use of the Signal messaging app for military communications, despite the court's repeated insistence that he had been randomly assigned to the case per its standard policy.In light of his frequent rulings against the administration, Trump has called for Boasberg to be impeached, which prompted pushback from Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. Numerous other Republicans began to echo those calls, including Sen. Eric Schmitt, a Missouri Republican, who also this week unveiled a new proposed bill, the BOASBERG Act, that would target the unfounded allegations against the judge."A Republican senator has introduced legislation that would require random case assignment in federal district courts," Bloomberg's report explained, adding later, "If passed, Schmitt’s legislation would also require district courts to publicly share their practices when it comes to the assignment of civil cases, or to say why cases can’t be randomly assigned. Anyone who attempted to 'manipulate or evade the randomized case assignment system' would face penalties, according to the bill. District judges would also be removed from a case if the Supreme Court vacates, reverses, or stays their rulings. Appeals court judges would also lose their case assignments if the Supreme Court vacated or reversed a judgment that affirmed a lower court ruling."The report continued: "Under the bill, federal appeals courts would also be subject to random assignment procedures when it comes to creating the three-judge panels that hear cases, and cases could only be reassigned in limited circumstances. Judges would also be randomly assigned when it comes to the rare three-judge courts stood up to weigh challenges to district maps. And both district and appeals courts would have to share statistics annually on judicial assignments and reassignments."“The BOASBERG Act prevents Judges from forcing their way onto cases and is an important piece of court transparency legislation that will help restore the American people’s confidence in our judiciary,” Schmitt said in a statement about the new proposal.Bloomberg also noted a segment of Schmitt's proposal, which said that it was not meant "to prevent district courts from assigning cases filed within a division to 1 or more judges." The outlet interpreted this as an effort not to target the practice of "judge shopping," wherein litigants find a way to file their suits in smaller districts where they are "all but guaranteed" to land a judge friendly to their cause, which conservatives have been accused of doing frequently in recent years.

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After years of feuding, Trump has a message for Rand Paul nobody expected

BizPac Review

1 hour ago

After years of feuding, Trump has a message for Rand Paul nobody expected

President Donald Trump praised Senator Rand Paul, R-Kentucky, despite previous bad blood between the pair. Trump took to Truth Social on Tuesday to claim that Paul has […]

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Trump admin cracks 'garbage' joke after fatal blizzard it wouldn't help blue states fight

Raw Story

2 hours ago

Trump admin cracks 'garbage' joke after fatal blizzard it wouldn't help blue states fight

President Donald Trump's officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency cracked mean jokes Wednesday about a deadly blizzard to which they were refused to commit resources.The comment appeared in a new Politico report on White House officials who overrode FEMA experts and refused to approve disaster relief for states that voted against Trump in the presidential election.The blizzard in question took place earlier this year, causing deaths and affecting New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island. Email chains reviewed by Politico confirm that agency officials had already determined New York met the criteria for disaster relief.According to the report, "snow assistance was targeted for elimination last year in a memo by FEMA leadership as a way to reduce spending. Congress pushed back on that idea — a signal the administration may have disregarded." Since 1999, 82 percent of snow assistance from FEMA has gone to states controlled by the Democratic Party — a disparity caused by the fact that Democrats tend to be stronger in northern states with colder climates.When an agency spokesperson was confronted about the denials by Politico, they responded with a disparaging joke.“If the federal government is paying for regular operations like snow removal, what next? Garbage removal?” said the spokesperson. “The federal government’s role is not to fund routine functions.”Under the Trump administration, FEMA has been involved in other controversies as well, including reports that their resources are being diverted to "pre-crime" enforcement against terrorism, and a senior official who was ousted after claiming God teleported him to a Waffle House.

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Trump's FEMA mocks blue states struck by the 2026 blizzard

Raw Story

2 hours ago

Trump's FEMA mocks blue states struck by the 2026 blizzard

Trump administration officials at the Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, made derisive jokes Wednesday about the deadly blizzard that struck New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, and Rhode Island.The record-breaking snowstorm hit the East Coast Feb. 22. According to Politico, White House officials overrode FEMA experts and denied aid to states that voted against President Donald Trump in the presidential election, despite agency email chains confirming that New York met established criteria for relief. When confronted by Politico about the denials, a FEMA spokesperson responded sarcastically, "If the federal government is paying for regular operations like snow removal, what next? Garbage removal?" The spokesperson argued disaster aid was inappropriate for "routine functions." Historical data illustrates 82 percent of FEMA snow assistance since 1999 was assigned to Democratic-controlled states, a disparity reflecting Democratic strength in colder northern regions. The incident adds to FEMA controversies under Trump, including resource diversions to "pre-crime" enforcement.Watch the video below. Your browser does not support the video tag.

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Trump reaches new low as he loses 'backbone' of his movement

Alternet.org

2 hours ago

Trump reaches new low as he loses 'backbone' of his movement

On Wednesday, a new CNN poll revealed that President Donald Trump’s approval rating has cratered to a record low among his most essential support group: white people. As Newsweek notes, this demographic “has long formed the backbone of his electoral coalition,” and the fact that he’s losing white voters reflects the massive scale of the public’s “growing dissatisfaction” with his performance. The poll found that Trump’s net approval among white voters has plunged to a historic low of -20, a major drop from the flat 0 net approval he held with white voters one year ago. What’s more, it showed that Trump’s overall approval rating has sunk to just 34 percent, matching the lowest point in his political career, which came just after the January 6th insurrection during the last days of his first term. But the new survey reveals that his standing is even worse than his previous low. While his approval rating is the same, his net approval is actually lower, falling to -32 points today versus the -28 he held just after J6. According to Newsweek, “The difference is driven by higher disapproval. In the latest July 2026 survey, 66 percent of Americans disapprove of Trump's performance, compared with 62 percent in January 2021, meaning more voters now hold a negative view of the president than they did in the immediate fallout from the 2021 riot." Growing dissatisfaction with Trump has been caused by a range of issues, most notably his poor handling of the economy and the disastrous war with Iran, as well as a variety of highly visible domestic follies, from his mishandling of the Epstein files release to anger over brutal immigration crackdowns to his obsession with vanity projects.The poll found that “a record-high 73 percent of Americans believe Trump has not paid enough attention to the country's most important problems, while just 27 percent said he has focused on the right priorities,” explains Newsweek. “Public frustration extended beyond policy disagreements. Around three-quarters of respondents said Trump is not in touch with the problems ordinary Americans face in their daily lives, while roughly two-thirds said he does not put the country's interests ahead of his personal gain. Only 27 percent described Trump as someone who understands the challenges facing ordinary Americans.”What’s more, “just 25 percent approved of his handling of inflation, while only 21 percent approved of his management of gas prices. Approval of his handling of the situation in Iran stood at 28 percent…Roughly two-thirds of Americans believe Trump's policies have worsened economic conditions and that his military decisions relating to Iran have hurt the United States.”

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