NEW: A US appeals court rejected DOJ's request to let federal officials fully move ahead with Trump’s overhaul of mail voting ahead of the November midterms, leaving in place a Boston judge’s order blocking key parts of the president’s exec. order in 23 states + DC
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
New: The US judge who slammed DOJ's deal with Trump to end his $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS turned a critical eye specifically on Acting AG Todd Blanche's conduct -- on the eve of his Senate confirmation hearing.
A deep dive into what she found:
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NEW: DOJ settled a second lawsuit with Trump ally Michael Flynn, resolving his claim that the Army wrongly withheld $38K in retirement pay after concluding he accepted money from a Russia-controlled entity for a 2015 speech without approval; source says payout is a sum below $75K
buff.ly/0Jh9HOf
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
The latest settlement with Michael Flynn underscores how the Trump administration remains able to approve payments of taxpayer dollars to the president's allies and supporters, notwithstanding the swift demise of the plan for a dedicated "anti-weaponization" fund www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Today in court: MATH
A very no-nonsense US magistrate judge in Va. spent the morning resolving disputes about how much info/docs/depositions plaintiffs can get from the Trump admin re: the anti-weaponization fund plan. Everyone should leave "somewhat unhappy" was how he described his approach
ROUND 3: The Trump administration is facing a fresh legal challenge to the president’s latest round of global tariffs that took effect Friday. The small businesses that sued allege this is an unlawful use of US trade law to try to reimpose the Trump tariffs that SCOTUS struck down
buff.ly/DG4paK8
"...brought to manipulate the judicial process"
On today's ruling slamming Trump, his lawyers and DOJ for the settlement to end his IRS lawsuit. At a minimum, it appears to undermine part of the deal that gives Trump immunity from audits into past tax filings, among other sanctions
buff.ly/htbROQC
Today in "case captions that spike your blood pressure": Brennan v. Blanche
Former CIA Director John Brennan sued the Trump administration, asking a judge to ensure government records are preserved in case he’s indicted so he can seek to prove later that the charges are "vindictive"
buff.ly/ezcJp8Y
Trump firing fights press on: Following this week's SCOTUS ruling expanding presidential firing power, two agency heads removed by Trump indicate they still see paths forward for legal challenges -- both cases feature race discrimination claims, for one thing: buff.ly/2vXn48c
Prev: buff.ly/tw6npO9
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
Ex-national security advisor John Bolton appeared in court today to plead guilty to one count of mishandling national defense info. The plea deal - which the judge isn't bound to accept - includes $2.25M fine and up to 5 years in prison (Bolton could argue for none)
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
Earlier this year, Flynn received a $1.25M payout to settle a lawsuit over his prosecution amid the Mueller investigation (see: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...).
This other case over the retirement pay issue remained pending, though (@annabower.bsky.social prev. reported on the settlement talks)
Hello on this mildly muggy morning from the federal courthouse in Greenbelt, Md., where former national security advisor John Bolton is expected to plead guilty to retaining national defense material. He didn't speak with reporters on the way in. Stay tuned.
Prev: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
Recall that this case has gone ahead because the US district judge handling it concluded that DOJ's assurances so far that the fund is dead were not sufficient, hence this moving to the evidence-gathering phase www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Round 2: The Fed firing fight has been formally sent back to the district court for the next phase of proceedings after Trump and DOJ failed to convince SCOTUS to let him immediately oust Governor Lisa Cook (refresher: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...). TBD on what the next round will look like
New: Peter Navarro, a senior trade adviser to President Trump, is taking the unusual step of continuing to challenge his Biden-era contempt of Congress conviction even though DOJ walked away from the case nearly a year ago.
Tldr: He doesn't want the Bannon result
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
The Supreme Court's blockbuster decision expanding presidential control over federal agencies sent shock waves across the government, reopening lawsuits in limbo over Trump's efforts to oust officials and spurring fresh fears about where the ax will land next
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
NEW: The US Supreme Court’s ruling this week expanding President Trump’s control over federal agencies sent shock waves across the government, reopening lawsuits in limbo over his efforts to oust officials and spurring fresh fears about where the ax will land next
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
As Acting AG Todd Blanche's confirmation hearing kicks off this morning, a look at the criticism he faced from a federal judge in Miami just two days ago for how he handled DOJ's deal to settle President Trump's $10B lawsuit against the IRS buff.ly/SRuBbS2
The hearing is live here: buff.ly/lvGSzUK
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
Bolton's deal includes notable elements:
- up to 100 hours of what govt described as "community service" to help feds address disclosures of classified info (judge noted not typical)
- forfeits govt pension
- debriefs DOJ/US intel about what he did
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
DOJ recently finalized/executed a second settlement with Trump ally Michael Flynn to resolve another suit he filed against the US over $38K withheld from his military retirement pay re: a foreign emoluments issue. Person familiar said the payout was a sum below $75K
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
Mag. Judge Ivan Davis tried to reach compromise numbers for plaintiff requests for info and docs, but rejected the govt's request to curtail the # of depositions. DOJ has moved to dismiss the complaint as moot after top officials said the fund is dead, no ruling on that yet
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
What we're talking about when we talk about Slaughter:
Officials who sued over being fired by Trump led agencies responsible for consumer product safety, investigating aviation accidents, vetting mine safety claims and enforcing anti-discrimination labor laws
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...
Reply to @zoetillman.bsky.social
Here's the full order: assets.bwbx.io/documents/us...
New: In a 2-1 decision overnight, the DC Circuit cleared the way for DOJ to give the Heritage Foundation former President Joe Biden's interview recordings with his ghostwriter from years ago, although the court delayed its order taking effect until 8/3
www.bloomberg.com/news/article...