
Washington sues to block Trump's federal takeover of its police department as intervention intensifies
Police Chief Pamela Smith's statement came in a court filing as the city seeks to block the federal takeover of its police department in court.
Washington's top legal official sought an emergency restraining order in federal court blocking a Trump administration move to put a federal official in charge of its police.
The lawsuit comes after US Attorney General Pam Bondi said on Thursday night that Drug Enforcement Administration boss Terry Cole will assume the police chief's duties and approval authority for any orders issued to officers. It was unclear where the move left the city's current police chief, Ms Smith, who works for the mayor.
DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb argues the new order goes beyond Mr Trump's authority and implementing it would 'sow chaos' in the Metropolitan Police Department. 'The administration's unlawful actions are an affront to the dignity and autonomy of the 700,000 Americans who call DC home.'
The Justice Department declined to comment on the district's lawsuit, and a White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to messages seeking comment.
A population already tense from days of ramp-up has begun seeing more significant shows of force across the city. National Guard troops watched over some of the world's most renowned landmarks and Humvees took position in front of the busy main train station. Volunteers helped homeless people leave long-standing encampments — to where was often unclear.
The police takeover is the latest move by Mr Trump to test the limits of his legal authorities to carry out his agenda, relying on obscure statutes and a supposed state of emergency to bolster his tough-on-crime message and his plans to speed up the mass deportation of people in the United States illegally.
It also marks one of the most sweeping assertions of federal authority over a local government in modern times. While Washington has grappled with spikes in violence and visible homelessness, the city's homicide rate ranks below those of several other major US cities, and the capital is not in the throes of the public safety collapse the Trump administration has portrayed.
Mr Schwalb had said late on Thursday that Ms Bondi's directive was 'unlawful', arguing it could not be followed by the city's police force. He wrote in a memo to Ms Smith that 'members of MPD must continue to follow your orders and not the orders of any official not appointed by the Mayor', setting up the legal clash between the heavily Democratic district and the Republican administration.
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The district's attorney general is an elected position and the city's top legal officer. It's separate from federal US attorney appointed by the president to serve in Washington, a role now filled by former Fox News Channel host and judge Jeanine Pirro. Mr Trump also appointed Ms Bondi as US attorney general, the nation's top law enforcement official.
Ms Bondi's directive came even after Ms Smith had told MPD officers hours earlier to share information with immigration agencies regarding people not in custody, such as someone involved in a traffic stop or checkpoint.
However, it also stated that members 'shall not make any inquiry through any database solely for the purpose of inquiring about an individual's immigration status'.
The Justice Department said Ms Bondi disagreed with the police chief's directive because it allowed for continued enforcement of 'sanctuary policies', which generally limit co-operation by local law enforcement with federal immigration officers.
Ms Bondi said she was rescinding that order as well as other MPD policies limiting inquires into immigration status and preventing arrests based solely on federal immigration warrants.
All new directives must now get approval from Cole, she said.
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Irish Times
9 minutes ago
- Irish Times
Zelenskiy, flanked by Europe, heads to Washington as Trump presses for Russia deal
Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelenskiy and European leaders will meet Donald Trump in Washington on Monday to map out a peace deal amid fears the US could try to pressure Kyiv into accepting a settlement favourable to Moscow . The leaders of Britain, Germany, France, Italy, Finland and Nato hope to shore up Mr Zelenskiy at a crucial diplomatic moment in the war and prevent any repetition of the bad-tempered Oval Office encounter between Mr Trump and Ukraine's leader in February. Mr Trump's relations with European leaders can be prickly, and it is notable that the group includes several who he reportedly likes: Italy's Giorgia Meloni , Britain's Keir Starmer , Finland's Alexander Stubb and Nato secretary general Mark Rutte, along with European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen . Mr Trump will meet Mr Zelenskiy at 1.15pm (5.15pm Irish time) in the Oval Office and then all the European leaders together in the White House's East Room at 3pm (7pm Irish time), the White House said. READ MORE The meetings follow a summit held in Alaska on Friday between Mr Trump and Russian president Vladimir Putin , and claims by a White House envoy that Russia has dropped its opposition to the West providing Nato-style defence pledges to Kyiv. Speaking on Sunday, US secretary of state Marco Rubio said Russia and Ukraine were both 'going to have to make concessions' for there to be a peaceful resolution to the war. After rolling out the red carpet for Mr Putin in Alaska on Friday, Mr Trump said an agreement should be struck to end the 42-month-long war which has killed tens of thousands and displaced millions. 'Russia is a very big power, and they're not,' Mr Trump said of Ukraine afterwards. However, Mr Zelenskiy has already all but rejected the outline of Mr Putin's proposals at that meeting, including for Ukraine to give up the rest of its eastern Donetsk region, of which it currently controls a quarter. 'We need real negotiations, which means we can start where the front line is now,' the Ukrainian leader said in Brussels on Sunday, adding that his country's constitution made it impossible for him to give away territory. More concerning for him is the fact that Mr Trump, who previously favoured Kyiv's proposal for an immediate ceasefire to conduct deeper peace talks, reversed course after the summit and indicated support for Russia's favoured approach of negotiating a comprehensive deal while fighting continues. 'I am grateful to the President of the United States for the invitation. We all equally want to end this war swiftly and reliably,' Mr Zelenskiy said on the Telegram messaging app after arriving in Washington late on Sunday. 'Russia must end this war – the war it started. And I hope that our shared strength with America and with our European friends will compel Russia to real peace.' [ The Irish Times view on the Trump-Putin summit: a shameful day in Alaska Opens in new window ] Mr Zelenskiy also said on X that any deal must be 'not like it was years ago, when Ukraine was forced to give up Crimea and part of our East – part of Donbas – and Putin simply used it as a springboard for a new attack'. 'Or when Ukraine was given so called 'security guarantees' in 1994, but they didn't work,' the Ukrainian president said. In interviews on Sunday, Mr Rubio said the talks in Alaska had 'made progress in the sense that we identified potential areas of agreement – but there remains some big areas of disagreement'. He added: 'We're still a long ways off. We're not at the precipice of a peace agreement. We're not at the edge of one. But I do think progress was made and towards one.' Mr Trump's Ukraine envoy, Steve Witkoff, said Mr Putin had agreed that the US and European allies could offer Ukraine a Nato-style, 'Article 5-like' security guarantee as part of an eventual deal to end the war. The Article 5 clause of Nato's founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence, the notion that an attack on a single member is considered an attack on them all. Mr Witkoff added that Russia had agreed to unspecified concessions on five Ukrainian regions central to the war, particularly the eastern Donetsk province. 'We agreed to robust security guarantees that I would describe as game-changing,' he said. [ Ukraine has right to make decisions on its territory, says Taoiseach after Trump comments Opens in new window ] Mikhail Ulyanov, Russia's envoy to international organisations in Vienna, said early on Monday that Russia agreed that any future peace agreement must provide security guarantees to Kyiv, but added that Russia 'has equal right to expect that Moscow will also get efficient security guarantees'. European Union council president Antonio Costa said he 'welcomed the United States' willingness to participate in providing security guarantees to Ukraine'. Fearing that they would be shut out of the conversation after a summit to which they were not invited, European leaders held a call with Mr Zelenskiy on Sunday to align on a common strategy for the meeting with Mr Trump on Monday. The presence of six allies to back Mr Zelenskiy may alleviate painful memories of his last Oval Office visit. 'It's important for the Europeans to be there: (Trump) respects them, he behaves differently in their presence,' Oleksandr Merezhko, a Ukrainian lawmaker from Mr Zelenskiy's ruling party. But Mr Rubio, speaking to CBS, dismissed the idea that the European leaders were coming to Washington to protect the Ukrainian leader. 'They're not coming here tomorrow to keep Zelenskiy from being bullied. They're coming here tomorrow because we've been working with the Europeans,' he said. 'We invited them to come.' Relations between Kyiv and Washington, once extremely close, have been rocky since Mr Trump took office in January. However, Ukraine's pressing need for U.S. weapons and intelligence sharing, some of which have no viable alternative, has forced Mr Zelenskiy and his allies on the continent to appease Mr Trump, even when his statements appear contradictory to their objectives. On the battlefield Russia has been slowly grinding forward, pressing home its advantages in men and firepower. Mr Putin says he is ready to continue fighting until his military objectives are achieved. Ukraine hopes that the changing technological nature of the war and its ability to inflict massive casualties on Moscow will allow it to hold out, supported by European financial and military aid even if relations with Washington collapse.

Irish Times
an hour ago
- Irish Times
Espionage and ‘destructive ideologies' are among main threats to State, says Garda report
The Garda 's national security service has warned about the 'ever present' threat from foreign spies intent on stealing sensitive political information and intellectual property. In a newly published document, the Security and Intelligence branch also raises concerns about the threat of 'destructive ideologies' and the rise of extremism in Ireland. The force 's Annual Security Services Plan offers a rare, though vaguely worded, insight into what it believes are the main threats facing the State. It comes amid efforts by the Government to revamp the State's clandestine security services in the face of increasing foreign threats. Almost uniquely among western countries, the Garda is responsible for both day-to-day policing and State security. READ MORE It says the Garda's secretive Security and Intelligence Service is responsible for State security. One of its key roles is liaising with overseas secret services, while the role of its operational arm, the Special Detective Unit, is 'identifying, investigating and reporting for prosecution' threats to State security, it says. The report says the service will also be required to carry out threat assessments and security operations relating to Ireland's presidency of the EU next year. According to the report, the main threats to the State are 'terrorism, violent political extremism, espionage, sabotage and subversion'. Ireland is a 'potential target of hostile state actors' that are intent on stealing information on 'intellectual property, as well as policies and political information of the State'. The report does not specify which countries are a threat, although senior security officials have previously raised concerns about espionage activities by Russia, China and Iran. In particular, China is believed to regularly attempt to gain access to the intellectual property of technology and pharmaceutical companies here. A Russian expatriates network accused of acting as an extension of the Kremlin's security services has also been active in Ireland , while there is evidence China has been using a Dublin-based overseas Chinese service centre to coerce its citizens living here . In recent years, the Government has taken steps to reduce the number of Russian intelligence agents in Ireland. It has introduced national security legislation preventing Russia from extending its embassy and has refused to issue visas to multiple incoming diplomats. In a sign of the evolving security landscape, the threat from 'subversion', typically a reference to violent Republican groups, is only alluded to once in the document. However, Ireland is 'not immune' from the threats of terrorism and extremism seen in other EU countries, including 'lone wolf' extremists, the report warns. A stabbing attack on a Defence Forces chaplain in Galway last year by a radicalised teenager has been officially designated as Ireland's first Islamic terrorist attack. Another stabbing attack on a Garda, which is currently before the courts, is also been investigated as potential Islamic-inspired terrorism, while there are also concerns about possible attacks from far-right extremists, sources say. 'The proliferation of destructive ideologies poses a direct threat to the values of democratic society, threatens lives and endangers the freedoms and norms that we have become accustomed to in a secure society,' the report warns. 'Interconnected groupings/individuals displaying extremist and terrorist ideologies present a potential threat to the security of the State and our citizens.' The Government has committed to a ring-fenced budget that will allow the security service to expand recruitment of civilians with specialist skills, it says. In a forward to the plan, Garda Commissioner Drew Harris , who retires at the end of August, says Garda capabilities in the areas of national security, counter-intelligence and counter-terrorism 'will continue to be enhanced and partnerships between national and international partners will be developed, maintained and strengthened'.


Irish Independent
2 hours ago
- Irish Independent
European leaders to join Volodymyr Zelensky for crunch war talks with Donald Trump in Washington
Mr Trump is leaning on Mr Zelensky to strike an agreement after the US president met Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin in Alaska and emerged more aligned with Moscow on seeking a peace deal instead of a ceasefire first. Mr Trump and Mr Zelensky will meet today. 'If peace is not going to be possible here and this is just going to continue on as a war, people will continue to die by the thousands ... we may unfortunately wind up there, but we don't want to wind up there,' US secretary of state Marco Rubio said in an interview with CBS's Face the Nation. Mr Trump yesterday promised 'big progress on Russia' in a social media post, without specifying what this might be. Sources briefed on Moscow's thinking told Reuters the US and Russian leaders have discussed proposals for Russia to relinquish tiny pockets of occupied Ukraine in exchange for Kyiv ceding a swathe of fortified land in the east and freezing the front lines elsewhere. Top Trump officials hinted that the fate of Ukraine's eastern Donbas region – which incorporates Donetsk and Luhansk and which is already mostly under Russian control – was on the line, while some sort of defensive pact was also on the table. 'We were able to win the following concession, that the United States could offer Article 5-like protection,' Trump envoy Steve Witkoff told CNN yesterday, suggesting this would be in lieu of Ukraine seeking Nato membership. 'The United States could offer Article 5 protection, which was the first time we had ever heard the Russians agree to that.' Article 5 of Nato's founding treaty enshrines the principle of collective defence – the notion that an attack on a single member is considered an attack on them all. That pledge may not be enough to sway leaders in Kyiv to sign over Donbas. Ukraine's borders were already meant to have been guaranteed when Ukraine surrendered a Soviet-era nuclear arsenal in 1994, and it proved to be little deterrent when Russia absorbed Crimea in 2014 and then launched its full-scale invasion in 2022. The war has now dragged on for more than three years and killed or wounded more than one million people. It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and UK prime minister Keir Starmer hosted a meeting of allies yesterday to bolster Mr Zelensky's hand, hoping in particular to lock down robust security guarantees for Ukraine that would include a US role. The Europeans are keen to help Mr Zelensky avoid a repeat of his last Oval Office meeting in February. That went disastrously, with Mr Trump and vice-president JD Vance giving the Ukrainian leader a public dressing-down, accusing him of being ungrateful and disrespectful. Taoiseach Micheál Martin attended the virtual leaders' meeting of the so-called 'coalition of the willing'. Mr Martin, who will not be in Washington, said he had assured Mr Zelensky that Ireland will 'continue to steadfastly support Ukraine'. 'It will be up to Ukraine to make decisions on its territory. International borders must not be changed by force,' he said. 'I fully agree that Ukraine needs strong, credible, long-term security guarantees. This will mean sustained support from Europe, the United States and other partners.' A joint communique released by the UK, France and Germany after the meeting said their leaders were ready 'to deploy a reassurance force once hostilities have ceased, and to help secure Ukraine's skies and seas and regenerate Ukraine's armed forces'. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen will also travel to Washington, as will Finland's president Alexander Stubb, whose access to Mr Trump included rounds of golf in Florida earlier this year, and Italian prime minister Giorgia Meloni, who is an admirer of many of Mr Trump's policies. As I've often said, Ukraine must become a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders 'It's important that Washington is with us,' Mr Zelensky said alongside Ms von der Leyen on a visit to Brussels, saying the current front lines in the war should be the basis for peace talks. 'Putin does not want to stop the killing, but he must do it.' Setting out red lines, Ms von der Leyen said Ukraine's allies wanted robust security guarantees for Ukraine, no limits to Ukraine's armed forces, and a seat at the table with Mr Trump and Putin for Ukraine to discuss its territory. 'As I've often said, Ukraine must become a steel porcupine, indigestible for potential invaders,' she said. For his part, Putin briefed his close ally, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, about the Alaska talks, and also spoke with Kazakhstan's president Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. Mr Trump said on Friday that Ukraine should make a deal to end the war because 'Russia is a very big power, and they're not.'