Federal judge casts doubt on Bondi's move to sideline DC police leadership
Judge Ana Reyes gave lawyers for the Department of Justice and the D.C. government until early evening to reach a deal that would limit Cole's authority, or she would issue a temporary restraining order.
Reyes, a Biden appointee, said broader questions over President Donald Trump's sweeping executive order declaring a crime emergency in the nation's capital would be addressed in a court hearing next week.
In the immediate future, the Trump administration will still largely have control over the Metropolitan Police Department regardless of whether it reaches a deal with the D.C. government or becomes subject to a court order.
Reyes convened the emergency hearing after D.C. Attorney General Brian Schwalb sued to block Trump's takeover of D.C.'s law enforcement operations. Schwalb argued the move was unconstitutional and violated the Home Rule Act, a federal law that gives D.C. residents the ability to self-govern.
The hearing was a small setback for the administration, as Reyes indicated that Cole must go through Mayor Muriel Bowser to give any further directives to the police force.
Schwalb on Friday framed the hearing as a win, telling reporters his "expectation is that the key issue with respect to control and command of [the MPD] has been resolved today, and that it is clear, as a matter of law, that it is under the chief of police appointed by the mayor."
But the law also implies that Bowser must be heavily deferential to Cole, meaning he is likely to be able to continue carrying out the Trump administration's policing priorities in D.C. regarding immigration and homelessness for a 30-day period.
DOJ attorney Yaakov Roth, arguing on behalf of the government, said the president has "a lot of discretion in determining what's necessary and appropriate."
Bowser and Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton, D-D.C., attended the hearing at the E. Barrett Prettyman Federal Courthouse. Outside the building, dozens gathered to protest the federal takeover, which has also included activating hundreds of National Guard soldiers in D.C. More protesters, including those from the "Free DC" movement, appeared inside the courtroom, underscoring the tension that has arisen over Trump's orders.
"What we know is that D.C. residents are worried and concerned, and we have a surge of federal officers," Bowser told reporters. "Chief [Pamela] Smith's job during this week has been to make sure that if we have and while we have federal officers, that they are being used strategically."
At the outset of the hearing, Reyes observed that she will be the first judge to rule on a president's authority to temporarily take control of the Metropolitan Police Department under the Home Rule Act since Congress passed the legislation in 1973, underscoring the significance of the case.
The judge made clear she did not plan to immediately rule on whether there was a crime emergency, as Trump stated in his executive order, but that some temporary resolution was still needed.
"I want to get to a practical solution because time is short and there are people who need to know who they are taking direction from and what they are doing," Reyes told both parties.
Reyes, who has become known for presiding over a fast-paced court that keeps litigators on their toes, struck a careful tone of moderation Friday.
"I don't think the statute is as narrow as you think or as broad as Mr. Roth thinks," she told attorney Mitchell Reich, who argued on behalf of the D.C. attorney general.
Schwalb's lawsuit challenged Trump's executive order that temporarily federalized D.C. under Section 740 of the Home Rule Act and Attorney General Pam Bondi's more recent order Thursday that sought to install Cole as the emergency commissioner of the D.C. police force. Schwalb's office argued the moves were unprecedented and could "wreak operational havoc" on the police department.
Schwalb urged the court to block both of the Trump administration's orders, stating that the federal government's temporary takeover of D.C. police under the Home Rule Act "does not authorize this brazen usurpation of the District's authority over its own government."
"They infringe on the District's right to self-governance and put the safety of DC residents and visitors at risk," he said.
Critics have excoriated Trump's executive order, arguing it is not reflective of any real emergency in the nation's capital, which has seen a drop in violent crime (though by how much, exactly, remains a point of contention).
Attorney Norm Eisen, the former White House ethics czar under President Barack Obama, told reporters Thursday that Trump's order in D.C. is the latest in a "pattern of assaults on the rule of law" in his second term as president, which all involve declaring various forms of "emergency" as a means of sidestepping normal policymaking processes.
Trump "has declared a fake emergency" in D.C., Eisen said. "There is no 'emergency' upon which this action with MPD or the federal military is predicated."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Adams is polling last—here's what he has to say about it
NEW YORK - For weeks, polls have shown that New York City's Mayor Eric Adams isn't what the people want come November, at least so far. What we know A recent Siena poll of registered voters shows that Democratic mayoral nominee Zohran Mamdani holds a strong lead in the race. Mamdani polls at 44%, while former Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who is running as an independent after losing to Mamdani in the Democratic primary, trails at 25%. Republican Curtis Silwa stands at 12%, and Mayor Adams is at 7%. He's also running as an independent. These numbers are unusual considering the fact that in local elections, incumbency typically has positive effects. Big picture view Adams' poor numbers thus far can at least partially be attributed to his favorability ratings. Last year, the Department of Justice charged him with bribery, conspiracy and campaign finance crimes, which has contributed to a sense of distrust between the mayor and his constituents. New York Gov. Kathy Hochul even weighed removing him as mayor earlier this year. Although the case was dropped, his ratings have remained low. Adams appeared as a guest on this week's "Politics Unusual" program, where FOX 5 NY Political Reporter Morgan McKay asked him if he had any plans in the coming weeks to pump up his numbers. What they're saying "My breakout moment is when New Yorkers are going to say, 'I know this guy's record, and I know he's a working-class New Yorker,'" he said, referencing the fact that the city experienced the lowest number of shootings and murders in recorded history back in May as an example. "We're building our foundation, starting our communication," Adams said of a campaign that's already months in. Adams also admitted that he "made a lot of mistakes" during his first two years as mayor. "Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, I trusted people I should not have trusted. Yes, some people had jobs that they should not have had," he said. Additionally, Adams discussed the fact that his former staffer Mohamed Bahi pled guilty last week for his role in a scheme to funnel illegal donations to his campaign in order to get public matching funds—which are taxpayer dollars—and how that's affected his run for reelection as well. "Some people think they're helping the campaign," he said. "They do things that technically they should not have done. I think that they make mistakes, but at no time did we coordinate with anyone that told them to do something inappropriate." Mayor Adams' matching funds Dig deeper Earlier this month, the New York City Campaign Finance Board denied Adams' millions in public matching funds for the tenth time. The board said they denied his campaign for two reasons—the first being his campaign not having submitted the required paperwork, and the second being the fact that the board had reason to believe his campaign previously violated the law. "The board finds the campaign has provided incomplete and misleading information to the CFB and has impeded the CFB staff's ability to complete its investigation," Board Chair Frederick Schaffer said during a board meeting, referencing Adams' denial of funds. "With respect to the second ground, the board's conclusion is based upon its review of all of the available evidence, including, but not limited to, its own independent investigation." Without these funds, Adams' campaign will have an even harder time bouncing back. After all, matching funds incentivize candidates to seek broader support from individual donors instead of solely relying on larger contributions from wealthy donors and special interest groups. In the meantime, Adams isn't giving up. He told POLITICO that he plans to ride out the campaign to the very end to stop frontrunner Mamdani last week. "If there were people running for mayor that I believe would continue the progress of our city, that's an easy call," Adams said. "The people who are running — they are harmful to our city and the progress we've made. And I owe it to New Yorkers to get my story out to them and to run a campaign." The Source The information provided in the article above was sourced from the NYPD, previous FOX 5 NY reporting, the Siena Research Institute, the Justice Department, The New York Times, NPR, THE CITY, and POLITICO. Solve the daily Crossword
Fox News
6 hours ago
- Fox News
Extra: Trade Schools And The Future Of America's Labor Force
The Trump Administration has vowed to make 'Make trade schools great again.' Part of their plan includes making billions of dollars available for trade schools by rerouting grant money and adjusting 529 college savings plan laws. This comes at a time when American companies are begging for electricians, welders, and others who can fill the essential jobs needed to fuel growing industries of the future like artificial intelligence. Dr. Jason Altmire, former Pennsylvania Congressman and current President and CEO of Career Education Colleges and Universities, recently joined FOX News Rundown host Jessica Rosenthal to discuss the growing popularity of trade schools and the growing demand for their graduates. Dr. Altmire explained the importance of skilled labor to the economy, how the perception of choosing a trade over college has shifted over the decades, and how AI could impact white and blue-collar jobs. We often must cut interviews short during the week, but we thought you might like to hear the full interview. Today on Fox News Rundown Extra, we will share our entire conversation with Dr. Jason Altmire and allow you to hear even more about the trade schools and the future of America's labor force. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Yahoo
8 hours ago
- Yahoo
Democrat Senator said Alaska summit was ‘great day' for Russia: Putin was ‘absolved of his crimes in front of the world'
A key senator on the Foreign Relations committee called Donald Trump's Alaska summit with Vladimir Putin a 'disaster' Sunday and blamed the U.S. president for legitimizing his Russian opponent in front of the world. 'It was an embarrassment for the United States. It was a failure. Putin got everything he wanted,' said Chris Murphy, the ranking Democratic member of the Foreign Affairs subcommittee on European security cooperation. Murphy told NBC's Meet the Press that Trump was forced to abandon his main commitment — a call for a ceasefire — during the meeting and was similarly unable to convince Putin to drop demands for Ukraine to cede more territory, something the senator from Connecticut said was 'stunning' to see a U.S. president consider. 'He wanted to be absolved of his war crimes in front of the world. He was invited to the United States — war criminals are not normally invited to the United States of America,' Murphy said. Trump 'walked out of that meeting saying, 'I didn't get a ceasefire. I didn't get a peace deal. And I'm not even considering sanctions,'' the senator continued. 'And so Putin walks away with his photo op, with zero commitments made, and zero consequences. What a great day for Russia.' Murphy's comments to NBC come as two top Trump officials who traveled with the president to Alaska for the summit Friday, Marco Rubio and Steve Witkoff, did the rounds on separate Sunday morning programs defending the outcome of the president's meeting with Putin. The optics of the meeting are being endlessly scrutinized in the mainstream press, partly due to the few specifics released so far about what the two men discussed. Among those moments been picked apart by analysts included the arrival of the Russian president, which was preceded by U.S. troops, in uniform, rolling out a red carpet on the tarmac. On Sunday, Witkoff told CNN'S State of the Union that the U.S. secured what he claimed was a 'game-changing' development in the discussions: Putin's willingness to consider accepting a U.S. security agreement protecting the future sovereignty of Ukraine's borders. This was the first time negotiators were able to gain ground on the issue, he explained. 'We were able to win the following concession: That the United States could offer Article 5-like protection, which is one of the real reasons why Ukraine wants to be in NATO," he said. Witkoff wouldn't specify whether the security guarantee could lead to what Trump and his followers have long opposed — a promise to directly engage U.S. troops in defense of Ukraine should Russia continue crossing Trump's red lines. Murphy, on Sunday, seemed to imply that such a guarantee would be the bare minimum standard necessary for any peace agreement between Ukraine and Russia. 'That [security guarantee] is an essential element of a peace agreement because any commitment that Vladimir Putin makes to not invade Ukraine again isn't worth the paper that it's written on,' said the senator. 'He's made that commitment many times. So yes, there has to be a guarantee that if Putin were to enter Ukraine after a peace settlement, that there would be some force there, a U.S. force, a U.S.-European force there to defend Ukraine.' He would go on to hammer Trump over reports that Witkoff wouldn't confirm when pressed by CNN's Jake Tapper, which revealed that Trump had signaled his own willingness to accept Russian demands for Ukraine to cede the entire occupied Donbas region as part of a potential agreement. Murphy said that the reported development was 'another sense that Putin is just in charge of these negotiations.' Chris Van Hollen, another Democrat on the Foreign Relations panel, was equally critical of Trump's meeting with the Russian president during an interview with ABC's Martha Raddatz on This Week. Heading into Friday's summit, Trump warned of 'severe consequences' if Russia continued to oppose peace efforts and said that he was working towards an immediate ceasefire. Afterwards, he claimed in a Truth Social post that "It was determined by all [in attendance] that the best way to end the horrific war between Russia and Ukraine is to go directly to a Peace Agreement, which would end the war, and not a mere Ceasefire Agreement, which often times do not hold up.' Van Hollen called this news a 'setback' for the U.S.'s European allies and Ukraine, while accusing Trump of being 'flattered' by Putin. 'There's no sugarcoating this. Donald Trump, once again, got played by Vladimir Putin. Vladimir Putin got the red carpet treatment on American soil. But we got no ceasefire, no imminent meeting between Putin and Zelensky,' said Van Hollen. Jake Sullivan, national security adviser to the Biden administration, agreed. "President Trump's stated goals were very simple, get an immediate ceasefire, and in the absence of a ceasefire, impose what he called severe consequences," Sullivan said. "Well, the summit has come and gone. There is no ceasefire. There are no consequences.' Trump is now scheduled to meet Monday with European leaders including Finnish president Alexander Stubb, German chancellor Friedrich Merz, French president Emmanuel Macron and the UK's Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer. Stubb is known for his personal relationship with Trump, and is poised to be on-hand to quell any disputes between Trump and Ukraine's Volodymyr Zelensky, who will also be in attendance. Zelensky is reported to be wholly opposed to any demand to recognize Russian occupation of the Donbas as legitimate.
