Latest news with #Clinton-appointed
Axios
23-07-2025
- Politics
- Axios
Judges in Epstein, Maxwell grand jury records cases want more details from DOJ
Two federal judges on Tuesday gave the Department of Justice until next week to provide more details in its request to unseal grand jury transcripts from the prosecutions of Jeffrey Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. The big picture: "The court intends to resolve this motion expeditiously," the two Manhattan judges wrote in similar court orders. "However, the Court cannot rule on the motion without additional submissions from the government." The orders came the same day as Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche announced Tuesday that he's seeking a meeting with Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year sentence in Florida after being found guilty of sex trafficking and other charges in 2021. The Trump administration has faced pressure from even typically loyal MAGA circles to act after the DOJ and FBI concluded there's no evidence that Epstein kept a "client list" and that the convicted sex offender and disgraced financier was not murdered. Driving the news: U.S. District Judge Richard Berman, who was overseeing Epstein's case before he was found dead in his cell in 2019 while awaiting trial on charges of sex-trafficking minors, requested that the DOJ provide a more detailed memorandum by July 29 on making the case for unsealing grand jury transcripts related to the case. Obama-appointed U.S. District Judge Paul Engelmayer, who's overseeing Maxwell's case, requested the same and on the same date. Victims and representatives for Epstein and Maxwell in the cases have until Aug. 5 to file submissions, according to the orders. What they're saying: "According to the government, Epstein harmed over one thousand victims," noted the Clinton-appointed Berman. "Each suffered unique trauma. Sensitive information relating to these victims is intertwined throughout the materials." Context: Grand jury transcripts are typically kept secret under federal criminal procedure rules, but federal judges can release them under special circumstances.
Yahoo
30-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Yahoo
Federal judge stands by block on Naples, Florida restrictions on 'PrideFest' drag show
Amid legal wranglings over a pro-LGBT organization that wants to host an outdoor drag show open to all ages in Naples, Florida, next week, a Clinton-nominated federal judge denied an emergency motion to stay a preliminary injunction pending appeal. Earlier this month, Judge John Steele of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida issued a preliminary injunction to block the city from prohibiting the drag performance from being held outdoors at Cambier Park and to prohibit the imposition of an age requirement for attendance. Then this week, Steele slapped down a bid to stay his preliminary injunction. The Naples PrideFest, which is free for children under 12, is scheduled to take place on June 7 and include a drag performance, Naples Pride notes on its website. According to a legal challenge lodged last month by Naples Pride, the city council voted 5-2 to issue a permit for the event, "but only on the conditions that (1) the drag performance take place indoors at the Norris Center; and (2) no one under 18 be admitted to the drag performance, even if accompanied by an adult parent or guardian." Drag Queen Group Mocks Jesus, Christianity In Easter Show Marketed To Kids Read On The Fox News App The organization objected to those limitations and to the size of the security fee it said the Naples Police Department indicated the organization would need to pay to hold the drag performance. "During the 2025 permit application process, the Naples Police Department initially told Naples Pride that it would have to pay $30,697.50 in security fees alone—on top of other permit fees—to hold the performance indoors, and $44,160.00 in security fees to hold it outdoors," the complaint noted. In a statement provided to Fox News Digital, the city of Naples noted, "On May 27th, U.S. District Court Judge Steele denied the City's emergency motion to stay the preliminary injunction pending appeal." This Progressive Actor Describes The Unlikely Political Evolution That Drove Him To Donald Trump "While this outcome was anticipated, the City's legal team is reviewing the order and determining next steps with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals. The City remains confident it has both the legal responsibility and the authority to attach reasonable restrictions on special event permits to ensure public safety. Beyond this, and as a matter of policy, the City does not comment in detail on legal strategy for active litigation." U.S. Rep. Byron Donalds, R-Fl., issued a post on X in which he declared, "You have to be an adult to enter a strip club, but Clinton-appointed Judge John Steele wants sexually-explicit drag shows to take place next to a popular children's playground in Naples. This ruling is atrocious & the City of Naples should appeal this case to the Supreme Court." But Naples Pride hailed the judge's decision. Parents Can't Opt K-5 Children Out Of Lgbtq Curriculum: Appeals Court "Drag performances are a protected form of expression — period," Naples Pride spokesperson Callhan Soldavini noted in a statement the organization provided to Fox News Digital. "The district court's decision is thoughtful, well-reasoned, and firmly rooted in longstanding constitutional principles. Naples Pride will continue to stand for free speech and the rule of law, which safeguards the rights of all people."Original article source: Federal judge stands by block on Naples, Florida restrictions on 'PrideFest' drag show
Yahoo
09-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Judge orders immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, Tufts student detained by ICE
BURLINGTON, Vermont — A federal judge Friday ordered the immediate release of Rumeysa Ozturk, a Turkish Tufts University Ph.D. student whose video-recorded detention by masked federal agents drew national scrutiny amid a crackdown by the Trump administration. U.S. District Judge William Sessions III ruled that Ozturk had been unlawfully detained in March for little more than authoring an op-ed critical of Israel in her school newspaper. 'That literally is the case. There is no evidence here … absent consideration of the op-ed,' the Clinton-appointed judge said, describing it as an apparent violation of her free speech rights. He also said Ozturk had made significant claims of due process violations. 'Her continued detention cannot stand.' Sessions said the Trump administration's targeting of Ozturk could chill the speech of 'millions and millions' of noncitizens. Secretary of State Marco Rubio had revoked Ozturk's visa, saying her continued presence in the United States was contrary to American foreign policy interests, part of a wave of similar visa terminations targeting students who had criticized Israel or joined pro-Palestinian protests. Ozturk is currently detained in Louisiana, but the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday ordered her returned by May 14 to Vermont, where she had been held when her attorneys filed an emergency petition for her release. Friday's order for her immediate release comes just days after another Vermont-based federal judge, Geoffrey Crawford, ordered the release of Mohsen Mahdawi, a Palestinian Columbia University student who had been active in campus protest. Sessions' order, while expressing severe doubts about the constitutionality of Ozturk's detention and deportation, only applies to her immediate confinement. Efforts by the Trump administration to deport Ozturk will continue in immigration court. The Justice Department had argued largely that Sessions had no authority to order Ozturk's release, but made little substantive case against her bid for release from incarceration. Videos of her apprehension by ICE went viral in March, showing a group of masked, plainclothes agents surrounding her in Somerville, Massachusetts, and whisking her away in broad daylight. She has been detained since. Sessions found that in addition to the violation of her constitutional rights, she faced significant risk in ICE custody for an exacerbation of her diagnosed chronic asthma. He asked the Justice Department to notify him as soon as she is released from detention. Ozturk, who attended the hearing virtually from the ICE facility in Louisiana, at times appeared emotional during more than three hours of proceedings. She testified about her academic work researching child development at Tufts and shared how her health has worsened significantly since being held in custody. At one point she briefly left the hearing, citing an asthma flareup. Dozens of protestors appeared outside the Burlington courthouse, waving Palestinian flags and signs of support. Ozturk 'probably doesn't have a whole lot going on other than reaching out to her community in a caring and compassionate way,' Sessions said. Both the Justice Department and Ozturk's attorneys floated the idea that Ozturk's travel be limited to Vermont, where the court challenge is pending, and Massachusetts, where she lives. But the judge declined to impose any limits on her travel. 'I don't find that she poses any risk of flight,' the judge said. Crampton reported from Burlington, Vermont. Cheney reported from Washington, D.C. CORRECTION: A previous version of this report misstated who appointed U.S. District Judge William Sessions III.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
2 judges limit Trump's bid to deport ‘alien enemies' in back-to-back rulings
NEW YORK — A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from deporting people designated as 'alien enemies,' citing a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week and warning of the potential for 'irreparable' mistakes. The ruling by a Trump-appointed judge, which appears limited to defendants currently confined in Texas, came moments after a Clinton-appointed federal judge in New York said he would order the administration to guarantee those alleged 'alien enemies' in his Manhattan-based district a chance to challenge their deportations. The near-simultaneous rulings further hamstring the Trump administration's efforts to deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, by using the two-centuries-old Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used law meant to guard against foreign invasions in wartime. It's the latest legal setback for President Donald Trump's effort to deploy these war powers to summarily deport foreign nationals he labels terrorists. Many of those targeted by Trump's invocation have claimed they were misidentified as members of the gang. The White House dismissed those claims and initially contended Trump's designation was enough to justify their speedy removals. But the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling Monday that those labeled 'alien enemies' must have a meaningful chance to challenge their deportations. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., the Trump appointee in Brownsville, Texas, noted the potential for mistakes similar to the case of an illegally deported Maryland man, Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He was sent to a high-security prison in El Salvador as part of a hastily organized mass deportation effort carried out on March 15. The government says Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. without authorization in 2011, but an immigration judge's 2019 ruling ordered that he not be returned to his home country of El Salvador because of the threat of persecution he faced there. Rodriguez's order clearly blocks the deportation of anyone being held at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, the main immigration detention center the Trump administration used to gather the alleged gang members. The Texas lawsuit appears to seek relief for all Venezuelans in the U.S. who could be subject to deportation under Trump's order, while the New York lawsuit seeks to apply to those in the district. The orders the judges issued Wednesday, however, do not go that far. Although Manhattan U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein didn't make a determination on the class question, he appeared inclined to grant it, saying, 'I think there are issues of fact and law common to the group.' Hellerstein said that 'given the history, it seems to me that people need to be guaranteed a notice and guaranteed a hearing.' He added: 'I'm not supposing to make any grand decisions about the Alien Enemies Act. … That would be an issue for another day.' Hellerstein set the next hearing in the New York case for April 22. Rodriguez set a hearing in the Texas case for Friday. Last month, Rodriguez stepped in to block the deportation of one Venezuelan who appeared to have been scheduled to be placed on one of a trio of flights the Trump administration launched on March 15. Those flights flew more than 200 men to the notorious anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. According to his lawyers, Daniel Zacarias-Matos was told on March 14 that he was being deported that day by plane, but the aircraft developed a problem and the flight was canceled. That gave his lawyers time to file an emergency petition with Rodriguez, who quickly granted an order temporarily barring him from being deported. One of his lawyers, Jaime Diez, said in an interview he raced to the detention center to make sure Zacarias-Matos was not loaded onto buses headed for a nearby airport. Diez then shot video of one of the last buses carrying deportees as it rolled away from the detention center with a security escort.
Politico
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Politico
2 judges limit Trump's bid to deport ‘alien enemies' in back-to-back rulings
NEW YORK — A federal judge in Texas on Wednesday blocked the Trump administration from deporting people designated as 'alien enemies,' citing a Supreme Court ruling earlier this week and warning of the potential for 'irreparable' mistakes. The ruling by a Trump-appointed judge, which appears limited to defendants currently confined in Texas, came moments after a Clinton-appointed federal judge in New York said he would order the administration to guarantee those alleged 'alien enemies' in his Manhattan-based district a chance to challenge their deportations. The near-simultaneous rulings further hamstring the Trump administration's efforts to deport alleged members of a Venezuelan gang, Tren de Aragua, by using the two-centuries-old Alien Enemies Act, a rarely used law meant to guard against foreign invasions in wartime. It's the latest legal setback for President Donald Trump's effort to deploy these war powers to summarily deport foreign nationals he labels terrorists. Many of those targeted by Trump's invocation have claimed they were misidentified as members of the gang. The White House dismissed those claims and initially contended Trump's designation was enough to justify their speedy removals. But the Supreme Court disagreed, ruling Monday that those labeled 'alien enemies' must have a meaningful chance to challenge their deportations. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr., the Trump appointee in Brownsville, Texas, noted the potential for mistakes similar to the case of an illegally deported Maryland man , Kilmar Abrego Garcia. He was sent to a high-security prison in El Salvador as part of a hastily organized mass deportation effort carried out on March 15. The government says Abrego Garcia entered the U.S. without authorization in 2011, but an immigration judge's 2019 ruling ordered that he not be returned to his home country of El Salvador because of the threat of persecution he faced there. Rodriguez's order clearly blocks the deportation of anyone being held at the El Valle Detention Facility in Raymondville, Texas, the main immigration detention center the Trump administration used to gather the alleged gang members. The Texas lawsuit appears to seek relief for all Venezuelans in the U.S. who could be subject to deportation under Trump's order, while the New York lawsuit seeks to apply to those in the district. The orders the judges issued Wednesday, however, do not go that far. Although Manhattan U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein didn't make a determination on the class question, he appeared inclined to grant it, saying, 'I think there are issues of fact and law common to the group.' Hellerstein said that 'given the history, it seems to me that people need to be guaranteed a notice and guaranteed a hearing.' He added: 'I'm not supposing to make any grand decisions about the Alien Enemies Act. … That would be an issue for another day.' Hellerstein set the next hearing in the New York case for April 22. Rodriguez set a hearing in the Texas case for Friday. Last month, Rodriguez stepped in to block the deportation of one Venezuelan who appeared to have been scheduled to be placed on one of a trio of flights the Trump administration launched on March 15. Those flights flew more than 200 men to the notorious anti-terrorism prison in El Salvador. According to his lawyers, Daniel Zacarias-Matos was told on March 14 that he was being deported that day by plane, but the aircraft developed a problem and the flight was canceled. That gave his lawyers time to file an emergency petition with Rodriguez, who quickly granted an order temporarily barring him from being deported. One of his lawyers, Jaime Diez, said in an interview he raced to the detention center to make sure Zacarias-Matos was not loaded onto buses headed for a nearby airport. Diez then shot video of one of the last buses carrying deportees as it rolled away from the detention center with a security escort.
