Latest news with #CoryBooker
Yahoo
4 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Everyone Hates Alina Habba So Much She's About to Be Out of a Job
Alina Habba, Trump's shamelessly biased personal lawyer, will soon be out of the job he gave her. The president appointed Habba, who defended him in his hush-money and E. Jean Carroll defamation cases, as interim U.S. attorney for the District of New Jersey in March. The role was for 120 days, allowing Habba to bypass Senate confirmation. But those 120 days are up next Tuesday, and all signs currently point to Habba not getting officially confirmed, as New Jersey Senators Andy Kim and Cory Booker have sworn to block her nomination. A source close to the situation told The New Jersey Globe that Habba admitted to her staff on Thursday that she's not sure what's next. 'I don't know what's going to happen, and I'm grateful for my time. This is an amazing office, and I hope I can stay,' she reportedly said. The end of Habba's DA tenure prevents one of Trump's most ardent supporters from grasping even more power. Her history indicates that she would have only used her role to blindly carry out the president's agenda. In October, amid the tragedy of Hurricane Helene, Habba falsely claimed that the Biden-Harris administration left 'babies floating in the water.' Fox News of all outlets checked her live on air. When Trump fell fast asleep during his own trial, Habba chalked it up to him having tired eyes. 'President Trump, he reads a lot,' she said. 'He's been sitting there, as he's forced to, at the threat of going to jail if he's not sitting there, for what I assume would be a very mundane day.' She demonstrated a shocking lack of legal expertise at that same trial when she clearly misunderstood what 'due process' entailed. And in March, she said that the thousands of military veterans that DOGE fired were simply unfit. New Jersey seems to be safe from Habba's sheer incompetence for the time being. Only time will tell if she remains in Trump's orbit or fades into MAGA obscurity. Solve the daily Crossword
Yahoo
12 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Democrats walk out of Bove, Pirro meeting as panel advances controversial Trump nominees
The Senate Judiciary Committee gave its approval to two controversial Trump nominees Thursday, forwarding Emil Bove and Jeanine Pirro over objections from Democrats who walked out of a business meeting after debate was cut short. Bove, one of President Trump's former criminal defense attorneys who is now in the No. 3 spot in the Justice Department, has been nominated for a lifetime appointment as a jurist on the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. He has been accused by a whistleblower of saying the administration should consider telling the courts 'f‑‑‑ you' and defy any injunctions imposed by judges blocking their use of the Alien Enemies Act. Pirro, a former county judge and Fox News host, was confirmed as a nominee for U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C. The meeting made for an unusual scene, as Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) appealed to Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on personal terms after Grassley, the committee chair, cut off requests for continued debate and did not allow all Democrats to speak on the Bove nomination. 'You are a good man. You are a decent man, why are you doing this? What is Donald Trump saying to you that are making you do something which is violating the decorum of this committee, the rules of this committee, the decency and the respect that we have each other to at least hear each other out?' Booker said. 'This is unjust. This is wrong. It is the further deterioration of this committee's integrity with a person like this. What are you afraid of?' Booker then exited alongside the rest of his colleagues, a rare protest leaving the Democratic side of the dais completely empty. Democrats had centered most of their focus on Bove, who in addition to the whistleblower allegations, was behind the dismissal of multiple prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases, and also pushed for the dismissal of bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, prompting a wave of resignations. Erez Reuveni, the whistleblower who made the complaint against Bove, was fired after a disclosure he made in a related case when he told a judge that El Salvador migrant Kilmar Abrego Garcia was deported back to his home country in error. But as the Trump administration planned to send Venezuelan men to be imprisoned in a notorious Salvadoran facility, Reuveni said he witnessed Bove suggesting court defiance was an option ahead of an episode where the administration withheld information from a judge and failed to turn around deportation flights as ordered. Reuveni has offered to appear before the Senate panel but Grassley said the disclosure smacked of 'a political hit job.' He declined to take up a motion from Booker to take a vote on hearing from the whistleblower. 'Let's start with a credible whistleblower who came forward with texts and emails that show that Mr. Bove said 'F you' to the courts and instructed federal officials to ignore a court order….I'm hard pressed to believe that someone who dedicated 15 years to public service would jeopardize the career, the safety of themselves and their families for no reason,' Booker said. Bove has said he doesn't recall whether he used the expletive but sidestepped questions about whether he floated defying court orders, telling the committee during his confirmation hearing that he 'certainly conveyed the importance of the upcoming operation.' A judge overseeing challenges to the deportation flights later found probable cause to begin an inquiry into whether the Trump administration defied his order to halt the planes. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) later chimed in, saying texts among Justice Department staff show the expletive-laden directive was 'so abundantly corroborated in real time communications.' 'Prosecutors don't get better corroboration than that.' Grassley called the complaint an example of 'vicious partisan attacks.' 'Like clockwork, just before a hearing or vote, we get another breathless accusation that one of President Trump's nominees needs to be investigated,' he said. 'Even if you accept most of the claims as true, there's no scandal here. Government lawyers aggressively litigating and interpreting court orders isn't misconduct—it's what lawyers do.' Beyond the whistleblower allegations, Democrats have sparred over Bove's roles in sidelining and firing prosecutors who worked on Jan. 6 cases. Bove has been the target of numerous letters urging lawmakers to reject his nomination, including 900 former Justice Department attorneys who have accused him of dismantling key functions to keep the department independent from the White House. 'Federal prosecutors, career professionals have raised strong reservations about Mr. Bove, who had undermined their legitimate work to hold accountable people who did the most horrific acts of violence,' Booker said, noting some fired prosecutors were unable to secure meetings with Republicans on the committee. '[It's] almost as if they don't want to hear the truth or the facts or the details. How can you say you were concerned about what happened on Jan. 6 and you won't listen to the people who spent months and months and months prosecuting those cases,' Booker said. Efforts to highlight Bove's role in terminations were a clear appeal to Sen. Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), who told CNN he would not support nominees who have excused Jan. 6. But Tillis backed Bove on Thursday, saying Democrats failed to show he condoned the riots. 'Does anybody really believe that if I was convinced that Bove had made any statements condoning the violent acts against Capitol police officers, that I'd be voting for him? Just ask Ed Martin whether or not that's a red line,' Tillis said, quashing the prospects of a nominee Pirro was then tapped to replace. 'We have to distinguish between those 2-or-300 thugs that I believe should still be in prison — and disagreed on the Senate floor with the president pardoning them — from the from the boneheads, that for some reason, thought they should enter the Capitol through broken windows and doors,' TIllis said. 'Do your homework on finding a hard example and count me in to refuse confirming that nominee. But don't finesse it when you simply don't have the facts on your side,' he said. The meeting ended before either side had a chance to discuss Pirro, whose nomination garnered less attention in the wake of the focus on Bove. Republicans had praised Trump for a thoughtful choice in tapping a former judge and prosecutor to lead the U.S. Attorney's Office in D.C. Pirro has already been serving in the role on an interim basis. But Democrats have argued Pirro floated false claims about the 2020 election, making her too loyal to Trump to be counted on as a fair-minded prosecutor. 'She's an election denialist, recklessly peddling President Trump's Big Lie despite even her own Fox News producers and executives warning her to reel it in,' Sen. Dick Durbin (Ill.) the top Democrat on the panel, said after a Wednesday meeting with Pirro. 'And ultimately, she's a Donald Trump loyalist, vengefully attacking his perceived political opponents and showing no willingness to put the rule of law ahead of the President's wishes.' Updated: 11:45 a.m. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Fox News
a day ago
- Politics
- Fox News
Democrats fume over new plan to house illegal migrants in New Jersey, Indiana military bases
Military bases in both New Jersey and Indiana will soon be used by Homeland Security to house illegal immigrants, drawing a furious response from Democratic lawmakers. Parts of Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and Camp Atterbury in Indiana will be repurposed and used as "temporary soft-sided holding facilities," the Defense Department told Fox News Digital, citing a decision by Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth. New Jersey Democrats blasted the decision, warning it would harm military readiness and urging Republicans to join them in helping reverse it. Both bases were previously used to house thousands of Afghan refugees following the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. "This is an inappropriate use of our national defense system and militarizes a radical immigration policy that has resulted in the inhumane treatment of undocumented immigrants and unlawful deportation of U.S. citizens, including children, across the country," the group of Democrats said in a joint statement. "Using our country's military to detain and hold undocumented immigrants jeopardizes military preparedness and paves the way for ICE immigration raids in every New Jersey community. We have the greatest military in the world and using it as a domestic political tool is unacceptable and shameful." The statement was made by Reps. Herb Conaway, LaMonica McIver, Donald Norcross, Rob Menendez, Frank Pallone, Bonnie Watson Coleman, Josh Gottheimer and Nellie Pou as well as Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim. It is unclear when either site will open and a decision will depend on operational requirements and coordination with Homeland Security, the Defense Department said. Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is a joint military base operated by U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy — the only tri-service base in the country. Spanning 42,00 acres, it's home to 45,000 military and civilian personnel, making it one of the largest and most strategically important on the East Coast. Camp Atterbury is an Army and Air National Guard base near Edinburgh that spans 34,000 acres and has been used for training brigades and hosting large-scale operations. Under the Trump administration, Homeland Security has been using detention facilities to house migrants while they await asylum hearings or deportation. The lawmakers said that Hegseth wrote to Conoway informing him of the decision. Hegseth wrote in the letter that the move would not negatively affect military training, operations, readiness, or any other military requirements, per NJ Spotlight News. New Jersey is already home to Delaney Hall and the Elizabeth Detention Center which are being used as immigration detention facilities, although they are privately operated. Delaney Hall was the scene where Democrat Newark Mayor Ras Baraka was arrested and charged with trespassing in a clash with federal immigration officials in May. Rep. LaMonica McIver, D‑N.J., was later federally charged for allegedly interfering with federal officers during the same incident. The news comes two weeks after President Donald Trump signed the Big Beautiful Bill into law, which allocated between $150 billion and $170 billion towards immigration enforcement over the next several years, $45 billion of which was carved out to expand immigration detention facilities. The funds are part of the Trump administration's efforts to carry out the largest deportation operation in the nation's history. Earlier this month, the Trump administration opened an immigration detention camp in Florida's Everglades that is surrounded by alligators dubbed "Alligator Alcatraz."
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
"Reckless and dangerous" Sen. Booker on why Dems walked out of Bove's judicial nom. hearing
Democrats walked out of a Senate Judiciary Committee meeting that advanced senior Justice Department official Emil Bove's nomination for a federal judgeship, alleging Republicans had improperly rushed the process. Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., was among the Senate Democrats who walked out. He joined Chris Hayes to discuss why he thinks Bove is a "reckless and dangerous" pick.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- Politics
- The Guardian
Cory Booker pitches bill to allow lawsuits against pesticide makers over ‘toxic products'
Cory Booker on Thursday introduced legislation that would create a federal 'right of action', allowing people to sue pesticide makers such as Bayer and Syngenta, and others, for allegedly causing health issues such as cancer and Parkinson's disease. The Pesticide Injury Accountability Act would 'ensure that pesticide manufacturers can be held responsible for the harm caused by their toxic products', according to a summary of the bill. The legislation would be amended to the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide and Rodenticide Act of 1972 (Fifra). If passed, the law would turn the tables on efforts by Bayer and a coalition of agricultural organizations as they push for state-by-state legislation blocking individuals from being able to file lawsuits accusing the companies of failing to warn of the risks of their products. The industry has also been pushing for federal preemptive protections against litigation. So far, two states – Georgia and North Dakota – have passed what critics call 'liability shield' laws. The laws essentially declare that the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has oversight of pesticide labeling and state laws cannot permit companies to be held liable for failing to go beyond what the EPA requires in warning customers of potential risks. Booker's proposed law would not invalidate the state laws, but would give individuals an alternative – the right to bring their injury claims in federal courts if they can't bring them in state courts. 'Rather than providing a liability shield so that foreign corporations are allowed to poison the American people, Congress should instead … ensure that these chemical companies can be held accountable in federal court for the harm caused by their toxic products,' Booker said in a statement accompanying the announcement of the bill. So far, 17 environmental, public health and consumer groups have endorsed the measure, including leaders in the 'Make America healthy again' (Maha) movement. Zen Honeycutt, founder of Moms Across America and a supporter of Booker's legislation, said it is 'unconscionable that corporations are pushing our elected officials to manipulate laws that protect their profits over the health and safety of Americans'. She noted that many pesticides used widely in the US are banned in other countries because of their health risks. The summary of the bill names both Germany-based Bayer and the Chinese-owned Syngenta as key targets and says they and others are seeking 'liability shields because they know the harm their products have already caused'. Bayer bought Monsanto in 2018 and inherited a mass of lawsuits involving close to 200,000 plaintiffs in the US alone, all alleging that the company should have warned users that its glyphosate-based weed killing products, such as the popular Roundup brand, could cause cancer. The company has already paid out billions of dollars in settlements and jury awards, but still faces roughly 67,000 lawsuits. Likewise, Syngenta is facing several thousand lawsuits from people alleging that its paraquat weed killing products cause Parkinson's disease and that Syngenta should have warned users of evidence that chronic exposure could cause the incurable brain disease. The company has so far paid out well over $100m to settle cases before they go to trial, and is attempting to solidify a broad settlement of the majority of the cases. Bayer and its allies argue that their pesticide products, which are widely used in farming, are not only safe but are necessary for food production. Costly lawsuits jeopardize the availability of pesticides for agriculture, they say. Bayer did not provide a comment directly about Booker's bill, but said the 'future of American farming depends on reliable science-based regulation of important crop protection products – determined safe for use by the EPA'. The company has asserted in its litigation defense that it should not be subject to failure-to-warn claims because such claims are preempted by federal law. The company says that if it did place cancer risk warnings on product labels it would conflict with provisions of FIFRA that give the EPA oversight of labeling language. The EPA says that glyphosate herbicides are 'not likely' to be carcinogenic. Bayer said Thursday it wants to see federal legislation to 'ensure that states and courts do not take a position or action regarding product labels at odds with congressional intent, federal law and established scientific research and federal authority'. 'Farmers and consumers need to not only be able to trust the regulation of the products they use but trust that the government has made decisions based on agreed-upon and established science, facts, and data,' Bayer said. Syngenta said Booker's bill 'targets American food security' and that farmers do not deserve an 'attack on the products they rely on'. The company said American agriculture is 'highly regulated, productive and safe', and that its paraquat products specifically, have not been shown to cause Parkinson's disease. This story is co-published with the New Lede, a journalism project of the Environmental Working Group
