Latest news with #CrossroadsRhodeIsland
New York Post
14-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Junk judge John McConnell is helping destroy democracy, just like Hannah Dugan
Another day, another judge burdened by obvious conflicts of interest rules against the Trump administration's sane and necessary policies. US District Judge John McConnell has ordered the reversal of Team Trump's freeze on certain forms of federal assistance, yet he sat for nearly two decades on the board of a homeless services provider, Crossroads Rhode Island, rising to chair it — and the Crossroads group directly benefited from federal grants via the Department of Housing and Urban Development to the tune of more than $15 million since 2010. This astonishing fact came to light thanks to a complaint filed against Judge McConnell by America First Legal, a conservative watchdog group. McConnell's chief defense is that he left the board in April of 2024, as if that somehow makes it kosher. How many friends does he still have on the board? How much direct communication does he still have with the overall group? How on earth could he ever be expected to rule without favor here? These questions show how insane it is a judge would ever sit on the board of such an organization to begin with. And how much more insane that someone with this kind of entanglement would fail to recuse himself in a related case. But that's how it goes with our tinpot bench emperors: The rules don't apply to them, and they are more powerful than the Commander in Chief and wiser than the voters. Like Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan, now indicted for allegedly helping an illegal immigrant evade ICE. Or DC Circuit Judge James Boasberg, who ruled against Trump's move to deport criminal illegal aliens even as his daughter works at a nonprofit getting millions in taxpayer dollars and headed up by an opponent of the Laken Riley Act. Somehow, it's always these Defenders of Democracy™ who end up being its frontline destroyers.
New York Post
13-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Judge who ruled against Trump funding freeze has ties to taxpayer-funded homeless org
A Rhode Island federal judge who blocked President Trump's sweeping freeze on federal assistance earlier this year has been slapped with a complaint from a conservative legal group alleging that he could benefit from his decision. Providence US District Judge John McConnell sat on the board of Crossroads Rhode Island, a homeless services provider that has benefited from federal assistance, from 2006 to at least 2023, the nonprofit's tax records show. Between 2011 and 2021, the judge served as the board's chairman. America First Legal, which began digging into McConnell's past after he issued a preliminary injunction halting Trump's freeze earlier this year, argued in a complaint filed to the Boston-based 1st Circuit Court of Appeals that the judge's ties to Crossroads pose a conflict of interest. The Trump-aligned legal group is pleading with the appeals court to 'take all appropriate action to resolve these issues.' 4 US District Judge John McConnell was hit by a conflict of interest complaint Tuesday. US District Court RI 4 President Trump and Elon Musk have endeavored to slash government waste and bloat. Getty Images 'Despite his long-time entanglement with this federally funded organization, Judge McConnell did not recuse himself,' America First Legal wrote in a 13-page complaint obtained by The Post. 'His failure to do so may violate federal law and judicial canons of ethics, raises profound concerns about Judge McConnell's judgment as an officer of the court, and his fitness for the bench.' A spokesperson for Crossroads and McConnell told The Post that the judge left the organization's board in May 2024. Since 2010, Crossroads has taken in at least $15.4 million in federal grants from the Department of Housing and Urban Development, including at least $2.2 million this year alone, according to public records cited in the complaint. Over the last 12 years, Crossroads has received at least $18.7 million from state and local grants, including at least $4.5 million this year. In 2023, government funding accounted for roughly 64.7% of Crossroads' roughly $28.78 million in revenue, according to numbers calculated from its Form 990 tax document. Overall, America First Legal claims that Crossroads has reaped $128 million in government cash during McConnell's tenure on its board. The Post was not able to independently verify that sum. A spokesperson for McConnell declined to comment on the complaint. 4 Crossroads Rhode Island has received millions of dollars from the feds over the years. Crossroads Rhode Island America First Legal pointed to judicial canons that warn 'a judge's obligation under this Code and the judge's obligation as a fiduciary may come into conflict.' McConnell has been criticized by allies of the president over his ruling. Back in January, the Office of Personnel Management issued a controversial and since-rescinded memo calling for a pause on certain types of 'federal financial assistance' while permitting exemptions on a 'case-by-case basis.' Officials claimed that the freeze would not impact Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security and that the halt was merely intended to give the Trump administration time to parse through federal outlays. Days after issuing the memo, Trump's budget team rescinded it, but White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt clarified that pulling back the memo did not lead to 'rescission of the federal funding freeze.' As a result, a group of 23 states and the District of Columbia forged ahead with a lawsuit against the Trump administration. The state of Rhode Island, which provided funding to Crossroads, was among the two dozen plaintiffs in the lawsuit. McConnell, an Obama-appointed judge, issued a temporary injunction on the freeze in January and determined a month last that OPM had not fully complied with his order to free up all the funding. At the time, McConnell held that the 'extraordinary and drastic remedy' was necessary because 'the States rely on federal funds to provide and maintain vital programs and services.' 4 President Trump's legal team is fighting in court to reverse the order blocking the funding freeze for federal aid. AP In March, the judge went a step further and issued an indefinite preliminary injunction against the Trump administration while litigation over the attempted pause on federal assistance played out. 'The executive's categorical freeze of appropriated and obligated funds fundamentally undermines the distinct constitutional roles of each branch of our government,' McConnell wrote in his order at the time. 'The interaction of the three co-equal branches of government is an intricate, delicate, and sophisticated balance — but it is crucial to our form of constitutional governance. Here, the executive put itself above Congress.' Last month, the Trump administration revealed in court documents that it was appealing McConnell's order. 'While a careful analysis of judicial decisions is always warranted, it should avoid ad hominem partisanship and sensationalist rhetoric that are favored on the internet and in television soundbites,' Rhode Island Bar Association President Christopher Gontarz said in a statement earlier this year defending the judge. 'Judge McConnell is a well-respected jurist. The Rhode Island Bar Association stands firmly in support of Judge McConnell.' Separately, the Trump administration is working to defang the lower courts' ability to issue broad, sweeping national injunctions against the president's actions. Later this month, the Supreme Court will hear oral arguments in the Trump administration's bid to quash injunctions against the president's executive order ending birthright citizenship. That case is expected to test the power lower courts have to issue nationwide pauses on presidential actions.
