Latest news with #Gayles
Hindustan Times
2 days ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who is Darrin Gayles? Meet the Obama-appointed judge handling Trump's $10B lawsuit against Murdoch, WSJ
The federal judge who has been assigned to take care of President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal is Darrin P. Gayles, a former federal prosecutor who was appointed by Barack Obama. Who is Darrin Gayles? Meet the Obama-appointed judge presiding over Trump's $10B lawsuit against Murdoch and WSJ (U.S. Department of Justice - LinkedIn) Gayles, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, is a former US attorney who was appointed by Obama in 2014. At the time, a vote of 98-0 unanimously confirmed him in the Senate. Gayles went on to become the first openly gay Black man to serve on the federal bench. His appointment to Trump's case happened randomly. Trump's lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami on July 18. It accuses the newspaper, its parent companies, executives and journalists of falsely claiming that Trump wrote a 50th birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump's lawsuit reportedly names Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp, WSJ publisher Dow Jones, executive Robert Thomson, and two WSJ journalists whose bylines were there in the story. Who is Darrin Gayles? Gayles served as a judge of Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit for over ten years in the past, according to St. Thomas University's website. 'Judge Gayles was appointed to the County Court of that circuit by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 2004. In 2011, former Florida Governor Charlie Crist elevated Judge Gayles to the Circuit Court, where he served until his federal appointment. Judge Gayles was retained on both courts without opposition in 2006 and 2012, respectively,' the website states. Gates is a graduate of Howard University and The George Washington University Law School. His career in law began in 1993 as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He subsequently worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant District Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). He later worked as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and served in that office's Appellate, Major Crimes, and Narcotics Sections until he was appointed to the County Court in 2004. Gayles is notably a former co-chairman of the 11th Judicial Circuit's (Florida) Professionalism Committee. He actively volunteers in many of South Florida's civic and charitable organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 100 Black Men of South Florida, and the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's lawsuit against Wall Street Journal now has a judge — and it's not Aileen Cannon
President Donald Trump's bid to take down the Wall Street Journal over its coverage of his connection to Jeffrey Epstein has landed in the courtroom of Darrin Gayles, who is likely experiencing deja vu. That's because Gayles, a 2014 appointee of Barack Obama, had another brush with a litigious Trump in 2023, when the then-former president sought to punish his onetime lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen. Trump sued Cohen in April 2023 seeking a $500 million payout for claims that Cohen violated his attorney-client relationship with Trump and enriched himself off their relationship. Six months later, Trumpabandoned the lawsuit, just before Cohen's lawyers were set to question him under oath. Trump's new lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch seeks an even more audacious sum: $20 billion. Trump says the newspaper defamed him by reporting last week that Trump may have sent Epstein a suggestive birthday card more than two decades ago. Trump filed the lawsuit on Friday, and Gayles was assigned to preside over the case on Monday. But as with the Cohen case, there's an open question of whether Trump's new lawsuit is more of a political stunt than a serious attempt to litigate the issue. If Trump pursues the case, he would open himself up to answering questions under oath about his connection to the disgraced financier who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump's decision to file the case in southern Florida led to suspicions he was hoping to draw U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, his own appointee who helped him escape criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith. But Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito — the same lawyer who led the ill-fated Cohen suit — filed the case in the Miami division of the federal judicial district of south Florida. Cannon sits in the Fort Pierce district, making it unlikely she would have been selected under the court's assignment process. Gayles, a George Washington University law graduate who made history as the first openly gay Black man appointed to the federal bench, was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. One reason: His judicial background tilts bipartisan. He was appointed to state-court judgeships in Florida by two Republican governors, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, before Obama nominated him to his current role. His prominent cases include a $73 million judgment against the Venezuelan government in 2022 over a purported murder-for-hire scheme. Gayles ordered a new trialin a $25 million fraud scheme in Florida after finding that the Justice Department had committed misconduct and then lied to him about it. And Gayles notably sat with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on a voting rights case, writing a dissent that found evidence of discrimination behind an Alabama voter ID law. Speaking at an American Bar Association conference in March, Gayles lamented the decline in public confidence in the judiciary. He gave a few reasons for that decline, including the Supreme Court's frequent reliance on its 'shadow docket' to issue short-form emergency rulings. He also blamed the practice of litigants strategically filing lawsuits in certain districts in hopes of drawing favorable judges willing to issue nationwide injunctions. And he lamented expectations that judges will rule based on the president who appointed them. 'We all have to do better and push back. We are independent, we make decisions on the facts and the law,' he said. Gayles also denounced attacks on the judiciary that go beyond mere criticism and put people in danger. 'We're not infallible. Sometimes we get it wrong because we deal with a lot of very difficult, complicated issues,' he said. 'It's the nature of the criticism. If it's done in a way that subjects us to harm, that's problematic.' After Obama nominated him in 2014, Gayles explained his judicial philosophy and experience in a 48-page Senate Judiciary Committee questionnaire. He described presiding over hundreds of criminal trials as a state judge in Florida. Responding to a question about his philosophy on recusal, he said he closely follows long-established ethical procedures but pointed out one memorable example: when a lawyer asked him to recuse from a case because he was Facebook friends with one of the other attorneys. 'After verifying that the attorney and I were Facebook 'friends,' I granted the motion,' Gayles noted. 'I also 'defriended.'' Gayles does not appear to have handled any substantial media-related cases, though he did note in his questionnaire that an article about him in 2008 'contains several misstatements, inaccuracies, and grammatical errors' and that his 'immediate written request for corrections' went ignored. Erica Orden contributed to this report. Solve the daily Crossword
Politico
3 days ago
- Politics
- Politico
Judge presiding over Trump's Wall Street Journal lawsuit has seen this movie before
Trump's new lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal and owner Rupert Murdoch seeks an even more audacious sum: $20 billion. Trump says the newspaper defamed him by reporting last week that Trump may have sent Epstein a suggestive birthday card more than two decades ago. Trump filed the lawsuit on Friday, and Gayles was assigned to preside over the case on Monday. But as with the Cohen case, there's an open question of whether Trump's new lawsuit is more of a political stunt than a serious attempt to litigate the issue. If Trump pursues the case, he would open himself up to answering questions under oath about his connection to the disgraced financier who killed himself in 2019 while awaiting trial on sex trafficking charges. Trump's decision to file the case in southern Florida led to suspicions he was hoping to draw U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon, his own appointee who helped him escape criminal charges brought by special counsel Jack Smith. But Trump's attorney Alejandro Brito — the same lawyer who led the ill-fated Cohen suit — filed the case in the Miami division of the federal judicial district of south Florida. Cannon sits in the Fort Pierce district, making it unlikely she would have been selected under the court's assignment process. Gayles, a George Washington University law graduate who made history as the first openly gay Black man appointed to the federal bench, was confirmed unanimously by the Senate. One reason: His judicial background tilts bipartisan. He was appointed to state-court judgeships in Florida by two Republican governors, Jeb Bush and Charlie Crist, before Obama nominated him to his current role. Darrin Gayles stands for a portrait in 2023. | Department of Justice via Wikimedia Commons His prominent cases include a $73 million judgment against the Venezuelan government in 2022 over a purported murder-for-hire scheme. Gayles ordered a new trial in a $25 million fraud scheme in Florida after finding that the Justice Department had committed misconduct and then lied to him about it. And Gayles notably sat with the 11th Circuit Court of Appeals on a voting rights case, writing a dissent that found evidence of discrimination behind an Alabama voter ID law.
Yahoo
04-02-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Howard Brown announces new CEO, during time of challenges for transgender patients under Trump
Howard Brown Health announced a new CEO on Tuesday – a former public health official who arrives after a time of tumult for the organization and at the beginning of a presidential term that's already posing challenges for transgender patients. Dr. Travis Gayles will serve as CEO of Howard Brown, which has seven clinics in Chicago and specializes in caring for patients who are LGBTQ+ and people living with HIV. A search committee selected Gayles from among 200 candidates. Most recently, Gayles was chief health Officer at Hazel Health, a school-based telehealth provider. He's also served as a public health official in Maryland and the District of Columbia. Early in his career, Gayles trained at Lurie Children's Hospital and Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine, where he specialized in adolescent and HIV medicine. 'We are at a critical moment where we can amplify our voice — not only in Chicago but across the nation — working to tackle the systemic barriers that still exist in healthcare,' Gayles said in a news release about his appointment. Gayles will begin serving as CEO on March 3. His tenure follows controversy at Howard Brown, and coincides with the beginning of President Donald Trump's term. Trump has worked in recent weeks to dismantle programs and protections for people who are transgender. He issued an executive order proclaiming that the federal government will only recognize two genders, and another executive order saying that many types of federal money may not be used for gender affirming care for minors, and that institutions receiving federal research grants may not perform gender affirming care for minors. Howard Brown is a federally qualified health center, meaning it receives federal funding to care for low-income patients. A spokesperson for Howard Brown said in a statement Tuesday: 'The order has no immediate impact on our operations, and we will be monitoring developments working with our partners. We are continuing to provide gender-affirming care to all patients who rely on our services and remain committed to improving the health of trans and gender diverse communities.' Tim Wang, director of policy and advocacy for Howard Brown, told the Tribune late last year that a loss of federal funding would create 'a huge hole in our operating budget.' Howard Brown treats nearly 38,000 patients a year, and about a quarter of its patients are on Medicare or Medicaid. Howard Brown has also grappled in recent years with conflicts with workers' unions as well as financial struggles. In May, Howard Brown announced that it planned to close two of its Chicago clinics following an expected $6.6 million budget shortfall; because of the departure of the clinics' sole providers; and because the clinics' leases were up. In November, Howard Brown agreed to pay $1.3 million to workers that the National Labor Relations Board alleged it laid off illegally. The settlement agreement resolved a complaint that alleged the health center had illegally laid off more than 50 workers without bargaining with their union. Howard Brown workers represented by the Illinois Nurses Association went on strike twice in 2023 before reaching a contract agreement in May. Dr. Robin Gay has been serving as interim CEO of Howard Brown for about a year and will support the new CEO during the leadership transition before resuming her role as Howard Brown's chief dental officer.
