Latest news with #Republicans
Indian Express
33 minutes ago
- Politics
- Indian Express
Trump nominates his former defense attorney Emil Bove as appellate judge
President Donald Trump said on Wednesday he was nominating Justice Department official Emil Bove, a lawyer who defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star, to serve as a federal appeals court judge. Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he named Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,' Trump wrote. 'Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove's appointment must be approved by the Senate, which Trump's Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. Trump also said he was nominating five Floridians to serve as federal district court judges in their state: Ed Artau, Kyle Dudek, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe and Jordan Pratt. The announcements brought to 11 the federal judicial nominees Trump has announced in his second term as the president adds to the conservative stamp he made on the federal judiciary with 234 appointments in his first term from 2017 to 2021. Bove represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan last year alongside Todd Blanche, who is deputy U.S. attorney general. The jury in the case found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up a payment made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied such an encounter and is appealing his conviction. In the first weeks after Trump returned to office in January, Bove served as acting deputy attorney general before Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in his role. Bove signed his name to a number of policy changes meant to remove what Trump calls political bias but which critics say threaten the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House. In a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the legal profession, Bove in February instructed prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office – where Bove used to work – to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. When the prosecutors refused to do so, Bove took over the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty, and argued in court himself – a highly unusual move for a senior Justice Department official. Ultimately, the judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, but said the Justice Department's argument that the case should be dropped because it was interfering with the Democratic mayor's help with Trump's federal immigration crackdown 'smacks of a bargain'. Bove's order to dismiss the Adams case prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign. Government ethics advocacy groups, state officials and members of Congress filed ethics complaints against Bove with a New York disciplinary body for lawyers. One group, the Campaign for Accountability, on Wednesday said the body notified it that it declined to investigate Bove. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern over the nomination of Bove, who he said had 'abused his position in numerous ways.' 'Mr. Bove's alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,' Durbin said in a statement. The 3rd Circuit, which hears appeals in cases from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has six active judges appointed by Republican presidents, six named by Democrats and two vacancies. Trump is nominating Bove to fill a New Jersey-based vacancy on the court, a White House official said. That seat was left vacant after Democratic former President Joe Biden's nomination of Adeel Mangi to become the nation's first Muslim federal appeals court judge stalled in the Senate following fierce Republican opposition. Earlier in his career, Bove served as co-chief of the terrorism and international narcotics unit at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. As a prosecutor from 2012 through 2021, Bove secured the conviction of a former Honduran president's brother on drug charges and the guilty plea of a New York man who tried to support the Islamic State militant group.
Yahoo
36 minutes ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Secretary of State Marco Rubio says the US will begin revoking the visas of Chinese students
WASHINGTON (AP) — Secretary of State Marco Rubio said Wednesday the U.S. will begin revoking the visas of some Chinese students, including those studying in "critical fields.' China is the second-largest country of origin for international students in the United States, behind only India. In the 2023-2024 school year, more than 270,000 international students were from China, making up roughly a quarter of all foreign students in the United States. 'Under President Trump's leadership, the U.S. State Department will work with the Department of Homeland Security to aggressively revoke visas for Chinese students, including those with connections to the Chinese Communist Party or studying in critical fields,' Rubio wrote. The Chinese Embassy in Washington didn't immediately respond to a message seeking comment Wednesday night. The action comes at a time of intensifying scrutiny of the ties between U.S. higher education and China. House Republicans this month pressed Duke University to cut its ties with a Chinese university, saying it allowed Chinese students to gain access to federally funded research at Duke. Last year, House Republicans issued a report warning that hundreds of millions of dollars in defense funding was going to research partnerships linked to the Chinese government, providing 'back-door access to the very foreign adversary nation whose aggression these capabilities are necessary to protect against.' The Department of Homeland Security raised similar issues in a letter barring international students at Harvard University last week. Secretary Kristi Noem accused Harvard of 'coordinating with the Chinese Communist Party,' citing research collaborations with Chinese scholars. It also accused Harvard of training members of the Xinjiang Production and Construction Corps, a Chinese paramilitary group. The announcement came a day after Rubio halted the scheduling of new visa interviews for international students as the department prepares guidelines for increased vetting of their activity on social media. The crackdown on visas adds to uncertainty for international students Together, the announcements from the State Department added to uncertainty for America's international students, who have faced intensifying scrutiny from President Donald Trump's administration. Earlier this year, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested and tried to deport students who had been involved in campus protests against the Israel-Hamas war. And the Trump administration abruptly terminated the legal status of thousands of international students before reversing itself and then expanding the grounds on which students can lose permission to study in the U.S. University of Wisconsin student Vladyslav Plyaka was planning to visit Poland to see his mother and renew his visa, but he doesn't know when that will be possible now that visa appointments are suspended. He also doesn't feel safe leaving the U.S. even when appointments resume. 'I don't think I have enough trust in the system at this point,' said Plyaka, who came to the U.S. from Ukraine as an exchange student in high school and stayed for college. 'I understand it probably is done for security measures, but I would probably just finish my education for the next two or three years and then come back to Ukraine.' The Trump administration last week moved to block Harvard University from enrolling any international students, a decision that has been put on hold by a federal judge, pending a lawsuit. Trump said Wednesday that Harvard, whose current student population is made up of more than a quarter of international students, should limit that percentage to about 15%. 'I want to make sure the foreign students are people that can love our country,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. The action on Chinese students renews a priority from Trump's first administration to clamp down on academic ties between the United States and China, which Republicans have called a threat to national security. In April, Trump ordered the Education Department to ramp up enforcement of a federal rule requiring colleges to disclose information about funding from foreign sources. During his first term, the Education Department opened 19 investigations into foreign funding at U.S. universities and found that they underreported money flowing from China, Russia and other countries described as foreign adversaries. Hours before Rubio announced the change, Eastern Michigan University announced it was ending engineering partnerships with two Chinese universities, responding to Republican pressure. Rep. John Moolenaar, the Republican chair of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party, recently urged Eastern Michigan and other universities to end partnerships with Chinese universities. Around 1.1 million international students were in the United States last year — a source of essential revenue for tuition-driven colleges. International students are not eligible for federal financial aid. Often, they pay full price. Northeastern University, which has more than 20,000 international students, has set up 'contingency plans' for those who hit visa delays, said spokesperson Renata Nyul, without elaborating. 'This is a very dynamic situation, and we are closely monitoring the developments in real time to assess any potential impacts,' she said. The US plans more in-depth reviews of visa applicants' social media In his announcement on China, Rubio said the government also will 'revise visa criteria to enhance scrutiny of all future visa applications from the People's Republic of China and Hong Kong.' Visa applicants have been required to provide social media handles to the State Department since 2019. The cable Tuesday did not indicate what kind of additional scrutiny the new guidelines would cover, but suggested the new reviews may be more resource-intensive. The additional vetting will deter students from coming to the U.S., said Jonathan Friedman of PEN America, a literary and free expression organization. 'The details remain vague, but this policy risks upending the long-standing place of the U.S. as a beacon for intellectual and cultural exchange with the world,' Friedman said. The move to cut off international enrollment at Harvard stems from a dispute with the Department of Homeland Security, which has demanded that it provide information about foreign students that might implicate them in violence or protests that could lead to their deportation. Harvard says it complied with the records request, but the agency said its response fell short. On Wednesday, Trump said more scrutiny of Harvard's students is necessary. 'They're taking people from areas of the world that are very radicalized, and we don't want them making trouble in our country,' Trump said. The Trump administration has cut over $2.6 billion in federal grants for Harvard as it presses demands for changes to policies and governance at the Ivy League school, which the president has described as a hotbed of liberalism and antisemitism. Harvard has pushed back and filed a lawsuit against the administration. ___ Associated Press writers Seung Min Kim in Washington and Jocelyn Gecker in San Francisco contributed to this report. ___ The Associated Press' education coverage receives financial support from multiple private foundations. AP is solely responsible for all content. Find AP's standards for working with philanthropies, a list of supporters and funded coverage areas at
The Sun
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump nominates his former defense attorney Emil Bove to serve as appellate judge
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said on Wednesday he was nominating Justice Department official Emil Bove, a lawyer who defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star, to serve as a federal appeals court judge. Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he named Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,' Trump wrote. 'Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove's appointment must be approved by the Senate, which Trump's Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. Trump also said he was nominating five Floridians to serve as federal district court judges in their state: Ed Artau, Kyle Dudek, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe and Jordan Pratt. The announcements brought to 11 the federal judicial nominees Trump has announced in his second term as the president adds to the conservative stamp he made on the federal judiciary with 234 appointments in his first term from 2017 to 2021. Bove represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan last year alongside Todd Blanche, who is deputy U.S. attorney general. The jury in the case found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up a payment made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied such an encounter and is appealing his conviction. In the first weeks after Trump returned to office in January, Bove served as acting deputy attorney general before Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in his role. Bove signed his name to a number of policy changes meant to remove what Trump calls political bias but which critics say threaten the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House. In a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the legal profession, Bove in February instructed prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office – where Bove used to work – to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. When the prosecutors refused to do so, Bove took over the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty, and argued in court himself - a highly unusual move for a senior Justice Department official. Ultimately, the judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, but said the Justice Department's argument that the case should be dropped because it was interfering with the Democratic mayor's help with Trump's federal immigration crackdown 'smacks of a bargain'. Bove's order to dismiss the Adams case prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign. Ethics complaints Government ethics advocacy groups, state officials and members of Congress filed ethics complaints against Bove with a New York disciplinary body for lawyers. One group, the Campaign for Accountability, on Wednesday said the body notified it that it declined to investigate Bove. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern over the nomination of Bove, who he said had 'abused his position in numerous ways.' 'Mr. Bove's alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,' Durbin said in a statement. The 3rd Circuit, which hears appeals in cases from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has six active judges appointed by Republican presidents, six named by Democrats and two vacancies. Trump is nominating Bove to fill a New Jersey-based vacancy on the court, a White House official said. That seat was left vacant after Democratic former President Joe Biden's nomination of Adeel Mangi to become the nation's first Muslim federal appeals court judge stalled in the Senate following fierce Republican opposition. Earlier in his career, Bove served as co-chief of the terrorism and international narcotics unit at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. As a prosecutor from 2012 through 2021, Bove secured the conviction of a former Honduran president's brother on drug charges and the guilty plea of a New York man who tried to support the Islamic State militant group.
The Sun
an hour ago
- Politics
- The Sun
Trump Nominates Ex-Defense Lawyer Emil Bove as Judge
PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP said on Wednesday he was nominating Justice Department official Emil Bove, a lawyer who defended Trump when he was convicted of criminal charges over hush money paid to a porn star, to serve as a federal appeals court judge. Trump announced in a post on his social media platform Truth Social that he named Bove, the principal associate deputy attorney general, to serve as a life-tenured judge on the Philadelphia-based 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. 'He will end the Weaponization of Justice, restore the Rule of Law, and do anything else that is necessary to, MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN,' Trump wrote. 'Emil Bove will never let you down!' Bove's appointment must be approved by the Senate, which Trump's Republicans control by a 53-47 margin. Trump also said he was nominating five Floridians to serve as federal district court judges in their state: Ed Artau, Kyle Dudek, John Guard, Anne-Leigh Gaylord Moe and Jordan Pratt. The announcements brought to 11 the federal judicial nominees Trump has announced in his second term as the president adds to the conservative stamp he made on the federal judiciary with 234 appointments in his first term from 2017 to 2021. Bove represented Trump at his criminal trial in Manhattan last year alongside Todd Blanche, who is deputy U.S. attorney general. The jury in the case found Trump guilty of 34 felony counts of falsifying documents to cover up a payment made ahead of the 2016 presidential election to silence porn star Stormy Daniels, who said she had a sexual encounter with Trump years earlier. Trump has denied such an encounter and is appealing his conviction. In the first weeks after Trump returned to office in January, Bove served as acting deputy attorney general before Blanche was confirmed by the Senate in his role. Bove signed his name to a number of policy changes meant to remove what Trump calls political bias but which critics say threaten the Justice Department's traditional independence from the White House. In a confrontation that sent shockwaves through the legal profession, Bove in February instructed prosecutors with the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office – where Bove used to work – to drop a corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. When the prosecutors refused to do so, Bove took over the case against Adams, who had pleaded not guilty, and argued in court himself - a highly unusual move for a senior Justice Department official. Ultimately, the judge overseeing the case dismissed the charges, but said the Justice Department's argument that the case should be dropped because it was interfering with the Democratic mayor's help with Trump's federal immigration crackdown 'smacks of a bargain'. Bove's order to dismiss the Adams case prompted 11 prosecutors in Washington and New York to resign. Ethics complaints Government ethics advocacy groups, state officials and members of Congress filed ethics complaints against Bove with a New York disciplinary body for lawyers. One group, the Campaign for Accountability, on Wednesday said the body notified it that it declined to investigate Bove. Senator Dick Durbin, the top Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed concern over the nomination of Bove, who he said had 'abused his position in numerous ways.' 'Mr. Bove's alleged misconduct not only speaks to his fitness as a lawyer, but his activities are part of a broader pattern by President Trump and his allies to undermine the traditional independence of the Justice Department and the rule of law,' Durbin said in a statement. The 3rd Circuit, which hears appeals in cases from Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey, has six active judges appointed by Republican presidents, six named by Democrats and two vacancies. Trump is nominating Bove to fill a New Jersey-based vacancy on the court, a White House official said. That seat was left vacant after Democratic former President Joe Biden's nomination of Adeel Mangi to become the nation's first Muslim federal appeals court judge stalled in the Senate following fierce Republican opposition. Earlier in his career, Bove served as co-chief of the terrorism and international narcotics unit at the Manhattan U.S. Attorney's office. As a prosecutor from 2012 through 2021, Bove secured the conviction of a former Honduran president's brother on drug charges and the guilty plea of a New York man who tried to support the Islamic State militant group.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Politics
- Time of India
Trump issues series of pardons for politicians, union leader, rapper
NBA Youngboy, Donald Trump, Julie and Todd Chrisley WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump issued a series of pardons on Wednesday, awarding them to a former New York congressman, a Connecticut governor, a rapper known as "NBA YoungBoy", a labour union leader and a onetime Army officer who flaunted safety measures during the Coronavirus pandemic. His actions mixed Trump's willingness to pardon high-profile Republicans and other supporters, donors and friends with the influence of Alice Marie Johnson, whom Trump recently named his pardon czar after he offered a pardon to her in 2020. Johnson was convicted in 1996 on eight criminal counts related to a Memphis-based cocaine trafficking operation. Trump commuted her life sentence in 2018 at the urging of celebrity Kim Kardashian West, allowing for Johnson's early release. Johnson then served as the featured speaker on the final night of the 2020 Republican National Convention, and Trump subsequently pardoned her before more recently naming her as his point person for pardons. Among those receiving the latest round of Trump pardons was Louisiana rap artiste NBA YoungBoy, whose real name is Kentrell Gaulden and whose stage moniker stands for "Never Broke Again". In 2024, he was sentenced to just under two years in prison on gun-related charges after he acknowledged having possessed weapons despite being a convicted felon. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like 이미지 영어에 대해서 40분만에 알려드립니다 스티븐영어 지금 시작하기 Undo Gaulden also pleaded guilty to his role in a prescription drug fraud ring in Utah. Gaulden's and the other pardons were confirmed Wednesday evening by two White House officials who spoke only on background to detail actions that had not yet been formally made public. In a statement posted online, Gaulden said, "I want to thank President Trump for granting me a pardon and giving me the opportunity to keep building - as a man, as a father, and as an artiste." He said this "opens the door to a future I've worked hard for and I am fully prepared to step into this", and thanked Johnson. Trump has spent the week issuing high-profile pardons. A video released by a White House aide showed Johnson in the Oval Office on Tuesday, as Trump called their daughter to say he was pardoning TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley of the reality show "Chrisley Knows Best". Their show spotlighted the family's extravagant lifestyle, but the couple was convicted of conspiring to defraud banks in the Atlanta area out of more than USD 30 million in loans by submitting false documents. Their daughter, Savannah Chrisley, addressed the Republican convention last summer and had long said her parents were treated unfairly. Also Wednesday, Trump commuted the sentence of Larry Hoover, a former Chicago gang leader serving a life sentence. Hoover was first imprisoned in connection with a murder in 1973, and was convicted of running a criminal enterprise in 1998, but later renounced his criminal past and petitioned for a reduced sentence. The president also pardoned James Callahan, a New York union leader who pleaded guilty to failing to report USD 315,000 in gifts from an advertising firm and was about to be sentenced. The president pardoned former Connecticut governor John Rowland, a Republican who served from 1995 to 2004 and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison for charges related to concealing his involvement in two federal election campaigns. He further pardoned Michael Grimm, a New York Republican who resigned from Congress after being convicted of tax fraud. Grimm won reelection in 2014 despite being under indictment for underreporting wages and revenue at a restaurant that he ran. Grimm eventually resigned after pleading guilty and serving eight months in prison. Last year, Grimm was paralysed from the chest down when he was thrown off a horse during a polo tournament. Yet another Trump pardon was issued for Army Lt. Mark Bradshaw, who was convicted in 2022 of reporting to work without undergoing a Covid-19 test.
