Search results for tag #law
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Rather than offering assurances that the federal government’s #election protection programs would continue uninterrupted, the new official, #HeatherHoney, instead used portions of the meeting to echo rhetoric that has infused the #FarRight *election activist* movement that emerged since #Trump falsely claimed that his 2020 defeat was the result of widespread fraud, acc/to 5 people with knowledge of the call.
#law #ElectionLaw #TrumpCoup2 #BigLie #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #US
#Election officials from nearly all 50 states gathered on a call last month with #DHS’s point person on “election integrity,” eager to hear how the woman filling a newly created #Trump admin position might help safeguard the #vote ahead of next year’s #midterms.
But many of them left alarmed.
#law #ElectionLaw #coup #TrumpCoup2 #BigLie #propaganda #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #UnitedStates
🚨🚨🚨
#Trump Empowers #ElectionDeniers, Still Fixated on False 2020 Grievances
Trump has placed proponents of his #BigLie into government jobs while dismantling systems built to secure voting, raising fears that he aims to seize authority over #elections ahead of next year’s #midterms.
#law #ElectionLaw #coup #TrumpCoup2 #authoritarianism #autocracy #dictatorship #fascism #tyranny #UnitedStates
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/22/us/politics/trump-election-deniers-voting-security.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
And that’s if you’re lucky enough to qualify for the #ACA. If not, you’re looking at #Medicaid [again if you qualify], paying for private #HealthInsurance which runs $6,000 – $20,000+ a year depending on coverage , or going entirely without.
#law #Trump #Republicans #OrchestratedShutdown #HealthInequality #EconomicDiscrimination #HealthyIfYoureWealthy
Premiums nationwide are set to rise by 18% on average, acc/to an analysis of preliminary rate filings by the nonpartisan #health policy group KFF. That, combined with the loss of extra subsidies, have left Americans with the worst year-over-year price hikes in the 12 years since the marketplaces launched.
Nationally, the average marketplace consumer will pay $1,904 in annual premiums next year, up from $888 in 2025, acc/to KFF.
#law #OrchestratedShutdown #Trump #GOP #HealthyIfYoureWealthy
#HealthInsurance sticker shock begins as #Trump & #Republicans keep the government #shutdown & refuse to negotiate #healthcare subsidies
Many states have shown rising premiums ahead of open enrollment for Affordable Care Act [#ACA] plans. #Congressional Republicans remain unmovable over extending covid-era subsidies that bring #health costs down.
#law #OrchestratedShutdown #HealthInequality #EconomicDiscrimination #HealthyIfYoureWealthy
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2025/10/22/obamacare-aca-enrollment-price-increases/
The letter came a day after Reuters disclosed that a review of government records showed that the interagency group drew dozens of officials from the #CIA, the #ODNI, the #DOJ, the #FBI & other departments.
The existence of the interagency group indicates the #Trump admin’s push to deploy government power against Trump’s perceived foes is broader & more systematic than previously reported.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #WeaponizationOfGovernment
The Steady State, a rule-of-law advocacy group, issued its call for congressional inquiries into the Interagency Weaponization Working Group in a letter to the top #Republicans & #Democrats on the #Senate & #House #intelligence, #judiciary & armed services committees.
#Trump #law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #WeaponizationOfGovernment
https://steadystate1.substack.com/p/steady-state-letter-to-congress-reports
Update:
Former #US officials urge #Congress to examine 'weaponization' working group
A group of hundreds of former US #NationalSecurity officials late Tuesday urged lawmakers to examine an internal government group that has been coordinating #Trump's #retribution drive against his perceived enemies.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #WeaponizationOfGovernment
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/former-us-officials-urge-congress-examine-weaponization-working-group-2025-10-21/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement
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Why so little love for the patent grant in the MIT License? (2018) https://lobste.rs/s/x40nal #law
https://opensource.com/article/18/3/patent-grant-mit-license
The questioning of prospective jurors Monday by Sangamon County State’s Attorney John Milhiser & defense atty Daniel Fultz focused on attitudes toward law enforcement….
Witnesses scheduled to testify for both the state & defense are reported to be experts in #police training, generally accepted police practices, use of force, body camera video, use of video in investigations & the review of incidents involving the use of force.
#SonyaMassey #law #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #racism #WhiteSupremacy
The incident has prompted continued questions about #US #LawEnforcement #shootings of #Black people in their homes & generated a change in #Illinois #law requiring fuller transparency on the background of candidates for law enforcement jobs.
A jury of 10 women & 5 men, including 3 alternates, will hear testimony that’s predicted to end next week.
#SonyaMassey #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #police #racism #WhiteSupremacy
According to body-camera video that is certain to play a key role in the trial, Grayson & Massey joked about how the deputy backed away as she moved the pan before Massey said, “I rebuke you in the name of Jesus.” Grayson later told sheriff’s investigators he thought Massey’s statement meant she intended to kill him, yelled at her to drop the pot & in the subsequent commotion, fired 3 shots, striking her just below the eye.
#SonyaMassey #law #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #police #racism #WhiteSupremacy
On July 6, 2024, Massey, a 36-year-old single mother of 2 teenagers who struggled with mental health issues, called emergency responders over a suspected prowler. When Grayson, who is white, & another deputy entered her Springfield home to report finding no one, Grayson noticed a pan of hot water on the stove & ordered it removed.
The trial was scheduled to begin Wednesday with opening statements. If convicted of murder, Grayson faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison. Prosecutors dismissed single counts of aggravated battery with a firearm & official misconduct.
Opening statements Wednesday in trial of ex-Illinois officer who killed #SonyaMassey
15 months after Sonya Massey, a #Black woman who had called 911 for help, was killed in her home, the former #police officer who fired the fatal shot is set to go on trial.
Sean Grayson, 31, a fmr deputy for the Sangamon County #Sheriff’s Dept in central #Illinois, has pleaded not guilty to 3 counts of first-degree #murder.
#law #BLM #BlackLivesMatter #racism #WhiteSupremacy
https://apnews.com/article/sonya-massey-shooting-trial-sean-grayson-police-ef91c35e7d6823a06639cdb243792a53
The memo was issued the same day the vast majority of #Pentagon #journalists exited the building rather than agree to the #Defense Dept’s new restrictions on their work….
Acc/to the memo, a copy of which was authenticated by a Pentagon official, “unauthorized engagements with #Congress by personnel acting in their official capacity, no matter how well-intentioned, may undermine Department-wide priorities critical to achieving our legislative objectives.”
Leaders at the #Pentagon have significantly altered how #military officials will speak with #Congress after a pair of new memos issued last week.
In an Oct 15 memo, #Defense Sec #PeteHegseth & his deputy, Steve Feinberg, ordered Pentagon officials—including the chair of the #JointChiefs of Staff—to obtain permission from the dept’s main legislative affairs office before they have ANY communication with Capitol Hill.
#law #democracy #accountability #oversight #Trump
https://apnews.com/article/defense-department-pentagon-hegseth-congress-c15a2050aa95998f28e31a6b5c1d287a
…Whether #Trump will get his payout is officially up to #DOJ’s Deputy Attorney General, or the Associate Attorney General who oversees the agency’s civil division. Those jobs are held respectively by #ToddBlanche, a former Trump lawyer who represented Trump on the Mar-a-Lago case, & #StanleyWoodward, who represented a Trump co-defendant in that case, along with various current Trump aides.
NYT reported Tues that #Trump “is demanding that the Justice Department pay him about $230 million in compensation for the federal investigations into him.” Those are #DOJ probes into connections between Trump’s 2016 campaign & #Russia’s intelligence activities intended to help him win that election, & Trump’s alleged violation of the #Espionage Act, & other laws, by evading DOJ efforts to recover highly #ClassifiedDocuments that Trump lifted from the White House….
#law
https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2025/10/trump-justice-doj-settlement-230-million/
#Trump straight up robbing #taxpayers
Trump Demands #DOJ Pay Him $230 Million For Federal Investigations Into Him
Senior department officials who were defense lawyers for Trump & those in his orbit are now in jobs that typically must approve any such payout, underscoring potential ethical conflicts.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #propaganda
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/us/politics/trump-justice-department-compensation.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
#Ethics #Watchdog Group Seeks Investigation Into Border Czar & Contracts Following ProPublica Report
The nonpartisan Campaign Legal Center has called on the #DHS inspector general to investigate potential conflicts of interest and & violations by border czar #TomHoman & his senior adviser Mark Hall.
#law #bribery #corruption #criminal #Trump
https://www.propublica.org/article/border-czar-tom-homan-mark-hall-conflicts-interest-ethics-investigation
#JohnBrennan, who led the #CIA during an investigation into Russian #ElectionInterference in 2016, has been historically critical of #Trump on #Russia. Just before his tenure as CIA director ended in 2017, he warned that he didn’t think Trump had “a full appreciation of Russian capabilities, Russia’s intentions & actions that they are undertaking in many parts of the world.”
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #propaganda #House #judiciary #Republicans
#JohnBrennan Becomes the Next Target in #Trump Revenge Quest
The #House #Judiciary Committee has referred the former #CIA chief to the #DOJ for criminal prosecution on the grounds that he “knowingly made false statements” to #Congress about Trump’s collusion with #Russia during a hearing in May 2023.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics #propaganda
https://newrepublic.com/post/202081/john-brennan-trump-revenge-justice-department
Judge questions whether #NewJersey Rep #LaMonicaMcIver was illegally targeted by #Trump admin
McIver attorney Paul Fishman argued McIver was prosecuted because she was a #Democrat, meanwhile Trump gave #pardons to hundreds of people who attacked police at the Capitol on #Jan6, 2021, & the #DOJ dropped numerous additional assault cases at Trump’s direction, despite video evidence of the attacks.
#law #LegalEthics #RevengePolitics
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/21/lamonica-mciver-hearing-trump-00617224
I should think so
#Trump pick to lead federal watchdog agency withdraws after sick #racist text messages were revealed
#PaulIngrassia, who was nominated to lead the Office of Special Counsel, had been scheduled to have his confirmation hearing this week.
#law #MAGA #GOP #Republicans #Nazis #antisemitism #racism #WhiteSupremacy #MaleSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism
https://apnews.com/article/trump-special-counsel-ingrassia-texts-d11db9dc83767040f56a16766a3c240b?utm_source=onesignal&utm_medium=push&utm_campaign=2025-10-21-Breaking+News
The #Trump admin is exploring moving the $15B program that supports #students w/ #disabilities to a different agency within the federal govt as it works to close the #Education Dept altogether, a department ofcl said Tuesday.
The effort comes on the heels of the agency’s decision this month to lay off the vast majority of employees working on #SpecialEducation services & months after *Education* Secy [pro wrestling promoter] Linda McMahon talked about moving the program to #HHS.
I am so afraid for the future
#Trump admin seeks to move #SpecialEducation to #RFKJr’s #HHS
The move would affect the $15 billion #IDEA program & comes as the admin seeks to close down the federal #Education Department
#law
https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2025/10/21/trump-special-education-move/
I hope people realize this is a DIFFERENT leaked group chat with Republican leaders — not “young Republicans” — with many many serious racist slurs made by Trump’s nominee for the Office Of Special Counsel
#PaulIngrassia #Trump #law #MAGA #GOP #Republicans #Nazis #antisemitism #racism #WhiteSupremacy #MaleSupremacy #WhiteChristianNationalism
#NorthCarolina State Senate Approves New Congressional Map in Effort to Add a #Republican Seat
The #Trump admin has pushed #Republicans nationwide to redraw #House district maps before the midterm #elections next year.
#law #ElectionLaw #gerrymandering #redistricting #rigged #midterms #election
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/21/us/north-carolina-congressional-map-republicans.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Of course they would
#ICE would need more #money to expand use of #bodycams in #Chicago crackdown, official says
Many federal officers assigned to #immigration enforcement in the Chicago area have body cameras but #Congress would have to allocate more funds to expand their use, officials testified Monday at a hearing about the violent tactics agents are using in #Trump admin’s crackdown.
#law #RightToProtest #CivilRights #HumanRights #fascism #PoliceBrutality #Gestapo
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-crackdown-chicago-bodycam-9aea34c3a48bc63cfb9d128159c5fdc9
#Senate #Democratic leader #ChuckSchumer called the #WhiteHouse meeting a “pep rally” & said it’s “shameful” that #House Speaker #MikeJohnson has kept the House out of town during the shutdown. Schumer says his side wants to end the #shutdown & fix the #healthcare premium crisis that “looms over 20 million hardworking Americans.”
What clowns
As the government #shutdown enters its fourth week, #Senate #Republicans are headed to the #WhiteHouse on Tuesday — not for urgent talks on how to end it, but for a display of unity with #Trump as they refuse to negotiate on any #Democratic demands.
#law #OrchestratedShutdown #PowerGrab
https://apnews.com/live/donald-trump-news-updates-10-21-2025
AG #PamBondi & #DNI #TulsiGabbard earlier this year announced groups within their agencies to “root out” those who they say *misused government power* against #Trump.
Shortly after Reuters asked the agencies for comment on Monday, Fox News reported the existence of the group, citing Gabbard as saying she "stood up this working group." Key details in the Reuters story are previously unreported.
#Trump issued an executive order on his inauguration day in January instructing the AG to work with other federal agencies “to identify & take appropriate action to correct past misconduct by the federal government related to the weaponization of law enforcement & the weaponization of the Intelligence Community.”
Exclusive: Wide-ranging group of US officials pursues #Trump's fight against ‘Deep State’
A group of dozens of officials from across the federal government, including US #intelligence officers, has been helping to steer Trump's drive for #retribution against his perceived enemies, according to government records and a source familiar with the effort.
#law #LegalEthics #WeaponizationOfGovernment
https://www.reuters.com/world/us/wide-ranging-group-us-officials-pursues-trumps-fight-against-deep-state-2025-10-20/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement
The appellate ruling lifted a temporary block on the deployment of #Oregon #soldiers by Judge Karin J. Immergut of the Federal District Court for the District of Oregon. It was not immediately clear whether the order also allowed #Trump to use #NationalGuard soldiers from other states, as he has suggested he might do.
Appeals Court Lifts Block on #Trump’s #Oregon Troop Deployment
Deployment can move forward, for now, under a preliminary ruling by the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. But #legal wrangling will likely continue.
#law #Portland #PosseComitatusAct #NationalGuard
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/20/us/appeals-court-national-guard-troops-portland-trump.html?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare
Official defends use of #TearGas in #Chicago
#BorderPatrol agents in Chicago have been given #BodyCameras, an ofcl testified Monday as a judge held a hearing to learn more about the #Trump admin’s crackdown, which has produced >1,000 arrests as well as complaints that agents are using combative tactics.
Judge Sara Ellis last week ordered agents to wear cameras, & turn them on when engaged in arrests, frisks & searches or when being deployed to #protests.
#law
https://apnews.com/article/immigration-crackdown-chicago-court-hearing-0000019a0243df5da5fa2efb34290000
Defense attorneys for the woman shot by #BorderPatrol in Brighton Park this month want a hearing ASAP after the agent who opened fire drove his vehicle to Maine before the woman’s attys could inspect it.
It’s not clear who allowed the #CBP agent to drive the vehicle to the East Coast. But defense wrote in a court filing that the “absurdity” of the decision became clear when attorneys visited an #FBI evidence garage to inspect the vehicles…
#law #Trump #Gestapo #Chicago
https://chicago.suntimes.com/immigration/2025/10/20/defense-wants-hearing-as-soon-as-possible-after-car-from-brighton-park-shooting-driven-to-maine
#SCOTUS will consider whether people who regularly smoke #marijuana can legally own #guns, the latest firearm case to come before the court since its 2022 decision expanding gun rights.
The #Trump admin asked SCOTUS to revive a case against a TX man charged with a felony because he allegedly had a gun in his home & acknowledged being a regular pot user. #DOJ appealed a lower court largely struck down a #law that bars people who use any illegal drugs from having guns.
"Daniel Garcia-Pena, #Ambassador of #Colombia in the United States of America, has been recalled for consultations by President Gustavo #Petro & is now in Bogota," the Colombian foreign ministry said. "In the coming hours the national government will inform of the decisions taken."
#Trump also called #Colombia President Gustavo #Petro an "illegal drug leader" on Sunday, an accusation Petro's govt said was offensive.
Trump's drug dealer comments marked a new low in relations between Washington & Bogota…
Petro has objected to the #US military's strikes against vessels in the #Caribbean, which have #killed dozens of people & inflamed tensions in the region. Many #legal experts & #HumanRights activists have also condemned the #military actions.
#Colombia recalls ambassador from the #US amid tariff, drug spat
Colombia's foreign ministry said early on Monday the country has recalled its #ambassador from the #UnitedStates, after #Trump said he would raise #tariffs on Colombia & stop all #aid payments to the South American nation, in a feud that stems from the US #military bombing boats Trump claims are transporting drugs.
#geopolitics #law #murder #SoftPower #diplomacy
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/colombia-recalls-ambassador-us-amid-tariff-drug-spat-2025-10-20/?utm_source=braze&utm_medium=notifications&utm_campaign=2025_engagement
Defense Secretary #PeteHegseth also announced the latest US strike on a vessel that was allegedly carrying “substantial amounts of narcotics.”
He said the vessel was associated with a Colombian rebel group — the National Liberation Army, or #ELN — that has been in conflict with #Petro’s government. He did NOT provide any evidence for his assertions, but he shared a brief video clip of a boat engulfed in flames after an explosion on Friday.
At least 3 of the #MS13 leaders #Bukele requested had divulged incriminating info about members of his govt suspected of cutting deals with the gang, ofcls said. One of them — César López Larios, whom US prosecutors charged last year w/directing MS-13’s activities in the #US — was sent back to #ElSalvador 2 days after the #Rubio - Bukele phone call. The others remain in the US, waiting to learn whether they, too, will be handed over to the very govt they were cooperating against.
#Informant agreements are based on assurances the cooperators will be #protected by the #UnitedStates. Reneging on promises made in exchange for information will hinder the ability of US #LawEnforcement to develop relationships with potential cooperators in the future.
“Who would ever trust the word of US law enforcement or prosecutors again?” Farah said.
#law #rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #DueProcess #immigration #judiciary #Trump #Rubio
“The deal is a deep betrayal of US law enforcement, whose agents risked their lives to apprehend the gang members,” said Douglas Farah, a US contractor who worked with federal officials to investigate & help dismantle the #MS13 gang.
Nixing the agreements also threatens to damage the credibility of the #DOJ, which routinely relies on #informants to build cases against high-level criminals, ofcls said.
#law #rendition #StateSponsoredAbduction #DueProcess #immigration #judiciary #Trump #Rubio