update - NJ appeals court disqualifies Habba as head DA

[mandrill]

'Throwing Hegseth under the bus?' Trump statement on 'second strike' raises eyebrows


President Donald Trump seemingly distanced himself from the latest controversy surrounding Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth.

The self-styled secretary of war reportedly ordered a second missile strike on two alleged smugglers who survived an attack on a boat administration officials say was carrying drugs from Venezuela to the U.S., and many military and legal experts say Hegseth's "no quarter" order violated international and U.S. laws.



"I don’t know that that happened and Pete said he did not want them, even know what people were talking about, so we'll look in –we'll look into it," Trump told reporters. "But no, I wouldn’t have wanted a second strike. The first strike was very lethal, it was fine, and if there were two people around, but Pete said that didn't happen. I have great confidence."

Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), former chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, joined with Democratic lawmakers in condemning Hegseth's alleged "kill everyone" follow-on order as illegal, and social media users highlighted Trump's comments as a significant break from his frequently embattled Pentagon chief.

"Pete Hegseth, you in danger, girl," warned X user Keith Edwards.

"Trump beginning the process of throwing Hegseth under the bus," noted former Republican strategist Cheri Jacobus.

"Translation: Pete may well go down for this. But I’m not going with him," agreed civil rights lawyer Sherilynn Ifill.

"President Trump says he would not have wanted the second strike," said Just Security's Ryan Goodman. "POTUS's only defense of Hegseth is claim that Hegseth supposedly said he didn't order it."

"Unless Trump gave the operational order for the second strike he can underbus Hegseth and still do whatever war he’s doing, the principle is not 'we’re not at war' it’s 'you can’t do this in war,'" argued post malone ergo propter malone.

"Interesting. So even Trump is saying a second strike would be wrong," opined Marine veteran Stan R. Mitchell. "Hegseth better hope the facts are on his side here."

"This is a major development and Hegseth just got hung out to dry," posted widely followed Blueskey user Chele Lea. "Trump said he didn’t want nor order the second strike on that Venezuelan boat. That’s HUGE. That’s Trump saying Hegseth acted alone. Trump always protects Trump his entire cabinet just got a wake-up call. Smart of Trump’s handlers."

 

[mandrill]

Trump decision could cost residents thousands in MAGA stronghold


President Donald Trump made a decision that's hurting residents in a stronghold of support that helped propel him to re-election.

The president denied disaster aid Oct. 22 to two electric utilities in rural northern Michigan – where his support has historically run strong since entering politics – that would shift billions of dollars in costs from federal taxpayers to working-class customers who now potentially face thousands of dollars in rate hikes to pay for repairs to the power grid following a three-day ice storm in March, reported Politico.



“It could be tens of millions of dollars left on the backs of the members,” said Allan Berg, the CEO of Presque Isle Electric & Gas, known as PIE&G, in northeastern Michigan.

Great Lakes Energy, in northwestern Michigan, warned on its website that “all storm-related costs not reimbursed by state or federal disaster aid will be paid for by the cooperative’s entire membership.”


Politico's E&E News obtained documents showing the Trump administration documented $90 million in damage to utility infrastructure, which is about five times the federal threshold to qualify for disaster aid, but the Federal Emergency Management Agency informed Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer that assistance was "not warranted."

That decision “could make the co-op actually go broke if something isn’t done to make them whole again,” said Pete Rose, a retired PIE&G foreman.

The utilities are nonprofit electric cooperatives serving rural areas and owned by customers, and Whitmer notified Trump in August that customers faced at least $4,500 per household in surcharges and rate increases without federal aid.

Trump has denied at least nine gubernatorial disaster requests since April despite FEMA documenting damage that met the federal threshold for aid, and he justified his decision in Michigan using fine print in a way that had never been done before.

“We can’t find a similar disaster where Category F is denied,” said Rep. Jack Bergman (R-MI), who represents the area and has asked Trump to reconsider. “This is something nobody asked for. Our members did not want this ice storm. FEMA is a federal program designed to ensure when large natural disasters occur, they can come and make the playing field level.”

The Republican-led state House overwhelmingly approved $100 million in recovery funds in March, but the Democratic-controlled state Senate still has not taken action on the package, showing how disaster response if responsibility was shifted from the federal government to states.

“You look at northern Michigan, it’s a Republican area,” said state Rep. Parker Fairbairn, a Republican who sponsored the bill. “If this would have happened in Detroit or Grand Rapids, I think they would have seen funding from the state already in big numbers.”

 

[mandrill]

Trump border czar wages war with Catholic bishops


President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan escalated tensions with U.S. Catholic leaders, sharply criticizing a new message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) that condemned the administration’s “indiscriminate mass deportation.”

Knewz.com has learned that the bishops’ statement, approved by more than 95% of members at their fall assembly in Baltimore, warned that federal immigration tactics were fostering fear, profiling and the “vilification of immigrants.”

Catholic bishops rebuke deportation policies

In a recently released video statement, the bishops said, “We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.”

They added they are “saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants,” emphasizing that Christian teaching requires compassion for migrants.

Their message, delivered after guidance from Pope Leo XIV urging candor, opposed the “indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”

Homan rejects criticism and defends enforcement

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Homan dismissed the bishops’ concerns as unrealistic.

He said their stance implies that “if you cross the border illegally, which is a crime, don’t worry about it — if you get ordered removed by a federal judge, that’s due process, don’t worry about it, because there shouldn’t be mass deportations.”

Homan argued that weakening enforcement would encourage migrants to risk their lives. He cited the Biden administration’s earlier policies, claiming “over 4,000 aliens died making that journey and 40 million Americans died from fentanyl.”

Border czar’s claims of legality and comparisons to Vatican security

Homan insisted the administration’s approach was lawful and humane.

He said the U.S. “has the right to secure our borders,” and compared penalties for entering the Vatican to those in the U.S., saying, “The penalties for entering their facilities are much worse than ours so by enforcing the law we’re saving lives.”

He credited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) with helping create “the most secure border in the history of this nation.”

Homan notes he is a ‘lifelong Catholic’

Homan noted he is a “lifelong Catholic” but urged the bishops to shift their focus inward.

“I think they need to spend time fixing the Catholic Church, from my point of view,” he said, signaling no retreat from the Trump administration’s immigration policies and no intention of moderating his criticism of religious leaders who oppose them.

 

[mandrill]

 

[mandrill]

Appeals court disqualifies Alina Habba as top prosecutor in New Jersey


A federal appeals court has affirmed a court ruling to disqualify Donald Trump’s former personal attorney Alina Habba from serving as the top prosecutor in New Jersey, landing yet another major blow to the president’s loyalists overseeing critical law enforcement roles across the country.

Habba, whose appointment sparked a legal showdown between the Trump administration and the state’s federal judges, is “unlawfully serving” as U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, the panel affirmed Monday.

After she briefly served as “counselor to the president” at the White House, Habba was sworn in as acting U.S. attorney in her home state.

In July, New Jersey’s federal trial judges named their own nominee to replace Habba at the end of her 120-day term.

But hours later, Attorney General Pam Bondi not only blocked the judges’ nominee but “removed” her from the office entirely, then publicly rebuked the judges and promoted Habba — preserving her role as the state’s top federal prosecutor.

The Department of Justice is likely to appeal to the Supreme Court.

Monday’s ruling stems from the months-long legal challenge brought by New Jersey defendants challenging the legality of Habba’s tenure and the charges she brought against them.

They argued that Habba did not have the authority to bring charges after her 120-day term expired and must have a “constitutional right to be prosecuted only by a duly authorized United States Attorney.”

“The illegitimacy of Ms. Habba’s appointment undermines … fundamental due process rights,” attorneys wrote in court filings.

The appellate panel blocked Habba from serving in both the “acting” role and as the First Assistant U.S. Attorney under Bondi, “because only the first assistant in place at the time the vacancy arises automatically assumes the functions and duties of the office” under the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, judges wrote.

And because Habba was nominated to serve full-time as the U.S. Attorney for New Jersey, the law prevents her from assuming the role of Acting U.S. Attorney, according to the judges.

Bondi’s “delegation of all the powers of a U.S. Attorney to Habba” is also prohibited, they added.

Monday’s ruling marks the latest strike against the Trump administration as his Justice Department faces intense legal scrutiny over a series of maneuvers to keep the president’s allies in office by getting around legal limits on how long they can stay there.

Judges have reached similar decisions in cases challenging the appointments of Trump-backed U.S. attorneys in Los Angeles, Nevada and Virginia, where the president directed Bondi to launch two politically charged cases against his longtime foes James Comey and New York Attorney General Letitia James.

Last week, a judge disqualified U.S. Attorney Lindsey Halligan in the eastern district of Virginia and dismissed the cases against Trump’s enemies, finding that “all actions flowing from Ms. Halligan’s defective appointment” amounted to “unlawful exercises of executive power.”



Habba, who was a personal attorney to Trump in a blockbuster fraud trial and a defamation lawsuit from E Jean Carroll, was appointed to serve as New Jersey’s top prosecutor earlier this year but faced legal challenges after serving beyond the expiration date of her temporary acting role (AP)
In her first few months in office, Habba pursued a series of politically loaded investigations targeting Democratic officials, including an investigation into Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matthew Platkin and criminal charges against a sitting member of Congress.


Her office charged Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and Rep. LaMonica McIver, both Democrats, following a protest outside an Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention center in the state.

Habba ultimately dropped trespassing charges against the mayor, a decision that a judge later called an “embarrassing retraction.”

Baraka’s “hasty arrest”, followed by Habba’s dismissal of the charges two weeks later, “suggests a worrying misstep by your office,” Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa said during a hearing that month. The mayor later sued Habba for malicious prosecution.

McIver, meanwhile, has been accused of assaulting law enforcement, which she has strenuously denied.

Before Trump appointed her to serve as the top federal prosecutor in New Jersey, Habba’s term as one of his personal lawyers saw back-to-back losses in New York courtrooms that racked up nearly half a billion dollars in two blockbuster judgments against the president.

in New York in October 2023. He was ordered to pay $350 million to the state for more than a decade of business fraud. The president has appealed the financial penalty (POOL/AFP via Getty Images)
Trump was ordered to pay E Jean Carroll more than $83 million after he was found liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former Elle magazine writer. One month later, Trump was ordered to pay more than $350 million to the state for more than a decade of business fraud — a judgment that has only grown with interest to more than $500 million.


The president has successfully appealed the financial penalties in his fraud case, for now, but he remains on the hook for millions of dollars after appeals courts sided with Carroll in judgments he is now asking the Supreme Court to turn over.

The Independent has requested comment from Habba’s office.

 

[mandrill]

Supreme Court Deals Major Blow to Trump Removal


The Supreme Court blocked President Donald Trump from immediately removing Shira Perlmutter, the register of copyrights, and kept her on the job while it reviews related cases.

The decision pauses a dispute over whether the Copyright Office belongs to the legislative branch and whether presidents can remove its officials.

The court said it will wait for rulings in linked cases involving the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Reserve before making a final decision.


Separation of Powers
Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, said, “We are pleased that the Court deferred the government’s motion to stay our court order in a case that is critically important for rule of law, the separation of powers, and the independence of the Library of Congress.”

White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said, “President Trump exercised his lawful authority as head of the executive branch to remove an officer exercising executive authority. We look forward to ultimate resolution of this issue by the Supreme Court.”

 

[mandrill]

Anger as Trump pardons another criminal with more than 10,000 victims


In yet another gift to corporate criminals, President Donald Trump has reportedly used his executive authority to commute the seven-year prison sentence of a former private equity executive convicted of defrauding more than 10,000 investors of around $1.6 billion.

David Gentile, the founder and former CEO of GPB Capital, was convicted of securities and wire fraud last year and sentenced to prison in May, but he ended up serving just days behind bars. The New York Times reported over the weekend that the White House “argued that prosecutors had falsely characterized the business as a Ponzi scheme.”

One victim said they lost their “whole life savings” to the scheme and are now living “check to check.” Another, who described themselves as “an elderly victim,” said they “lost a significant portion” of their retirement savings.

“This money was earmarked to help my two grandsons pay for college,” the person said. “They had tragically lost their father and needed some financial assistance. So this loss attached my entire family.”

In a statement following Gentile’s sentencing earlier this year, FBI Assistant Director in Charge Christopher Raia—who was appointed to the role by Trump’s loyalist FBI director, Kash Patel—said the private equity executive and his co-defendant, Jeffry Schneider, “wove a web of lies to steal more than one billion dollars from investors through empty promises of guaranteed profits and unlawfully rerouting funds to provide an illusion of success.”



“The defendants abused their high-ranking positions within their company to exploit the trust of their investors and directly manipulate payments to perpetuate this scheme,” said Raia. “May today’s sentencing deter anyone who seeks to greedily profit off their clients through deceitful practices.”

Critics said Trump’s commutation of Gentile’s sentence sends the opposite message: That the administration is soft on corporate crime and rich fraudsters despite posturing as fierce protectors of the rule of law and throwing the book at the vulnerable.

“Trump will deport an Afghan living in the US with Temporary Protected Status if he is accused of stealing $1,000,” said US Rep. Sean Casten (D-Ill.). “But he’ll set a white dude free who was convicted of stealing $1.6 billion from American citizens to go commit more crime.”

After criticizing former President Joe Biden for commuting the sentences of death-row prisoners, Trump has wielded his pardon power to spare political allies—including January 6 rioters—and rich executives while his administration works to “delegitimize the very concept of white-collar crime.”

Since the start of Trump’s second term, his administration has halted or dropped more than 160 federal enforcement actions against corporations, according to the watchdog group Public Citizen. White-collar criminals reportedly view Trump as their “get-out-of-jail-free card.”

“The most shamelessly corrupt administration in history,” journalist Wajahat Ali wrote in response to the Gentile commutation.