The judges appear so far to be skeptical of DA Vance's appeal.
Judge Jeffrey Oing: "They’ve got enough to get an indictment, and they’re doing a pivot to get to the double jeopardy."
Todd Blanche: "At the end of the day, there are hard cases and there are easy cases, but this is not a hard case."
The panel does not appear to question that proposition that the double jeopardy argument is an easy call, and the argument goes back to Vance's counsel.
Judge Dianne Renwick asks Figueredo: So you’re saying this is a legislative issue, not one for us?
Figueredo replies that the charges the mortgage fraud allegations are very different from bank fraud.
The hearing abruptly ends without a ruling.
Context: Judge Renwick's question about the "legislative issue" went to the NY Legislature tightening double-jeopardy standards.
U.S. District Judge Geoffrey W. Crawford granted bail to Columbia student Mohsen Mahdawi yesterday, but he also said more.
"Our nation has seen times like this before," he wrote citing the Red Scare and the Palmer Raids of 1919-1920 leading to thousands of deportations.
"Similar themes were sounded during the McCarthy period in the 1950s when thousands of non-citizens were targeted for deportation due to their political views," the opinion continues, in another example of the "moral panic" of the time.
Judge Boasberg begins his hearing to determine whether he will find the Trump admin violated his temporary restraining order to turn back Venezuelan immigrant flights.
I'll be listening in and providing periodic updates.
Boasberg puts DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign on the defensive, highlighting the limited scope of his order:
The Trump admin can still deport TdA members under any other number of authorities — other than summary expulsions under the Alien Enemies Act.
Ensign agrees.
In fact, Boasberg notes, the Trump admin executed those other deportations this week.
Ensign agrees.
After more Q&A, Boasberg corners Ensign: If anyone in the Trump admin said otherwise, "those statements wouldn't be true, right?"
A federal judge adjourned the Eric Adams trial indefinitely — but appointed former solicitor general Paul Clement as a friend-of-the-court.
Judge Ho will have an “adversarial” process on whether to dismiss the case. buff.ly/3QuVmtB
Explainer:
This is a significant setback for Trump's ex-defense lawyer and acting DAG Emil Bove, who wanted dismissal of Adams case without adversarial proceedings.
Tapping Paul Clement, who argued for the US before SCOTUS, Judge Ho seems mindful of a ruling surviving appeals.
More context:
It's unclear what Paul Clement will advise — and what power Clement believes the judge has on dismissal.
But by appointing Clement, and declining other amici, Judge Ho steers the "adversarial" part of the proceedings to a credible third party w/o apparent ties to the case.
Protesters showed up outside federal court in Manhattan for today's hearing from a 19-state coalition of attorneys general challenging DOGE and Elon Musk's access to the Treasury's payment system — temporarily blocked by a federal judge.
Arguments for an injunction at 2 p.m. ET.
"All rise."
"The Honorable Jeannette A. Vargas presiding."
Assistant NYAG Andrew Amer, who argued Trump's civil fraud case, will also present arguments today for the coalition.
SDNY Civil Division Chief Jeffrey Oestericher argues for the government.
Judge Vargas says she would like to hear about the threshold issue of standing first, before turning the preliminary injunction motion.