Court action this afternoon/evening:
2-1 order from the DC Circuit denying request by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops to restore appropriated federal funds for refugee resettlement programs that the Trump admin cut off; Judge Millett dissents
assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…
In a 2-1 order (another Millett dissent), the DC Circuit said it would let Trump fire two independent agency officials, boosting the admin's push to expand his power to control the makeup of these entities. One fired official is preparing to ask the full circuit to reconsider:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

A DC judge said today he’ll likely order the Trump admin's government efficiency office to preserve its records; no immediate ruling on whether DOGE is subject to FOIA
buff.ly/mycbsPj The judge told the DOJ lawyer appearing today in the DOGE FOIA case to "advise your clients" ASAP about the likelihood of a preservation order. Trump admin contends the records law doesn't apply to DOGE
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

ICYMI: Trump announced a new policy requiring DOJ to demand in court that challengers suing the admin should have to post money bonds if they win orders blocking his actions. Several judges have already rejected such requests
buff.ly/11JLZfZ DC judge denied motion to restrict DOGE access at Treasury. NY judge's injunction remains in place for now.

DC judge said plaintiffs couldn't show irreparable harm re: personal data becoming public -- but they could come back if the situation changed
assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…

We've got ourselves an old fashioned Friday news dump. What's happened over the past few hours: - SCOTUS declined, for now, to let Trump oust the head of a federal whistleblower protection agency, letting the official stay in the job until at least Wednesday. From Greg Stohr: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

A Mass. federal judge set a hearing for tomorrow on whether to immediately halt the Elon Musk-affiliated "Fork in the Road" deferred resignation offer for federal workers from the Trump admin. Prev: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Meanwhile, a DC federal judge is holding a hearing now on whether to intervene re: Treasury Dept. giving info to Musk's DOGE team. Prev: bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Some more court action later in the day:
- Re: Trump's bar on transgender troops, judge isn't ruling on the motion for an immediate TRO after US basically said status quo will remain pending a fight over a longer-term prelim injunction, but judge says govt must immediately alert her + plaintiffs if that'll change

Interesting hearing this evening in Missouri’s lawsuit seeking to block DOJ from sending two election observers to monitor a St. Louis polling site on Election Day. No ruling from the bench (recap below)
Complaint: assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…
DOJ oppo: assets.bwbx.io/documents/user… Missouri argues state law spells out who can enter a polling place to observe and DOJ monitors aren’t covered. DOJ says there’s a 2021 settlement with the St. Louis board of elections for ADA violations re: disability access that allows this

Hello on this stunning September morning from the DC federal courthouse, where Judge Tanya Chutkan is holding the first hearing in the Trump case since SCOTUS kicked it back to her. Trump won't be here. Waiting to see what kind of schedule Chutkan will set for the next round of fights over the future of the indictment
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Trump's lawyers all just entered the courtroom, and also thrilled to report that courthouse security dog Legend is here and continues to be a Very Good Dog (no pics allowed I'm afraid)

Hello from the DC federal courthouse, where Rudy Giuliani is waiting to get through security as jury selection is set to begin this a.m. to determine how much in damages he'll owe two Georgia election workers who sued him for defamation. Stay tuned.

Prev: bloomberg.com/news/articles/… And jury selection is just getting underway in Rudy Giuliani's damages trial -- Judge Beryl Howell, who was not amused that Giuliani was not in the courtroom at 9am when they were supposed to begin, is presiding

BREAKING: A Colorado judge has ruled that Donald Trump can appear on 2024 ballots - she found that he *did* engage in insurrection by inciting the Jan. 6 attack, *but* that the Constitutional prohibition does not apply to the presidency. More to come.
assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…




NEW: A Colorado judge found Donald Trump engaged in insurrection by inciting the Jan. 6 attack.

But she held the Constitution's insurrectionist ban didn't apply to a president/the presidency, meaning he'll appear on 2024 ballots.

Story, more to come: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Today at 10am: Prosecutors will make their case before a DC federal judge for a partial gag order restricting what Donald Trump can say about the election obstruction case against him.

Why DOJ says it's necessary:


Trump's oppo: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… On how as long as Donald Trump is facing criminal charges and civil claims in court, what he says and does in the outside world can have consequences in a courtroom:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

Justice Clarence Thomas's 2022 financial disclosure is in, noting three trips w/ expenses paid for by Harlan Crow:

Thomas notes 2014 sale of properties to Crow (1st reported by ProPublica), saying he "inadvertently" didn't realize that should be reported assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…




Justice Samuel Alito's 2022 disclosure is also out now:

No travel reported paid for by individuals, no note re: ProPublica reporting on earlier luxury trip reimbursed by GOP donor Paul Singer (Alito has publicly defended this/denounced the reporting)assets.bwbx.io/documents/user…

Hello on this humid late August a.m. from the DC federal courthouse, where Judge Tanya Chutkan will hear arguments and is expected to set a trial date in Trump's 2020 election obstruction case. Special counsel wants to start Jan. 2. Trump wants April 2026:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…
Judge Chutkan is on the bench and starts by saying that *neither* trial date proposal is "acceptable" -- DOJ wants Jan. 2, Trump wants April 2026.

Says trial sched can't depend on a defendant's personal and professional obligations, so Trump will have to make a date work

Hello on this not-too-hot August morning from the DC federal courthouse, where Donald Trump is expected to appear for a 4pm arraignment. It is obviously many hours until 4pm but here we are! A few streets are closed so far, barricades still going up, much heavier police presence https://t.co/UxzL1blKgWtwitter.com/i/web/status/1…



Coming up: Donald Trump returns to Washington
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

UPDATE: Shortly after 5pm, a federal magistrate judge in DC accepted three new indictments -- the initials of the first two were read aloud, but not the third. The third was presented by prosecutor Molly Gaston, whose past work includes the Steve Bannon contempt of Congress case Gaston also made a motion to seal that third case, which the judge granted

BREAKING: May 20, 2024, trial date set in Trump classified documents case. Judge Cannon's order means DOJ won't get to try the case this year as they'd hoped, but it's a significant setback for Trump, who was angling for a postelection delay. More to come.
https://t.co/iP13baqfoKbloomberg.com/news/articles/…
During the hearing earlier this week in Fort Pierce, Cannon had signaled her skepticism with both sides' proposals -- and hinted at an interest in a spring/early summer timeline, asking how firm the NY trial date in March was

NOW: Here is the 49-page federal indictment of former president Donald Trump and his aide Walt Nauta, more to come
assets.bwbx.io/documents/user… More updates and details from the federal indictment against Donald Trump, updating as we go (no paywall): bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

NEW: After ethics complaints were lodged against Justice Clarence Thomas in 2011, a member of the federal judiciary's senior leadership body repeatedly raised concerns about how that was being handled internally
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… According to letters, other materials and accounts from people familiar with the events, US District Judge Mark Wolf, a member of the Judicial Conference, protested that the leadership body was being kept in the dark and shut out of potentially doing its own review

NEW: Justice Clarence Thomas said he was advised he didn’t have to disclose trips and gifts from billionaire Harlan Crow because Crow, a close friend, “did not have business before the court.”

But in at least one case to reach the justices, Crow did.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… In 2005, the justices declined to a hear a case involving a company that was part of the Crow family's real estate empire. Crow's office says the family holdings firm, which Crow led at the time, had a non-controlling stake in the parties and wasn't involved in the litigation.

Ahead of tomorrow's arraignment for Donald Trump, here's @pathurtado37 on what to expect: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

And more on his newest lawyer, from Patty and @davidvoreacos: bloomberg.com/news/articles/… What to know about gag orders:
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

And venue change motions, from @eelarson: bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

BREAKING: Trump has been indicted by a Manhattan grand jury for crimes connected to the alleged payment of illegal hush-money to adult film actress Stormy Daniels bloomberg.com/news/articles/… Answering one immediate question that might come to mind: An indictment in NY doesn't stop DOJ or the Fulton Co. DA's office from pursuing charges against Trump. But a logjam of cases likely will pose logistical challenges, esp. as 2024 campaign heats up bloomberg.com/news/articles/…

New: Donald Trump has called Special Counsel Jack Smith a “fully weaponized monster” whose Obama-era ties made him a “political hit man.”

One of Trump's own lawyers shares some of those ties, and used to call Smith something else: a colleague and friend.
bloomberg.com/news/articles/… A deep dive into the five years that Trump Special Counsel Jack Smith and Trump defense lawyer Jim Trusty served as DOJ Criminal Division section chiefs -- Smith tackling public corruption, Trusty going after gangs and organized crime
bloomberg.com/news/articles/…