Free Republic

A federal judge on Monday denied the Department of Justice’s request to unseal grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell’s criminal case. In his 31-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Paul A. Engelmayer, a Barack Obama appointee, says that the grand jury materials do not identify anyone other than Epstein or Maxwell as having had sexual contact with a minor. The DOJ request came as supporters of President Donald Trump have pushed for more disclosures related to Maxwell and her co-conspirator Jeffrey Epstein, the deceased financier and accused sex trafficker. Trump directed Attorney General Pam Bondi last month to release "any and...

A federal judge abused his authority in pursuing contempt proceedings against Trump administration officials for removing alleged Venezuelan gang members from the United States in violation of a court order, a federal appeals court ruled Friday. The three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit was split 2-1, with two Trump appointees in the majority and an Obama appointee dissenting. The decision overturns Washington-based Chief Judge James Boasberg's finding of probable cause that officials could be held in criminal contempt.

Ghislaine Maxwell, Jeffrey Epstein's co-conspirator and confidant, was moved to a minimum security federal prison camp in Texas, prison officials said Friday. Maxwell, who is serving a 20-year prison sentence for her role in recruiting and trafficking minors for sex, was being held at a facility in Florida. "We can confirm, Ghislaine Maxwell is in the custody of the Bureau of Prisons at the Federal Prison Camp Bryan in Bryan, Texas," the Bureau of Prisons said in a statement. The Bureau of Prisons did not specify why she was transferred.

Trump's administration argued that Khalil's First Amendment claims are a "red herring " and that there's "an independent basis to justify removal sufficient to foreclose Khalil’s constitutional claim here." The Trump administration filed new allegations against Mahmoud Khalil, the Columbia University graduate student detained due to his pro-Palestinian activism on campus, while trying to dismiss his First Amendment violation claims as a "red herring." In a filing Sunday, the Justice Department said Khalil, who is a green-card holder, withheld information about his membership in certain organizations and failed to disclose his employment at the Syria Office in the British Embassy...

It was on Guo’s yacht that Bannon, the former chief White House strategist for Donald Trump, was arrested in a criminal fraud case in 2020.Guo Wengui, a Chinese billionaire and associate of Steve Bannon, was denied bail on Thursday after being charged in a $1 billion fraud case in March. U.S. District Judge Analisa Torres rejected Guo’s proposed bail package, saying he must remain behind bars pending trial because there is “no condition or set of conditions” that would ensure his return to court or the safety of the community, according to the court order. Torres said Guo “has means...

An attorney for a group of protesters who filed suit alleging that in 2015 security guards for then-candidate Donald Trump assaulted them outside of Trump Tower say they’ve settled their case with Trump as the case was in the middle of jury selection. Benjamin Dictor, an attorney for the plaintiffs says, “the matter was resolved to the satisfaction of all parties on day three of jury selection.” Dictor would not comment on the terms of the settlement or if the former president admitted any wrongdoing. In a joint statement provided by Dictor and signed by the plaintiffs and Trump’s attorney...

A Louisiana judge issued a temporary restraining order Monday against the state from enforcing its ban on abortions, leading to the immediate resumption of the procedure. Orleans Parish Civil District Court Judge Robin Giarrusso granted the request of plaintiffs Hope Medical Group For Women and Medical Students for Choice. The U.S. Supreme Court on Friday overturned Roe v. Wade, which for nearly 50 years had granted women the constitutional right to an abortion. Providers in Louisiana had stopped performing abortions on Friday, unsure of the legality of the practice due to the vagueness of the bill, according to reproductive rights...