Free Republic

President Joe Biden’s climate change-obsessed Department of Energy (DOE) was wrong when it reversed Trump-era rules making dishwashers and laundry machines more efficient for Americans, a federal appeals court ruled on Monday. A three-judge panel for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit ruled that the agency acted in an “arbitrary and capricious” manner when it repealed laundry machine and dishwasher rules designed to cut down on wash times. The order, penned by Judge Andrew Oldham, also notes that “it is unclear that the DOE has any statutory authority to regulate water use in dishwashers and clothes washers.”

ATLANTA — A federal judge ruled on Thursday that Georgia’s redrawn congressional maps violate a section of the Voting Rights Act. The Georgia General Assembly approved the maps back in 2021 and were signed by Gov. Brian Kemp. The maps shifted the Republican edge from 8-6 to 9-5. A series of lawsuits were filed against the state of Georgia arguing that the redrawn maps illegally discriminate against minorities and take away their voting power. Governor Brian Kemp issued a proclamation on Thursday afternoon calling for a special session of the Georgia General Assembly on Nov. 29 to revisit laws relating...

The disclosure of a subpoena of Twitter by Special Counsel Jack Smith was surprising in a number of respects, including the hefty $350,000 fine imposed by U.S. District Court Beryl Howell (below) for a three-day delay as the company sought to address the demand.However, the two most surprising, and concerning, elements was that the subpoena was secret and Howell justified it, in part, on Trump being a flight risk. Neither seems warranted in this case even the subpoena was in other respects warranted.Special counsel Jack Smith subpoenaed and obtained a search warrant related to former President Trump’s account on Twitter,...

Democracy Partners brought forth this civil lawsuit against Veritas over five years ago, after being exposed for employing dirty campaign tricks in the 2016 presidential race. In 2016, Project Veritas Action journalists gathered undercover footage over the course of six months as they exposed the dirty tricks orchestrated by political consultant, Bob Creamer, President of Democracy Partners, and its affiliates. This includes what was described by then-Democracy Partners affiliated member and director of Americans United for Change, Scott Foval, as “Birddogging”:

A federal court on Tuesday canceled a hearing over Trump election lawyer John Eastman’s attempt to reclaim his seized phone. The court canceled the hearing after the corrupt Justice Department obtained a second search warrant which undermined Eastman’s case. The judge continued, “The undersigned will take the Government at its word that the warrant was issued, and the Court’s decision will be based in part on that representation.” “With this in mind, the Court will vacate the hearing currently set for September 6, 2022, and will decide Eastman’s motion on the written submissions of parties,” the judge wrote. The hearing...

Federal court blocks Biden's vaccine mandate for health workers in 10 states A federal court in Missouri has blocked the Biden administration from enforcing a coronavirus vaccine mandate for health care workers at federally-funded facilities in 10 states. Why it matters: Monday's decision is the first victory for opponents of the rule, which requires health care workers to get vaccinated by Jan. 4, 2022. The case is one of four lawsuits challenging the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' (CMS) rule and argues that the mandate will exacerbate staffing shortages. Stay on top of the latest market trends and economic...

The daughter of a Florida U.S. congressional candidate pled guilty to having received $300,000 in COVID-19 relief loans by submitting fraudulent information. Damara Holness, 28, daughter of congressional candidate Democrat Dale Holness, appeared at a federal court in Fort Lauderdale on Wednesday where she faced serious allegations. There, Holness told Judge Rodolfo Ruiz she would plead guilty... ....The DOJ statement continued: "Holness issued checks from the company bank account made out to others who agreed, for a fee, to help with the fraud."...

Jack Posobiec @JackPosobiec ·33m BREAKING: Federal circuit court reinstates Texas heartbeat abortion ban 8:55PM • Oct 8, 2021

A federal judge on Friday ruled that a Cincinnati, Ohio-area healthcare provider could require its employees get vaccinated against COVID-19 or risk losing their job, in what appears to be the first ruling of its kind for a private employer in the United States. The employees of St. Elizabeth Healthcare failed to establish that their individual liberties were being violated by the vaccine requirement of the hospital operator, which has the right to set employment terms, said U.S. District Judge David Bunning in Covington, Kentucky. St. Elizabeth employees must get vaccinated by Oct. 1. The widespread availability of vaccines in...

Tangtang Zhao, a 34-year-old licensed pharmacist from Chicago, was arrested Tuesday on charges related to selling 125 authentic CDC vaccination cards to unvaccinated buyers on eBay. The pharmacy where Zhao previously worked offered COVID-19 vaccinations, providing Zhao with easy access to the CDC's white COVID-19 vaccine cards. He allegedly charged buyers approximately $10 per card and sold them online — leading to an indictment of 12 counts of government property theft. If convicted, Zhao faces a sentence of 10 years in prison. ...

This rare cuneiform tablet is inscribed with a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh A federal court has ordered that a small ancient fragment depicting a portion of the Epic of Gilgamesh be forfeited by the Museum of the Bible two years after federal agents confiscated the artifact. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ordered the forfeiture of the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, which was purchased by Hobby Lobby Stores, Inc. in 2014 to be displayed at the Museum of the Bible. Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division explained...

A federal court on Friday ruled that the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) overstepped its authority by halting evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic.The Cincinnati-based U.S. Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously agreed (pdf) with a lower court ruling that said the CDC engaged in federal overreach with the eviction moratorium, which the agency has consistently extended for months. Several weeks ago, the CDC announced it would allow the policy, which was passed into law by Congress, to expire at the end of July.“It is not our job as judges to make legislative rules that favor one side...

Florida files with the Federal Court to get cruises resuming immediately. The state is not waiting around on the result of its lawsuit filed earlier in April. After filing a lawsuit on April 8, receiving no answers or replies from the CDC for many months, and hundreds of thousands of people out of work in Florida, the state is tired of waiting around. Florida has now asked a federal judge to overturn the Centers for Disease Control Conditional Sailing Order. This is the order that is keeping the cruise ship industry from sailing again in the United States. No Results...

A federal appeals court on Wednesday questioned whether more than a dozen Democratic states and the U.S. House of Representatives have the right to appeal a lower court decision that struck down the entirety of the Affordable Care Act, throwing the law’s future into question. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit, which is scheduled to begin hearing oral arguments on the constitutionality of the law on July 9, said it needed more information as to whether the House and Democratic states had standing to intervene in the lawsuit and whether their interventions were timely. Some legal experts...

Michael Avenatti, the former attorney for porn actress Stormy Daniels, pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges that he allegedly stole millions of dollars from his clients, failed to pay taxes and lied in bankruptcy cases. The 48-year-old Avenatti, who was indicted earlier this month on 36 counts including wire and bank fraud, appeared in federal court for an arraignment in Santa Ana, California on Monday. Asked to enter a plea, Avenatti told the judge, "Not guilty to all charges." The trial is set to begin on June 25 with a status hearing scheduled for June 15. Prosecutors accused Avenatti...

NEW YORK (AP) — Lawyers for a man charged with killing eight people when he drove his truck onto a New York City bike path say the death penalty should be ruled out because President Donald Trump was “uninformed and full or rage” when he called for it. The lawyers filed papers Tuesday in federal court on behalf of Sayfullo Saipov (sy-foo-LOH’ sah-YEE’-pawf).

Sanity: Though President Barack Obama implemented the Deferred Action on Childhood Arrivals (DACA) policy via executive order — which most constitutional experts said he had no authority to do because he was changing existing immigration law — POTUS Donald Trump has had a difficult time repealing that order through his own executive action. Now, however, a federal judge has handed his administration its first real DACA victory after reversing an earlier Aug. 3 ruling.

WASHINGTON (CN) – The Senate on Tuesday unanimously confirmed a magistrate judge President Donald Trump nominated to serve on a federal court in Kentucky. Robert Wier has served as a United States magistrate judge for the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky since 2006 and will now serve as a district court judge on the same court. Prior to taking over as a magistrate judge, Wier spent a decade as a member and partner at the Lexington, Ky., firm Ransdell & Wier. Wier’s nomination was among the least controversial of the Trump administration, as the University of...

Huma Abedin's first cousin was convicted of fraud just days before a government watchdog group announced the Friday release of top-secret documents and emails from the political staffer. Omar Amanat, 44, of New-York based software firm, Kit Digital, was found guilty in Manhattan federal court for the crime that occurred within his company, according to Page Six.

Former Sheriff Joe Arpaio asked late Monday for his contempt of court conviction to be tossed or to get a new trial, saying the judge misread the history of the case, that it amounted to double-jeopardy, and that his trial should have been in front of a jury anyway. In two new filings in federal district court in Arizona, Arpaio’s lawyers offered up a number of reasons why the misdemeanor conviction should be tossed. The filings came after President Trump said over the weekend that he is “seriously considering” granting a pardon to Arpaio, an early supporter of his presidential...