Free Republic

A federal judge on March 18 blocked a Washington, D.C., law that allowed children in the nation’s capital to receive a vaccine without parental consent.The parents who sued over the law appear likely to succeed in proving claims that the law violates federal statutes and will be irreparably harmed if a preliminary injunction weren’t entered, U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden wrote in a 38-page opinion.The D.C. Council passed the District’s Minor Consent for Vaccinations Amendment Act in 2020. It lets children as young as 11 get a vaccine without permission from their parents.But the National Childhood Vaccine Injury Act of...

A Trump-appointed federal judge threw out a lawsuit from the 45th president late Tuesday that sought to prevent House lawmakers from obtaining his tax returns. US District Judge Trevor McFadden ruled that the House Ways and Means Committee has broad authority to obtain and potentially publish the former president’s tax returns — and described Trump’s claims as “wrong on the law.” “A long line of Supreme Court cases requires great deference to facially valid congressional inquires,” McFadden wrote in his ruling, according to the Associated Press. “Even the special solicitude accorded former presidents does not alter the outcome.” McFadden stayed...

A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit filed by former President Donald Trump, who was trying to block the release of his taxes to Congress. In his ruling, Judge Trevor McFadden deferred to the need for Congress to carry out "facially valid inquiries." "A long line of Supreme Court cases requires great deference to facially valid congressional inquiries," wrote McFadden. "Even the special solicitude accorded former Presidents does not alter the outcome. The Court will therefore dismiss this case." The lawsuit brought by the former president stems from a 2019 request issued by the House Ways and Means...

A federal district court judge ruled Thursday caps on religious services in Washington D.C. were unconstitutional going into the Easter holiday. Judge Trevor N. McFadden, appointed under former President Donald Trump in 2017, concluded the district’s guidelines set the nation’s capital apart from the 37 states with no attendance caps on church gatherings. The ruling comes just in time for Easter Sunday on April 4, one year after the holiday was interrupted by state and local officials who implemented guidelines to ban large congregations. Restrictions targeting religious services quickly became a theme of the coronavirus pandemic lockdowns. In Louisville, Democratic...

A federal judge ordered the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) to release additional information about its purchases of organs harvested from aborted human fetuses, according to a statement issued by Judicial Watch on Monday. Two agencies under the HHS, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the National Institutes of Health (NIH), both purchased organs from California-based Advanced Biosciences Resources (ABR) to use in HIV research. ABR partners with Planned Parenthood and other abortion providers to dismember fetuses and sell their parts for research. Judicial Watch initially filed a lawsuit in March 2019 after HHS failed to...

A federal judge granted Capitol Hill Baptist Church’s request for a preliminary injunction against Mayor Muriel Bowser allowing the congregation to resume worship services in the District of Columbia. “The Court determines that the church is likely to succeed in proving that the District’s actions violate [the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993] RFRA,” wrote U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia Judge Trevor McFadden in a decision late Friday. “The District’s current restrictions substantially burden the church’s exercise of religion. More, the District has failed to offer evidence at this stage showing that it has a compelling interest...

A D.C. church that filed suit against the District of Columbia has won injunctive relief from a federal judge and can begin holding church services in the city again. Capitol Hill Baptist Church sued after twice being denied permission from the city to hold outdoor church services during the pandemic. While the lawsuit has not been decided, the judge’s decision in the case states that the church “is likely to succeed” in proving the District had hindered the church in holding services in violation of the federal Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

WASHINGTON – Deallto McQuil Key Davis, 25, of Maryland, pled guilty today to conspiring to defraud Wells Fargo Bank out of hundreds of thousands of dollars, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Michael R. Sherwin and James A. Dawson, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s (FBI) Washington Field Office Criminal Division.            Davis pled guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit bank fraud, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 371, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. The charge carries a statutory maximum sentence of five years in prison. Under federal sentencing guidelines, Davis faces...

Three men were charged in an indictment returned Nov. 27 for their roles in a scheme to defraud U.S. Military contracts in Afghanistan, engaging in illegal commerce in Iran, and laundering money internationally. Their conduct was in connection to two multi-million dollar contracts to provide supplies and logistical support to U.S. troops in Afghanistan. Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, Special Agent in Charge Patrick J. Lechleitner of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C. and Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction (SIGAR) John F. Sopko made the announcement. Abul...