Judges speak, from the bench
by Meredith Safran
Appeals court panel mulls $1M penalty for Trump in lawsuit against Hillary Clinton
One of the judges said the president’s effort to revive the lawsuit his one-time personal attorney Alina Habba brought violated federal court rules.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/18/appeals-court-penalty-trump-lawsuit-hillary-clinton-00658614
Judge Isn’t Done With Trump Over Ignoring His Court Order
Some high-ranking officials could be called forward to testify.
https://www.huffpost.com/entry/contempt-for-trump-judge-resumes-probe-over-alien-enemy-act-deportations_n_691e3bbfe4b06f2a60cb89fe
Judge orders an end to Trump's troop deployment in D.C., calling it 'unlawful'
www.npr.org/2025/11/20/nx-s1-5615399/dc-troops-deployment-blocked-trump
Border Patrol in Chicago
Border Patrol commander admitted he lied about tear gas incident, judge says, as she restricts use of force by immigration agents in Chicago
The judge's order limits the force of force during immigration protests.
https://abcnews.go.com/US/border-patrol-commander-admitted-lied-tear-gas-incident/story?id=127283392
Judge's ruling on feds' use of force in Operation Midway Blitz accuses Border Patrol's Bovino of "outright lying"
https://www.cbsnews.com/chicago/news/judge-sara-ellis-injunction-ruling-midway-blitz-gregory-bovino/
Trump’s Border Chief Framed Protesters for Violence. Then the Bodycam Footage Came Out.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/11/bodycam-trump-border-chief-bovino-framed-chicago-protesters.html
Appeals court halts release of hundreds of detainees from ‘Midway Blitz’
The stay restores broader arrest authority to ICE while the 7th Circuit weighs what’s next.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/20/court-halts-midway-blitz-detainees-release-00663334
An immigration court error 6 years ago could lead to release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia
A judge said the Trump administration’s bid to deport the Salvadoran man could be tripped up by 2019 “mistake.”
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/20/kilmar-abrego-garcia-case-00664106
Judge says improperly deported man now missing in Venezuela
The Trump-appointed judge stopped short of launching contempt proceedings against the administration.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/21/cristian-wrongly-deported-el-salvador-venezuela-judge-00664314
Federal Judge Who Melted Down in Texas Redistricting Dissent Once Wrote Fake Majority Opinion Bashed as ‘Barbaric Fanfiction’
https://www.mediaite.com/opinion/federal-judge-who-melted-down-in-texas-redistricting-dissent-once-wrote-fake-majority-opinion-bashed-as-barbaric-fanfiction/
This Dissent From a Reagan Judge Is One of the Most Unhinged Judicial Opinions in U.S. History
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/11/texas-gerrymander-judge-soros-trump-crazy.html
Texas appeals ruling that Trump-urged voting map is racial gerrymandering
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/18/nx-s1-5604412/redistricting-midterm-election-texas
From back in February!
Full List of Judges Who Have Thwarted the Trump Administration So Far
https://www.newsweek.com/full-list-judges-thwarted-trump-administration-2029340
Judges speak, off the bench
This Federal Judge Saw Nixon’s and Trump’s Abuses Up Close. Only One Caused Him to Retire.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/11/trump-vs-nixon-watergate-corruption-judge-retirement.html
These Reagan-appointed judges have had it with Trump
A handful have lashed out against Trump in their rulings. Now, one judge has resigned from his post in order to speak out more forcefully.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/14/donald-trump-judges-00652762
Superior Court judge intervenes after ICE detains court intern in Providence
https://turnto10.com/news/local/superior-court-judge-intervenes-ice-detains-court-intern-providence-agents-officers-operations-high-school-student-november-20-2025
Pardons & other “interventions” in the justice system
British billionaire Joe Lewis is pardoned by Trump for insider trading and conspiracy crimes
https://apnews.com/article/tottenham-soccer-joe-lewis-pardon-trump-britain-e78c382f9035ddfc4d35594b630a1613
Trump re-pardons a Jan. 6 defendant to erase unrelated gun conviction
The new pardon ends a legal clash over the limits of Trump’s sweeping Day One clemency for those who stormed the Capitol.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/15/trump-re-pardons-a-jan-6-defendant-to-erase-unrelated-gun-conviction-five-year-jail-term-00653425
Trump pardon of crypto billionaire sparks concerns over his use of the pardon power
https://www.cbsnews.com/news/trump-pardon-of-crypto-billionaire-sparks-concerns-over-use-of-pardon-power-60-minutes-transcript/
Trump issues two pardons related to Jan. 6 investigation
https://www.npr.org/2025/11/15/nx-s1-5609943/trump-two-pardons-jan-6-investigation
Donald Trump is relishing his pardon power — and using it
https://www.salon.com/2025/11/16/donald-trump-is-relishing-his-pardon-power-and-using-it/
The Meaning of Trump’s Presidential Pardons
The President granted two hundred and thirty-eight pardons and commutations in his first term; less than a year into his second, he has issued nearly two thousand.
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/11/24/the-meaning-of-trumps-presidential-pardons
A Tale of Two Terms: How Powerful Figures Were Prosecuted in Trump’s First Term, Then Pardoned in His Second
www.propublica.org/article/trump-pardons-erased-prosecutions-second-term
Fraudster Whose Sentence Was Commuted by Trump Jailed for $35 Million Fraud
https://www.thedailybeast.com/fraudster-eliyahu-weinstein-whose-sentence-was-commuted-by-donald-trump-jailed-for-fraud/
The White House Intervened on Behalf of Accused Sex Trafficker Andrew Tate During a Federal Investigation
Federal authorities were chided for seizing electronic devices from Tate and his brother, and told to return them, records and interviews show. Experts said the intervention was highly inappropriate.
https://www.propublica.org/article/andrew-tate-investigation-dhs-paul-ingrassia
Trump Just Issued a Shocking New Pardon. It Won’t Work as Intended.
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/11/trump-giuliani-pardon-fail.html
The pursuit of justice
Rhode Island courts to explore remote hearings after ICE mistakenly detains a high school intern
https://www.wbur.org/news/2025/11/21/rhode-island-ice-dentention-intern-remote-hearings
New prosecutor takes on the Georgia election case against Trump and others
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/new-prosecutor-takes-on-the-georgia-election-case-against-trump-and-others
Why It Matters That Trump’s DOJ Got Caught by a Judge Blatantly Lying—Again
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/11/portland-national-guard-trump-lies-doj.html
What One Attorney General Learned From Suing Trump 46 Times
https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2025/11/california-attorney-general-rob-bonta-trump-lawsuits.html
CAIR floats lawsuit after Texas governor designates it as a foreign terrorist organization
The council, which bills itself as the country’s largest Muslim advocacy organization, accused the Texas governor of seeking to capitalize on fueling Islamophobic sentiment.
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/11/18/cair-lawsuit-texas-terrorist-designation-00657225
Muslim civil rights group sues Texas for labeling it a terrorist organization
https://apnews.com/article/texas-muslim-group-governor-abbott-sues-terrorist-a60f8349892597d1df9131f3bddda721
Missouri judge who wore an Elvis wig and often played his music in court agrees to step down
https://apnews.com/article/missouri-elvis-wig-judge-matthew-thornhill-ac85ac95a5dd942ea87f688fda75b758
“Department of Justice” follies
Friday night massacre: 5 judges fired from S.F. immigration court today
https://missionlocal.org/2025/11/sf-immigration-judges-fired/
The Trump Administration’s Favorite Tool for Criminalizing Dissent
Federal prosecutors have charged more than 100 people with Section 111 violations. Was their crime anything more than opposing Trump’s immigration policies?
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/2025/11/favorite-statute-section-111-ice/684961/
MAGA Beauty Queen Humiliated by Judge Over Botched Probe
https://www.thedailybeast.com/maga-beauty-queen-humiliated-by-judge-over-botched-probe/
Trump’s Hand-Picked Attack Dog Once ‘Flunked’ Out of Office He Now Leads
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/trump-s-hand-picked-attack-dog-once-flunked-out-of-office-he-now-leads/ar-AA1QBRsH
DOJ records show hundreds of immigrants arrested in Chicago had no criminal records
DOJ Big Threatens Democrats Behind Video Telling Military To Defy ‘Illegal Orders’
www.huffpost.com/entry/todd-blanche-doj-investigation-sean-hannity_n_691ef05ae4b0b763ab8e0e07
FBI Director Kash Patel Waived Polygraph Security Screening for Dan Bongino, Two Other Senior Staff
https://www.propublica.org/article/fbi-kash-patel-dan-bongino-waived-polygraph
‘No One Had Ever Heard of This’: Former U.S. Attorney Can’t Believe DOJ Prosecutor Didn’t Present Comey Indictment to Full Grand Jury
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/politics/no-one-had-ever-heard-of-this-former-u-s-attorney-can-t-believe-doj-prosecutor-didn-t-present-comey-indictment-to-full-grand-jury/ar-AA1QMItQ
Justice Department is examining handling of mortgage fraud investigation into Sen. Adam Schiff
https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-mortgage-fraud-ed-martin-8b29a802d74b90576e0332d610ea99ce
‘Lil Trump’ Aide at Center of Probe Into Revenge Prosecutions
https://www.thedailybeast.com/lil-trump-aide-at-center-of-probe-into-revenge-prosecutions/
Trump Admin May Have ‘Tainted’ Mortgage Fraud Investigations Against Schiff, James by Appointing ‘Unauthorized’ People to Case: Report
https://www.mediaite.com/media/news/trump-admin-may-have-tainted-mortgage-fraud-investigations-against-schiff-james-by-appointing-unauthorized-people-to-case-report/