NEW YORK (Reuters) — Sean &#8216;Diddy&#8217; Combs&#8217; former personal assistant testified on Friday at the hip-hop mogul&#8217;s sex trafficking trial that he often bought drugs for his boss and set up hotel rooms for sex parties known as &#8220;wild king nights.&#8221;
Prosecutors hope the testimony by Brendan Paul, who worked for Combs from late 2022 through March 2024, will help them prove their racketeering conspiracy charge against Combs.
Prosecutors say Combs used his businesses&#8217; resources to coerce women into ecstasy-fueled sexual performances with male sex workers.
Combs, 55, has pleaded not guilty to all five criminal counts. His lawyers call the sexual activity consensual. The Bad Boy Records founder, a former billionaire who elevated hip-hop in American culture, could face life in prison if convicted.
Prosecutors are winding down their case after six weeks, with defense witnesses expected to testify next week.
Paul, testifying under immunity from prosecutors, said he bought Combs about $4,200 of marijuana and hundreds of dollars of ketamine during his employment.
Jurors saw a text message in which Paul asked Combs&#8217; security staff to be reimbursed for his drug purchases.
They also saw a February 14, 2024, text message in which Combs wrote &#8220;You get me zans,&#8221; which Paul said was a request to procure Xanax without a prescription.
Paul said Combs ultimately obtained Xanax elsewhere, and used cocaine and ecstasy in his presence.
Under cross-examination by defense lawyer Brian Steel, Paul said procuring drugs was a minor part of his job, and he thought the drugs were solely for Combs&#8217; personal use.
&#8220;You were not some drug mule?&#8221; Steel asked.
&#8220;Absolutely not,&#8221; Paul said.
Paul also said that before three or four &#8220;wild king nights,&#8221; he stocked hotel rooms with lubricant, baby oil, liquor, and a Gucci pouch filled with hard drugs.
When Combs was done, Paul said he would put on gloves and clean up to avoid being billed by hotels for damage.
Paul said he was charged with cocaine possession after being arrested on March 25, 2024, at Miami-Opa Locka airport in Florida while traveling to the Bahamas with Combs and other staffers.
He said he put the cocaine in his bag after finding it while cleaning Combs&#8217; room that day, but forgot about it and did not tell law enforcement where it came from.
Asked by prosecutor Christy Slavik why he kept silent, Paul said, &#8220;Loyalty.&#8221; Paul said the cocaine charge was dropped.
(Reporting by Luc Cohen in New York; Editing by David Gregorio)

Sean “Diddy” Combs attends trial in New York federal court

Ex-Assistant To Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs Says Job Included Buying Drugs, Setting Up Sex Parties

Celebrities

Court

Drugs

New York City

Sean 'Diddy' Combs

The doctor who supplied the drug ketamine to “Friends” actor Matthew Perry ahead of his overdose death in October 2023 has taken a plea deal.
Dr. Salvador Plasencia has agreed to plead guilty to four counts of distribution of ketamine in federal court in Los Angeles. The deal was made in exchange for prosecutors dropping other charges against him, including three additional distribution charges and two counts of falsifying records, according to <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/06/17/nx-s1-5436567/matthew-perry-doctor-guilty-plea">NPR</a>.
The doctor faces a maximum sentence of 40 years in prison, three years of supervised release, and a fine of at least $2 million, per the signed agreement.
In the weeks after the “Friends” star died, it was revealed that Plasencia allegedly texted another doctor, Mark Chavez, saying &#8220;I wonder how much this moron will pay.&#8221; Plasencia supplied Perry with 20 vials of ketamine, equal to 2,000 mg of the drug, along with ketamine lozenges and syringes in the month before his death, the outlet noted.
Dr. Plasencia’s co-defendant, Jasveen Sangha, nicknamed “The Ketamine Queen,” is one of several others scheduled for trial in August in connection with Perry’s overdose death. Sangha is the only defendant who pleaded “not guilty” and refused a plea deal.
Ketamine is a medication primarily used as an anesthetic in both humans and animals. It is classified as a Schedule III controlled substance and is often used for the treatment of depression, which was Perry’s reason for using it. The 54-year-old actor had a long history of drug and alcohol abuse, which he detailed in his 2022 memoir titled &#8220;Friends, Lovers, and the Big Terrible Thing.”
The “Friends” star was found face down in his hot tub on October 28, 2023, at his home in Pacific Palisades, California. The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s office determined he had drowned but attributed his death to ketamine, which Perry had been taking as part of a therapy. The levels of ketamine found in his system were so high that they were close to the range that would be used for general anesthesia during surgery, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/5-arrested-in-connection-with-matthew-perrys-overdose-death-including-2-doctors-report">reported</a>.
“At the high levels of ketamine found in his postmortem blood specimens, the main lethal effects would be from both cardiovascular overstimulation and respiratory depression,” the report said.
In his memoir, Perry wrote about his experience using ketamine.
“I often thought that I was dying during that hour. Oh, I thought, this is what happens when you die. Yet I would continually sign up for this s*** because it was something different, and anything different is good,” Perry wrote.
The actor wrote that the ketamine treatments made him feel like he was “hit in the head with a giant happy shovel,” but that the feeling he got from the hangovers “outweighed the shovel.”

Matthew Perry

Doctor To Plead Guilty In Connection With ‘Friends’ Actor Matthew Perry’s Ketamine Overdose Death

California

Los Angeles

Los Angeles County

U.S.

A recent <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08751-3__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!2LALwW8yKFqPNNaA4xXEG09tMo1LJOZHia3Jgm7nU6ZE2ryt10HNdFNWxTyNT2EeduoQsiTJDKD96FyneHnhD7cM$">study</a> published in the academic journal Nature has been making headlines, claiming that if it were not for major oil and gas companies producing energy between 1991 and 2020, the world would be $28 trillion richer.
Study authors Christopher Callahan, a Stanford University postdoctoral scientist, and Justin Mankin, a Dartmouth College geography professor, authored the study, which was never peer-reviewed and uses a laughably absurd methodology developed by activists whose goal is to do the pseudo-science grunt work for climate change lawsuits against energy producers.
Single events <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/chapter/chapter-11/__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!2LALwW8yKFqPNNaA4xXEG09tMo1LJOZHia3Jgm7nU6ZE2ryt10HNdFNWxTyNT2EeduoQsiTJDKD96FyneCyPoFvO$">cannot</a> be attributed to climate change. Nevertheless, the study goes far beyond the ridiculous in its attempt not only to pin blame solely on individual energy producers but to attach a specific dollar amount to each company. Using dubious assumptions and their unsound “end-to-end” methodology, the authors cooked up an implausible correlation between individual companies and singular weather events alleged to have been caused or exacerbated by global warming. The bogus conclusions are then broken up into specific price tags and assigned to various energy producers.
Chevron, for example, is accused of being responsible for “heat-related losses” totaling $3.6 trillion from 1991 to 2020. Damages assigned to ExxonMobil amounted to $1.91 trillion during the same period, while the tally for Saudi Aramco came to $2.05 trillion. Together, the study blames the world’s energy producers for $28 trillion in damages. It would be an understatement to say that neither the study, nor its underlying assumptions, nor its conclusions should be accorded any credibility.
Given the elaborate contortions necessary to arrive at the study’s obviously preconceived conclusions, one might wonder what the motivation was to concoct it in the first place. The authors leave an enormous clue in their acknowledgements, in which they lavish <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-08751-3*Ack1__;Iw!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!2LALwW8yKFqPNNaA4xXEG09tMo1LJOZHia3Jgm7nU6ZE2ryt10HNdFNWxTyNT2EeduoQsiTJDKD96FyneHYs_i-c$">praise</a> upon individuals associated with the notorious law firm Sher Edling LLP for their help with the study. Sher Edling was created for the sole purpose of waging lawfare with the intent to financially destroy energy companies. While Sher Edling has worked with states and municipalities in initiating dozens of lawsuits attempting to set climate policy in courtrooms, none to date have been successful.
If just one of the firm’s lawsuits succeeds, it is expected to take up to a 30% chunk of an award estimated to be in the billions of dollars. Because the firm is <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/freebeacon.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/2024.10.07-Sher-Edling-Memo.pdf__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!2LALwW8yKFqPNNaA4xXEG09tMo1LJOZHia3Jgm7nU6ZE2ryt10HNdFNWxTyNT2EeduoQsiTJDKD96FyneMLb-kWH$">bankrolled</a> by millions of dollars in dark money funneled through far-Left organizations, its attacks are limitless — and so is its ability to buy studies supporting its conclusions and the fat payday they covet. Sher Edling has acknowledged commissioning made-for-litigation studies before. Named partner Vic Sher described working with scientist-for-hire Richard Heede during a 2017 talk at UCLA. That study, much like the new Nature research, purports to connect major energy providers with specific emissions activity.
A more honest study would have acknowledged the truly beneficial role that energy plays in our economy and everyday lives. We depend on fossil fuel energy for everything from the quality of our lives to our national security. It is so dependable that we rarely even consider that everything we eat, wear, buy, or sell depends on energy. It’s there to take us places and to cool and heat our homes. Smart devices, paint, asphalt, and plastic containers are just a few objects in our daily lives made from petroleum. The study would be more credible if it concluded the truth: that fossil fuels have contributed trillions of dollars in value and made human flourishing possible.
Several legacy news outlets — many of which <a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/justthenews.com/politics-policy/energy/media-provide-no-scrutiny-study-claiming-oil-companies-made-world-28__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!2LALwW8yKFqPNNaA4xXEG09tMo1LJOZHia3Jgm7nU6ZE2ryt10HNdFNWxTyNT2EeduoQsiTJDKD96FyneDRJ0tH9$">accept funds from anti-fossil fuel advocacy organizations</a> to write about global warming — reported on the Nature study while failing to note its utterly discrediting connection to Sher Edling. As we move into the warmer summer weather, we can expect more such studies and uncritical news stories.
Studies lacking basic integrity like the one published in Nature are why President Trump’s recent executive order “<a href="https://urldefense.com/v3/__https:/www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/restoring-gold-standard-science/__;!!PxibshUo2Yr_Ta5B!2LALwW8yKFqPNNaA4xXEG09tMo1LJOZHia3Jgm7nU6ZE2ryt10HNdFNWxTyNT2EeduoQsiTJDKD96FyneCG8TS0c$">Restoring Gold Standard Science</a>” is so timely and important. That standard holds that reproducibility, rigor, and unbiased peer review must be maintained. It demands that federal decisions be informed by only the most credible, reliable, and impartial scientific evidence available. Absolutely nothing about the Nature study meets the gold standard of science.
* * *
The Honorable Jason Isaac is the Founder and CEO of the American Energy Institute, a trade organization that unapologetically champions free markets and American energy. Previously, he served four terms in the Texas House of Representatives.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.
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Senate Lawmakers Return To Capitol Hill After The Weekend

Made-For-Court Climate Study Completely Fails Science Gold Standard

Climate Change

ExxonMobil

Global Warming

Ivy League

Oil and Gas

Oil companies

Opinion

The Court of International Trade, which is a court that nobody has ever heard of, moved to block President Trump&#8217;s tariffs in a “sweeping ruling,” according to <a href="https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-court-blocks-trumps-liberation-day-tariffs-2025-05-28/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Reuters</a>, that “found the president overstepped his authority by imposing across the board duties on imports from U.S. trading partners.”
The court suggested that the law under which the President of the United States was declaring these tariffs was not, in fact, capable of carrying those tariffs because the president used the International Emergency Economic Powers Act of 1977, which gives the president the power to regulate imports during certain emergency situations.
But those emergency situations do not actually extend to issues such as a trade deficit. Big trade deficits do not amount to a national emergency.
That&#8217;s what the court found — and the court isn&#8217;t wrong. If the president actually wants to impose tariffs, there are other legal mechanisms he can pursue, but this should be in the purview of Congress. It always should have been in the purview of Congress.
You don&#8217;t want any president being able to unilaterally decide that there should be massive tariffs across the board on all of America&#8217;s trading partners. That is not the balance of powers that was envisioned by the Constitution, by the Founders, the Framers.
It&#8217;s not what they wanted. It&#8217;s not something that I want either. And whether you like the tariffs or you don&#8217;t like the tariffs is irrelevant to the question of whether the president ought to have the unilateral capacity to do as President Trump did on Liberation Day and simply declare a 46% tariff on Vietnam, or a 145% tariff on China. Congress should have to sign off at some point.
Does this mean that all the tariffs are going to go away permanently? No. In fact, an appeals court has already granted a <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/05/29/blocked-trump-tariffs-trade-court-appeal.html">temporary stay</a> allowing Trump’s tariffs to remain in place.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2209?elementPosition=6&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
Still, the markets spiked on the news that the tariffs would be blocked. The Dow Jones Industrial Average futures market immediately jumped significantly and then came back down to earth a little bit as the markets realized, “Oh, wait a second; it may be that President Trump is still going to be able to do some of these tariffs.”
Based on the lower court’s initial block, <a href="https://www.wsj.com/economy/trade/tariff-ruling-is-a-setback-for-trump-but-doesnt-end-trade-war-b1e83c73">The Wall Street Journal</a> reported:
<blockquote>The administration has already said it will appeal the ruling, and trade experts and lawyers say it has a variety of other legal avenues to prosecute the trade war that are unaffected by Wednesday’s decision.
“This is just one more bump in the tariff road that we are going to be on for as long as Trump remains in office,” said Deborah Elms, head of trade policy at the Singapore-based Hinrich Foundation, which advocates for free and open trade. “He loves tariffs and he loves the idea of being able to impose them at will, and I don’t think he’s going to give that up easily.” &#8230;
The judgment undermines the legal basis for those “reciprocal” tariffs—which the administration paused for 90 days to allow time for negotiations—that are the centerpiece of Trump’s effort to rein in the U.S.’s yawning trade deficit. The court also shot down special levies of 20% imposed on Canada, Mexico and China for their alleged role in the U.S. fentanyl crisis.</blockquote>
Theoretically, you could make the case that we should put tariffs on Mexico and declare a national emergency on the basis of fentanyl.
You could at least make a colorable case for that. But you could never make a colorable case that that was the case with Canada. The United States last year, in terms of fentanyl, saw something like 50 pounds of fentanyl the entire year at the border. The idea that there was a national emergency that merited a 20% tariff on Canada originally far exceeded the scope of authority originally presented to the President of the United States by that act in 1977.
There are still a bunch of other tariffs that are going to be on the books if the temporary stay is lifted. The court&#8217;s decision does not impact 25% levies that are in place on steel, aluminum, and cars because those levies were imposed using alternative legal avenues, not the national emergency situation. Those are conventional avenues. Those are known as Section 232 and Section 301 tariffs. The president does have the capacity to actually do tariffs under that sort of power, but they&#8217;re usually used for specific sectors. They are not blanket across the board giant tariffs on entire countries.
The markets were pretty happy about the lower court’s initial decision to block the tariffs. If the stay is lifted, does this mean the end of President Trump&#8217;s trade war?
No. It does mean that the president does not have the unilateral ability, by declaring a national emergency, to impose gigantic tariff regimes across the board.
And that is a good thing. I believe that we should be drawing closer trade relations with our allies and that the shot across the bow, if it was meant to get them to the table, still exists.
But the fact is that there was economic damage from the uncertainty wrought by the tariff war on our allies.
We should be gradually ramping up tariffs on China, reshoring manufacturing away from China, making closer trade alliances with countries that are more aligned with us, ranging from Vietnam to India. All of that would be good.
I don&#8217;t like the tariff policy, but that is actually a peripheral issue; whether you are a fan of the president or not, the balance of power that was drawn in the Constitution should be something that we like and want.
And that’s for this reason: I promise you, the next time a Democrat takes office, that same exact national emergency power will be used for something that you don&#8217;t like.

TOPSHOT-US-TRADE-TARIFF-MARKETS-NYSE

Court Blocks Trump’s Tariffs. Here’s Why It’s Correct.

Court Blocks Trump's Tariffs. Here’s Why It's Correct.

Ben Shapiro

Canada

Donald Trump

Judges

Mexico

Tariffs

A U.S. Army veteran who was murdered in a road rage incident appeared in court more than three years after he died in an <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/09/tech/ai-courtroom-victim-impact-statement-arizona">AI-generated image</a> as part of a victim impact statement, reportedly the first time such technology has been used in a U.S. court.
The image of Christopher Pelkey, who <a href="https://everloved.com/life-of/christopher-pelkey/obituary/">served three tours</a> before he was <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chris-pelkey-murder-victim-ai-statement-sentencing/">shot to death</a> by Gabriel Paul Horcasitas on November 13, 2021, at a red light, appeared in court earlier this month using words written by his sister, Stacey Wales, who spent two years working on the victim impact statement.
<iframe loading="lazy" title="YouTube video player" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/cMs-_8etNts?si=Sw089vcOPCwrWkCo" width="560" height="315" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen"></iframe>
Wales and her husband, Tim, created the AI-generated video, in which the image of Pelkey expressed forgiveness for the killer, saying, “It is a shame we encountered each other that day in those circumstances. In another life, we probably could have been friends.”
“The only thing that kept entering my head that I kept hearing was Chris and what he would say,” Wales told CNN. “I had to very carefully detach myself in order to write this on behalf of Chris because what he was saying is not necessarily what I believe, but I know it’s what he would think.” She added that Pelkey was “the most forgiving and the friendliest” member of their family.
Although the state had asked for a sentence of 9.5 years for Horcasitas on the charge of manslaughter, Judge Todd Lang of Maricopa County Superior Court sentenced Pelkey’s killer to 10.5 years.
Judge Lang said after the video was shown: “I love that AI. Thank you for that. As angry as you are and justifiably angry as the family is, I heard the forgiveness.”
Horcasitas’s lawyer, Jason Lamm, said he had not been informed that the video would be shown. “It appears that the judge gave some weight to the AI video and that is an issue that will likely be pursued on appeal,” he said.
Wales’ 14-year-old son told her, “Thank you so much for making that. I needed to see and hear from Uncle Chris one more time.”

AI sign

WATCH: Murdered U.S. Army Vet Appears In AI-Generated Image During His Killer’s Trial

Artificial Intelligence

Murder

The trial for Sean “Diddy” Combs kicked off this week in Manhattan with jury selection.
Prosecutors have accused Combs’ legal team of consulting with celebrity attorney Mark Geragos, who has represented big-name talent such as Michael Jackson, Chris Brown, Jussie Smollett, and the Menendez brothers. 
Per <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/05/06/entertainment/sean-diddy-combs-mark-geragos-defense">CNN</a>, Geragos has been present in court since Monday and was seen speaking with Combs’ defense team in what prosecutors called an “apparent role as an advisor to the defendant.” But Geragos claimed he was only there to support his daughter, Teny Geragos, who was hired to help defend Diddy.
“I’m here to support my daughter. (Combs) is a friend,” the high-profile attorney told the outlet on Tuesday.
Prosecutors wrote a letter to the judge saying Geragos was acting as &#8220;an advisor&#8221; for the defense. They say if Geragos is working with the defense, he should have to follow the rules of the court and refrain from publicly commenting about the allegations. They said Geragos has discussed the case on his podcast.
Meanwhile, the pool is being narrowed down from 45 potential jurors to 10 as U.S. District Judge Arun Subramanian continues questioning the group. Next, the attorneys will have a chance to veto individual jurors. 
Many of them said they had seen the 2016 surveillance footage of Combs grabbing, dragging, shoving, and kicking his former girlfriend, Cassandra “Cassie” Ventura.
At least one man in the pool said the footage “gives the appearance of an angry hostile person who is entitled,” adding that he believes “mostly everybody saw the video.” However, he claimed he was still able to be impartial if selected.
Potential jurors were also asked if they were familiar with celebrities like Kanye West, Michael B. Jordan, Mike Myers, and Kid Cudi, but it’s not immediately clear how those individuals will be relevant to the trial.
A female juror was dismissed on Tuesday after saying in court on Tuesday, &#8220;Diddy has a lot of money to use at his discretion and possibly buy his way out of jail,&#8221; per <a href="https://people.com/diddy-trial-potential-juror-dismissed-buy-way-out-jail-11728969">People</a>. When the judge asked her to clarify, she replied, &#8220;I don&#8217;t know how to explain it.&#8221;
Ventura will be testifying during the trial using her real name, per multiple reports.
Combs, 44, has been charged with sex trafficking, racketeering, and transportation to engage in prostitution. He was arrested in September 2024 and has been awaiting trial behind bars after multiple attempts to be released on bail.
Combs pleaded not guilty to the charges. If convicted, he could spend the rest of his life in prison.

Sean Combs

Diddy Trial: Prosecutors Say Famous Celeb Attorney Is Breaking The Rules

Diddy Trial: Prosecutors Accuse Sean Combs' Defense Team Of Consulting With Celeb Attorney

Entertainment

Sex Crimes

Actor Russell Brand has been granted conditional bail and released by a London judge after his first court appearing over th charges of rape and sexual assault.
The 49-year-old arrived at Westminster Magistrates&#8217; Court on Friday morning. Brand was asked to state his name and address, and to provide addresses for both his U.K. and United States residences, per <a href="https://variety.com/2025/tv/global/russell-brand-london-court-rape-charge-hearing-1236383897/">Variety</a>. He responded “yes” when asked if he understood the consequences of failing to appear before the court. 
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring scheduled his next court appearance for London&#8217;s Central Criminal Court on May 30.
The actor was initially charged with various crimes by London&#8217;s Metropolitan Police on April 4. Four women allege Brand sexually assaulted them between 1999 and 2005.
The accusations stem from four alleged incidents; one in 1999 in which a woman said she was raped in the Bournemouth area, one in 2001 in which a woman claimed she was indecently assaulted in the Westminster area of London, one in 2004 when a woman said she was orally raped and sexually assaulted in the Westminster area of London, and one between 2004 and 2005, in which a woman claimed she was sexually assaulted in the Westminster area of London.
Brand released a <a href="https://x.com/rustyrockets/status/1908184087304548484">statement</a> on April 4 addressing the charges and thanking fans for their “incredible and overwhelming messages of support.”
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
My response. <a href="https://t.co/wJMGxlwBh0">pic.twitter.com/wJMGxlwBh0</a>
&mdash; Russell Brand (@rustyrockets) <a href="https://twitter.com/rustyrockets/status/1908184087304548484?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 4, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
“I’ve always told you guys that when I was young and single before I had my wife and family… I was a fool,” he said in a video shared on social media. “Man, I was a fool before I lived in the light of the Lord. I was a drug addict, sex addict, and an imbecile. What I never was was a rapist.”
“I’ve never engaged in non-consensual activity,” he stated. “I pray that you can see that by looking in my eyes.”
He thanked fans again and said he was “grateful” for the opportunity to “defend these charges in court.”

Russell Brand

Russell Brand Granted Bail In First Court Hearing Over Rape And Assault Charges

Russell Brand Granted Bail In London Court Hearing Over Rape Charges

London

Rape

United Kingdom

World

The federal judge who temporarily blocked President Donald Trump’s decision to revoke the temporary legal status of half a million migrants volunteered for and donated to prominent Democrat politicians, including former President Barack Obama and Senator Elizabeth Warren.
United States District Judge Indira Talwani was the latest left-wing judge to stonewall Trump’s agenda after she stopped his administration from revoking the legal status of migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, Nicaragua, and Cuba who were allowed into the country by the Biden administration. The decision temporarily prevents Trump from issuing removal orders against the migrants.
An estimated 530,000 migrants from the four countries were paroled by the Biden administration and are currently allowed to live and work in the United States. The immigration parole program was responsible for the massive influx of Haitian migrants to Rustbelt towns like <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/what-has-my-town-become-springfield-residents-say-its-falling-apart-amid-haitian-influx">Springfield, Ohio, </a>and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/its-not-just-springfield-this-small-town-in-pennsylvania-is-overrun-by-haitian-migrants-too">Charleroi, Pennsylvania</a>.
Talwani, who was <a href="https://www.mad.uscourts.gov/boston/talwani.htm">appointed</a> by former President Barack Obama, has a history of partisan political activity, both donating to and volunteering for Democratic politicians.
The federal judge <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=Indira+Talwani">donated</a> a total of $1,725 to Democrat politicians and the Democratic Party, including $1,000 to former Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), $350 to Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), and $100 to Obama. Talwani also gave another $275 to the Democratic National Committee.
Talwani explained on her Senate questionnaire that she also volunteered to knock on doors for Obama in 2008 and volunteered to canvass on behalf of Elizabeth Warren in 2012. She also volunteered for former Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick during his 2006 campaign and for failed Senate candidate Martha Coakley in 2010.
The federal judge has a history of issuing rulings that impede Trump’s immigration enforcement agenda. Talwani <a href="https://universalhub.com/files/attachments/2025/ozturk-order.pdf">ruled</a> earlier this year that the administration’s Department of Homeland Security had to provide the court with advanced notice before it removed Turkish national Rumeysa Ozturk from the state. The administration revoked Ozturk’s visa due to her involvement in anti-Israel protests.
In one 2019 decision, Talwani <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2019/06/21/obama-judge-blocks-ice-from-courthouses/">ruled</a> that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents are not allowed to arrest illegal aliens on courthouse grounds in the state of Massachusetts. Her ruling was a win for the plaintiffs, who argued that permitting ICE arrests on courthouse grounds would discourage criminal witnesses and victims from testifying in court.
But Talwani’s adherence to left-wing ideology could persist beyond the issue of immigration. The federal judge <a href="https://dailycaller.com/2023/06/17/7774148-gender-freespeech-obama-judge-lgbtq/">ruled</a> in favor of a school district that sent a middle school student home for wearing a t-shirt that read “there are only two genders.” Talwani decided that the district, which claimed that the shirt “invades the rights of others,” was within its rights to bar the shirt under its dress code and send the seventh grader home.
Talwani is far from the only left-wing judge who has stonewalled the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement agenda.
United States Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, who maintained the injunction against the Trump administration&#8217;s use of the Alien Enemies Act to expedite the removal of criminal illegal aliens, gave <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-who-upheld-block-of-trumps-deportation-flights-is-a-major-dem-donor?author=Spencer+Lindquist&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=17&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Judge+Who+Upheld+Block+Of+Trump%E2%80%99s+Deportation+Flights+Is+A+Major+Dem+Donor">more than $31,000</a> to Democrat candidates and the party.
Millett upheld the injunction issued by United States District Judge James Boasberg. A Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-obama-appointed-judge-trying-to-stop-trump-from-deporting-criminal-illegals">investigation</a> found that Boasberg’s wife is the founder of a DC-area abortion clinic and donated more than $11,000 to Democrats, including to Hillary Clinton as she faced off against Donald Trump in 2016.

Indira Talwani

Judge Who Prevented Trump’s Deportation Of 500k Migrants Volunteered For Obama, Elizabeth Warren

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Prison First, Deportation Later: Trump Revives Criminal Penalties For Border Jumpers

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White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt slammed the judge who is stonewalling President Donald Trump’s attempt to swiftly remove illegal alien criminals, blasting him as a “Democrat activist” after The Daily Wire investigated his ties to left-wing activism and partisan activity.
Leavitt blasted United States District Judge James Boasberg, who blocked the president’s use of the Alien Enemies Act to rapidly remove suspected Tren de Aragua gang members from the country in the wake of a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-obama-appointed-judge-trying-to-stop-trump-from-deporting-criminal-illegals">Daily Wire investigation,</a> revealing that the Obama appointee’s wife donated to Democrats and founded an abortion clinic.
“Judge Boasberg is a Democrat activist. He was appointed by Barack Obama, his wife has donated more than $10,000 to Democrats, and he has consistently shown his disdain for the president and his policies and it is unacceptable,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt charged during Wednesday’s press briefing.
“These partisan judges are undermining the judicial branch,” she said, also calling Boasberg “an activist judge who is trying to usurp the president’s authority.”
“The judge in this case is trying to say that the president does not have the executive authority to deport foreign terrorists from our American soil. That is an egregious abuse from the bench,” Leavitt remarked before adding that Trump supports the efforts to impeach the federal judge.
Boasberg is one of multiple leftist judges who are attempting to stonewall the president’s agenda.
Judge Theodore Chuang, who ruled this week that the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down USAID through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) initiative was unconstitutional, was the vice president of his local Democratic Party and <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/obama-appointed-judge-trying-to-stop-the-usaid-shutdown-donated-thousands-to-dems?topStoryPosition=undefined">donated</a> thousands of dollars to Democrats.
There’s also Judge Amir Ali of the Washington, D.C. District Court, who is attempting to halt Trump’s foreign aid freeze. He not only donated to Democratic candidates for public office but also worked for a far-Left organization that sought to defund the police and advocated for prosecutors to drop charges against Black Lives Matter rioters, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-who-stonewalled-trumps-foreign-aid-freeze-has-a-long-history-of-liberal-activism">reported</a>.

Karoline Leavitt

Trump White House Slams Judge As ‘Democrat Activist’ After Daily Wire Investigation

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An Obama-appointed judge who is blocking the Trump administration’s attempt to shut down the the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) has donated thousands of dollars to Democrats, served as a leader in his local Democratic Party organization, and has a history of stonewalling President Donald Trump’s border security efforts.
U.S. District Court Judge Theodore David Chuang of Maryland ruled this week that the Trump administration’s attempt to shutdown USAID through the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) was unconstitutional, <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/judge-finds-doges-usaid-shutdown-likely-unconstitutional/">ordering</a> Elon Musk and DOGE officials to reinstate employee access to the email and payment systems.
That ruling came just after the Obama-appointed judge issued a different decision hindering the Trump administration&#8217;s ability to arrest and deport illegal aliens. Chuang <a href="https://www.courthousenews.com/judge-grants-injunction-barring-immigration-arrests-at-some-houses-of-worship/">granted a temporary injunction</a> last month preventing Department of Homeland Security agents from arresting illegal aliens at certain places of worship.
Chuang has a history of leftwing politics. The Obama-appointed judge donated over $4,700 to various Democrats, Federal Election Commission <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/individual-contributions/?contributor_name=theodore+chuang">data shows</a>. Chuang donated to a variety of candidates and organizations, including Obama for America, John Kerry for President, and the Montgomery County Democratic Central Committee in Maryland.
Chuang even <a href="https://www.judiciary.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Theodore-Chuang-Senate-Judiciary-Questionnaire-Final.pdf">served</a> as the vice president of the Montgomery County District 16 Democratic Club before becoming a federal judge, and was on the board of directors of the Coalition of Asian Pacific American Democrats of Maryland.
Chuang also impeded border security efforts during Trump’s first administration, <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/03/15/520171478/trump-travel-ban-faces-court-hearings-by-challengers-today">blocking</a> the ban on travel from Somalia, Sudan, Yemen, Iran, Syria, and Libya.
The Obama appointee ruled against the Trump administration again in 2020 when he <a href="https://www.lwvor.org/post/o-what-a-tangled-web-we-weave-the-fate-of-mifepristone-in-judge-kacsmaryk-s-court">issued an injunction</a> against the Food and Drug Administration’s rule that abortion drugs must be picked up in-person and could not be sent through the mail. A Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/how-leftist-networks-flood-red-states-with-risky-abortion-pills-with-no-consequences">investigation</a> revealed that leftwing organizations are now sending abortion pills in the mail to people without prescriptions, even when it runs afoul of state laws against abortions.
Chuang is just one of several leftwing judges who have recently worked to stonewall Trump&#8217;s agenda. Judge James Boasberg, who ruled against Trump&#8217;s use of the Alien Enemies Act to swiftly deport Venezuelan gang members, has repeatedly hindered the president&#8217;s immigration policies and spared one ex-FBI agent connected to the Russiagate hoax from prison. Boasberg&#8217;s wife is the founder of a Washington, D.C.-area abortion clinic and donated more than $11,000 to Democrats, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-obama-appointed-judge-trying-to-stop-trump-from-deporting-criminal-illegals">revealed.</a>
There&#8217;s also Judge Amir Ali, who recently ordered the Trump administration to unfreeze foreign aid. Ali not only donated to Democratic candidates for public office, but also worked for a far-left organization that sought to defund the police and advocated for prosecutors to drop charges against Black Lives Matter rioters, The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/federal-judge-who-stonewalled-trumps-foreign-aid-freeze-has-a-long-history-of-liberal-activism">reported</a>.

Judge Theodore Chuang

Obama-Appointed Judge Trying To Stop The USAID Shutdown Donated Thousands To Dems

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A major court has ruled that parents don’t have the right to know that their child is changing genders while at school.
The <a href="https://www.ca1.uscourts.gov/sites/ca1/files/opnfiles/23-1069P-01A.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opinion</a>, from the First Circuit Court of Appeals, determined that it does not violate parental rights for a school to transition a child without the parents’ knowledge.
“[P]arental rights are not unlimited,” the court ruled. “Parents may not invoke the Due Process Clause to create a preferred educational experience for their child in public school.”
“As per our understanding of Supreme Court precedent, our pluralistic society assigns those curricular and administrative decisions to the expertise of school officials, charged with the responsibility of educating children,” the court continued. “And the Protocol of nondisclosure as to a student&#8217;s at-school gender expression without the student&#8217;s consent does not restrict parental rights in a way courts have recognized as a violation of the guarantees of substantive due process.”
The decision comes from a case in Massachusetts, where in 2020 a Baird Middle School student referred to in court documents as B.F. began questioning her identity after she received “unsolicited LGBTQ-themed video suggestions” on her school-issued computer. The student, in sixth grade at the time, was given an assignment along with her fellow students to create biographic videos about themselves and to include their pronouns in those videos.
It is unknown how B.F. referred to herself in the assignment, but in the following months, she began receiving the “unsolicited LGBTQ-themed video suggestions” and started questioning whether she &#8220;might be attracted to girls&#8221; and if she had gender identity issues, according to court documents.
By December 2020, B.F. told her teacher that she was “depressed and struggling with insecurity, low self-esteem, poor self-image, and a perceived lack of popularity.” The teacher told B.F.’s parents, Marissa Silvestri and Stephen Foote, what their daughter had said, and the parents agreed to get her the help she needed.
But on February 28, 2021, B.F. announced to her teacher and other school officials that she was “genderqueer” and would use her preferred pronouns and go by a new name. B.F. told school officials that she hadn’t explained this all to her parents yet and asked that she be referred to by her birth name and proper pronouns when discussing things with her parents. Teachers immediately switched to the new name and pronouns, and the school librarian started meeting with the student to talk to her about gender identity and to give her “LGBTQ-related resources,” according to court documents. The school counselor also told the girl she could use whichever bathroom she wanted at the school.
At the same time, B.F.’s 12-year-old sibling also suddenly decided to start using a different name and pronouns.
The parents learned in early March 2021 – just days after B.F.’s declaration – learned about her new name and pronouns from her teacher. The parents spoke with the school principal and superintendent to express concern that school officials had ignored their request not to engage with their child “regarding mental health issues.” When the parents eventually sued the school and its officials, they argued that transitioning the child at school amounted to mental health treatment because social transitioning is &#8220;recognized as a medical/mental health treatment for children with gender dysphoria.&#8221;
Educators at Baird ignored the parents and continued to refer to B.F. by her new name and pronouns. The school counselor also contacted the student through text messages and online chat to keep encouraging B.F. to discuss any gender-related concerns on a weekly basis. At one point, the counselor asked B.F. if her parents were providing her “with appropriate care.” The counselor also asked if B.F. felt comfortable discussing these issues with the counselor her parents were paying for.
When the parents sued, the school district moved to dismiss the case, and the case eventually moved forward to the First Circuit, which ruled the parents had no right to know that the school was transitioning their child behind their back.
The First Circuit’s ruling is filled with biased language, using “they/them” pronouns for B.F. because is it allegedly “gender neutral.”
As Frederick Claybrook, Jr., <a href="https://fedsoc.org/commentary/fedsoc-blog/wrong-foote-forward-first-circuit-tramples-parental-rights">noted in an article</a> for The Federalist Society — an organization that supports limited government — this is the first time a federal court of appeals has waded into parental rights when it comes to transgender issues. Until now, Claybrook states, the courts &#8220;have dodged&#8221; the issue as it relates to parental rights.
“When district courts have ruled in favor of parents, for example in a <a href="https://adflegal.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/Ricard-v-475-Geary-County-Schools-2022-05-09-Memorandum-and-Order.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">District of Kansas case</a> and in a <a href="https://casetext.com/case/mirabelli-v-olson">Southern District of California case</a>, the school districts have not appealed,” Claybrook writes. “When parents have lost, for example in <a href="https://casetext.com/case/parents-v-montgomery-cnty-bd-of-educ" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Parents v. Montgomery County Board of Education</a>, they have proceeded to circuit court, but those courts to date have dodged addressing the merits.”
The Fourth and Seventh Circuits, Claybrook noted, have both ruled that parents don’t have a standing to complain schools were keeping things secret from them because they didn’t know for sure the schools were keeping things secret from them. Supreme Court Justices Samuel Alito and Clarence Thomas, who dissented from denial of certiorari in the Seventh Circuit, said that the school’s existing policy meant parents weren’t speculating about anything, and suggested circuit courts were avoiding the merits of the cases.
Jonathan Turley, a renowned law professor, <a href="https://x.com/JonathanTurley/status/1894444445656899712" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> about the First Circuit case on X, writing that there “is no more cherished right that citizens possess than raising their children.”
“Indeed, the right to raise one&#8217;s children according to your own faith and values is the touchstone of freedom,” Turley continued. “Conversely, the subordination of such rights is the harbinger of state tyranny. True pluralism allows families with different norms and values to thrive. Public schools are effectively demanding that parents give up their rights to critical aspects of rearing their children as a condition for public education. It is a virtual slogan for school choice.”

John Joseph Moakley Courthouse – Seaport District – South Boston – Boston Massachusetts

Major Court Rules Parents Have No Right To Know A School Is Transitioning Their Child

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