Transcripts and audio from the October 24 hearing for suspected Charlie Kirk assassin Tyler Robinson will be made public after a Monday ruling from the Utah judge overseeing the murder case.
District Court Judge Tony Graf gave the court until the end of the day to release the transcript from a brief closed-door hearing that focused on whether Robinson, 22, could remain in civilian clothing and unshackled for the trial. The audio from the hearing must be released within two weeks. Graf added that 246 words, which amounts to one page of the 80-page transcript, would be redacted, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/transcript-audio-closed-door-hearing-alleged-charlie-kirk-shooter-case-rcna251368">reported</a>.
Robinson was present for Monday&#8217;s hearing virtually and did not appear on screen. He was heard saying, &#8220;Yes, your honor,” when the judge asked if he was present, the New York Post <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/12/29/us-news/charlie-kirk-suspect-tyler-robinsons-secret-hearings-to-be-made-public-after-judges-order/">reported</a>.
The ruling is another win for reporters in the pretrial arguments, as media outlets have pushed for full transparency in the case. Monday&#8217;s decision follows a separate ruling earlier this month from Graf to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cameras-allowed-in-court-for-trial-of-accused-charlie-kirk-assassin-judge-rules">allow cameras</a> in the courtroom during the trial. Kirk&#8217;s widow, Erika — along with members of the media — has pushed for the trial to be made as public as possible, while Robinson&#8217;s defense team has argued that wall-to-wall coverage could taint the jury pool.
&#8220;There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,&#8221; Erika Kirk said. &#8220;There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear. We deserve to have cameras in there. &#8230; Let everyone see what true evil is.&#8221;
Attorneys for local and national media outlets argued in a motion earlier this month that &#8220;every high-profile criminal prosecution has significant pretrial publicity, no matter where it occurs&#8221; and that the First Amendment guarantees the media access to the courts doing &#8220;the public&#8217;s business,&#8221; according to NBC News.
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In the October 24 closed-door hearing, Graf said that Robinson could wear civilian clothing for the trial, but added that the suspected assassin would have to be restrained in court. In his first virtual court appearance after his arrest, Robinson was in a suicide vest. He was also placed on &#8220;special watch&#8221; in jail after reportedly telling his parents that he would rather kill himself than turn himself over to law enforcement.
Robinson faces numerous charges, including seven felony charges of aggravated murder in the killing of Kirk, a 31-year-old husband and father of two, on September 10 at Utah Valley University. He&#8217;s accused of killing Kirk with a single shot from a bolt-action rifle while the conservative commentator spoke to a large group of students. Robinson <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/tyler-robinson-set-face-formal-charges-shooting-death/story?id=125614396">told</a> his parents that he killed Kirk because he believed Kirk &#8220;spread too much hate,&#8221; according to charging documents. The suspected assassin could face a firing squad if he&#8217;s convicted of the aggravated murder charge.
Robinson is due back in court on January 16 for a major hearing on a motion to disqualify the Utah County Attorney&#8217;s Office from prosecuting the case over an alleged conflict of interest. Robinson&#8217;s defense team argues that a family member of a Utah County prosecutor was present at Utah Valley University when Kirk was assassinated.

Judge Tony Graf

Judge Orders Transcripts, Audio To Be Made Public From Hearing For Accused Charlie Kirk Assassin

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Massachusetts Mayor Brian DePena made waves for requesting the assistance of a translator during a court appearance on Friday.  
DePena requested that his personal assistant act as a translator during the proceedings, which the judge overseeing the hearing denied due to concerns that the staffer had not been independently verified. Because the judge and opposing counsel do not speak Spanish, it was determined that mistranslations could negatively affect the case, either intentionally or unintentionally, <a href="https://thepostmillennial.com/massachusetts-mayor-asks-for-translator-in-court-hearing-due-to-his-poor-english">per</a> The Post Millennial.
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The mayor of Lawrence, Massachusetts who is from Dominican Republic gets a translator in court because he can’t understand English <a href="https://t.co/9rcre4kLRN">pic.twitter.com/9rcre4kLRN</a>
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) <a href="https://twitter.com/libsoftiktok/status/2002911459387605464?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 22, 2025</a></blockquote>
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The incident occurred during a Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST) Commission and quickly went viral. It’s been <a href="https://www.brianforlawrence.com/about">revealed</a> that DePena hails from the Dominican Republic and immigrated to New York in the early 1980s before moving to Lawrence, Massachusetts, in 1989. 
The hearing concerned former Lawrence Police Chief William Castro, who lost his policing credentials after a 2024 police chase and subsequent false report. Castro was accused of driving the wrong way down a city street during the chase. He later filed a report saying he was responding to an armed bank robbery. In reality, he had been going after someone who had allegedly cashed a bad check.  
Documents <a href="https://www.nbcboston.com/investigations/lawrence-mayor-police-chief-investigation/3614726/">uncovered</a> by the NBC10 Boston Investigators revealed that DePena tried to curtail the investigation into the acting police chief, who is a political ally of the Lawrence mayor. 
Social media users have been reacting strongly to the clip, saying it’s shocking that an elected official is not able to speak fluent English.
“How is this even real life?” one response <a href="https://x.com/PlanetOfMemes/status/2002911650094211150">said</a>.
“This is absurd. We live in a parody world,” another person <a href="https://x.com/BraedenSorbo/status/2002953268541153776">echoed</a>. 
“If you can&#8217;t speak English, you shouldn&#8217;t even be eligible for citizenship, much less public office,” a third commenter <a href="https://x.com/OldeWorldOrder/status/2002913607743602801">wrote</a>. &#8220;How are you supposed to represent Americans if you can&#8217;t even understand our language?&#8221;
Per <a href="https://datausa.io/profile/geo/lawrence-ma/">census data</a>, Lawrence, Massachusetts, is over 82% Hispanic.

Brian DePena

Massachusetts Mayor Can’t Understand English, Needs Translator In Court

Massachusetts Mayor Can't Understand English, Requests Translator In Court

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Nick Reiner tapped heavyweight defense attorney Alan Jackson to represent him on charges related to the horrific murders of his parents. Jackson immediately argued that Reiner, 32, could not make his first scheduled court appearance because he had not been &#8220;medically cleared.&#8221;
Jackson confirmed to <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/12/16/nick-reiner-hires-defense-attorney-alan-jackson-in-murder-case/">TMZ</a> that he&#8217;d been retained. The high-profile defense attorney was spotted heading into a Los Angeles court on Tuesday, presumably in relation to Reiner&#8217;s case.
Jackson, of Werksman Jackson &amp; Quinn LLP, <a href="https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/nick-reiner-court?taid=6941afbf1b98180001b1bdcd&amp;utm_campaign=trueAnthem%3A%20Trending%20Content&amp;utm_medium=trueAnthem&amp;utm_source=twitter">recently represented</a> <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/karen-read-acquitted-of-murdering-cop-boyfriend">Karen Read</a>, who was acquitted of the murder of her then-boyfriend, John O&#8217;Keefe, a police officer in Boston. He also previously represented actor Kevin Spacey and disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Reiner was supposed to make his <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/12/16/us/rob-michele-reiner-death-investigation">first court appearance</a> on Tuesday, but Jackson informed reporters waiting outside the Los Angeles courtroom that his client would not be present. Jackson said that there would be no hearing in the case Tuesday, and shared no information about his plans for the defense of his client going forward.
&#8220;You have to be medically cleared to be transported to the courthouse, and he has not,&#8221; Jackson said.
In the nearly 48 hours since the Reiners were found dead in their Brentwood home — discovered by their daughter Romy, 28 — dozens of reports have shed light on both the grisly murders and the complicated relationship Nick Reiner had had with his family after years of struggling with drug addiction.
When Romy <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/12/15/nick-reiner-missing-hours-after-rob-michele-murders/">discovered the bodies</a> of her parents — who had reportedly had their throats slit — she immediately called 911. She informed police that her brother Nick had been living there, but was not there when she arrived, and said that he was &#8220;dangerous&#8221; and should be considered a suspect.
But shortly afterward, TMZ reported, she made a second call to a longtime family friend, actor and comedian Billy Crystal. Crystal rushed to the home quickly enough that the bodies of his deceased friends were still on the premises.
Hours later, Nick Reiner was arrested in Exposition Park, near downtown Los Angeles, in connection with the murders. TMZ reported that a <a href="https://www.tmz.com/2025/12/15/nick-reiner-blood-filled-hotel-room-after-murders/">hotel room</a> linked to his credit card was left a bloody mess, with blood found on the bed and in the shower.
Reports indicated that some 24 hours prior to the murders, Nick and his parents had been involved in a &#8220;<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/nick-reiner-fought-with-parents-at-star-studded-holiday-bash-just-24-hours-before-murder">very loud argument</a>&#8221; at a holiday party hosted by late-night comedian Conan O&#8217;Brien, and that Rob and Michele Reiner left the party a short time later. A neighbor and family friend speculated that the fight had likely been about Nick&#8217;s drug use, as he was &#8220;supposedly&#8221; off the drugs, but that may not have been the case.

Director Rob Reiner & Son Nick Visit AOL Build

Nick Reiner Taps Heavyweight Defense Attorney, Is Not ‘Medically Cleared’ For Court

Nick Reiner Taps Heavyweight Defense Attorney, Is Not 'Medically Cleared' For Court 

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Violent Crime

In a Republic, lasting progress depends on the art of persuasion. To shape policy, politicians and activists must first convince the public that their ideas work. Yet with increasingly radical tactics — from <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/monkeywrenching-vandals-are-reinventing-climate-activism/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">vandalizing infrastructure</a> to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/02/arts/design/vandalizing-art-protests.html">defacing priceless works of art</a> — and open dismissal of the affordability challenges many Americans face, it’s little wonder the environmental movement has struggled to win hearts and minds.
Faced with soaring energy costs, a <a href="https://www.aei.org/articles/the-clean-energy-transitions-voter-problem/">2024 YouGov poll</a> found that 73% of voters ranked the price and availability of energy as their top concern. Rather than confronting this reality, radical environmental activists have abandoned persuasion in favor of reckless, unfounded lawsuits against American energy companies, actions that threaten not only our energy security but the very principles of fairness and accountability that our democracy depends on.
The trend is best illustrated by Greenpeace International’s so-called “<a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/energy/greenpeace-files-suit-against-us-pipeline-company-energy-transfer-2025-02-11/">anti-SLAPP</a>” lawsuit against Energy Transfer, a U.S. pipeline company. Greenpeace filed the case in the Netherlands, even though Energy Transfer has no presence or infrastructure in the European Union, claiming the company tried to silence it through costly litigation in North Dakota. Earlier this year, a North Dakota jury found Greenpeace liable for defamation, property damage, and civil conspiracy over its actions during the 2016 and 2017 Dakota Access Pipeline protests. The jury even ordered Greenpeace to pay roughly <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/greenpeace-energy-transfer-lawsuit-verdict/">$660 million </a>in damages. Instead of accepting that verdict, Greenpeace is now taking the fight overseas in an apparent attempt to escape responsibility — an act of desperation mirrored by recent high-profile <a href="https://subscriber.politicopro.com/article/eenews/2025/10/16/greenpeaces-top-legal-staffers-exit-00611338">resignations</a> from its own legal team. 
Greenpeace is not alone. In September 2024, California’s attorney general and several environmental groups <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/01/climate/exxon-california-plastics-defamation-lawsuit.html">sued</a> ExxonMobil, accusing the company of contributing to environmental damage from single-use plastics. Yet ExxonMobil doesn’t manufacture single-use plastics and has <a href="https://corporate.exxonmobil.com/sustainability-and-reports/sustainability/meeting-societys-critical-needs-energy-products/expanding-the-plastics-life-cycle#Ourapproach">invested</a> heavily in recycling innovations to expand the kinds of plastics that can be reused. “Instead of suing us,” an Exxon representative <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/california-plastics-lawsuit-exxon/">said</a>, “they could have worked with us to fix the problem and keep plastic out of landfills. To date, we’ve processed more than 60 million pounds of plastic waste into usable raw materials.” Ignoring such cooperation and the vital role plastics play in healthcare and food safety, activists continue to favor publicity over practical solutions. 
These lawsuits come at a pivotal moment for America’s energy future. The AI revolution promises to drive economic growth and create new opportunities, but data centers powering that revolution demand historic levels of energy. The United States has the resources to meet this challenge, but if energy producers are buried in costly, politically motivated litigation, our ability to keep energy affordable and reliable will be at risk.
For all the rhetoric from environmental activists, it is American energy producers who have delivered the environmental progress that actually improved people’s lives. Affordable and reliable energy helped drive an almost 80% reduction in common air pollutants since the 1970s and made the United States the world leader in access to clean and safe drinking water. When the Safe Drinking Water Act was first implemented, more than one-third of public water systems failed to meet federal standards, as documented in the <a href="https://www.epa.gov/sites/default/files/2015-04/documents/epa816f04030.pdf">EPA’s historical overview of the Safe Drinking Water Act.</a> Early federal surveys summarized by the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL31243">Congressional Research Service</a> show that roughly 60% of systems were out of compliance in the 1970s. Today, more than 90% of water systems meet EPA’s strictest health-based requirements, according to the agency’s <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL31243">National Public Water Systems Compliance Report</a> and reviews by the <a href="https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/RL/RL31243">National Academies of Sciences</a>. These gains occurred while American oil and gas production set records. The lesson is simple: prosperity powered by abundant energy produces cleaner air and cleaner water, not political mandates or litigation campaigns.
These hard-won gains are exactly why the current wave of activist lawsuits is so destructive. Instead of building on America’s energy strengths, groups like Greenpeace are working to undermine the very industry that made this environmental progress possible.
When an organization found liable by a jury for defamation and property damage turns around and cries “SLAPP,” it risks undermining the very legal protections meant to safeguard legitimate free speech and activism. If every losing activist can hide behind these claims, true environmental advocacy becomes collateral damage.
Real progress will continue to come from harnessing America’s ingenuity to responsibly produce energy, without sacrificing prosperity, stability, or the rule of law. The path forward isn’t reckless litigation. It’s common sense and energy abundance.
* * *
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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TOPSHOT-DOUNIAMAG-US-environment-THUNBERG

Environmental Activists Abandon Persuasion For Litigation

Energy

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Greenpeace

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Erika Kirk made several revelations during an as-yet-unaired interview with Fox News host Jesse Watters, as the previews have shown.
The widow of Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk, who was assassinated during a campus event in November, said she would like to have cameras in the courtroom during the murder trial of accused killer Tyler Robinson.
“There were cameras all over my husband when he was murdered,” Kirk told Watters in the promo clip. “There have been cameras all over my friends and family mourning. There have been cameras all over me, analyzing my every move, analyzing my every smile, my every tear.”
<iframe loading="lazy" title="Erika Kirk reveals how she feels about cameras in the courtroom" width="500" height="281" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/W2ONRwrCYfY?start=280&#038;feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture; web-share" referrerpolicy="strict-origin-when-cross-origin" allowfullscreen></iframe>
“We deserve to have cameras in there,” the grieving widow added.
“Why not be transparent?” she added. “There’s nothing to hide. I know there’s not, because I’ve seen what the case is built on.”
Robinson was charged with aggravated murder and six other counts after turning himself in to police after the shooting. Prosecutors will be seeking the death penalty in this case.
“Let everyone see what true evil is,” Kirk told Watters. “This is something that could impact a generation and generations to come.”
During the same interview, the new head of Turning Point USA also said that the broadcasting company Sinclair had reached out to her asking if she’d like an apology from late night host Jimmy Kimmel after he made comments indicating that Tyler may be associated with “MAGA.” Kimmel’s show was suspended for a few days after, leading to national outcry from liberals.
“Jimmy Kimmel lied about your husband’s murder and didn’t really apologize, what would you say to Jimmy Kimmel?” Watters asked Kirk.
“Same thing I told Sinclair,” Kirk responded. “They asked, I haven’t really told anybody this, so they asked, ‘do you want Jimmy to give you an apology? Do you want to be on a show? How can we make it right?’ Through our team, I responded, I said, tell them thank you, we received their note.”
“This is not our issue, not our mess,” she added. “If you want to say I’m sorry to someone who’s grieving, go right ahead. But if that’s not in your heart, don’t do it. I don’t want it. I don’t need it.”
The interview will air in full tomorrow night on &#8220;Jesse Watters Primetime&#8221; at 8 PM/ET.
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Erika Kirk

Erika Kirk Says There Should Be Cameras In Courtroom For Upcoming Murder Trial

Fox News

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Turning Point USA

U.S.

President Donald Trump asked a New York appeals court on Monday to overturn his felony conviction in the Manhattan hush money case, arguing that the trial &#8220;was fatally marred&#8221; by the prosecution using his official acts as president as evidence.
Trump&#8217;s lawyers submitted a 96-page <a href="https://static.politico.com/8b/9e/8663b7e849cf87d9220333fb3a36/2025-00648-people-of-the-state-of-v-people-of-the-state-of-appellant-s-brief-66.pdf">legal filing</a>, accusing the trial court of violating the evidentiary presidential immunity, which the U.S. Supreme Court ruled last year &#8220;bars the &#8216;use of evidence about&#8217; a President’s official acts while in office.&#8221; The filing also argues that the district attorney used &#8220;a convoluted legal theory&#8221; to concoct a &#8220;purported felony,&#8221; and that the judge who oversaw the hush-money trial should have recused himself since he made political contributions to Democrats, POLITICO <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/28/donald-trump-appeal-hush-money-conviction-00624382?nid=0000014f-1646-d88f-a1cf-5f46b7bd0000&amp;nname=playbook&amp;nrid=00000172-d89e-d8b6-abff-fdff182b0000">reported</a>.
“President Trump’s legal team filed a powerhouse appeal in the Manhattan DA’s Witch Hunt, as the President continues his fight to put an end to the Radical Democrat Lawfare once and for all,&#8221; a spokesman for President Trump&#8217;s legal team said in a statement shared with The Daily Wire. &#8220;The Supreme Court’s historic decision on Immunity, the Federal and New York State Constitutions, and other established legal precedent mandate that this meritless hoax be immediately overturned and dismissed. President Trump will keep defeating Democrat weaponization at every turn as he focuses on his singular mission to Make America Great Again.”
If successful, the president&#8217;s appeal to the New York Supreme Court would erase his status as a convicted felon, after a Manhattan jury found him guilty on 34 counts of business fraud. The hush money case was brought by Manhattan Democratic District Attorney Alvin Bragg, and the trial was overseen by Judge Juan Merchan, who <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/judge-overseeing-trumps-hush-money-case-donated-to-bidens-2020-presidential-campaign">donated</a> to Democratic causes, including to former President Joe Biden&#8217;s 2020 campaign.
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The hush money trial was held in the middle of Trump&#8217;s 2024 presidential campaign, with the May 30, 2024, conviction marking Trump as the first former president convicted of felony crimes.
&#8220;This is the most politically charged prosecution in our Nation’s history,&#8221; the legal filing begins. &#8220;After years of fruitless investigation into decade-old, baseless allegations—and under immense political pressure to criminally charge President Donald J. Trump for something—New York’s district attorney (DANY) manufactured felony charges against a once-former and now-sitting President of the United States.&#8221;
The case stemmed from Trump&#8217;s hush money payments to porn actress Stormy Daniels, which he made in 2016 to keep her quiet about an alleged sexual encounter in 2006. Trump has maintained that he never had an affair with Daniels.
In Monday&#8217;s legal filing, Trump&#8217;s lawyers argue that prosecutors should have been prevented from pointing to conversations that were held between Trump and his former communications director, Hope Hicks, while Trump was in the White House. During the trial, the DA subpoenaed Hicks, who testified about conversations she held with Trump in the Oval Office, including a discussion she had with the president on “how he would like a team to respond to” a forthcoming Wall Street Journal story. Judge Merchan rejected the defense&#8217;s argument that the prosecution may not use Trump&#8217;s White House conversations as evidence. Weeks later, the Supreme Court handed down its ruling protecting presidential immunity in Trump v. United States.
&#8220;The trial court erroneously held that President Trump’s communications with Hicks were not official because, in the court’s view, they were &#8216;about personal matters involving an alleged affair and a sexual encounter that occurred prior to [President Trump] taking . . . office,'&#8221; Trump&#8217;s legal team argued.

Donald Trump

‘Meritless Hoax’: Trump Asks Appeals Court To Throw Out Hush-Money Conviction

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Former National Security Adviser John Bolton surrendered to authorities on Friday morning for his arraignment and pleaded not guilty to the 18 federal charges he faces related to his handling of classified documents.
Bolton made his first court appearance in Greenbelt, Maryland, before Judge Timothy Sullivan. After pleading not guilty, Bolton is set to be released and is not required to post bail. He is due back in court on November 21, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/john-bolton-indictment-10-17-25?t=1760714486711">reported</a>. Bolton is allowed to travel domestically, but he will be required to hand over his passport and travel documents to his lawyer. If he wants to travel internationally, he will have to seek approval from the court.
While Judge Sullivan oversaw Bolton&#8217;s federal arraignment on Friday, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang — an Obama appointee — has been assigned the case going forward, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/john-bolton-indictment-10-17-25?t=1760714486711'">reported</a>.
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John Bolton surrenders himself in federal court.
What a great day for America. <a href="https://t.co/jDtztl7wT6">pic.twitter.com/jDtztl7wT6</a>
— johnny maga (@_johnnymaga) <a href="https://twitter.com/_johnnymaga/status/1979171206239592839?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 17, 2025</a></blockquote>
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Bolton, who advised President Donald Trump during his first term, was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/john-bolton-indicted-after-classified-documents-probe-report?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=John+Bolton+Indicted+After+Classified+Documents+Probe%3A+Report">indicted</a> by a grand jury on Thursday and is accused of sending classified information to unauthorized recipients through his personal email, <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2025/10/16/john-bolton-indicted-criminal-charges-classified-documents-00612387">violating</a> provisions in the Espionage Act. In August, the FBI raided the former national security adviser&#8217;s home in Maryland, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/court-records-reveal-what-was-taken-from-john-boltons-home-during-fbi-raid?author=Zach+Jewell&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Court+Records+Reveal+What+Was+Taken+From+John+Bolton%E2%80%99s+Home+During+FBI+Raid">taking</a> troves of documents, three computers, and two iPhones amid the Justice Department&#8217;s investigation into his handling of classified material.
President Trump <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1978923040785256497">said</a> on Thursday that he was not aware that Bolton had been indicted, but added, &#8220;I think he&#8217;s a bad person.&#8221;
&#8220;It&#8217;s too bad, but that&#8217;s the way it goes,&#8221; Trump told reporters.
In a statement on Thursday, Bolton said that he was being targeted in a political prosecution.
“For four decades, I have devoted my life to America’s foreign policy and national security. I would never compromise those goals. I tried to do that during my tenure in the first Trump administration but resigned when it became impossible to do so,” said Bolton.
“Now, I have become the latest target in weaponizing the Justice Department to charge those he deems to be his enemies with charges that were declined before or distort the facts,” he added.
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In 2023, Trump was also charged with crimes related to his handling of classified documents after leaving office. That case was dismissed a year later after Trump-nominated District Court Judge Aileen Cannon ruled that the appointment of Special Counsel Jack Smith violated the Constitution.
Bolton is accused of sending &#8220;diary-like entries&#8221; to two people &#8220;that contained information classified&#8221; as &#8220;TOP SECRET.&#8221; The two people to whom Bolton allegedly sent the classified information were his wife and daughter, CNN <a href="https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/john-bolton-indictment-10-16-25">reported</a>.
&#8220;BOLTON wrote many of these diary-like entries by transcribing his handwritten notes from his day&#8217;s activities into word processing documents, which he then electronically sent to Individuals 1 and 2 through a commercial non-governmental messaging application,&#8221; the <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.mdd.592875/gov.uscourts.mdd.592875.1.0_3.pdf">indictment</a> reads.
&#8220;On other occasions, BOLTON used his personal non-governmental email accounts, such as email accounts hosted by AOL and Google, to email information classified up to the TOP SECRET/SCI level to Individuals 1 and/or 2 at their personal email accounts,&#8221; the indictment adds. &#8220;At no point did BOLTON have authorization to store or transmit the classified information that he sent to Individuals 1 and 2 via his personal electronic devices and accounts. Nor did, at any time, Individuals 1 or 2 have authorization to know or store the classified information that BOLTON gave to them.&#8221;
The investigation into Bolton&#8217;s handling of classified documents gained momentum under the Biden administration and continued after President Trump took office for a second time in January, The New York Times <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/10/16/us/trump-shutdown-news#:~:text=SKIP%20ADVERTISEMENT-,Former%20Trump%20Aide%20John%20Bolton%20Is%20Indicted%20Over%20Handling%20of,2025%2C%207:41%20a.m.%20ET">reported</a>.
After serving under Trump from 2018 to 2019, Bolton became a harsh critic of the president and authored a book on his experience less than a year after Trump said he fired Bolton as National Security Adviser. Trump said that he terminated Bolton, but Bolton has insisted that he resigned from his position.
The book, “The Room Where It Happened: A White House Memoir,” was promoted as “the most comprehensive and substantial account of the Trump Administration.” The Trump administration argued that Bolton’s book endangered national security. After a back-and-forth, Bolton removed classified information from his book manuscript before he published it, according to court records.

John Bolton

Bolton Turns Himself In, Pleads Not Guilty In Espionage Case Over Classified Documents

classified documents

Courts

Trump Administration

The 22-year-old man suspected of assassinating conservative commentator Charlie Kirk was placed on &#8220;special watch&#8221; in a separate housing unit as he awaits his first court appearance on Tuesday.
Authorities placed Tyler Robinson under the special watch status to &#8220;keep a close eye on him&#8221; as they evaluate his mental health, CBS News <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/charlie-kirk-suspect-special-watch-motive/">reported</a>. Robinson is scheduled to make his first court appearance at 3:00 p.m. MT and is expected to face an aggravated murder charge, which would make him eligible for the death penalty under Utah law if he is convicted.
The Utah County Attorney&#8217;s Office <a href="https://atty.utahcounty.gov/cms/uploads/2025_09_13_Press_Release_Robinson_Arrest_and_Potential_Charges_f526b4de85.pdf">said</a> last week that formal charges will be filed on Tuesday before Robinson&#8217;s arraignment, with a press conference scheduled for noon MT &#8220;to explain those charges and the next steps in this case.&#8221; Robinson is also expected to be charged with obstruction of justice and felony discharge of a firearm causing serious bodily injury.
The assassin fired a single bullet that struck Kirk in the neck while he was speaking at Utah Valley University last Wednesday. The shot was fired from the roof of a building on campus that was adjacent to a courtyard where the Kirk event was being held, according to authorities. Videos showed a figure moving along the roof before and after Kirk was shot, and the individual was also seen on video jumping off the roof before escaping the campus.
During their investigation, authorities discovered a bolt-action rifle with a scope wrapped in a towel in a wooded area near the campus. FBI Director Kash Patel said on Monday that DNA analyzed from the towel <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/fbi-links-suspects-dna-to-kirk-assassination-weapon">matched</a> the DNA of Robinson. Patel also said that the DNA found on a screwdriver on the roof also matched Robinson&#8217;s DNA.
Robinson was arrested on Thursday night, about 33 hours after the assassination. The suspect&#8217;s father reportedly told Robinson to turn himself in, but then contacted the family&#8217;s youth minister, who is also a U.S. Marshal, when Robinson said he was going to kill himself. The youth minister reportedly contacted the FBI.
State and federal authorities are still working to determine a motive behind the assassination. Utah Republican Governor Spencer Cox and President Donald Trump have pointed to radical leftism as a potential factor in the killing of Kirk, an influential conservative.
“It’s very clear to us and to the investigators that this was a person who was deeply indoctrinated with leftist ideology,” Cox said over the weekend.
In comments to reporters on Monday, Trump discussed the federal government looking into a potential role that leftist groups played in the assassination, saying that the Left has &#8220;a lot of problems.&#8221; Trump added that it appears Robinson was &#8220;radicalized&#8221; online.
&#8220;Something happened to him over a fairly short period of time. It looks like he was radicalized over the internet and was radicalized on the Left,&#8221; Trump said.
Robinson, who lived with a trans-identifying roommate, discussed his dislike of Kirk with a family member at a dinner before the assassination and mentioned that Kirk would be coming to Utah Valley University, according to authorities. Officials added that Robinson had become more political in recent years.
In an online messaging account tied to the suspect, Robinson appeared to have confessed to assassinating Kirk, The Washington Post reported on Monday. Just hours before Robinson was arrested, the account linked to him posted on the online messaging platform, Discord, “Hey guys, I have bad news for you all. It was me at UVU yesterday. im sorry for all of this.&#8221;
The message was sent to a small group of his friends, according to a person in the group chat who shared an image of the message with the Post. Discord reportedly sent a copy of the message to law enforcement.

Mugshot: Tyler Robinson

Suspected Charlie Kirk Assassin To Make First Court Appearance, Placed On ‘Special Watch’

Just days ago, Rudy Giuliani <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/rudy-giuliani-hospitalized-after-vehicle-struck-from-behind-at-high-speed?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Rudy+Giuliani+Hospitalized+After+Vehicle+%E2%80%98Struck+From+Behind+At+High+Speed%E2%80%99">made headlines</a> for surviving a car accident after stopping on the side of a highway to help a woman reporting domestic violence.
This recent act of public service from &#8220;America’s Mayor&#8221; reflects a lifetime of public service, from taking down the Mafia in the Southern District of New York’s famed 1980s &#8220;Commission Trial,&#8221; to prosecuting high-profile terrorism cases that were tied to the first World Trade Center bombing in the 1990s with Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew McCarthy.
Unfortunately, that history of fearless, nonpartisan justice stands in sharp contrast to the SDNY’s posture today, where partisan lawfare seems to dominate.
That’s why it’s so encouraging that a group of judges <a href="https://nypost.com/2025/08/18/us-news/judges-approve-trump-pick-jay-clayton-to-remain-interim-us-attorney-for-southern-district-of-new-york/">ruled</a> in late August that Trump appointee Jay Clayton can remain in place as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York.
Clayton has the potential to restore the SDNY back to its former glory during the Giuliani years.
He is a longtime Republican who clerked for a Reagan-appointed judge and served as head of the Securities and Exchange Commission during the first Trump administration.
For far too long, the SDNY has seemed to specialize in partisan lawfare.
For example, SDNY Judge Lewis Kaplan presided over journalist E. Jean Carroll’s 2019 civil <a href="https://www.npr.org/2024/01/26/1226626397/trump-defamation-trial#:~:text=What%20this%20case%20is%20about,former%20president%20was%20also%20liable.">lawsuit</a> against Trump, which accused the sitting president of rape and defamation.
Carroll <a href="https://dailydodge.com/e-jean-carroll-testifying-in-civil-case-says-she-cant-recall-date-of-alleged-trump-attack/">couldn’t remember</a> what year the alleged assault took place, never mentioned it in her diary, and claimed that the numerous similarities between her account and a 2012 &#8220;Law and Order&#8221; episode were an “astonishing” coincidence.
But despite all these holes in Carroll’s story, the Left saw a chance to undermine Trump and leaped at it. Democrat billionaire megadonor Reid Hoffman <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/anafaguy/2023/05/10/what-was-reid-hoffmans-role-in-funding-e-jean-carrolls-case/">funded</a> the entire lawsuit through his nonprofit American Future Republic, and it was anti-Trump commentator George Conway who <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=usxxlZosnNs">urged</a> Carroll to sue in the first place.
Kaplan not only oversaw this farce but also put his thumb on the scale for Carroll. He <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/trump-rape-case-lawyers-banned-from-speaking-about-dna-judge-rules-2023-3">ruled</a> male DNA found on Carroll’s dress inadmissible, even after Trump offered to provide a sample. He <a href="https://www.reuters.com/legal/trump-fails-narrow-rape-accusers-case-trial-looms-2023-03-28/">admitted</a> additional defamation charges that punished Trump for defending himself on social media. He even <a href="https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/23793781-tacopina-mistrial-filing/">interrupted</a> a line of questioning from Trump’s lawyer in a way that signaled clearly to the jury where his sympathies lay.
<div id="attachment_968215" style="width: 875px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-968215" class="size-large wp-image-968215" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2173736897-865x576.jpg" alt="Jocelyn Strauber, commissioner of New York City's Department of Investigation, speaks during a new conference at the US Attorney's Office-Southern District of New York (SDNY) in New York, US, on Thursday, Sept. 26, 2024. New York City Mayor Eric Adams was indicted on bribery and fraud charges following a federal corruption investigation, calling into question the political future of the man in charge of running the biggest US city. Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images" width="865" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2173736897-865x576.jpg 865w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2173736897-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2173736897-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/09/GettyImages-2173736897.jpg 1024w" sizes=" (max-width: 865px) 100vw, 865px" />Photographer: Victor J. Blue/Bloomberg via Getty Images</div>
The SDNY also conveniently <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/new-york-city-mayor-eric-adams-charged-bribery-and-campaign-finance-offenses">charged</a> New York City Mayor Eric Adams with bribery shortly after he started <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/01/15/nyregion/eric-adams-mexico-border-migrants.html">speaking out</a> against the Biden administration’s open border policies.
When the Trump administration ordered the charges dropped, multiple prosecutors <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/02/13/nx-s1-5297120/eric-adams-federal-prosecutors-resignations">resigned</a> in outrage after failing to make a single peep about the lawfare campaign against Trump.
These partisan prosecutions even extend to the realm of antitrust enforcement. 
 
The SDNY is currently <a href="https://www.justice.gov/archives/opa/video/justice-department-sues-visa-monopolizing-debit-markets#:~:text=Description:%20Today%2C%20the%20Justice%20Department,developing%20new%20and%20innovative%20alternatives.&amp;text=Review%20the%20YouTube%20Terms%20of%20Service%20and%20the%20Google%20Privacy%20Policy%20.">playing host</a> to a Biden-era Justice Department lawsuit against Visa. Biden Attorney General Merrick Garland accused the company of driving up “the price of nearly everything” by monopolizing the debit transaction market.
In fact, it was Biden’s own inflationary policies that were driving up prices. Visa, which has a high market share because of its popularity but nothing close to a monopoly, just provided a handy scapegoat.
Meanwhile, the district always seems to drop the ball when it comes to getting actual justice for actual victims.
They <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2023/07/27/business/sam-bankman-fried-campaign-finance-charge.html#:~:text=Federal%20prosecutors%20pursuing%20the%20criminal,The%20authorities%20have%20said%20Mr.">failed</a> to charge crypto fraudster Sam Bankman-Fried until his whole fraudulent empire was collapsing around him, even though the writing was on the wall long before the crash.
By that point, it was already too late. Bankman-Fried was the <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ftx-sam-bankman-fried-political-donations-2022/">largest single donor</a> to Democrats in the 2022 midterms, ploughing <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2022/12/14/sbf-ftx-political-donations/">over $40 million</a> into PACs that helped Democrats keep the Senate and hold Republican gains in the House to historic lows.
Damian Williams, then the U.S. attorney for the SDNY, <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/united-states-attorney-announces-charges-against-ftx-founder-samuel-bankman-fried#:~:text=BANKMAN%2DFRIED%20was%20arrested%20yesterday,fraud%2C%20plain%20and%20simple.%E2%80%9D">made it clear</a> that these donations from SBF and his cronies were funded with “stolen customer money.” The people SBF defrauded might get their money back, but voters have no such remedy. There’s no way to un-air the ads his ill-gotten gains bankrolled.
The sex trafficking case against rapper Sean “Diddy” Combs provides another example of the SDNY’s failure. Maurene Comey, the lead prosecutor on the case, botched it so badly that the Justice Department <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrxDE8izOUc">fired</a> her just weeks after the verdict came down.
Although Combs was <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/07/03/nx-s1-5454769/sean-combs-found-guilty-on-2-counts-but-acquitted-on-most-serious-charges">convicted</a> of prostitution offenses and faces up to 20 years in prison, the jury <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/jury-reaches-verdict-sean-diddy-combs-sex-trafficking-trial-rcna214785">found</a> him not guilty on the more serious charges of sex trafficking and racketeering.
Incidentally, Comey also <a href="https://apnews.com/article/justice-department-james-comey-maurene-trump-dda5d1f40f08346bd97696ce4791e8ec">worked</a> on district’s prosecution of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell. That case <a href="https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/pr/ghislaine-maxwell-sentenced-20-years-prison-conspiring-jeffrey-epstein-sexually-abuse">ended</a> with a conviction and a 20-year prison sentence but left so many unanswered questions that it’s difficult to call it an unqualified win.
During her confirmation hearings, Attorney General Pam Bondi <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/pam-bondi-senate-confirmation-hearing-attorney-general-nominee-planned-remarks/">promised</a> to end “partisan weaponization” and “restore confidence and integrity to the Department of Justice – and each of its components.”
The SDNY is a particularly dysfunctional component that’s been fouling the gears of our justice system for far too long.
By ending the disastrous tradition of “blue slips,” the administration can take a major step toward the restoration of truly impartial justice.
There is no better way to honor the now recovering “America’s Mayor” than by restoring one of his top legacies back to its former glory.
* * *
James Skyles is a legal policy analyst and the principal of Skyles Law Group. He has written for some of the largest legal publications in the United States, including Law.com and Law360.
The views expressed in this piece are those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.

MixCollage-03-Sep-2025-10-30-AM-275

Giuliani’s DAs Tackled The Mob. Now The Same Office Targets Political Enemies.

Andrew McCarthy

Conservatives

Democrats

E. Jean Carroll

Eric Adams

Leftists

Rudy Giuliani

Sam Bankman-Fried

Sean 'Diddy' Combs

Every time someone fires at President Trump in court and misses, it makes him stronger.
The turning point in the 2024 election wasn&#8217;t even the assassination attempt or even Joe Biden dropping out.
It was the Mar-a-Lago raid. That raid turned the entire election on its head, because people rightly believed that Trump was being politically persecuted.
On Thursday, there was another case of someone firing at Trump legally and missing.
You might recall a decision that came down last year from a New York court and a trial judge that found Trump was liable for fraud. Why? Because when he was getting loans, he had supposedly made statements about his properties and the value of his properties, and then he got loans based on the value of the properties.
None of those loans were in default. He ended up paying back all of those loans. No lenders complained about any of this.
But New York State Attorney General Letitia James decided she was going to target him. So she jerry-rigged an entire case that violated the actual essence of the law — because the law was not designed for any of this.
James had actually put out a tweet in February 2024 celebrating the amount Trump was fined: $464,576,230.62.
<h3><a href="https://www.dailywire.com/episode/bss-ep-2265-member-exclusive?elementPosition=4&amp;row=2&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+Episodes&amp;rowType=Horizontal+Show+Episodes+Carousel">WATCH: The Ben Shapiro Show</a></h3>
According to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/ny-appeals-court-throws-out-500-million-civil-fraud-judgment-against-trump-c556d887?gaa_at=eafs&amp;gaa_n=ASWzDAguMmZjVZl0arP456l7GRMObgKK8fjnRl1FgKAaMZSg4XdNIVN6ckGrsP1q61I%3D&amp;gaa_ts=68a8cb47&amp;gaa_sig=ETQOYr5qhHGImG5q168H_WjgueZJuCsEXZ4qSbx65exAOqWJTG-CcWXTLUIgZKmmqjJpMqHND0VhTfBkJZBaXg%3D%3D">The Wall Street Journal</a>: 
<blockquote>A New York appeals court threw out a more than $500 million penalty against President <a href="https://www.wsj.com/topics/person/donald-trump">Trump</a> and his business empire, in a sharply splintered ruling that paves the way for further proceedings before the state’s highest court. 
The decision on Thursday from <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/court-split-leaves-trumps-civil-fraud-appeal-stuck-in-slow-lane-8ca09956?mod=article_inline">a five-judge panel</a> of the New York Appellate Division’s First Department is a significant legal boost for Trump, freeing him, for now, from a massive penalty that caused him financial headaches last year. …
“While harm certainly occurred, it was not the cataclysmic harm that can justify a nearly half billion-dollar award to the State,” Justice Peter Moulton wrote…</blockquote>
This was a bizarre award in the first place, given the fact that the supposed crime was not committed against the state of New York. It was a misread of the law. Judge David Friedman said that the law that originally enabled Letitia James to sue President Trump was designed to protect consumers and the public marketplace from deception and consumer transactions. It was not designed to protect lenders, who were not the ones who were damaged.
The court <a href="https://prod-i.a.dj.com/public/resources/documents/Appeal.pdf">wrote</a>:
<blockquote>A.G. James&#8217;s suit turns section 63(12) on its head, the leniency with which the courts have construed the requirements for pleading and proving fraud under that section, a leniency that has been extended for the purposes of facilitating the use of the provision to prevent the exploitation of unsophisticated consumers, investors and small business, is here being used by Attorney General Letitia James to apply section 63(12) to a scenario to which that provision has never before been applied or even thought to apply.</blockquote>
The court basically said, “You have got to be kidding me. $500 million fine? Are you kidding me?”
So Letitia James put out a <a href="https://x.com/NewYorkStateAG/status/1958567967148449838">statement</a>, saying:
<blockquote>The First Department today affirmed the well-supported finding of the trial court: Donald Trump, his company and two of his children are liable for fraud. 
The court upheld the injunctive relief we won, limiting Donald Trump and the Trump Organization officers’ ability to do business in New York. It should not be lost to history: yet another court has ruled that the president violated the law, and that our case has merit. 
We will seek appeal to the Court of Appeals and continue to protect the rights and interests of New Yorkers. </blockquote>
She claimed that the part of the decision saying that her filing wasn&#8217;t illegal was a vindication for her.
But if the thing that she was bragging about went away, namely, a $500 billion penalty, then she lost.
And that&#8217;s the point that President Trump was making on Truth Social, <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115067582190707382">writing</a>:
<blockquote>TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case! I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT. Every single Dollar was thrown out, even the penalties imposed on us by the Corrupt Judge, one of the most overturned in History, Arthur Engoron.
I wasn’t given a Jury and, during the course of the Trial, which lasted a long time, was not given one Ruling in my favor by this Political Hack, but worse than him, if that’s possible, was Letitia James, a Corrupt and Incompetent Attorney General who only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically. She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic! They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it! Importantly, the Vote was 5 to 0. I am so honored by Justice David Friedman’s great words of wisdom, which should be read by everyone. I would also like to thank the Court for having the Courage to make this Decision, which is already going down as one of the worst business persecutions in the History of our Country. 
Sadly, there are other Cases against me that are equally disgraceful, including those headed up by Corrupt Judges, like Juan Merchan, whose daughter collected Millions of Dollars in Fees from Crooked Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, while her father shockingly REFUSED TO RECUSE himself from a vicious and corrupt trial, which is also under Appeal, one in which every Legal Pundit in New York said, “THERE WAS NO CASE!” — Even Editorial Boards said, “DO NOT DO THIS!” Judge Merchan gave me an unprecedented Gag Order, not letting me talk about him or his daughter, or the fact that the Appellate Judges thought he should not be doing the Case, but he did it anyway. Many Lawyers said that his daughter and him created the Greatest Conflict of Interest they had ever seen.</blockquote>
The bottom line: this was a big victory for Trump. Even CNN legal analyst Elie Hoenig, no ally of President Trump, said, “This is a huge win for Donald Trump, any way you cut it. And this is a stinging rebuke to the Attorney General Letitia James.”
That is correct.
And Trump just got stronger.

TOPSHOT-US-POLITICS-TRUMP

Still Winning: Court Kills $500M Anti-Trump Judgment

Ben Shapiro

Letitia James

Opinion

A New York appeals court on Thursday overturned the massive civil fraud penalty against President Donald Trump, ruling the nearly half-billion-dollar fine was &#8216;excessive&#8217; under the Eighth Amendment.
The five-judge appeals court panel ruled that the $355 million penalty against Trump — not including interest — &#8220;is an excessive fine that violates the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution,” the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/trump-fraud-lawsuit-appeal-db39d93feff322eeeeedbc1ff75ccaf3">reported</a>. The total fine levied by Manhattan Supreme Court Judge Arthur Engoron against Trump and other executives in the Trump Organization, including Eric and Donald Trump Jr., exceeded $527 million when interest was factored in.
The civil fraud case against Trump was brought by New York Democratic Attorney General Letitia James, who alleged that Trump inflated his net worth to gain favorable terms from lenders. Judge Engoron sided with James, finding that between 2014 and 2021, the president overvalued his assets by up to $2.2 billion, CNBC <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2025/08/21/trump-fraud-new-york-appeals.html">reported</a>. The judge ordered Trump to pay the massive fine, while also barring him from running his business in New York for three years.
While the appeals court threw out the massive fine, it kept the ruling in place that Trump committed fraud, leaving open the option for an appeal to the state&#8217;s highest court. The judges also kept the other penalties on Trump&#8217;s company in place, but said that the president can seek a further extension of the pause on those penalties.
<a href="https://get.dailywire.com/subscribe/plus/?utm_campaign=summer&amp;utm_content=editorialsummersale&amp;utm_medium=website&amp;utm_source=editorial" target="_blank" rel="noopener">End of Summer Sale – Get 40% off New DailyWire+ Annual Memberships</a>
&#8220;TOTAL VICTORY in the FAKE New York State Attorney General Letitia James Case!&#8221; Trump <a href="https://truthsocial.com/@realDonaldTrump/posts/115067582190707382">posted</a> on Truth Social. &#8220;I greatly respect the fact that the Court had the Courage to throw out this unlawful and disgraceful Decision that was hurting Business all throughout New York State. Others were afraid to do business there. The amount, including Interest and Penalties, was over $550 Million Dollars. It was a Political Witch Hunt, in a business sense, the likes of which no one has ever seen before. This was a Case of Election Interference by the City and State trying to show, illegally, that I did things that were wrong when, in fact, everything I did was absolutely CORRECT and, even, PERFECT.&#8221;
Judge David Friedman ripped James for bringing the lawsuit, writing, “Plainly, her ultimate goal was not ‘market hygiene’ &#8230; but political hygiene, ending with the derailment of President Trump’s political career and the destruction of his real estate business. The voters have obviously rendered a verdict on his political career. This bench today unanimously derails the effort to destroy his business.”
Appellate Division Judge Peter Moulton said in a concurring opinion that &#8220;the calculation of the disgorgement in this case was far from a reasonable approximation.&#8221; The panel, however, was divided in its ruling, issuing more than 300 pages of concurring and dissenting opinions, according to the AP. While most of the judges agreed that the penalty was excessive, there was disagreement over whether the attorney general&#8217;s lawsuit against Trump was justified. Two judges said it was, but another judge argued that James exceeded her authority, adding that a lawsuit should have been filed by one of Trump&#8217;s lenders if they felt cheated, but no lenders took legal action against Trump.
The Democratic attorney general filed the suit against Trump after vowing on the campaign trail to &#8220;take on&#8221; the then-Republican presidential frontrunner. In one campaign video, James <a href="https://www.politico.com/news/2022/09/21/james-lawsuit-trump-longstanding-battle-00058128">blasted</a> Trump as &#8220;incompetent&#8221; and &#8220;an embarrassment to all that we stand for.&#8221; Trump maintained his innocence and fought back against the charges throughout the case, calling the suit a politically motivated &#8220;Witch Hunt.&#8221;
Trump appealed the civil fraud judgment in February 2024, with his attorney Alina Habba saying, &#8220;Letitia James is not going to get away with it; the Biden administration is not going to get away with it.”
“President Trump has done nothing wrong,&#8221; Habba added at the time. &#8220;All he has done is win a campaign, and that is scaring them because they know when he goes back in November 2024 he is going to clean house, and that is truly the problem.&#8221;
In his lengthy post on Truth Social following the court&#8217;s decision on Thursday, Trump added that James &#8220;only brought this Case in order to hurt me politically.&#8221;
&#8220;She is a Trump Deranged Lunatic! They made me bond the outrageous sum, which never happened before, and which cost me Millions of Dollars a month. It should have never been allowed to happen, and everyone knew it!&#8221;

‘TOTAL VICTORY’: Trump Triumphs As Appeals Court Voids ‘Excessive’ Civil Fraud Fine

A federal appeals court overturned a left-wing judge’s threat to hold Trump administration officials in criminal contempt for deporting Venezuelan illegal aliens to El Salvador.
The appeals court ruling is a win for the Trump administration, which has been locked in a legal battle with Judge James Boasberg, whom the White House has <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftist-judge-threatens-to-hold-trump-admin-in-criminal-contempt-of-court-over-deportation-flights">blasted</a> as a “Democrat activist” working to “usurp the president’s authority.”
The 2-1 decision from a panel of judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit struck down Boasberg’s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/leftist-judge-threatens-to-hold-trump-admin-in-criminal-contempt-of-court-over-deportation-flights">earlier finding </a>that there was probable cause that some officials acted in contempt of court.
Boasberg, an Obama appointee who The Daily Wire <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/meet-the-obama-appointed-judge-trying-to-stop-trump-from-deporting-criminal-illegals" target="_blank" rel="noopener">revealed</a> is married to the founder of a Washington, D.C.-area abortion clinic who has given money to the Democrats, blocked the Trump administration from deporting illegal aliens to El Salvador’s terrorist confinement center in March. The federal judge later said that the Trump administration defied a court order by refusing to turn around a deportation flight already on its way to El Salvador.
“The court does not reach such conclusion lightly or hastily; indeed, it has given defendants ample opportunity to rectify or explain their actions. None of their responses has been satisfactory,” Boasberg wrote.
Friday’s ruling puts to rest the threat from Boasberg, with a concurring opinion charging that the liberal judge’s claims raise “troubling questions about judicial control over core executive functions like the conduct of foreign policy and the prosecution of criminal offenses.”
The ruling comes on the heels of a Supreme Court victory <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-admin-secures-victory-in-scotus-ruling-enabling-more-deportations">upholding</a> the Trump administration’s authority to deport illegal aliens to “third countries” — nations willing to take in migrants from elsewhere.
The Trump administration has used third-country agreements to deport illegal aliens whose home countries are unwilling to accept them, as well as to deport others who have protection orders that prevent them from being sent back to their nation of origin.

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