A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to fire hundreds of employees working for the United States Agency for Global Media (USAGM).
U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.279211/gov.uscourts.dcd.279211.164.0.pdf">blocked</a> Acting USAGM CEO Kari Lake’s <a href="https://x.com/KariLake/status/1961600955343843577">plan</a> to lay off 532 employees while litigation over the case proceeds. Most of the employees who were set to be terminated on September 30 worked for Voice of America, a taxpayer-funded international media outlet that Lake has <a href="https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/kari-lake-hellbent-deporting-her-203835847.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAEX4ukzDpdtiRTcSbsAcx9MfDyLp5RiFB12XuaicvET2fHW77F76yEa3Olfr_5d4GWvDTWndlrSd56gDRr6GENKfgXrdd3KOSbYOH5OVyALuaRnvwHSTogFFwqVl4jRx-mRIqWTXaiIwHbhwMKH0W8FZqjDkuWjSUh-K-l2p98py">described</a> as &#8220;rotten to the core&#8221; and &#8220;anti-American.&#8221; 
“The Reduction in Force announced by Defendant Lake on or about August 29, 2025, is SUSPENDED and may NOT be implemented, effectuated, or completed in any way,” Lamberth wrote. 
Lake said that the firings were necessary to &#8220;help reduce the federal bureaucracy, improve agency service, and save the American people more of their hard-earned money.&#8221;
USAGM operates other networks, such as Radio Free Europe and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks. 
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Lamberth said that the Trump administration did not defend the firings on their merits.
“Rather than providing a rationale for the [reduction in force] on its merits, the defendants instead offer an array of other reasons not to grant relief. But even a cursory examination of the relevant law and key facts reveal these objections are all bark and no bite,” he wrote. 
The judge stated that a recent Supreme Court ruling, which allowed the Trump administration to fire hundreds of Department of Education employees, did not apply to this case. He also said that Lake had ignored previous directives from the court. 
“The Court must offer an observation on the concerning disrespect the defendants have shown toward the Court’s orders since the entry of the preliminary injunction. It is the Court’s view that the defendants’ disregard for its earlier orders to produce information would more than support a trial on civil contempt,” he wrote. 
In a statement to the Washington Post, Lake <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/2025/09/29/voa-usagm-kari-lake-judge/">said</a> that she has “seen a huge ‘disrespect’ from the district courts toward the Executive Branch and the American people who have voted overwhelmingly to support President Donald J. Trump.”
In March, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/continuing-the-reduction-of-the-federal-bureaucracy/">executive order</a> that directed the USAGM to be “eliminated to the maximum extent possible consistent with federal law.”
The Trump administration <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/03/the-voice-of-radical-america/">has argued</a> that agency-run outlets like Voice of America have become increasingly partisan and pushed radical leftist ideologies. In a fact sheet, the White House pointed to reports on transgender-identifying migrants wanting asylum in the United States and “white privilege.”

Kari Lake Testifies In House Hearing On U.S. Agency For Global Medias Downfall

Trump Admin Blocked From Cleaning House At Voice Of America

Courts

Kari Lake

Politics

Trump Administration

Voice of America

YouTube reportedly agreed to a $24.5 million settlement over a lawsuit filed by President Donald Trump over the suspension of his account in 2021.
The vast majority of YouTube’s settlement will be directed toward funding construction of a new White House ballroom that Trump is building. Court documents say that $22 million will be given to the Trust for the National Mall, which is “dedicated to restoring, preserving, and elevating the National Mall, to support the construction of the White House State Ballroom,” according to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/09/29/business/youtube-settle-trump-lawsuit">CNN</a>.
The remaining settlement money, $2.5 million, will go toward other plaintiffs on the case, such as the American Conservative Union, according to <a href="https://www.wsj.com/us-news/law/youtube-to-pay-24-5-million-to-settle-lawsuit-brought-by-trump-808f6823?st=Q98zA5&amp;reflink=article_copyURL_share">The Wall Street Journal</a>.
YouTube, owned by Alphabet&#8217;s Google, suspended the president’s account after the events of January 6, 2021, claiming that Trump, then in the final days of his first term, had violated the platform’s rules regarding incitement to violence. YouTube reinstated Trump’s account two years later and is the final big tech company to settle a lawsuit from the president over a slate of social media bans.
Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, settled a lawsuit with Trump for $25 million in January. Most of Meta’s settlement funds were directed toward Trump’s presidential library to be built in Miami, Florida. X, formerly Twitter before Trump ally Elon Musk took over the platform in 2022, settled a lawsuit with the president in February for $10 million.
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X reinstated Trump’s account in 2022 soon after Musk took over the social media platform. Meta waited longer, reinstating the president’s accounts in February 2023.
All three cases against the big tech platforms were pursued by Trump attorney John Coale. Coale attributed the settlement victories to Trump&#8217;s election to the White House for a second term.
“If he had not been re-elected, we would have been in court for 1,000 years,” Coale said, according to WSJ. “It was his re-election that made the difference.”
Trump has forged ties with Silicon Valley executives over the course of his third run for president and his second term in the White House. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai joined Musk in choice seats to witness Trump’s second inauguration.

Donald Trump

Trump Scores $22M Payout After YouTube Settles Lawsuit Over Account Suspension

Google

YouTube

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against six states on Thursday, following the Justice Department’s accusation that they had failed to comply with federal law by refusing to turn over voter registration records. 
The Justice Department says that the states have not provided the requested documentation to show that they maintain clean and accurate voter rolls. The lawsuits target Michigan, California, Pennsylvania, New Hampshire, Minnesota, and New York. 
“Clean voter rolls are the foundation of free and fair elections,” said Attorney General Pam Bondi. “Every state has a responsibility to ensure that voter registration records are accurate, accessible, and secure — states that don’t fulfill that obligation will see this Department of Justice in court.”
The lawsuits <a href="https://www.justice.gov/crt/media/1415151/dl?inline">allege</a> that the states have violated provisions of the National Voter Registration Act and the Help America Vote Act, which give the attorney general the authority to inspect states’ voter rolls. As part of the suit, the Justice Department wants records that would include a voter’s driver’s license number or the last four digits of their Social Security number. 
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“States are required to safeguard American elections by complying with our federal elections laws,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Clean voter rolls protect American citizens from voting fraud and abuse, and restore their confidence that their states’ elections are conducted properly, with integrity, and in compliance with the law.”
Michigan Democratic Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson responded to the suit by stating that state law prohibits her from disclosing personally identifiable information to the federal government.
“States can and must hold the line. Only state and local election officials – not the president, the DOJ, or any other federal agency – have the right to people’s private voter information. The people of Michigan have entrusted this department with their personal data, and I will stand up to this illegal and unconstitutional power grab,” she said. 
The other defendant states have made similar arguments, objecting to the release of their residents’ identifying information.
Republican National Committee Chair Joe Gruters said that the suit would be “an important step toward restoring confidence in our elections.”
“Voters deserve to know that their states are removing ineligible individuals — including the deceased, criminals, out-of-state movers, and non-citizens — from the rolls,” he said.

President Trump Speaks On Recent Supreme Court Rulings At The White House

Justice Dept Sues Six States For Refusing To Hand Over Key Voter Data

Department of Justice

Michigan

Pam Bondi

Voter Registration

A jury on Tuesday found Ryan Routh guilty of attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump on a Florida golf course last year.
After the verdict was read, Routh <a href="https://x.com/EricLDaugh/status/1970561076249891141">attempted</a> to stab himself in the neck with a pen, prompting law enforcement to restrain and shackle him.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
🚨🚨BREAKING: Would-be Trump assassin Ryan Routh tries to stab himself in the neck with a pen after guilty verdict read in court.🚨🚨 <a href="https://t.co/bnpYKeerVp">pic.twitter.com/bnpYKeerVp</a>
— Fox News (@FoxNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/FoxNews/status/1970568361517158886?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 23, 2025</a></blockquote>
The Florida jury spent roughly two hours in deliberations after the two-week trial wrapped up earlier Tuesday. Routh represented himself at the close of the trial, giving closing remarks for less than an hour before he was stopped by Judge Eileen Cannon, who previously admonished Routh for moving off topic, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/ryan-routh-verdict-trump-assassination-attempt-florida-golf-course-rcna232946">NBC News</a>.
Routh, 59, faced five counts, including attempted assassination of a major presidential candidate, assault of a federal officer, and multiple firearms offenses. Routh pleaded not guilty to all charges.
The convicted attempted assassin made the decision early on in his trial to forgo the court-appointed attorneys provided to represent him. Routh struggled throughout the trial to make a viable defense of himself or even navigate the court process.
Over the course of the two week trial, prosecutors called on dozens of witnesses and introduced evidence from cell phone data, DNA matches, bullets found in a “sniper’s nest” at the golf course, and other materials to build their case.
&#8220;This was not a publicity stunt,&#8221; Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher Browne said, according to <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/politics/jurors-begin-deliberations-trump-golf-course-assassination-attempt-trial">Fox News</a>. &#8220;The evidence has shown one thing and one thing only — the defendant wanted Donald Trump dead.&#8221;
Routh is not a lawyer, nor does he have any legal training. He asked Cannon in July if he could represent himself after claiming to have irreconcilable differences with the court-appointed attorneys tasked with representing him. Cannon agreed, but told Routh that representing himself in the case is a “bad idea.”
During his closing argument, Routh meandered from the charges against him and the assassination attempt to topics such as the January 6, 2021, riot at the Capitol, Ukraine, the Revolutionary War, broadcaster Edward Murrow, and other issues. He said during his closing that the only charge he could be guilty of is caring “deeply for this country,” according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/09/23/us/trump-ryan-routh-trial-florida.html">The New York Times</a>.

Ryan Wesley Routh

Attempted Trump Assassin Tries To Stab Himself In Neck After Guilty Verdict

assassination attempt

Crime

Florida

U.S.

In yet another victory for Elon Musk and the future of American space dominance, a federal judge on Monday <a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2025/09/17/texas-spacex-boca-chica-faa-environmental-lawsuit/?utm_source=chatgpt.com">dismissed a lawsuit</a> from environmental activists attempting to derail SpaceX’s rocket launch operations in South Texas. The lawsuit, filed by groups such as the Center for Biological Diversity and the American Bird Conservancy, claimed that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) violated federal law by approving SpaceX’s launch program without conducting a more rigorous environmental impact review.
At the heart of the dispute was the FAA’s 2022 approval of SpaceX’s expanded rocket activity at Boca Chica — now the newly incorporated city of Starbase — adjacent to a wildlife refuge. Environmental groups insisted that noise, construction, road traffic, and light pollution from rocket launches endangered local wildlife, including ocelots, jaguarundis, and Kemp’s Ridley sea turtles.
But U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols wasn’t buying it.
In his ruling, Nichols made it clear: the FAA had fulfilled its legal responsibility under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) by conducting a Programmatic Environmental Assessment (PEA), which included mitigation measures. The judge said of the FAA’s analysis, “Most of the (assessment&#8217;s) conclusions were well-reasoned and supported by the record,” adding it fell “within a broad zone of reasonableness”—a key legal standard that gives agencies latitude to make policy decisions without courts stepping in to micromanage.
He emphasized that most of the FAA’s conclusions were “well-reasoned and supported by the record,” and dismissed the environmentalists’ claims that the FAA simply rubber-stamped SpaceX’s data.
This ruling is especially significant in light of President Donald Trump’s August 13 <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/08/enabling-competition-in-the-commercial-space-industry/">executive order</a>, which sought to streamline and loosen environmental regulations for private space companies. Trump called it “imperative to national security” that rocket launches dramatically increase by 2030.
SpaceX has already received FAA approval to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/2025/sep/15/musk-spacex-texas-wildlife?utm_source=chatgpt.com">ramp up</a> Starship launches from five to twenty-five per year at the Texas site. The company is also aiming to nearly double the number of Falcon rocket launches at California’s Vandenberg base. This lawsuit threatened to throw a wrench into those plans — until Nichols shut it down.
The environmentalists also took issue with the April 2023 Starship test launch, which ended in a dramatic explosion, scattering debris across wildlife habitats.
The judge’s decision leaves Musk’s vision of making humanity multi-planetary — and launching frequently from the Lone Star State — very much intact. Environmental activists may appeal, but for now, the courts are siding with American innovation over bureaucratic obstruction.

TOPSHOT-US-SPACE-AEROSPACE-SPACEX-STARSHIP

SpaceX Wins Again: Judge Tosses Environmental Challenge To Starbase Launches

Business

Elon Musk

Environmentalists

Space X

Texas

A New York judge on Tuesday threw out two state charges of murder related to terrorism against Luigi Mangione, the man accused of killing UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December.
Judge Gregory Carro tossed charges of murder in furtherance of an act of terrorism and murder in the second degree as a crime of terrorism, saying that the evidence presented to the grand jury did not support terrorism charges, ABC News <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/US/luigi-mangione-returns-court-1st-time-5-months/story?id=125617908">reported</a>. A second-degree murder charge against the 27-year-old suspect remains in place.
Mangione made his first court appearance in five months on Tuesday after he was arrested in December and accused of killing Thompson, a 50-year-old husband and father of two, in Midtown Manhattan. Thompson was shot from behind on the morning of December 4, 2024, as he was walking near the Hilton hotel in Midtown, which was hosting an annual investor&#8217;s conference.
Mangione also faces federal charges and other state charges in Pennsylvania, where he was arrested five days after Thompson was gunned down. The suspect&#8217;s defense team argued that the New York state charges should be dismissed, claiming that Mangione faces double jeopardy due to the overlap between the federal and state charges, according to <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/new-york-judge-dismisses-state-terrorism-charges-luigi-mangione-keeps-rcna231594">NBC News</a>. The judge called the defense&#8217;s argument &#8220;premature.&#8221;
In April, Mangione was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/luigi-mangione-indicted-on-federal-charge-of-murder-making-him-eligible-for-death-penalty">indicted</a> by a federal grand jury on multiple charges, including murder through the use of a firearm, a count that makes him eligible for the death penalty. Attorney General Pam Bondi said that the DOJ would pursue the death penalty for Mangione, arguing that Thompson&#8217;s killing &#8220;was an act of political violence.&#8221;
Police arrested Mangione at a McDonald&#8217;s in Altoona, Pennsylvania, after a five-day manhunt. Investigators said that a backpack that Mangione was carrying when he was arrested contained the alleged murder weapon, a fake ID, and a diary. Mangione&#8217;s defense team has argued that the evidence seized during Mangione&#8217;s arrest should be suppressed, claiming that police conducted a warrantless search of Mangione&#8217;s belongings.
One entry in the diary found in Mangione&#8217;s backpack discusses how someone should &#8220;wack the CEO at the annual parasitic bean-counter convention,&#8221; according to a court filing.
&#8220;It’s targeted, precise, and doesn’t risk innocents. Most importantly, the point is self-evident,&#8221; the entry added.
&#8220;I finally feel confident about what I will do,&#8221; another entry states, according to authorities. &#8220;The target is insurance. It checks every box.&#8221;
Hearings for Mangione&#8217;s case are set to begin on December 1, but a trial date has not been scheduled. Mangione pleaded not guilty to the state charges in New York and Pennsylvania as well as to the federal charges.

Luigi Mangione

Judge Tosses Two Terrorism Charges Against Luigi Mangione

Judge

New York

(Reuters) &#8211; A U.S. appeals court declined on Monday to allow Donald Trump to fire Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook &#8211; the first time a president has pursued such action since the central bank&#8217;s founding in 1913 &#8211; in the latest step in a legal battle that threatens the Fed&#8217;s longstanding independence.
The decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit means that the administration only has hours to appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court if it hopes to block Cook from attending the Fed&#8217;s policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday where it is expected to cut U.S. interest rates to shore up a cooling labor market.
The White House on Tuesday said it planned to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court.
&#8220;The President lawfully removed Lisa Cook for cause. The Administration will appeal this decision and looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue,&#8221; White House spokesman Kush Desai said.
The D.C. Circuit denied the Justice Department&#8217;s request to put on hold a judge&#8217;s order temporarily blocking the Republican president from removing Cook, an appointee of Democratic former President Joe Biden.
U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb had ruled on September 9 that Trump&#8217;s claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud before taking office, which Cook denies, likely were not sufficient grounds for removal under the law that created the Fed.
The decision was 2-1, with Circuit Judges Bradley Garcia and J. Michelle Childs in the majority, both of whom were appointed by President Joe Biden. Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, a Trump appointee, dissented.
In an opinion joined by Childs, Garcia wrote that Cook is likely to prevail on her claim that she has been denied due process in violation of the U.S. Constitution&#8217;s Fifth Amendment.
&#8220;Before this court, the government does not dispute that it provided Cook no meaningful notice or opportunity to respond to the allegations against her,&#8221; the judge wrote.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The Fed, which had no comment on the ruling, has not made any legal arguments in the case. It has asked the courts for a swift resolution of the matter, and has said it will abide by any court ruling.
Cook&#8217;s lawyers did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Separately, the Senate on Monday night narrowly confirmed Trump&#8217;s nominee to a recently vacated seat on the Fed board. The largely party-line 48-47 vote means that it is likely that Stephen Miran, currently chair of the Council of Economic Advisers, will also participate in this week&#8217;s rate-setting meeting alongside Cook.
FOR CAUSE
In setting up the Fed, Congress included provisions to shield the central bank from political interference. Under the law that created the Fed, its governors may be removed by a president only &#8220;for cause,&#8221; though the law does not define the term nor establish procedures for removal. No president has ever removed a Fed governor, and the law has never been tested in court.
In Monday&#8217;s opinion, Garcia wrote that because Cook’s due process claim was &#8220;very likely meritorious&#8221;, there was no need for the court to address the meaning of &#8216;for cause&#8217; at this point in the case.
Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, sued Trump and the Fed in late August. Cook has said the claims did not give Trump the legal authority to remove her and were a pretext to fire her for her monetary policy stance.
The Trump administration has argued that the president has broad discretion to determine when it is necessary to remove a Fed governor, and that courts lack the power to review those decisions.
The case has ramifications for the Fed&#8217;s ability to set interest rates without regard to the wishes of politicians, widely seen as critical to any central bank&#8217;s ability to function independently to carry out tasks such as keeping inflation under control.
Trump this year has demanded that the Fed cut rates aggressively, berating Fed Chair Jerome Powell for his stewardship over monetary policy. The Fed, focusing on fighting inflation, has not done so, though it is expected this week to make a cut.
The Supreme Court this year has allowed Trump to proceed with the removal of various officials serving on federal agencies that had been established by Congress as independent from direct presidential control.
But in a May order in a case involving Trump&#8217;s dismissal of two Democratic members of federal labor boards, the Supreme Court signaled that it views the Fed as distinct from other executive branch agencies. It said the Fed &#8220;is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity&#8221; with a singular historical tradition.
Unlike other members of regulatory boards that the Supreme Court allowed Trump to remove, Cook&#8217;s protection from at-will removal distinguished her case, Garcia wrote in Monday&#8217;s opinion.
The Trump administration in a court filing on Thursday had asked the D.C. Circuit to move quickly so that Trump could remove Cook before the Fed&#8217;s policy meeting on Tuesday and Wednesday. Administration lawyers said that allowing the president to fire Cook would &#8220;strengthen, not diminish, the Federal Reserve’s integrity.&#8221;
Cook&#8217;s lawyers in a filing in response said removing Cook ahead of the meeting would impact U.S. and foreign markets, and that the public interest in keeping her in office outweighed Trump&#8217;s efforts to take control of the Fed.
In his dissenting opinion, Katsas said there was a greater risk of harm to the Trump administration than there was to Cook in leaving her in her job while the appeal played out.
&#8220;Moreover, the Board of Governors no doubt is important, but that only heightens the government’s interest in ensuring that its Governors are competent and capable of projecting confidence into markets,&#8221; Katsas wrote.
In blocking Cook&#8217;s removal, Cobb had found that the &#8220;best reading&#8221; of the 1913 law is that it only allows a Fed governor to be removed for misconduct while in office. The mortgage fraud claims against Cook all relate to actions she took prior to her U.S. Senate confirmation in 2022.
Trump and his appointee William Pulte, the Federal Housing Finance Agency director, have claimed that Cook inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.
A loan estimate for an Atlanta home purchased by Cook shows that she had declared the property as a &#8220;vacation home,&#8221; according to a document reviewed by Reuters, information that would appear to undercut the allegations against her. And the property tax authority in Ann Arbor, Michigan, said in response to a Reuters inquiry that Cook has not broken rules for tax breaks on a home there that Cook had declared her primary residence.
The finding, which came in response to a Reuters request that the city review Cook’s property records, could boost Cook’s defense against efforts by the Trump administration to remove her from the Federal Reserve board.
Trump&#8217;s Justice Department also has launched a criminal mortgage fraud probe into Cook, and has issued grand jury subpoenas out of both Georgia and Michigan, according to documents seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York, Jan Wolfe in Washington, DC, Tom Hals in Wilmington, Delaware and Ann Saphir; Editing by Alexia Garamfalvi, Will Dunham and Shri Navaratnam)
&nbsp;

FILE PHOTO: Dr. Lisa DeNell Cook, nominated to be a Member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System, listens during a Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee confirmation hearing in Washington

Appeals Court Protects Biden-Appointed Fed Governor Lisa Cook From Trump Ouster

Federal Reserve

Lisa Cook

Fulton County, Georgia, District Attorney Fani Willis cannot continue her criminal prosecution of President Donald Trump and his allies after a ruling from the Georgia Supreme Court on Tuesday.
In a 4-3 decision, the state’s high court declined a request from Willis to review the Georgia Court of Appeals’ ruling that disqualified the Democratic district attorney from prosecuting the 2020 election interference case over the conflict of interest she created when she hired her then-boyfriend, Nathan Wade, as a special prosecutor. The ruling means that the 2020 case against Trump and his allies is dead, unless another prosecutor brings charges, The Hill <a href="https://thehill.com/regulation/court-battles/5505353-willis-disqualification-trump-georgia-case/">reported</a>.
“The Georgia Supreme Court has correctly denied review of the Georgia Court of Appeals decision disqualifying DA Fani Willis and her office as prosecutors in the Fulton County RICO case,” said Steve Sadow, the lead attorney for Trump in Georgia. “Willis’ misconduct during the investigation and prosecution of President Trump was egregious, and she deserved nothing less than disqualification. This proper decision should bring an end to the wrongful political, lawfare persecutions of the President.”
A nonpartisan state agency will now be tasked with finding another prosecutor to determine if the case against Trump can proceed, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution <a href="https://www.ajc.com/politics/2025/09/fani-willis-loses-last-chance-to-stay-at-the-helm-trump-georgia-election-interference-case/">reported</a>. Willis <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-appeal-georgia-supreme-court-trump-7be50feee272612484490b53592e7e08">said</a> that she hopes another prosecutor “will have the courage to do what the evidence and the law demand.” If another prosecutor is assigned the case, he could continue pursuing the exact charges that Willis did, choose to pursue some of the charges, or dismiss the case, according to the <a href="https://apnews.com/article/fani-willis-appeal-georgia-supreme-court-trump-7be50feee272612484490b53592e7e08">Associated Press</a>.
In December, the Georgia Court of Appeals ruled that Willis’ actions presented a “rare case in which disqualification is mandated and no other remedy will suffice to restore public confidence in the integrity of these proceedings.” Wade had little experience prosecuting cases when Willis hired him to lead the Fulton County prosecution of Trump. Willis was accused of paying Wade hundreds of thousands of dollars and vacationing with him multiple times, with Wade paying for some of the trips. Both Willis and Wade testified that Willis reimbursed him for her share of the trip costs.
Willis became a star in the Democratic Party when her office brought 13 charges against Trump after he challenged Georgia’s election results in 2020. In 2023, Trump and 18 others were indicted under Georgia’s anti-racketeering law and accused of engaging in a scheme to overturn Georgia’s 2020 election results that helped push Joe Biden into the White House.
Trump said the charges were another political “witch hunt.” The case brought against Trump by Willis’ office resulted in Trump being forced to pose for a mug shot, which quickly went viral. Trump displayed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-hangs-mugshot-outside-oval-office-so-bad-a-that-its-surreal">framed</a> picture of the mugshot just outside the Oval Office shortly after he was sworn in for his second term.

Fani Willis

Georgia Supreme Court Rejects Last-Ditch Effort From Fani Willis To Prosecute Trump

2020 Election

Executive

fulton county

Georgia

(Reuters) &#8211; A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked President Donald Trump from removing Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, an early setback for the White House in an unprecedented legal battle that could upend the central bank&#8217;s long-held independence.
The preliminary ruling by U.S. District Judge Jia Cobb in Washington, D.C. found that the Trump administration&#8217;s claims that Cook committed mortgage fraud prior to taking office were likely not sufficient grounds for her removal.
Cook denies any wrongdoing.
&#8220;President Trump has not identified anything related to Cook’s conduct or job performance as a Board member that would indicate that she is harming the Board or the public interest by executing her duties unfaithfully or ineffectively,&#8221; Cobb wrote in her ruling.
Trump moved to fire Cook in late August, but the Fed has said she remains in her position. The Fed declined to comment on the decision.
The White House spokesman Kush Desai on Wednesday defended Trump&#8217;s actions, saying that the president had &#8220;lawfully removed&#8221; Cook for cause over the mortgage allegations and that &#8220;this ruling will not be the last say on the matter.&#8221;
Trump on Tuesday did not respond to a reporter&#8217;s question about the ruling.
Cobb&#8217;s ruling prevents the Fed from following through on Cook&#8217;s firing while her lawsuit moves forward.
The case, which will likely end up before the U.S. Supreme Court, has ramifications for the Fed&#8217;s ability to set interest rates without regard to politicians&#8217; wishes, widely seen as critical to any central bank&#8217;s ability to keep inflation under control.
Trump has demanded that the U.S. central bank cut rates immediately and aggressively, berating Fed Chair Jerome Powell for his stewardship over monetary policy. The central bank is expected to deliver a rate cut at its September 16-17 policy meeting.
&#8220;This ruling recognizes and reaffirms the importance of safeguarding the independence of the Federal Reserve from illegal political interference,&#8221; Cook&#8217;s lawyer Abbe Lowell said in a statement.
The law that created the Fed says governors may be removed only &#8220;for cause,&#8221; but does not define the term nor establish procedures for removal. No president has ever removed a Fed governor, and the law has never been tested in court.
Cobb found that the &#8220;best reading&#8221; of the law is that it only allows a Fed governor to be removed for misconduct while in office. The mortgage fraud claims against Cook all relate to actions she took prior to her U.S. Senate confirmation in 2022.
Trump and William Pulte, the Federal Housing and Finance Authority director appointed by the president, say Cook inaccurately described three separate properties on mortgage applications, which could have allowed her to obtain lower interest rates and tax credits.
The U.S. Justice Department has also launched a criminal mortgage fraud probe into Cook and has issued grand jury subpoenas out of both Georgia and Michigan, according to documents seen by Reuters and a source familiar with the matter.
Cook sued Trump and the Fed, saying the claims did not give Trump the legal authority to remove her and were a pretext to fire her for her monetary policy stance.
Cook, the first Black woman to serve as a Fed governor, has denied the fraud claims in court filings, saying that she &#8220;did not ever commit mortgage fraud.&#8221;
But she has said that even if the allegations were true, it would not be grounds for removal because the alleged conduct occurred before she was confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
The Trump administration has argued that the president has broad discretion to determine when it is necessary to remove a Fed governor, and that courts lack the power to review those decisions.
(Reporting by Daniel Wiessner in Albany, New York and Ismail Shakil. Additional reporting by Andrea Shalal, Howard Schneider, Mike Scarcella, Nate Raymond and Jeff Mason; Editing by Noeleen Walder, Alexia Garamfalvi, Paul Simao, Sam Holmes and Tomasz Janowski)

FILE PHOTO: Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City’s 2025 Jackson Hole conference

Judge Steps In To Block Trump From Ousting Fed Governor Lisa Cook

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to quickly take up a case on President Donald Trump&#8217;s wide-ranging tariffs, setting up a major decision on one of the biggest policies of Trump&#8217;s second term, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/supreme-court/supreme-court-agrees-consider-whether-trumps-tariffs-are-legal-rcna229069">reported</a>.
The Supreme Court will hear the case after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit ruled late last month that Trump overstepped his authority under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act (IEEPA) to impose tariffs on imports from dozens of countries. Last week, the Trump administration <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-asks-scotus-to-take-swift-action-to-save-his-tariffs">asked</a> the Supreme Court to begin hearing arguments in the case as soon as November, arguing that the Appeals Court&#8217;s decision “gravely undermines the President’s ability to conduct real-world diplomacy and his ability to protect the national security and economy of the United States.”
The Supreme Court agreed to enter a streamlined process and will begin hearing oral arguments the first week of November.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/supreme-court-ruling-against-trump-tariffs-could-trigger-1-trillion-economic-disaster-bessent-warns">warned</a> on Monday that if Trump&#8217;s tariffs are stopped, the United States would have to refund around $1 trillion to importers, a development that Bessent said would &#8220;cause significant disruption&#8221; to the U.S. economy. U.S. Solicitor General D. John Sauer agreed, saying, “With tariffs, we are a rich nation; without tariffs, we are a poor nation… The economic consequences would be ruinous.”
Trump also blasted the decision from the Appeals Court, arguing that “it would be a total disaster for the Country” if his tariffs were rescinded.
“If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America,” he added.
The Appeals Court delayed implementation of its order until October 14, giving the Trump administration time to appeal to the Supreme Court.
Many of Trump&#8217;s tariffs went into effect in early August before the the U.S. Court of Appeals stepped in and ruled that Trump does not have the authority to impose them. The Appeals Court ruled, “Absent a valid delegation by Congress, the President has no authority to impose taxes. Given these considerations, we conclude Congress, in enacting IEEPA, did not give the President wide-ranging authority to impose tariffs of the nature of the Trafficking and Reciprocal Tariffs simply by the use of the term ‘regulate … importation.’”
“The core Congressional power to impose taxes such as tariffs is vested exclusively in the legislative branch by the Constitution,” the court added.
The issue centers on the IEEPA, which was enacted in 1977 and allows the president to impose tariffs on any import to the United States after declaring a national emergency. On April 2, Trump “<a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/2025/04/fact-sheet-president-donald-j-trump-declares-national-emergency-to-increase-our-competitive-edge-protect-our-sovereignty-and-strengthen-our-national-and-economic-security/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">declared</a> that foreign trade and economic practices have created a national emergency,” adding that he would impose “responsive tariffs to strengthen the international economic position of the United States and protect American workers.”
If Trump loses at the Supreme Court, his administration has been looking into other ways to impose tariffs, NBC News <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/trump-administration/white-house-exploring-keep-trumps-tariffs-supreme-court-strikes-rcna229175">reported</a>. Trump could rely on laws under the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, which gives the president power to levy some tariffs. Some of the president&#8217;s tariffs already in effect fall under this law and would not be affected by a Supreme Court decision shooting down Trump&#8217;s tariffs under the IEEPA.

SCOTUS Agrees To Hear Case On Trump’s Tariffs After Admin Asks For ‘Swift’ Action

Economy

Supreme Court

Tariffs

Supreme Court Justice Amy Coney Barrett defended the 2022 decision overturning landmark abortion cases Roe v. Wade and Planned Parenthood v. Casey during a recent interview — and also admitted that the public protest in reaction to that case caused her to invest in a bulletproof vest for her own protection.
Barrett, in her first interview since joining the court in 2020, told CBS anchor Norah O&#8217;Donnell that the Court&#8217;s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women&#8217;s Health Organization had not outlawed abortion at all, but rather had returned it to the democratic process. She also said that both Roe and Casey had wrongfully defended a &#8220;right&#8221; that did not exist under the Constitution.
WATCH:
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
Must Watch: Justice Amy Coney Barrett sets the record straight on the majority&#8217;s message to the American people in the Dobbs decision:
“The central message of Dobbs: Dobbs did not render abortion illegal. Dobbs did not say anything about whether abortion is immoral. Dobbs said… <a href="https://t.co/isFjhf8NdM">pic.twitter.com/isFjhf8NdM</a>
— Carrie Severino (@JCNSeverino) <a href="https://twitter.com/JCNSeverino/status/1965062438266527828?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">September 8, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
&#8220;The central message of Dobbs: Dobbs did not render abortion illegal. Dobbs did not say anything about whether abortion is immoral. Dobbs said that these are questions that are left to the states. &#8230; What Dobbs says is that those calls are properly left to the democratic process, and the states have been working those out,&#8221; Barrett said.
&#8220;The Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs gave that decision to the democratic process and to the states,” Barrett said. “It didn’t roll back rights. It didn’t render abortion illegal, unconstitutional, or anything else. And in effect, many states very fully protected abortion rights, more than under the regime of Roe since the time of the decision in Dobbs.&#8221;
O&#8217;Donnell pushed back, arguing that overturning Roe had stripped away &#8220;a federal right to abortion. A constitutional right to an abortion.&#8221;
Barrett argued that such a right had never existed in the first place — and that both Roe and Casey &#8220;had been in error&#8221; to assert that it had.
&#8220;Well, what it said is that the Constitution had not protected the abortion right under the Due Process Clause. And it said that Roe had been an error and Casey had been in error to hold otherwise,&#8221; she said.
The protests that erupted both before and after the decision was rendered — particularly after a leaked draft of the decision went public — prompted Barrett to take action to protect herself. She told O&#8217;Donnell that she&#8217;d purchased a bulletproof vest — and then had to explain to her own children why she&#8217;d felt the need to do so.

Supreme Court Justices Pose For Formal Group Photo

Justice Barrett Defends Dobbs Decision, Admits She Had To Buy Bulletproof Vest Afterward

Abortion

Amy Coney Barrett

The brutal murder of a Ukrainian refugee in Charlotte highlights the deadly consequences of &#8220;soft-on-crime&#8221; policies in Democrat-run cities. The Supreme Court gives the green light for Trump&#8217;s ICE raids in Los Angeles as the U.S. and its allies coordinate on a global immigration crackdown. HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fires back at Democrats who are demanding his resignation, vowing to continue his &#8220;Make America Healthy Again&#8221; agenda.
It’s Tuesday, September 9, 2025, and this is the news you need to know to start your day.
Morning Wire is available on video! You can watch today’s episode here:
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<h2>Charlotte Murder Highlights Failures of ‘Soft-on-Crime’ Policies</h2>
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Topline: The brutal, unprovoked murder of a Ukrainian refugee on a light rail train has left the city of Charlotte in shock and anger, putting a national spotlight on the deadly consequences of Democrat-led &#8220;soft-on-crime&#8221; policies. 
Iryna Zarutska, a 23-year-old Ukrainian refugee, was stabbed to death last month by DeCarlos Brown Jr., a homeless man with a lengthy and violent criminal record. The horrific attack took place in what was once a safe, trendy part of the city, but residents say rising crime and a growing homeless population have made them feel unsafe. Charlotte saw a 25% increase in its homicide rate last year, and robberies in the city center are up 54%. 
The city&#8217;s Democratic mayor, Li Vyles, responded to the murder by calling for empathy for the perpetrator&#8217;s mental health issues, and did not mention the victim in her initial statement. Brown was on the streets despite at least 14 previous arrests for crimes, including armed robbery and assault with a deadly weapon. A judge gave him pre-trial release on his most recent arrest in January, and police had referred him &#8220;to resources&#8221; rather than jail after three other encounters in 2024. The policies that kept Brown out of jail were recommended by a &#8220;Task Force for Racial Equity in Criminal Justice,&#8221; which was created by North Carolina&#8217;s now-Governor, Democrat Josh Stein, in 2020. 
<h2>Supreme Court Upholds Trump’s ICE Raids in Los Angeles</h2>
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Topline: The Supreme Court handed the Trump administration a major victory on Monday, ruling that federal immigration officials can continue their sweeping raids in the Los Angeles area and can consider factors like ethnicity and accent when detaining suspected illegal immigrants. 
The Court’s ruling overturns a lower court judge’s decision that had blocked the raids. Writing for the liberal minority, Justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a dramatic dissent, claiming the court was subjecting people to the &#8220;indignities&#8221; of being handcuffed &#8220;simply because of their looks, their accents.&#8221; 
Border Czar Tom Homan pushed back on that characterization, stating that ICE is focused on public safety. &#8220;Seventy percent of everybody ICE is arresting is a criminal,&#8221; Homan said. The raids have yielded significant results, with over 1,600 arrests in D.C. alone, many of whom are suspected gang members and other violent offenders. 
The ruling comes as Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem meets with the &#8220;Five Eyes&#8221; intelligence alliance in London to coordinate a global crackdown on human smuggling. The U.K.&#8217;s new Home Secretary has signaled a tougher stance on immigration that is more aligned with the Trump administration&#8217;s policies. 
<h2>RFK Fires Back as Democrats Demand His Resignation</h2>
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Topline: HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is pushing back against a coordinated campaign by Democrats demanding his resignation, vowing to continue his &#8220;Make America Healthy Again&#8221; (MAHA) agenda and restore integrity to public health. 
At least a dozen Democratic senators, including Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren, have signed a letter calling Kennedy’s agenda &#8220;dangerous&#8221; and &#8220;anti-science.&#8221; Former Republican Chris Christie also attacked Kennedy, calling him a &#8220;joke&#8221; and a &#8220;human middle finger to everybody who opposed&#8221; Trump. 
Blue state governors are also pushing back against Kennedy&#8217;s reforms. New York Governor Kathy Hochul signed an executive order to override new FDA guidance on COVID shots, and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker signed legislation to ensure access to the abortion pill mifepristone, regardless of future FDA safety assessments. 
Kennedy, who enjoys broad public support for his agenda, has fiercely defended his actions. He has accused major medical organizations of being compromised by their Big Pharma sponsors and has vowed to bring in &#8220;new blood&#8221; and people &#8220;who are committed to public health, and integrity, and gold-standard science.&#8221; His department has already reformed baby formula standards, required drug price transparency, and stopped federal funding for gender surgeries for minors, among other changes.

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