Trump's Orders Arouse Opposition from Judges and Advocacy Groups

WASHINGTON -- Opposition to President Donald Trump's sweeping executive orders last week is showing up in a fast-growing number of lawsuits and judicial denunciations.

Three federal judges in Washington, D.C., issued rulings that said Trump's pardons of Jan. 6 rioters furthered the injustice they created by breaking into the Capitol.

They also said it created a dangerous precedent likely to lead to more civil disobedience.

A different federal judge blocked Trump's order overturning birthright citizenship.

Meanwhile, labor unions, Democratic state attorneys general and government watchdogs are suing to try to stop executive orders on immigrant rights, federal workforce policy and environmental regulations.

Trump seems undeterred as he forges ahead with what he says is an effort to remake America.

In his latest shocker, he said while visiting hurricane-ravaged North Carolina that he would sign an “executive order to begin the process of fundamentally reforming and overhauling [the Federal Emergency Management Agency], or maybe getting rid of them.”

He later said, “We’re going to recommend that FEMA go away.”

FEMA is the agency that oversees the federal government’s disaster relief.

He made the declaration days after ending the government’s diversity, equity and inclusion program intended to ensure the workforce represents a cross-section of Americans and after pardoning or commuting the sentences of more than 1,500 people accused of overrunning the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

The backlash continues in federal courts, where long-time judges warn Trump is stirring up consequences that will create more harm than good.

In response to Trump’s allegation of a “national injustice” for prosecuting the rioters, U.S. District Court Judge Beryl Howell wrote in a ruling, "No 'national injustice' occurred here, just as no outcome-determinative election fraud occurred in the 2020 presidential election. No 'process of national reconciliation' can begin when poor losers, whose preferred candidate loses an election, are glorified for disrupting a constitutionally mandated proceeding in Congress and doing so with impunity."

Her ruling referred to the indictment of two Jan. 6 rioters who were awaiting trial in Washington, D.C., after throwing smoke bombs at police. Their case was dismissed after Trump’s pardons.

"That merely raises the dangerous specter of future lawless conduct by other poor losers and undermines the rule of law,” Howell wrote.

A different federal judge who oversaw Trump's criminal case in Washington for trying to overturn the 2020 election also expressed indignation as she dismissed a rioter’s case.

"No pardon can change the tragic truth of what happened on January 6, 2021," said Judge Tanya Chutkan. "The dismissal of this case cannot undo the 'rampage [that] left multiple people dead, injured more than 140 people, and inflicted millions of dollars in damage.' ... And it cannot repair the jagged breach in America's sacred tradition of peacefully transitioning power.”

One of the first lawsuits opposing Trump’s executive orders was filed in federal court in Washington by the consumer rights advocacy organization Public Citizen. It seeks to force the Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency to comply with transparency rules required of all other government agencies.?

A group of Democratic state attorneys general then sued on behalf of pregnant migrant women to block Trump’s order abolishing birthright citizenship.

Birthright citizenship is derived from the U.S. Constitution. It gives anyone born in the United States a right to citizenship.

A federal judge ruled that Trump’s order is on hold until it can be either verified or rejected in court. He called the order “blatantly unconstitutional.”

The American Civil Liberties Union joined the legal opposition last week during a hearing in Washington asking a federal judge to restore a catch-and-release “parole” program for illegal immigrants. It allows them to remain in the United States until they receive a hearing before an immigration judge.

Other public interest organizations are implying they might sue soon.

One of them is the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law, which said in a statement, “Within his first few days in office, President Trump issued several executive orders to end diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility programs that protect federal employees and contractors from discrimination and ensure that every qualified applicant has an equal opportunity to be considered for a job.”

It added, “The Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law will vigorously oppose any efforts to undermine civil rights and we remain steadfast in our commitment to advance justice and equality for people of color in America.”

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

Trump Administration Tries to Halt Decrees Over Alleged Police Civil Rights Violations

The Trump administration is trying to halt consent agreements the Justice Department reached in recent years with police departments accused of civil rights violations.

The consent agreements under the Biden administration were intended to institute reforms to avoid abuses by police.

A Justice Department memo last week says, “The new administration may wish to reconsider settlements and consent decrees negotiated and approved by the prior administration.”

The two most high profile agreements were reached with police in Minneapolis and Louisville, where officers were accused of killing people despite minimal provocation to justify their actions.

Consent agreements, also known as consent decrees, are legally-enforceable agreements to resolve disputes between two parties without admitting guilt or liability.

The plaintiffs – in this case the Justice Department – and the defendants – in this case local police departments – submit their agreements to a local court for approval.

If a judge approves them, the court supervises them to ensure both sides comply. Fines or court intervention could be ordered for any violations of the terms of the agreements.

Acting Associate Attorney General Chad Mizelle’s memo ordered the Justice Department’s civil rights division to “not execute or finalize any settlements or consent decrees approved prior to January 20, 2025, 12:00pm.”

It also says civil rights lawyers must notify Mizelle of any settlements or consent decrees finalized in the past 90 days.

The Justice Department explained its reasons for the memo as an effort to pursue the Trump administration’s priorities.

The change in plans on the consent decrees appears to support Trump’s pledge during his presidential campaign to “back the blue,” referring to his support for police departments. The Justice made a similar effort to halt consent decrees during Trump’s first administration.

One of them was an Obama administration consent decree with the Baltimore Police Department. It followed allegations of excessive force in the death of Freddie Gray.

He was arrested in 2015 for possession of an illegal knife and died in police custody from a spinal cord injury. His death was followed by days of protests and civil unrest.

The consent decree the Justice Department reached with Baltimore police called "for an independent federal monitor to observe the department, as well as a community oversight task force."

When the Trump administration tried to block it by arguing it might "reduce the lawful powers of the police department," a federal judge ruled that the issues were “urgent” and the new attorney general was too late.

The same issues are playing out now with the effort to halt the consent decrees with police in Minneapolis and Louisville.

The Minneapolis consent decree last month resulted from the 2020 death of George Floyd Jr. after a police officer suffocated him by kneeling on his neck for nine minutes. Police confronted Floyd after a store clerk said he tried to pass a counterfeit twenty dollar bill.

In Louisville, the Justice Department reached a consent decree with police in mid-December after a years-long investigation of the fatal shooting of emergency room technician Breonna Taylor. A warrant based on inaccurate information about illegal drugs ended with police firing blindly into Taylor’s home.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

Congressional Report Says U.S. Vulnerable to Increasing Muslim Extremist Terrorism

The United States is unprepared to counter a rising number of terrorist threats, according to a congressional report released last week.

The committee’s “Terror Threat Snapshot” focuses primarily on Muslim extremist groups, such as ISIS and al Qaeda.

The report documents more than 50 cases in the United States over the past four years of Muslim extremists appearing to prepare for terrorist attacks. Most of them were stopped by law enforcement personnel.

One of them that was not stopped was the New Year’s Day attack in New Orleans that killed 14 people and injured 57.

Islamic State-inspired Shamsud-Din Jabbar drove a pickup truck into a crowd along Bourbon Street. As he exited his truck, he was killed in a shootout with police.

Jabbar was an American-born resident of Houston and a U.S. Army veteran. He was not found on any federal terrorism watchlists.

“The New Orleans terrorist attack was a stark reminder that the terror threat to America is alive and persistent,” Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, R-Tenn., said in a statement.

In a separate incident mentioned in the report, eight men from Tajikistan suspected of being ISIS operatives were arrested last June in New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

They were being monitored by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force before they were arrested. All of them crossed through the U.S. southern border.

Rep. Clay Higgins, R-La., said that if national security threats that came across the southern border were commonly known, ”you would be shocked.”

He discussed the case of 400 migrants brought across the southern border by ISIS. Most of them were halted by federal agents but 50 have not been found, Higgins said.

Some of the cases investigated for links to Muslim extremists involved Americans providing “material support” to suspected terrorists, the Homeland Security Committee report said.

In one example, a federal grand jury this month indicted Jack Danaher Molloy, 24, a former Pittsburgh resident, for trying to join Hezbollah and providing support to them. He was apparently motivated by his hatred of Jews.

In November, Houston resident Anas Said, 28, was indicted on charges of trying to provide material support to the Islamic State. The FBI was alerted to Said by his social media accounts advocating violent attacks.

FBI Special Agent Douglas Williams Jr. said, "He admitted to discussing how best to conduct an attack on local military recruiting centers. He admitted to wanting to use explosives to commit a mass killing here in Houston. He offered his home as a safe sanctuary to ISIS operatives. He bragged that he would commit a 9/11-style attack if he only had the resources."

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

Missouri Lawyer Ed Martin Appointed as Interim U.S. Attorney for D.C.

Missouri lawyer Edward R. Martin Jr. was named last week as the interim U.S. attorney for the District of Columbia.

He is best known for representing clients facing charges for the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol and for helping to organize a “Stop the Steal” movement in support of Donald Trump’s efforts to overturn Joe Biden’s 2020 election victory.

On his first day on the job last week, he filed motions to release imprisoned Jan. 6 defendants who received pardons or commuted sentences from Trump.

Martin, 54, also is known as a staunch abortion opponent. He has spoken in favor of a national abortion ban that would grant no exceptions for rape or incest, as well as jail terms for women and doctors who participate in abortions.

He is the former head of the Missouri Republican Party and served as deputy policy director for the Republican National Convention’s platform committee last summer.

Although Martin lists no work as a prosecutor on his LinkedIn page and other biographical information, he will serve at least temporarily as the top prosecutor in Washington, D.C.

As a defense attorney, he previously represented three men charged and convicted of assaulting police officers at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, court records show. On Jan. 6, 2021, he posted on social media that he was at the Capitol and said it reminded him of "Mardi Gras in DC today: love, faith and joy."

His appointment could become permanent unless Trump nominates someone else who receives Senate confirmation.

In Virginia, Trump appointed longtime assistant federal prosecutor and former D.C. police officer Erik S. Siebert as the U.S. attorney for the Justice Department’s eastern Virginia office. It is known for handling national security cases.

In Maryland, U.S. Attorney Erek L. Barron continues in his job and no replacement has been named so far.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.

Law Students Hit by Hiring Freeze for Justice Dept. Honors Program

A Trump administration hiring freeze hit home last week for law students at Georgetown University and the University of Virginia.

For more than 60 years, the Justice Department has hired graduates from top law schools through its Attorney General’s Honors Program to work in entry-level positions.

It is one of the department’s main recruiting programs. More than 100 lawyers were hired by the Justice Department through the Honors Program in some years.

It was canceled by a short email last week to the new recruits that said, “Pursuant to the hiring freeze announced Jan. 20, 2025, your job offer has been revoked.”

The new lawyers are typically hired for two-year stints to work in antitrust, national security and criminal law. They often are offered permanent positions after the two-year terms.

They were interviewed and offered their positions during the Biden administration. In addition to Georgetown and the University of Virginia, law students from Harvard, Duke, Berkeley and Stanford are disproportionately represented in the program.

“We appreciate your interest in employment in the Department of Justice,” the memo last week said.

The Justice Department’s website describes the Honors Program by saying, “Since 1953, the Attorney General’s Honors Program has been recognized as the nation’s premier entry-level federal attorney recruitment program.”

The Honors Program hiring freeze appears to be part of a wider effort by the Trump administration and its Department of Government Efficiency to drastically cut government spending, particularly the federal payroll.

For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: [email protected] or phone: 202-479-7240.