Category: Justice

Liberal ‘Dark Money’ Groups Gave Millions to SCOTUS Watchdogs Targeting Alito, Thomas, Docs Show

Just the News

Nonprofit organizations managed by the liberal “dark money” consulting firm Arabella Advisors gave millions of dollars to “nonpartisan” Supreme Court watchdogs, new documents show, after a campaign was launched earlier this year targeting conservative Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito for not fully disclosing their finances.

Former Clinton appointee Eric Kessler founded Arabella Advisors in 2005, and its subsidiaries include the Sixteen Thirty Fund, the Hopewell Fund, the New Venture Fund, the Windward Fund and the North Fund. 

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Federal Appeals Court Ruling Could Gut Voting Rights Act

Minnesota Sun Staff

A crucial decision by a federal appeals court on Monday could lead to the Voting Rights Act (VRA) losing much of its strength as a law, should the decision be upheld by the Supreme Court.

Politico reports that the ruling by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals declared that only the federal government is allowed to sue under a key section of the civil rights law, not private citizens or civil rights groups, which had used the law to do so in the past.

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Commentary: Elon Musk Is Going ‘Thermonuclear’

RealClearWire

Elon Musk is going “thermonuclear.”

No, this has nothing to do with SpaceX or any of his other wild technology projects – but it’s how Musk described the lawsuit he was filing against Media Matters for America this week. The lawsuit is in response to a Media Matters report last week that X, the Musk-owned social media platform formerly known as Twitter, was placing ads for major brands such as Apple and IBM next to “pro-Nazi content.” After some prodding from Media Matters, within a day of their report, a slew of major corporations, such as IBM, Disney, Comcast, Sony, NBC, and Warner Brothers, announced they were pulling ads from X.

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Jan. 6 Bodycam Video Captures Metro D.C. Police Officer Saying ‘We Go Undercover as Antifa’

Just the News

Just the News on Tuesday obtained footage of an undercover Washington, D.C. Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) officer recorded by his body-worn camera behind police lines on the U.S. Capitol grounds. The footage was obtained directly from official sources and has not been altered.

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Twin Lawsuits, Fraud Probe Mark Bad Day for News Media in Already Bad Year

Just the News

Monday marked a particularly bad day for the news media as a pair of lawsuits and a fraud investigation took aim at separate instances of allegedly false reports and threatened to impose expensive consequences upon an industry already facing financial adversity.

Myriad lawsuits, such as the high-profile litigation between Fox News and Dominion Voting Systems, as well as a general downturn in outlook for media outlets have led to large-scale layoffs.

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Missouri Supreme Court Deals Blow to Republicans in Abortion Ballot Case

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Missouri Supreme Court ruled against Secretary of State Jay Ashcroft’s request to change the language of a proposed abortion amendment’s language Monday, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

An appeals court had ruled earlier this month that Ashcroft’s summaries of the amendment were “argumentative” and “politically partisan” because of his use of terms like “unborn child,” which the court considered “problematic.” Ashcroft appealed the decision to the state Supreme Court but the justices declined to hear his appeal, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch.

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Commentary: Trump Is Winning Ballot Access Cases

Minnesota Sun Staff

The ongoing campaign by progressive activists to deny former President Trump a place on state ballots received yet another serious setback late Friday. After a weeklong bench trial, Denver District Court Judge Sarah Wallace issued a 102-page opinion in Anderson v. Griswold concluding that “Section Three of the Fourteenth Amendment does not apply to Trump.” She ordered Colorado’s Secretary of State Jena Griswold to place his name on Colorado’s presidential primary ballot. This is the fourth state in three weeks to reject efforts to keep Trump off their ballots.

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Newly Released January 6 Video Recordings Raise Questions as Supreme Court Prepares to Hear Riot Cases

Just the News
Capitol Police converse w citizens in the capitol on Jan 6

Newly released footage from the January 6, 2021, U.S. Capitol riot is raising new questions about the events that transpired and the subsequent criminal charges as the U.S. Supreme Court is set to decide whether to hear the first two January 6 appeals. 

House Speaker Mike Johnson said Friday that he plans to release 44,000 hours of January 6 footage to the general public. The first batch containing about 90 hours of footage was released that day, and the remaining 44,000 hours are expected to be released over the next several months. Additionally, starting Monday, the House Administration Oversight Subcommittee will allow any U.S. citizen to review U.S. Capitol Police video footage from January 6 by scheduling an appointment to view the videos in person. 

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Elon Musk Announces Plan File ‘Thermonuclear’ Lawsuit Against Media Matters Alleging Misrepresentation to Readers and Advertisers

Minnesota Sun Staff

On Saturday, X owner Elon Musk announced that he would sue the left-wing publication Media Matters after the group smeared his social media site as anti-Semitic.

As reported by Breitbart, Musk declared in a post on the site, formerly known as Twitter, that “the split second court opens on Monday, X Corp will be filing a thermonuclear lawsuit against Media Matters and ALL those who colluded in this fraudulent attack on our company.”

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Texas Attorney General Puts Critics, Biden, and Google in Crosshairs After Impeachment Win

Just the News

Two months after crushing a rushed effort to impeach him, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is plotting a dual tsunami designed to politically punish those in the Legislature who tried to remove him from office while putting Google, President Joe Biden and other liberal foes into his legal crosshairs.

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Commentary: House Republicans Must Expose the Full Truth of January 6

Julie Kelly

On a near-daily basis, the Department of Justice announces new arrests related to the events of January 6. Authorities arrested a Minnesota man on Wednesday for allegedly obstructing law enforcement and other minor offenses; U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Matthew Graves, appointed by Joe Biden in 2021, trumpeted the news on his office’s X account.

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Jim Jordan Subpoenas Bank of America over Sharing Customer Data with FBI

Just the News
Jim Jordan and Bank of America

House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan on Thursday served Bank of America with a subpoena, seeking information related to the firm’s voluntary sharing of customer data with the FBI to aid its Jan. 6 investigations.

“In 2021, BoA provided the FBI—voluntarily and without any legal process—with a list of individuals who made transactions in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area using a BoA credit or debit card between January 5 and January 7, 2021,” the Judiciary Committee stated in a press release. “When that information was brought to the attention of Steven Jensen, the FBI’s then-Section Chief of the Domestic Terrorism Operations Section, he acted to ‘pull’ the BoA information from FBI systems because ‘the leads lacked allegations of federal criminal conduct.'”

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Trump Might Enter 2024 Election Unscathed as Court Dates Are Delayed, Legal Attacks Falter

Minnesota Sun Staff
Trump Courtroom

As former President Donald Trump’s legal difficulties continue to stack up, scheduling conflicts and trial delays offer relief and highlight an emerging path for him to enter the 2024 election without a conviction, should he be the Republican nominee.

Facing the strain of four separate criminal indictments while running a presidential campaign, Trump has sought to postpone trials in his cases until after the election. At least two judges — the one overseeing his Florida classified documents case and another overseeing his New York case for allegedly falsifying business records — have signaled a willingness to delay, while Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis believes the Georgia trial may not conclude until early 2025.

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Border Patrol Nabs More Illegal Aliens on Terror Watchlist in October than in Three Years Under Trump

Minnesota Sun Staff

Border Patrol agents arrested more illegal aliens on the terrorist watchlist in October than over the course of three years under the Trump administration, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data updated Tuesday.

Border Patrol recorded 13 encounters of individuals on the terror watchlist at both the northern and southern borders of the U.S. in October alone, according to the data. Encounters of illegal immigrants on the terror watchlist between fiscal years 2018 and 2020, during most of Donald Trump’s presidency, added up to 12.

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Ex-Officer Derek Chauvin Cites New Evidence in Attempt to Overturn George Floyd Murder Conviction

Just the News

Former Minneapolis police Officer Derek Chauvin is arguing that new evidence proves he did not cause the 2020 death of George Floyd as part of an attempt to overturn his federal civil rights conviction.

Chauvin said he would never have pleaded guilty to the 2021 charge if he was aware of the theories from a Kansas pathologist with whom he began corresponding earlier this year, according to a motion filed in federal court this week, The Associated Press reported. 

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Commentary: Two Judicial Strikes Against Efforts to Keep Trump Off Ballot

Minnesota Sun Staff

Two state courts, the Minnesota Supreme Court and the Michigan Court of Claims, have thrown out the attempts by anti-democratic groups to disqualify former President Donald Trump from the ballot under the 14th Amendment, at least with respect to the presidential primary election.

The attempt to take away the ability of voters to make their own decisions on Trump’s candidacy has been temporarily halted in those states.

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Police Arrest Suspect in Death of Jewish Protester

Minnesota Sun Staff

Officers announced on Thursday that they have arrested a suspect in connection to the death of Paul Kessler.

Kessler, a Jewish man who was participating in a pro-Israel demonstration, died from a blow to the head after allegedly getting into a physical altercation with a pro-Palestinian protester. Police said that they arrested Loay Analji on Thursday morning in connection with Kessler’s death for involuntary manslaughter, according to a press release from the Ventura County Sheriff’s Department.

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Oklahoma Supreme Court Keeps Block on Three State Laws Restricting Abortion

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled against three of the state’s pro-life laws Tuesday, arguing that they would inhibit a woman’s right under the state constitution to get an abortion to protect her health, according to court documents.

The three laws in question require doctors to be board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology, to have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital and requiring doctors to perform an ultrasound 72 hours before administering any drugs used to initiate an abortion, according to the Associated Press. Several pro-abortion groups including Planned Parenthood (PP) and the Center for Reproductive Rights (CRR) sued the state, arguing the laws were unconstitutional and the state Supreme Court agreed to place a temporary halt while the lawsuit runs its course, according to the ruling.

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Hunter Biden Asks Judge to Subpoena Donald Trump, Ex-Justice Department Officials in Criminal Case

Just the News

First son Hunter Biden on Wednesday asked the federal judge presiding over his criminal case in Delaware to approve subpoenas of former President Donald Trump and his former top Justice Department officials as he argues that his investigation was the result of “incessant, improper, and partisan pressure” from the former president and his allies. 

The court filing asked U.S. District Judge Maryellen Noreika, a Trump appointee, to subpoena the former president, former Attorney General Bill Barr, former acting Deputy Attorney General Richard Donoghue and former acting Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, according to NBC News. 

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Migrant Encounters at the Southern Border Remain at Record Levels in October

Minnesota Sun Staff

Federal authorities recorded 240,988 migrant encounters at the southern border in October, sustaining record highs seen under the Biden administration, according to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data released Tuesday.

The number of encounters along the southern border in September totaled 269,735, marking the highest month on record. CBP recorded 232,963 and 183,479 encounters in August and July, respectively, according to agency data.

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Supreme Court Releases Code of Conduct

Minnesota Sun Staff

The U.S. Supreme Court released its own “Code of Conduct” on Monday evening to “set out succinctly and gather in one place the ethics rules and principles that guide the conduct of the members of the court.”

The Code of Conduct comes after intense pressure from liberal activist groups for the justices to implement an ethics code. Those activists particularly have taken aim at Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas, accusing him of violating the court’s ethics rules.

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Child Psychiatrist Sentenced to 40 Years for Using AI to Create Child Porn

Just the News

A North Carolina child psychiatrist was sentenced to 40 years in prison followed by 30 years of supervised release after he was convicted of producing, transporting and possessing child pornography, at least some of which he generated through the use of artificial intelligence (AI).

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University of North Dakota Hit with Civil Rights Complaints Alleging Tuition Programs Illegally Discriminate Based on Race

Minnesota Sun Staff

Two North Dakota higher education institutions were hit this week with civil rights complaints over tuition reduction programs open only to specific racial groups.

The Equal Protection Project (EPP) filed civil rights complaints against the University of North Dakota (UND) and UND School of Law for tuition reduction programs that are “only available to non-white applicants,” according to complaints obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. UND’s website cites the authority of North Dakota State Board of Higher Education (SBHE) policy that encourages institutions to use tuition waivers to “promote enrollment of a culturally diverse student body.”

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Appeals Court Strikes Down ATF’s ‘Ghost Gun’ Restrictions

Just the News

The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday unanimously struck down the Biden administration’s restrictions on “ghost guns,” or firearms without serial numbers, determining that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) lacked authority to enact them.

The decision upholds a lower court decision that held the ATF exceeded its authority. The U.S. Supreme Court had allowed the restrictions to take effect while the case made its way through the appeals process.

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Librarians Claim Civil Rights Violations over Book Bannings and Firings

Minnesota Sun Staff

Several left-wing librarians, teachers, and other school employees are trying to claim that the removal of inappropriate books from school libraries is a violation of their civil rights.

As reported by ABC News, three librarians who were recently fired have filed workplace discrimination claims with U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). They all claim that they were discriminated against when they were fired for promoting controversial, far-left material to students, including Critical Race Theory and the LGBTQ agenda.

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Prosecutor Says Burisma Tax Evasion Charges Expired, but Hunter Biden Still Faces Legal Jeopardy

RealClearWire
Hunter Biden courtroom

In an interview with Congress, Special Counsel David Weiss corroborated key parts of the IRS whistleblowers’ story, including that the statute of limitations had expired on charges that Hunter Biden evaded taxes a decade ago on some of his Burisma Holdings income in Ukraine.

But the prosecutor also strongly signaled the first son still faces serious legal jeopardy beyond the gun charges he already is fighting.

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Far from Border, Americans Victims of Violent Crimes Committed by Illegal Immigrants

The Center Square

Thousands of miles from the southern border, Americans find themselves victims of violent crimes committed by repeat offenders illegally entering the U.S.

While numerous examples exist, in five examples identified by The Center Square, all of the alleged perpetrators illegally entered the U.S. “on an unknown date at an unknown location,” according to U.S. Customs & Immigration Enforcement.

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Tech Giant Pays Millions to Settle Claims It Discriminated Against American Citizens

Minnesota Sun Staff

Apple will pay $25 million to settle claims that it unlawfully discriminated against U.S. citizens and some non-U.S. citizens in its hiring process, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced on Thursday.

The DOJ alleged that Apple breached the Immigration and Nationality act (INA) in its hiring efforts for roles covered by the permanent labor certification program (PERM), according to the announcement. PERM enables employers to “sponsor” employees for “lawful permanent resident status” in the U.S. and bars employers from engaging in unlawful hiring discrimination due to citizenship or immigration status.

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Federal Judge Extends Order Preventing Feds from Destroying Texas Border Barrier

The Center Square

A federal judge on Thursday extended her initial temporary restraining order by another two weeks, blocking the Biden administration from destroying Texas’ concertina wire barrier along the Rio Grande River.

U.S. District Judge Alia Moses in Del Rio, Texas, extended her original Oct. 30th Temporary Restraining Order (TRO) beyond the initial Nov. 13 deadline. The extension is for another 14 days “to allow the court more time to fully consider the parties’ arguments and evidence.”

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Minnesota Supreme Court Dismisses Lawsuit Seeking to Remove Trump from 2024 Primary Ballot

Minnesota Sun Staff

The Minnesota Supreme Court dismissed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking to remove former President Donald Trump from the 2024 presidential primary ballot in the state.

The court found that state law permits parties to do as they wish in the primary election, writing that “winning the presidential nomination primary does not place the person on the general election ballot as a candidate for President of the United States.” However, the court did not address the question at the center of the case: whether Trump is eligible for office under Section 3 of the 14th Amendment, which disqualifies public officials who took an oath to the Constitution and then “engaged in insurrection” from holding office.

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Mark Houck, Family Sue Biden DOJ for ‘Malicious and Retaliatory Prosecution’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Pro-life activist Mark Houck and his wife, Ryan-Marie Houck, are suing the federal Department of Justice over the DOJ’s treatment of their family, accusing the DOJ of a “faulty” investigation that led to an excessively forceful arrest and a “malicious and retaliatory prosecution” that has severely impacted their entire family.

Houck is a Catholic father of seven who was arrested and charged with violating the Freedom of Access to Abortion Clinic Entrances, or FACE, Act by President Joe Biden’s administration. A jury found him not guilty of the federal charges in January, and he announced in August that he is running for Congress in Pennsylvania’s 1st Congressional District.

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Hunter Biden Prosecutor Sought Special Charging Status in 2022 but Didn’t Get It, Jim Jordan Says

Just the News

Delaware U.S. Attorney David Weiss has told Congress he sought special authority from the Justice Department in 2022 to file tax charges against Hunter Biden in other jurisdictions but was never granted it, House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan disclosed Tuesday.

Jordan told reporters after a closed-door interview with Weiss that the prosecutor’s acknowledgement to lawmakers  that he sought “special attorney” powers in the Biden case amounted to a new change in the DOJ’s story and corroborated allegations made earlier this year by IRS whistleblowers Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler.

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Anti-Israel Protestor Allegedly Beats 69-Year-Old Man to Death with Bullhorn

Peter D'Abrosca

A pro-Israeli protestor from Thousand Oaks has died after a pro-Palestinian protestor allegedly hit him over the head with a bullhorn during a clash between the two groups Sunday. 

Ynet News confirmed that Paul Kessler, 69, died of internal bleeding after the blow to the head. 

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Lawsuits Across the U.S. over Voter ID Laws Crawling on as the 2024 Presidential Election Approaches

Just the News

Lawsuits regarding state laws on voter ID, a popular election integrity measure among U.S. citizens, are dragging on as the 2024 presidential election is just a year away.

At least five states have recently or are currently facing lawsuits regarding voter ID requirements. Voter ID laws are largely popular among U.S. citizens, according to recent polls, but voting rights groups argue that such measures are discriminatory. In Ohio, for example, challengers against voter ID laws have said in court papers that the laws make it “significantly harder for lawful voters—particularly young, elderly, and Black Ohioans, as well as military servicemembers and other Ohioans living abroad” to exercise their right to vote.

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Commentary: Domestic Violence Protection Orders Don’t Pass Constitutional Muster

RealClearWire

How certain should we be that someone did something wrong before they lose their right to own a gun? Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear a case that could have a major impact on how courts evaluate the constitutionality of gun control laws. The Biden administration asked for a review of the 5th Circuit Court’s decision not to deprive Zackey Rahimi of his right to own guns. 

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NASCAR Accused of Discriminating Against White Men with Diversity Hiring Efforts

Minnesota Sun Staff

The iconic National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, NASCAR, has been accused of intentionally discriminating against White men through its efforts to hire more “diverse” drivers and pit crew workers.

As reported by the New York Post, a petition was filed on Thursday by America First Legal (AFL), the conservative legal group run by former Trump Administration advisor Stephen Miller, calling for an investigation into NASCAR by the United States Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC). The petition accuses NASCAR of “illegal discrimination against White, male Americans.”

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Biden IRS Launches Audit Into Conservative Org That Helped Tank Nominees for Key Administration Posts

Admin

The IRS is investigating the tax-exempt status of the American Accountability Foundation (AAF) following its reporting on President Joe Biden’s nominees, several of whom withdrew their nominations, according to a letter obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The IRS is requesting AAF submit internal financial data as well as communications, including meeting notes, publications and newsletters, according to the letter from the IRS to AAF obtained by the DCNF. The conservative nonprofit organization, which the IRS approved for tax-exempt status in August 2021, alleges the investigation is in retaliation for the AAF reporting on several recent Biden nominees who later withdrew their nominations.

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Former Trump Official Ric Grenell Sues Biden Admin Over ‘Expert Advisory Committee’ with Members Who Signed Hunter Biden Laptop Letter

Admin

Former Director of National Intelligence (DNI) Richard Grenell along with America First Legal are suing the Biden administration, according to a copy of the lawsuit first obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the formation of the “expert” board to address issues of national security in September to include Former Director of National Intelligence James Clapper, former CIA Director John Brennan and former CIA Operations Officer Paul Kolbe, who all signed an October 2020 letter casting doubt on the legitimacy of the Hunter Biden laptop and suggesting its release was a Russian disinformation ploy. The latest legal action alleges that the group’s creation was done in an illegal manner and that it lacks credible members, according to the copy of the lawsuit.

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CBS News’ ’60 Minutes’ Omits Key Facts, Makes Incorrect Statements Covering the Lawfare Against Trump’s Former Attorney John Eastman

Rachel Alexander

The television news magazine show 60 Minutes aired a story on CBS Sunday about the lawfare against Donald Trump’s former attorney and constitutional legal scholar John Eastman, which repeated much of the mainstream media’s talking points about his legal advice to Trump regarding the illegal activity in the 2020 election.

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House GOP Crafting Major FISA Reform to Block Snooping on Americans’ Phone Records Without Warrants

Just the News

House Judiciary Committee Republicans are pressing ahead with sweeping reforms to the government’s FISA surveillance powers that among other things would would prohibit the FBI from searching through Americans’ phone records without a court-approved warrant.

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Federal Appeals Court Temporarily Pauses Trump Gag Order

Minnesota Sun Staff

A federal appeals court temporarily paused the gag order against former President Donald Trump in his 2020 election case on Friday.

The Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia temporarily paused the order issued Oct. 17 by District Judge Tanya Chutkan to allow time to consider Trump’s request for a longer freeze on its enforcement pending appeal. The court ordered Trump’s appeal to be expedited, requesting briefing from Trump’s legal team by Nov. 8 and scheduling oral arguments for Nov. 20.

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Minnesota Appeals Court Blocks Judge’s Ruling Declaring Felon Voting Law ‘Unconstitutional’

Minnesota Sun Staff

Without ruling on the merits of the law itself, the Minnesota Court of Appeals said Thursday that a lower court judge had “no authority” to declare a new law granting felons the right to vote “unconstitutional.”

Judge Matthew Quinn ordered defendants in multiple criminal cases last month to refrain from voting or registering to vote until they complete probation.

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