Author: Ella Lee

Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, face cocaine importation conspiracy charges and other counts in an indictment newly unsealed Saturday after their capture. The four-count superseding indictment, which also charges other Venezuelan government officials and allies, alleges Maduro leveraged government power to protect and promote vast criminal conduct — from drug trafficking to terrorism — for the benefit of himself and his allies.   “This cycle of narcotics-based corruption lines…

A federal magistrate judge said Tuesday a local grand jury has secured a federal indictment against the suspect in the D.C. pipe bomb case, but he has not yet accepted it. Judge Matthew Sharbaugh said at a hearing that a D.C. Superior Court grand jury approved an indictment against Brian Cole Jr. on the two federal charges already alleged in a complaint. The case stems from…

U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon on Monday lifted restrictions on the release of former special counsel Jack Smith’s findings from his investigation into President Trump’s handling of classified records — but she gave the president a 60-day window to challenge her order. Cannon did not immediately lift her order barring the Justice Department from sharing…

A Wisconsin judge was found guilty late Thursday of obstruction for helping a Mexican immigrant evade federal authorities after learning of his imminent arrest but acquitted of concealing him.  After six hours of deliberation, dragging into the night, a jury returned a split verdict against Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan — an extraordinary blow to the…

When U.S. District Judge William Young ruled this summer that the Trump administration illegally canceled hundreds of research grants focused on gender identity or diversity, he went further than just striking the revocations down. The Reagan-appointed judge, who took the bench in 1985, said it was his “unflinching obligation” to draw the conclusion that the administration’s move amounted to racial discrimination and discrimination against the LGBTQ community. “That’s what…

A federal judge on Saturday temporarily blocked President Trump’s deployment of 200 National Guard members to Portland, Ore. U.S. District Judge Karin Immergut granted Oregon and Portland officials’ request for a temporary restraining order, barring implementation of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s memo that authorized federalizing the troops over the state’s objection. “This is a nation of Constitutional law, not martial law,” the Trump-appointed judge wrote. Immergut denied the Trump administration’s request to pause her order while the administration appeals. Her order is set to expire in 14 days but could be extended, and she set a trial for Oct. 29. …