Edward Lawrence: The trade deal with Vietnam is the 'first of a flurry of deals' that likely will occur before July 9th deadline
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Los Angeles Times
an hour ago
- Los Angeles Times
White House maneuvers to keep Essayli as L.A.'s top federal prosecutor
The White House moved Tuesday to keep interim U.S. Atty. Bill Essayli in power as Los Angeles' top federal prosecutor, the latest maneuver to keep controversial appointees in positions across the country. Essayli — a former Riverside County assemblyman, staunch conservative and Trump ally — was appointed to his post by U.S. Atty. Gen. Pam Bondi in early April. Interim appointees need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate within 120 days. But Trump never moved to formally nominate Essayli for confirmation by the U.S. Senate, where he would have faced fierce opposition from California Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff. That left Essayli's fate in the hands of a local federal judicial panel, which reportedly declined to name anyone to the post. Essayli it set to become Acting Attorney after his interim period expires Wednesday, seemingly giving him another 210 days in the position before he has to face any formal confirmation process. Essayli's status was first reported by Fox News and subsequently confirmed to The Times by a federal law enforcement source who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the situation with the media. A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Los Angeles referred all questions to The White House, which did not immediately respond to an inquiry. The move is the latest sign of the Trump administration's willingness to use legal workarounds to keep its appointees for U.S. Attorney in power as the clock ran out on their interim status. In upstate New York, a judicial panel declined to name John A. Sarcone III, or anyone else, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of New York. In response, Bondi appointed Sarcone to a lower position in the office but effectively gave him the powers of the top federal prosecutor. In a letter to the chief U.S. district judge, later posted by the court, Sarcone said he'd been designated the first assistant United States attorney for the Northern District of New York and is now serving as the acting U.S. attorney for the district 'indefinitely.' In New Jersey, a judicial panel rejected Trump's pick, Alina Habba, one of the president's former personal attorneys who had no experience as a prosecutor before being named the state's top federal law enforcement official. In response, Bondi moved to fire Desiree Leigh Grace, a career prosecutor and registered Republican who the judicial panel named to replace Habba. Trump later rescinded his nomination of Habba and appointed her as acting U.S. attorney. Experts have called both situations legally dubious. Habba's appointment has reportedly halted federal court hearings, grand jury proceedings and plea deals in New Jersey due to questions over her authority to serve as acting U.S. attorney. On Tuesday morning, Bloomberg Law reported that Trump used a similar move to keep Sigal Chattah as Nevada's top federal prosecutor. Her interim term was also set to expire Tuesday. Essayli's time as L.A.'s top federal prosecutor has been marked by controversy. Not long after getting the job, he moved to offer a no-jail plea deal to L.A. County sheriff's deputy Trevor Kirk — who had already been convicted of assault for using excessive force when he threw a woman to the ground and pepper sprayed her while responding to a 2023 robbery in a Lancaster supermarket. The woman was not armed or committing a crime when Kirk confronted her, court records show. Essayli's decision, which was not prompted by new evidence regarding Kirk's guilt or innocence, led several veteran prosecutors to resign. Prosecutors who spoke to the Times on condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation within the office have described Essayli as a chaotic and belligerent leader who seems more focused on advancing the president's agenda than making decisions that comport with the law. While Essayli has taken a hard line against demonstrators who allegedly broke the law during massive June protests against the Trump administration's immigration raids in Southern California, a Times investigation shows he's struggling to prove those cases in court. Multiple federal law enforcement sources told The Times that a number of protest-related cases pushed by Essayli have failed to even secure grand jury indictments, where prosecutors face a significantly lower burden of proof than at a jury trial. Of the nearly 40 cases related to demonstrations or alleged interference with immigration raids that Essayli has filed, just seven have netted indictments, records show. In one explosive moment, sources told The Times that Essayli screamed at prosecutors to disregard Department of Justice rules on bringing cases with weak evidence, insisting they must secure indictments for Bondi. The U.S. Attorney's office dismissed the Times story, claiming it was based on 'factual inaccuracies and anonymous gossip.' The statement offered no specifics about disputed facts and Bloomberg Law reported the same anecdote this week. Queally and Mejia reported from Los Angeles. Wilner reported from Washington D.C.
Fox News
an hour ago
- Fox News
Democrats criticized for ‘photo-op' protest at ICE facility
Fox News contributor Marc Thiessen joins 'America Reports' to discuss Democratic lawmakers facing criticism for staging a protest outside an ICE facility in Baltimore.
Yahoo
an hour ago
- Yahoo
Trump, 79, Demands Murdoch, 94, Is Deposed in Epstein Suit in Case He Dies
President Donald Trump, 79, wants The Wall Street Journal's 94-year-old billionaire owner and frenemy Rupert Murdoch deposed immediately—for fear Murdoch may die. In a motion filed on Monday in Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against Murdoch and the Journal, Trump's lawyer, Alejandro Brito, urged the court to depose Murdoch within the next two weeks, noting the Australian media tycoon has suffered a bevy of health issues in recent years. 'Murdoch is 94 years old, has suffered from multiple health issues throughout his life, is believed to have suffered recent significant health scares, and is presumed to live in New York, New York,' Brito wrote in the filing. 'Taken together, these factors weigh heavily in determining that Murdoch would be unavailable for in-person testimony at trial.' Trump sued Murdoch, the Journal, and a number of staffers at the paper in a federal court in Florida earlier this month after the Journal reported that Trump sent sex offender Jeffrey Epstein a 'bawdy' letter for Epstein's 50th birthday in 2003. The alleged letter included an imaginary conversation between the two New Yorkers inside the Trump-illustrated outline of a naked woman. Trump has denied writing the letter, calling it 'fake.' A spokesperson for the Journal had no comment. Neither the White House, a spokesperson for Murdoch, nor Brito responded to an immediate request for comment. Trump and Murdoch have frequently sparred over coverage from outlets in Murdoch's U.S. media empire—which includes the Journal, Fox News, and the New York Post—but Trump and his allies have nonetheless relied on Murdoch for advice. Murdoch visited the White House in February, and Vice President JD Vance visited Murdoch at the billionaire's Montana ranch last month. Trump's lawyer also said Murdoch's direct involvement in the Journal's story warrants his expedited deposition, saying the president only wants Murdoch to speak to his own decisions related to the publication of the Epstein story. Trump claimed that he urged Murdoch not to publish the July 17 article, writing on Truth Social that Murdoch himself said he 'would take care of it.' The report on the letter came out hours later. 'Because Defendants published the Article after President Trump spoke directly with Murdoch and advised him that the letter referenced in the Article was fake,' Brito wrote, 'Murdoch's direct involvement further underscores Defendants' actual malice and intent behind the decision to publish the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statements about President Trump." Brito also claims Murdoch would have access to Trump's letter to Epstein if the Journal possessed it—while also claiming the letter did not exist. 'If the purported letter in the Article somehow actually exists, which it does not, and the Defendants have it in their possession, which they do not, Murdoch has easy access to it,' Brito wrote. The Journal story, written by reporters (and defendants) Khadeeja Safdar and Joe Palazzolo, said the paper had 'reviewed' the letter, indicating it did not possess it.
