Latest news with #Obama-appointed
Hindustan Times
an hour ago
- Politics
- Hindustan Times
Who is Darrin Gayles? Meet the Obama-appointed judge handling Trump's $10B lawsuit against Murdoch, WSJ
The federal judge who has been assigned to take care of President Donald Trump's $10 billion lawsuit against The Wall Street Journal is Darrin P. Gayles, a former federal prosecutor who was appointed by Barack Obama. Who is Darrin Gayles? Meet the Obama-appointed judge presiding over Trump's $10B lawsuit against Murdoch and WSJ (U.S. Department of Justice - LinkedIn) Gayles, a United States District Judge for the Southern District of Florida, is a former US attorney who was appointed by Obama in 2014. At the time, a vote of 98-0 unanimously confirmed him in the Senate. Gayles went on to become the first openly gay Black man to serve on the federal bench. His appointment to Trump's case happened randomly. Trump's lawsuit was filed in federal court in Miami on July 18. It accuses the newspaper, its parent companies, executives and journalists of falsely claiming that Trump wrote a 50th birthday card to Jeffrey Epstein in 2003. Trump's lawsuit reportedly names Rupert Murdoch and his News Corp, WSJ publisher Dow Jones, executive Robert Thomson, and two WSJ journalists whose bylines were there in the story. Who is Darrin Gayles? Gayles served as a judge of Florida's 11th Judicial Circuit for over ten years in the past, according to St. Thomas University's website. 'Judge Gayles was appointed to the County Court of that circuit by former Florida Governor Jeb Bush in 2004. In 2011, former Florida Governor Charlie Crist elevated Judge Gayles to the Circuit Court, where he served until his federal appointment. Judge Gayles was retained on both courts without opposition in 2006 and 2012, respectively,' the website states. Gates is a graduate of Howard University and The George Washington University Law School. His career in law began in 1993 as an Assistant State Attorney in Miami-Dade County, Florida. He subsequently worked for the U.S. Department of Justice as an Assistant District Counsel for the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS). He later worked as Assistant United States Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, and served in that office's Appellate, Major Crimes, and Narcotics Sections until he was appointed to the County Court in 2004. Gayles is notably a former co-chairman of the 11th Judicial Circuit's (Florida) Professionalism Committee. He actively volunteers in many of South Florida's civic and charitable organizations, including Big Brothers/Big Sisters, 100 Black Men of South Florida, and the 5000 Role Models of Excellence Project.
Politico
11-07-2025
- Health
- Politico
Dentists are struggling to counter RFK Jr. on fluoride
'Fluoride's predominant benefit to teeth comes from topical contact with the outside of the teeth, not from ingestion,' an HHS spokesperson told POLITICO. 'There is no need, therefore, to ingest fluoride.' The impact the retreat from fluoridation has on oral health will show whether dentists are right, that a cavity crisis will follow, or whether Kennedy's view, that Americans can get the fluoride they need in toothpaste and mouthwash, will bear out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency within HHS, has held out fluoridation as one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th century, citing data that it reduces tooth decay by as much as 70 percent in children and tooth loss by as much as 60 percent in adults. But Kennedy nonetheless believes the case to remove fluoride is urgent because of evidence that it can curtail children's brain development. It's a position bolstered by a report from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences during the Biden administration and an Obama-appointed federal judge last year — though the levels of fluoride they examined were higher than what Americans consume. Dentists see it otherwise. 'This is revving up an anti-science narrative,' said Brett Kessler, the president of the American Dental Association, the country's leading dentists' group. 'There are ways to get fluoride in toothpaste, some of the foods we eat, some of the drinks we drink, topical fluoride mouthwashes. … But without fluoridated water you're already behind the eight ball because you've got vulnerable teeth.' Dentists' case Opposition to adding the cavity-fighting mineral to water — based on a mishmash of reasoning around the purity of the drinking supply, concerns about side effects and conspiracy theories — has long been a cause of some on the left. Before Utah and Florida's moves, residents of Hawaii, New Jersey and Oregon were the least likely to have fluoride in their water, according to a review of 2022 data by the United Health Foundation, a philanthropy started by the insurer UnitedHealth Group to promote better public health. (The same study found 79 percent of Floridians and 43 percent of Utahns drank fluoridated water.) Health researchers have mostly found that low levels of fluoride, including the amounts found in drinking water systems across the U.S., are safe and can help fortify teeth against decay and other ailments. Many communities began to fluoridate their water in the mid-1900s at the behest of voters and their local and state governments. In 1962, HHS started providing guidance on fluoride in drinking water, and the Environmental Protection Agency invoked the Safe Drinking Water Act years later to enforce these standards, though fluoridation is still done at states' discretion. But research, much of it in China, has since prompted the Trump administration to question those standards. The findings suggest higher levels of fluoride in groundwater are linked to neurobehavioral issues and reduced IQ in children, but those results are not definitive due to study designs and methodology. Opponents of fluoridation in blue jurisdictions like Portland, Oregon, and Hawaii, historically have made the case that the best water is the least touched by human hands. 'The attitude was, 'don't ruin our pure water,'' said Barry Taylor, the executive director of the Oregon Dental Association. He says the Chinese studies have only made convincing Oregonians otherwise harder because they've added 'a new element of doubt.' Kessler contends the studies are not applicable to the U.S. because of the difference in fluoride levels and confounding variables. 'It could be lower IQ parents. It could be a lack of special foods that could help brain development. And it could just be DNA or genetics,' Kessler said. Dental health advocates also see a flaw in Kennedy's case that mouthwash and toothpaste are all people need. They argue that some Americans don't use the products, either because they can't get to a store, can't afford them or because they choose not to, putting them at risk. 'This is a lot of forces coming together to undermine oral health for particularly people that are lower income or in areas that may not have as many resources to get the oral health care they need,' said Melissa Burroughs, senior director of public policy at CareQuest, an oral health advocacy group aligned with the dentists. The American Dental Association's Kessler says the battle is far from over, pointing to the ADA's success this year in persuading state lawmakers to reject bills that would have banned fluoridation or otherwise impeded fluoridation efforts in 16 states across the political spectrum, including Hawaii. Kennedy's campaign Kennedy traveled to Salt Lake City in April to praise Utah for becoming the first state to ban fluoride in a state's water. The rule took effect in May. 'It makes no sense to have it in our water supply,' Kennedy said at a news conference with state lawmakers. 'I'm very, very proud of this state for being the first state to ban it, and I hope many more will come.' Kennedy hasn't withdrawn Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance encouraging fluoridation but he's threatening to do so. Earlier this year, he directed the CDC to reconvene the Community Preventive Services Task Force, an independent panel of experts, to study the issue. And his concerns about fluoride are filtering into other agencies' agendas. The Food and Drug Administration has announced it plans to ban ingestible fluoride pills and drops marketed to children. It's convening a public meeting on the issue on July 23. The response has not always followed partisan lines. When Kennedy appeared before a House Appropriations subcommittee in May, Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, a Republican and a dentist, said he'd seen the benefits of fluoride during his 22 years taking care of patients' teeth. 'If you are successful in banning fluoride, we better put a lot more money into dental education because we're going to need a whole lot more dentists,' Simpson said. Kennedy didn't back down. 'We now know that virtually all the benefit is topical, and we can get that through mouthwashes,' he said.
Politico
10-07-2025
- Health
- Politico
RFK Jr. is winning on fluoride. Dentists foresee a cavity crisis.
'Fluoride's predominant benefit to teeth comes from topical contact with the outside of the teeth, not from ingestion,' an HHS spokesperson told POLITICO. 'There is no need, therefore, to ingest fluoride.' The impact the retreat from fluoridation has on oral health will show whether dentists are right, that a cavity crisis will follow, or whether Kennedy's view, that Americans can get the fluoride they need in toothpaste and mouthwash, will bear out. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an agency within HHS, has held out fluoridation as one of the 10 greatest public health achievements of the 20th Century, citing data that it reduces tooth decay by as much as 70 percent in children and tooth loss by as much as 60 percent in adults. But Kennedy nonetheless believes the case to remove fluoride is urgent because of evidence that it can curtail children's brain development. It's a position bolstered by a report from the National Institutes of Environmental Health Sciences during the Biden administration and an Obama-appointed federal judge last year — though the levels of fluoride they examined were higher than what Americans consume. Dentists see it otherwise. 'This is revving up an anti-science narrative,' said Brett Kessler, the president of the American Dental Association, the country's leading dentists' group. 'There are ways to get fluoride in toothpaste, some of the foods we eat, some of the drinks we drink, topical fluoride mouthwashes … But without fluoridated water you're already behind the eight ball because you've got vulnerable teeth.' Dentists' case Opposition to adding the cavity-fighting mineral to water — based on a mishmash of reasoning around the purity of the drinking supply, concerns about side effects, and conspiracy theories — has long been a cause of some on the left. Before Utah and Florida's moves, residents of Hawaii, New Jersey and Oregon were the least likely to have fluoride in their water, according to a review of 2022 data by the United Health Foundation, a philanthropy started by the insurer UnitedHealth Group to promote better public health.
New York Post
30-06-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Miranda Devine: How the Biden admin ‘weaponized' the justice system against Trump aide Peter Navarro
Former First Lady Jill Biden's factotum Anthony Bernal refused to testify before Congress last week for a scheduled interview about the Joe Biden autopen scandal. Now Bernal will be subpoenaed by the House Oversight Committee to compel his testimony about who was really running the White House during Biden's term — or face potential criminal charges of contempt. That's a real possibility for Bernal and other former White House officials implicated in the coverup of Biden's cognitive decline, considering that the Biden administration broke all norms when they jailed Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro and former adviser Steve Bannon last year for failing to comply with congressional subpoenas to testify before Nancy Pelosi's star chamber investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riot. Advertisement Peter Navarro, Senior Counselor to the President for Trade and Manufacturing walks to speak to the media at the White House in Washington, DC, May 29, 2025. Chris Kleponis – CNP / MEGA What goes around comes around. Navarro, 75, was the first White House official in history to be imprisoned for a contempt of Congress conviction. He served a four-month sentence in a federal prison in Miami last year. Dem DOJ's precedent Advertisement By contrast, the very Department of Justice that set a chilling precedent with its prosecutions of Navarro and Bannon (who also served four months in a federal prison in Connecticut last year) gave itself a pass when then-Attorney General Merrick Garland similarly was held in contempt for defying a congressional subpoena to hand over embarrassing audio recordings of Biden's interview with special counsel Robert Hur. As a senior White House adviser on Jan. 6, 2021, Navarro's conviction should have had a higher bar than Bernal's or any other former adviser's. But the Biden DOJ and one of their pet DC judges, Obama-appointed District Judge Amit Mehta, ignored Navarro's legitimate concerns about executive privilege and punished him for his loyalty to his boss, President Trump. Advertisement It was just one egregious aspect of the weaponized justice system ushered in by Democrats during the last administration, which targeted Trump and his allies as 'domestic terrorists,' and censored and demonized political dissent. The good news for Navarro is that Trump won back the White House last November and immediately rehired the former political prisoner as a senior adviser. In his upcoming book 'I Went to Prison So You Won't Have To: A Love and Lawfare Story in Trump Land,' Navarro recounts how he was arrested by five armed FBI agents on June 3, 2022 when he was on the gangway about to board a flight from Reagan National Airport to Nashville, where he was scheduled to appear on Mike Huckabee's TV show. Every week, Post columnist Miranda Devine sits down for exclusive and candid conversations with the most influential disruptors in Washington. Subscribe here! Advertisement The diminutive 72-year-old was handcuffed, placed in leg irons, strip-searched and thrown in a jail cell which once housed John Hinckley Jr., the would-be assassin of Ronald Reagan. Navarro's fiancée, Bonnie 'Pixie' Brenner, who was with him when he was arrested, found the experience 'very traumatic,' he says. 'They perp walked her out.' He said he was treated as if he were 'an Al Qaeda terrorist,' and even Mehta later agreed that the arrest was excessively heavy handed. 'It is curious . . . at a minimum why the government treated Mr. Navarro's arrest in the way it did,' Mehta told the court. 'It is a federal crime, but it is not a violent crime.' The lead FBI agent who arrested Navarro was Walter Giardina, who is now a target of Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley's investigation into the weaponization of the FBI and DOJ against Trump and his allies. Whistleblowers have told Grassley that Giardina 'openly stated his desire to investigate Trump, even if it meant false predication' because of his hostility to the then-former president. 'Black swan event' A few weeks before Navarro was arrested, Giardina had showed up at his door at the crack of dawn to deliver a subpoena. Navarro said he then contacted the FBI and offered to come in for a voluntary interview. Advertisement 'I literally reached out [and said] here's my position, can we talk. That should have been enough for them to say, 'come in and talk' or 'come in, you're indicted.' That's what they usually do with white collar offenses,' he said. 'For the Biden DOJ [prosecuting him] was a black swan event that went against a 50-year policy of immunity for senior White House advisers. It was a real violation of the constitution.' Navarro is still appealing his conviction. Giardina, who is believed to be on suspension at the FBI, was also involved in the debunked Russia collusion investigation against Trump, special counsel Robert Mueller's subsequent investigation, and other cases involving Trump allies Dan Scavino and Roger Stone, as well as the Hillary Clinton emails case. Advertisement Giardina was an 'initial recipient of the Steele Dossier,' according to Grassley, and falsely claimed that the bogus Clinton campaign-originated smear sheet against Trump was corroborated as 'true.' Giardina also 'electronically wiped the laptop he was assigned while working for Mueller outside of established protocol for record preservation, raising the possibility that he destroyed government records.' Another FBI agent, former FBI Washington Field Office assistant boss Timothy Thibault, is one of several G-men implicated in the FBI's Get-Trump operation. In an email obtained by Grassley from May 19, 2022, Giardina tells Thibault and colleagues that the DC US Attorney's Office 'after consultation with main Justice . . . would like to charge Navarro in the next two weeks.' Start your day with all you need to know Morning Report delivers the latest news, videos, photos and more. Thanks for signing up! Enter your email address Please provide a valid email address. By clicking above you agree to the Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. Never miss a story. Check out more newsletters Advertisement 'Wow. Great,' replied Thibault. Thibault was the FBI's 'point man' to manage whistleblower Tony Bobulinski, Hunter Biden's former business partner, who came forward with damning revelations before the 2020 election about then-presidential candidate Joe Biden's involvement in his son's multimillion-dollar influence peddling deals with China. Bobulinski spent over five hours secretly being interviewed at the FBI Washington Field office on Oct. 23, 2020, and handed over the contents of three cellphones containing messages between Hunter and his business partners, along with emails and financial documents, including the '10 percent for the Big Guy' email that was also found on Hunter's abandoned laptop. He and his lawyer were told Thibault would contact them, but they never heard from him — or anyone at the FBI — again. Advertisement Whistleblowers have told Grassley that Thibault, who has resigned from the FBI, had allegedly been involved in 'a scheme' to 'undermine derogatory information connected to Hunter Biden by falsely suggesting it was disinformation.' Newly ruthless More evidence is expected to emerge about the scheme to target Trump and his allies while covering up for Joe Biden. Internal FBI emails and documents continue to surface now that the Trump administration has access to hidden troves of information, and Republicans have control of Congress, with a newfound ruthless determination to hold wrongdoers to account. 'My hope is that they'll find what we believe exists which is improper communications between the department of justice, the FBI, the White House and J6 committee relating to our [Navarro and Bannon's] prosecution,' says Navarro. True to form, while he was in prison, Navarro also uncovered what he says is a hidden multibillion-dollar scandal within the prison system, which he will reveal in his new book.
Newsweek
26-06-2025
- Politics
- Newsweek
Judge Ridicules Trump Admin In Kilmar Abrego Garcia Case: 'Defies Logic'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A federal judge in Tennessee has balked at the Trump administration's request to halt the release of Kilmar Abrego Garcia, arguing that the Department of Justice's case "defies logic." In an opinion issued Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Waverly D. Crenshaw, Jr. rejected the government's bid to delay the father of three's release from jail on the grounds that he might be deported before facing trial. Obama-appointed Judge Crenshaw said the authority to deport Abrego lies entirely with the federal government. Newsweek has contacted both Abrego Garcia's legal team via email, and the DOJ, via contact form, for comment. In this photo released by Senator Van Hollen's press office, Hollen, right, speaks with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, in... In this photo released by Senator Van Hollen's press office, Hollen, right, speaks with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen who was living in Maryland and deported to El Salvador by the Trump administration, in a hotel restaurant in San Salvador, El Salvador, Thursday, April 17, 2025. More Press Office Senator Van Hollen Why It Matters Construction worker Abrego Garcia was among the 230 migrants who were deported to El Salvador's notorious supervision Terrorism Confinement Center, known as CECOT in March this year. His bid for asylum failed, but a judge had granted him a "withholding of removal" order in 2019, because he faced gang persecution in San Salvador. The Trump administration had claimed Abrego Garcia was affiliated with the MS-13 gang, though he had not been charged with any crime, and his attorneys said there was no evidence linking him to gang activity. His deportation in March occurred amid what DHS later admitted was an "administrative error." He became a flashpoint around the application of legal due process, or lack of it, in deportation cases. What To Know The Trump administration came under mounting pressure from both the courts and Democratic lawmakers to return the Salvadoran immigrant, who had been living in Maryland since entering the U.S. without legal status in 2011, but had no criminal record. Abrego Garcia, 29, returned to the U.S. in June to face charges after being indicted by a grand jury for allegedly transporting undocumented migrants. He pleaded not guilty to human trafficking charges at an arraignment in a Tennessee federal court on June 13. The DOJ argued that, if Abrego Garcia were released, it might not be able to prevent his deportation. But Judge Crenshaw Jr. has upheld a previous ruling by a magistrate judge that found Abrego Garcia eligible for release from detention. Both defense and government attorneys acknowledged that, if released, Abrego Garcia could be taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and potentially deported before his criminal case proceeds. Such a scenario, they argued, could prevent Abrego Garcia from contesting the charges, which he denies, and could also hinder the government's ability to prosecute the case. In his written opinion, Judge Crenshaw Jr. observed that the risk of deportation stemmed from decisions within the executive branch itself. "At bottom, the Government asks the Court to save it from itself because it may suffer irreparable harm completely of its own making," the judge wrote in court documents obtained by Newsweek. The Justice Department had argued that Abrego's potential deportation—triggered by an ICE detainer, would cause "irreparable injury" by preventing prosecutors from pursuing criminal charges. But Crenshaw dismissed that argument as both self-inflicted and legally unsound. "It is the Executive Branch's decision that places the Government in this predicament," the judge wrote. "Because the Department of Justice and DHS can together prevent the harm the Government contends it faces, it can hardly be considered certain, great, or beyond remediation." The judge leaned on long-standing legal precedent to dismantle the DOJ's claim, citing Supreme Court and D.C. Circuit rulings that require irreparable harm to be both "certain and great," not speculative or avoidable. "If the Court were to indulge the Government's argument, it could lead to the inevitable conclusion that the Executive's injury on itself satisfies this strict standard. That defies logic," the judge wrote. The opinion adds further scrutiny to the Trump administration's internal coordination—or lack thereof—between its law enforcement and immigration agencies. Crenshaw said that if the DOJ considers Abrego's prosecution a priority, it should be working with DHS to ensure he remains in the country. "If the Government finds this case to be as high priority as it argues here, it is incumbent upon it to ensure that Abrego is held accountable for the charges in the Indictment. If the Department of Justice and DHS cannot do so, that speaks for itself," he wrote. The judge said the government didn't give a strong enough reason to delay Abrego Garcia's release from jail, and denied its request to keep him in custody. What People Are Saying Judge Crenshaw wrote in court documents: "The focus here is not what will happen to Abrego after he is released, but whether the Government has made the proper showing to trigger the statutory authority to detain him. The answer to that question is important, as it is axiomatic that an individual has a "strong interest in liberty." Lisa Sherman Luna, Executive Director of Tennessee Immigrant and Refugee Rights Coalition (TIRRC) said in a statement shared with Newsweek: "Ignoring court orders and charging people with crimes after they have already been sent to detention is authoritarianism at work. It's not merely a coincidence that this case is unfolding in Tennessee. This administration thinks that the people of Tennessee will be sympathetic to their attempt to paint our communities with a wide brush and spin a narrative where immigrants are seen and treated as criminals. But Tennesseans themselves have shown time and again this is not what we stand for, and that they will continue to fight to make sure our state is one that champions justice, welcomes new neighbors, and offers everyone the opportunity to live with dignity." White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt previously told Newsweek in a statement: "The Justice Department's Grand Jury Indictment against Abrego Garcia proves the unhinged Democratic Party was wrong, and their stenographers in the Fake News Media were once again played like fools. Abrego Garcia was never an innocent 'Maryland Man'— Abrego Garcia is an illegal alien terrorist, gang member, and human trafficker who has spent his entire life abusing innocent people, especially women and the most vulnerable. Abrego Garcia will now return to the United States to answer for his crimes and meet the full force of American justice." Abrego Garcia's attorneys, rejecting the prosecution's assertions that he was a danger, at his arraignment hearing where he pleaded not guilty, per The Associated Press: "If Mr. Abrego Garcia is so dangerous, this violent MS-13 guy, why did they wait almost three years to indict him on this? Why wait until literally after the Supreme Court told them they denied him due process and they had to bring him back before they investigate him?" What Happens Next Abrego Garcia is currently being held in Nashville, Tennessee, on criminal charges related to human smuggling.
