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Al Jazeera
22-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
Judges reject Trump lawyer Alina Habba's bid to serve as federal prosecutor
The Trump administration quickly acted to remove Habba's replacement following a decision not to extend her term. A panel of federal judges have declined to extend Alina Habba's term as a United States attorney for the district of New Jersey beyond the interim period of 120 days. Tuesday's court order, signed by the chief judge for the District of New Jersey, Renee Marie Bumb, brings Habba's brief tenure to an end for now. The judges instead elevated Desiree Grace, Habba's deputy at the US Attorney's Office in New Jersey, to serve as the bureau's top federal prosecutor. But the administration of President Donald Trump quickly denounced the judges' decision as political activism and fired Grace from the role before she could even take up the post. '[Alina Habba] has been doing a great job in making NJ safe again. Nonetheless, politically minded judges refused to allow her to continue in her position, replacing Alina with the First Assistant,' Attorney General Pam Bondi wrote on social media. 'Accordingly, the First Assistant United States Attorney in New Jersey has just been removed. This Department of Justice does not tolerate rogue judges.' Habba's time as interim US attorney has sparked controversy as yet another example of Trump picking close personal contacts to serve in government roles. Habba herself has also been accused of carrying out politically motivated prosecutions while acting as the US lawyer. During her four-month tenure, she pursued cases against several Democratic lawmakers, including Newark Mayor Ras Baraka and US Representative LaMonica McIver. Both prosecutions stemmed from an effort by lawmakers to visit and inspect an immigrant detention facility in New Jersey. Trump has made mass deportation a central pillar of his second term, and that, in turn, has stirred fears about the safety and rights of those held in the detention facilities. Advertisement Controversial cases In the case of Baraka and McIver, the incident in question took place on May 9 at the Delaney Hall detention centre outside of Newark. Baraka, at the time a gubernatorial candidate for the Democratic Party, had repeatedly protested the newly opened facility for allegedly lacking the proper local permits. According to Baraka's defence team, he was invited inside the Delaney Hall gate along with members of the US Congress, who have a right to inspect federal facilities as part of their oversight duties. But he was asked to leave, and once he was outside the gate, he was handcuffed and led away. Habba later announced he had been charged with trespassing. Within 10 days, however, Habba walked back those charges 'after extensive consideration'. In a court hearing to dismiss the case, US Magistrate Judge Andre Espinosa chided a representative from Habba's office for making a 'worrisome misstep'. Espinosa told prosecutors that arresting a public figure should not be used as an 'investigative tool' and warned that criminal charges carry 'significant reputational and personal consequences'. Still, at the same time as she dropped the case against Baraka, Habba launched a case against Representative McIver, who had sought to defend the Newark mayor as he was being arrested. Habba sued McIver for physical assault after she allegedly pushed into a federal agent in the tightly packed crowd outside Delaney Hall. McIver has denied the charge and accused Habba of attempting to 'intimidate' her. Baraka, meanwhile, sued Habba over 'malicious prosecution'. Habba has also launched investigations into Democratic Governor Phil Murphy and Attorney General Matt Platkin over resistance to working more closely with the Trump administration on immigration enforcement. Ties to Trump Before joining the Trump administration as an interim US attorney, Habba served as the president's personal lawyer. She represented him in several civil cases before he returned to the White House in January. In one case, Habba represented Trump in a defamation suit brought by Summer Zervos, a former contestant on his reality television show The Apprentice. After Habba threatened a countersuit, Zervos dropped her defamation complaint. But she also was part of two high-profile cases that Trump lost: a civil fraud case brought by New York Attorney General Letitia James and a defamation suit brought by writer E Jean Carroll. Trump has appealed both. In March, shortly after taking office for a second term, Trump appointed Habba to serve in the Department of Justice as a US attorney, the chief law enforcement officer in a given district. Advertisement But her position was on an interim basis, capped at 120 days. Continuing in the position beyond the interim period required the approval of a judicial panel. Still, Trump has signalled that he had hopes to keep Habba in her position. Earlier this month, he submitted a formal nomination to the US Senate for Habba to remain a US attorney. But that nomination faces opposition from New Jersey Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim, who question whether Habba is qualified. Habba had not worked as a prosecutor until Trump appointed her to the role, and the Senate has yet to act on her nomination. Several of Trump's other nominees to the Department of Justice have faced similar pushback. Last week, a US District Court for the Northern District of New York declined to keep interim US attorney John Sarcone in place after his 120-day term neared its end. Nevertheless, members of the Trump administration were defiant in the face of the setbacks. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche, another former personal lawyer to the president, accused the judges in New Jersey of having 'forced out' Habba on political grounds. 'The district judges in NJ just proved this was never about law—it was about politics,' Blanche wrote on social media. 'This backroom vote will not override the authority of the Chief Executive.'
Fox News
16-07-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Spike Cohen's Fight To Reunite Families
Last spring, Libertarian Political Activist Spike Cohen joined Kennedy to discuss his efforts to reunite families separated after seeking medical attention. Spike returns to give an update on one of those families who were wrongfully accused of abusing their child and shares his continued fight for reunification. Follow Kennedy on Twitter: @KennedyNation Kennedy Now Available on YouTube: Follow on TikTok: Join Kennedy for Happy Hour on Fridays! Learn more about your ad choices. Visit
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
The MAGA 'mating call' is taking dating apps by storm. So WILL POTTER and ALEXA CIMINO put it to the test... and were stunned by the results
Young Trump supporters have started turning dating apps into battlegrounds, opening with a bold, sometimes polarizing pickup line: 'Hi, I'm MAGA.' It's called the 'MAGA mating call,' and it's not exactly subtle.
Daily Mail
02-06-2025
- Business
- Daily Mail
Kamala Harris gives clearest signal yet she will run for White House again in 2028
Former Vice President Kamala Harris triggered further speculation over the weekend that she is not running for governor of California after she delivered a lackluster address to the Democratic state political convention. Harris did not attend the event in-person but sent a three-minute video address that was politely received by the audience. In a steady, monotone voice, she spoke about the Trump administration's recent actions against universities and praised activists efforts to fight the president's agenda. 'While this administration in Washington tries to divide us, we hear know that we are stronger when we stand together,' she said, a flashback to her 2024 campaign slogan. Harris' failure to appear at the convention and her video address suggested she was not interested in running for governor of California, and instead pursuing a return to presidential politics. The Democratic primary for the race is scheduled for June 2, 2026, with the general election scheduled for November. Harris has always been popular in California, easily beating Democratic challengers in her race for Attorney General and her race for Senator of California. Her 2020 race for president, however, failed spectacularly as she ended her campaign before the Iowa caucuses and the California primary. Since her loss, Harris has vowed to 'stay in the fight' and organized some of her trusted aides into the organization Pioneer49, while she explores her political future. California Democratic activists are frustrated by the lack of signals from Harris, as they are impatient to move forward with a clear candidate. If Harris runs for governor, she will likely forego another run for president in 2028, which Democratic strategists in Washington, DC fully expect her to explore. She continues to delay any decisions about running for governor or diving into presidential politics again, telling advisors she will made a decision in late-summer. A third option remains, that she will forego a political career entirely and remain a paid speaker and inspirational figure for activists with the option of publishing a book of her memoirs. In the meantime, Harris continues to take the stage to protest the Trump administration and rally activists. Last week, she appeared at an event in Australia where she shared a bizarre story about her mother and spiraled into word salads when asked to speak about the importance of humility. Harris also appeared at the lavish Met Gala last month wearing a custom look from Off-White, designed by creative director IB Kamara, but skipped the red carpet. The failed presidential candidate also took the stage at Emerge 20th anniversary gala at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco to deliver the keynote speech that began late in the evening. 'It's good to be home!' Harris laughed as she took the stage, criticizing Trump for his agenda, particularly his tariffs. 'Instead of the administration working to advance America's highest ideals, we are witnessing a wholesale abandonment of those ideals,' she said. Trump's agenda, she said, was 'not lowering costs' and 'not making life more affordable' and 'not what they promised.' She noted that the Trump administration was counting on the fact that fear was 'contagious.' She also urged Democrats to find courage in the video of the San Diego Zoo elephants who responded to a recent earthquake by circling around each other. 'As soon as they felt the earth shaking beneath their feet, they got in a circle and stood next to each other to protect the most vulnerable,' she said. 'Think about it. What a powerful metaphor.' Harris cautioned Democrats from dismissing Trump's efforts as 'chaos.' 'Understand what we are in fact witnessing is a high velocity event, where a vessel is being used for the swift implementation of an agenda that has been decades in the making,' She urged Americans to stand against the administration with courage. 'What we are experiencing right now is exactly what they envisioned for America, right now we are living in their vision for America, but this is not a vision that American's want.' She praised people who protested the president's agenda, including his deportation orders. 'It is not okay to detain and disappear American citizens or anyone without due process,' she said. Harris only spoke for about 15 minutes, but it was the crowning moment for the event that helped raise money for female political candidates.
Times
08-05-2025
- Politics
- Times
Is ‘fight oligarchy' the best Democrats can do?
In a demotic age, when political messages are designed to stimulate the baser popular instincts, and campaign slogans cry simple exhortations such as 'Make America great again' or 'Take back control', 'Fight oligarchy' seems a little rarefied. It sounds like the kind of thing you'd read on a placard at a demonstration for higher pay by political science professors, or the name of a punk rock tribute band composed of ageing former PhD students. But across the US this spring, tens of thousands of Americans are showing up at rallies in places such as Missoula, Montana and Nampa, Idaho, to declare their allegiance to it; signing up as hoplites in a modern day Democratic army ready to fight what its leaders say characterises this US
