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Judge rules against Trump lawyer John Eastman in dispute with Jan. 6 investigators

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Judge rules against Trump lawyer John Eastman in dispute with Jan. 6 investigators

A federal choose on Wednesday handed an incremental victory to the congressional panel investigating the Jan. 6 rebellion in a case involving California lawyer John Eastman.

Eastman, who suggested former President Trump on efforts to overturn the outcomes of the 2020 presidential election, has been preventing to forestall the committee from seeing greater than 100 emails involving him.

The choose dominated towards Eastman for now, saying the court docket would assessment the paperwork to find out which may be turned over to the panel.

Eastman has emerged as a central determine within the committee’s investigation into Trump’s efforts to subvert the election outcomes.

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He wrote two authorized memos arguing that Vice President Mike Pence had the authority to unilaterally reject electoral votes or delay their counting, which might have opened the door for Republican-led state legislatures to solid their votes for Trump although extra voters solid their ballots for Joe Biden. The recommendation was disregarded by Pence and roundly denounced by authorized specialists when it turned public final yr.

The congressional committee subpoenaed emails despatched or acquired by Eastman from Jan. 4 to Jan. 7, 2021.

Eastman sued to dam launch of the paperwork, that are housed on the server of Chapman College in Orange, which was Eastman’s employer on the time. He argued that they’re shielded from disclosure by attorney-client privilege and associated authorized guidelines.

The choose rejected that blanket declare.

“After studying the emails, the Courtroom will decide for every doc whether or not any privilege existed, whether or not that privilege was waived, and whether or not any exceptions apply,” wrote U.S. District Decide David O. Carter, who relies in Santa Ana.

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“Finally, the Courtroom will difficulty a written resolution together with its full evaluation and its ultimate willpower of which, if any, paperwork should be disclosed to the Choose Committee.”

The committee had argued for the court docket assessment of 111 disputed emails in a listening to on Tuesday, which additionally supplied extra perception into the panel’s idea of potential felony expenses towards Trump, which was first revealed final week in a court docket submitting pertaining to Eastman’s lawsuit.

In that submitting, the committee alleged that the emails it was searching for from Eastman might present that Trump broke a number of legal guidelines by searching for to dam the certification of Biden’s win regardless of understanding that his claims of fraud have been unfounded.

The committee stated attorney-client privilege between Eastman and Trump wouldn’t apply to proof demonstrating crime or fraud.

Charles Burnham, an lawyer for Eastman, acknowledged within the listening to it was probably the choose would assessment the paperwork and tamped down expectations the emails would reveal blatant wrongdoing.

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“There’s not going to be an electronic mail the place anybody concerned within the marketing campaign effort says, ‘We’ve bought to have some ruffians rush the Capitol if the vice chairman doesn’t make the choice we would like.’ It’s not going to be there,” Burnham stated.

“There’s not going to be an electronic mail that claims, ‘Everyone knows the election had no fraud or illegality, however we’ve bought to give you one thing.’”

Douglas Letter, counsel for the Home choose committee, stated whereas they didn’t count on the emails would present such flagrant violations, there was already data that factors to fraud or felony intent.

He cited an electronic mail to Pence’s counsel, Greg Jacob, by which Eastman stated Trump had been suggested there was nothing supporting his allegations of electoral fraud, however “as soon as [Trump] will get one thing in his head, it’s exhausting to get him to vary course.”

“That’s fairly robust proof … that Trump was ignoring the entire very clear proof as a result of he wished one thing totally different,” Letter stated. “He wished the vice chairman to do one thing that was plainly towards the Structure.

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Carter, in his order, didn’t handle the committee’s allegations of felony or fraudulent exercise. He stated the panel raised ample questions on whether or not Eastman’s emails could be shielded beneath attorney-client privilege or as work product made in anticipation of a lawsuit.

Whereas the ruling advances the committee’s efforts, Carter famous that “studying the emails doesn’t imply that the Courtroom will in the end require disclosure.” The order didn’t specify when it can decide which emails ought to be turned over to congressional investigators.

The listening to additionally concerned an lawyer for Chapman College, the place Eastman served as legislation professor and onetime dean of the legislation college.

An uproar over Eastman’s involvement with Trump, together with his look at a pro-Trump rally instantly previous the rebellion on the Capitol, prompted the professor to retire abruptly one week after Jan. 6.

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

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Appeals court rules Texas has right to build razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration: 'Huge win'

A federal appeals court on Wednesday ruled that Texas has the right to build a razor wire border wall to deter illegal immigration into the Lone Star State. 

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced the ruling on X, saying President Biden was “wrong to cut our razor wire.” 

“We continue adding more razor wire border barrier,” the Republican leader wrote. 

Wednesday’s 2-1 decision by the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for Texas to pursue a lawsuit accusing the Biden administration of trespassing without having to remove the fencing.

TRUMP SAYS MEXICO WILL STOP FLOW OF MIGRANTS AFTER SPEAKING WITH MEXICAN PRESIDENT FOLLOWING TARIFF THREATS

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It also reversed a federal judge’s November 2023 refusal to grant a preliminary injunction to Texas as the state resisted federal efforts to remove fencing along the Rio Grande in the vicinity of Eagle Pass, Texas.

U.S. Border Patrol agents cut an opening through razor wire after immigrant families crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

Circuit Judge Kyle Duncan, a Trump appointee during the president-elect’s first term, wrote for Wednesday’s majority that Texas was trying only to safeguard its own property, not “regulate” U.S. Border Patrol, and was likely to succeed in its trespass claims.

LIBERAL NANTUCKET REELS FROM MIGRANT CRIME WAVE AS BIDEN SPENDS THANKSGIVING IN RICH FRIEND’S MANSION

Duncan said the federal government waived its sovereign immunity and rejected its concerns that a ruling by Texas would impede the enforcement of immigration law and undermine the government’s relationship with Mexico.

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TEXAS BORDER RAZOR WIRE

A Venezuelan immigrant asks Texas National Guard troops to let his family pass through razor wire after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, Sept. 27, 2023. (John Moore/Getty Images)

He said the public interest “supports clear protections for property rights from government intrusion and control” and ensuring that federal immigration law enforcement does not “unnecessarily intrude into the rights of countless property owners.”

Republican Attorney General Ken Paxton called the ruling a “huge win for Texas.” 

“The Biden Administration has been enjoined from damaging, destroying, or otherwise interfering with Texas’s border fencing,” Paxton wrote in a post on X. “We sued immediately when the federal government was observed destroying fences to let illegal aliens enter, and we’ve fought every step of the way for Texas sovereignty and security.”

Texas border

Migrants attempt to cross the southern border in Ciudad Juárez, Mexico, in February. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)

The White House has been locked in legal battles with Texas and other states that have tried to deter illegal immigration. 

In May, the full 5th Circuit heard arguments in a separate case between Texas and the White House over whether the state can keep a 1,000-foot floating barrier on the Rio Grande.

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The appeals court is also reviewing a judge’s order blocking a Texas law that would allow state officials to arrest, prosecute and order the removal of people in the country illegally.

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

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Rep. Katie Porter obtains temporary restraining order against ex-boyfriend on harassment allegations

U.S. Rep. Katie Porter (D-Irvine) secured a temporary restraining order Tuesday against a former boyfriend, saying in dozens of pages of court filings that he had bombarded her, as well as her family and colleagues, with hundreds of messages that she described as “persistent abuse and harassment.”

Porter, 50, alleged in a filing with Orange County Superior Court that her ex-boyfriend Julian Willis, 55, was contacting her and her family with such frequency that she had a “significant fear” for her “personal safety and emotional well-being.”

Judge Stephen T. Hicklin signed a restraining order Tuesday barring Willis from communicating with Porter and her children until a mid-December court hearing. He also barred Willis from communicating about Porter with her current and former colleagues.

In the court filing, Porter said that Willis had been hospitalized twice since late 2022 on involuntary psychiatric holds and had a history of abusing prescription painkillers and other drugs.

She said in a statement to The Times that Willis’ mental health and struggles with addiction seemed to have gotten worse since she asked him in August to move out of her Irvine home. She said she sought the court order after his threats to her family and colleagues “escalated in both their frequency and intensity.”

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“I sincerely hope he gets the help he needs,” Porter said.

Willis declined to comment. He will have an opportunity to file a legal response to the temporary restraining order and challenge Porter’s allegations.

Porter is leaving the House of Representatives in January after losing in California’s U.S. Senate primary in March. She has been discussed as a front-runner in the 2026 governor’s race in California after Gov. Gavin Newsom is termed out, but has not said whether she will launch a campaign.

The 53-page court filing, first reported by Politico, included 22 pages of emails, text messages and other communications among Porter, family members and colleagues who had received messages from Willis, as well as messages that Willis sent to Porter’s attorney and to her political mentor Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.).

The filing also included messages between herself and Willis’ siblings as they discussed trying to help him during his psychiatric holds and while he was staying in a sober-living facility.

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Porter said that since she ordered Willis to move out, he had sent her more than 1,000 text messages and emails, including texting her 82 times in one 24-hour period in September, and 55 times on Nov. 12 before she blocked his number.

Porter said in the filing that her ex-boyfriend had “already contacted at least three reporters to disseminate false and damaging information” about her and her children, which she said “poses a serious risk to [her] career and personal reputation.”

The filing includes an email that Porter said Willis sent to her attorney late Monday, in which Willis said he had visited Porter’s son at college in Iowa and told him that he would “bring the hammer down on Katie and smash her and her life into a million pieces.”

Another screenshot shows Willis telling Porter’s attorney that he would file a complaint about Porter, who has children ages 12 and 16, with child protective services.

One of Porter’s congressional staff members received a text message from Willis saying he would “punish the f—” out of him if he did not agree to “cooperate” with a New York Times reporter and Willis’ attorneys, according to a screenshot included in the court document.

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Willis previously made the news in 2021, when he was arrested after a fight that broke out at a Porter town hall at a park in Irvine.

Times staff writer Christopher Goffard contributed to this report.

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

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Homan taking death threats against him ‘more seriously’ after Trump officials targeted with violent threats

Incoming Trump border czar Tom Homan reacted to news of death threats against Trump nominees on Wednesday and said he now takes the death threats he has previously received seriously. 

“I have not taken this serious up to this point,” Homan told Fox News anchor Gillian Turner on “The Story” on Wednesday, referring to previous death threats made against him and his family. 

“Now that I know what’s happened in the last 24 hours. I will take it a little more serious. But look, I’ve been dealing with this. When I was the ICE director in the first administration, I had numerous death threats. I had a security detail with me all the time. Even after I retired, death threats continued and even after I retired as the ICE Director. I had U.S. Marshals protection for a long time to protect me and my family.”

Homan explained that what “doesn’t help” the situation is the “negative press” around Trump. 

HARRIS NEVER LED TRUMP, INTERNAL POLLS SHOWED — BUT DNC OFFICIALS WERE KEPT IN THE DARK

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President Elect Donald Trump, left, and new appointed Tom Homan, right (Getty)

“I’m not in the cabinet, but, you know, I’ve read numerous hit pieces. I mean, you know, I’m a racist and, you know, I’m the father of family separation, all this other stuff. So the hate media doesn’t help at all because there are some nuts out there. They’ll take advantage. So that doesn’t help.”

Homan’s comments come shortly after Fox News Digital first reported that nearly a dozen of President-elect Donald Trump’s cabinet nominees and other appointees tapped for the incoming administration were targeted Tuesday night with “violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” prompting a “swift” law enforcement response.

ARMED FELON ARRESTED FOR THREATENING TO KILL TRUMP ATTENDED RALLY WEEKS AFTER BUTLER ASSASSINATION ATTEMPT

Donald Trump in a blue suit and red tie pumps his fist in the air and looks up

Republican presidential nominee former President Donald Trump pumps his fist as he arrives to speak at a campaign event at Nassau Coliseum, Wednesday, Sept.18, 2024, in Uniondale, N.Y. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

The “attacks ranged from bomb threats to ‘swatting,’” according to Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman and incoming White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

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“Last night and this morning, several of President Trump’s Cabinet nominees and administration appointees were targeted in violent, unAmerican threats to their lives and those who live with them,” she told Fox News Digital on Wednesday. “In response, law enforcement acted quickly to ensure the safety of those who were targeted. President Trump and the entire Transition team are grateful for their swift action.” 

Sources told Fox News Digital that John Ratcliffe, the nominee to be CIA director, Pete Hegseth, the nominee for secretary of defense, and Rep. Elise Stefanik, the nominee for UN ambassador, were among those targeted. Brooke Rollins, who Trump has tapped to be secretary of agriculture, and Lee Zeldin, Trump’s nominee to be EPA administrator, separately revealed they were also targeted. 

Threats were also made against Trump’s Labor Secretary nominee, GOP Rep. Lori Chavez-DeRemer, and former Trump attorney general nominee Matt Gaetz’s family. 

Trump holds fist

Republican candidate Donald Trump is seen with blood on his face surrounded by secret service agents as he is taken off the stage at a campaign event at Butler Farm Show Inc. in Butler, Pennsylvania, July 13, 2024.  Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images (Rebecca Droke/AFP via Getty Images)

Homan told Fox News that he is “not going to be intimidated by these people” and “I’m not going to let them silence me.”

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“What I’ve learned today I’ll start taking a little more serious.”

Homan added that he believes “we need to have a strong response once we find out is behind all this.”

“It’s illegal to threaten someone’s life. And we need to follow through with that.”

The threats on Tuesday night came mere months after Trump survived two assassination attempts.

Fox News Digital’s Brooke Singman contributed to this report

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