Tag: lawsuits

Legal Coalition Challenges Trump’s Use of Executive Orders Against More Law Firms

A broad coalition of legal and civil liberties organizations is once again challenging President Trump’s use of executive orders to retaliate against law firms that he perceives as political opponents, suppress opposition and chill lawful First Amendment activity.

The coalition, which includes the ACLU, ACLU of DC, CATO, Electronic Frontier Foundation, FIRE, the Institute for Justice, the Knight First Amendment Institute, the National Coalition Against Censorship, the Reporters Committee for the Freedom of the Press, the Society for the Rule of Law, and The Rutherford Institute, filed two more amicus briefs (Jenner & Block and WilmerHale) asking a federal court to strike down as illegal and unconstitutional the president’s executive orders targeting the law firms of Jenner & Block and WilmerHale. The coalition filed a similar amicus brief in Perkins Coie LLP v. U.S. Department of Justice challenging the president’s executive order as a violation of the separation of powers and an unconstitutional infringement on the rights to free speech, advocacy and due process.

“That President Trump is weaponizing the government in order to wage a war against dissent, against due process, and against the very foundations of our constitutional republic should be a warning to all Americans,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “History shows that when governments claim the power to silence dissent—whether in the name of national security, border protection, or law and order—that power rarely remains limited. These threats against the legal community are just the beginning.”

In an effort to punish a number of major law firms and discourage others from challenging the Trump Administration’s ongoing efforts to sidestep the Constitution, President Trump issued Executive Orders directing the federal government to suspend the firms’ security clearances, cease providing all goods and services, terminate any contracts with the firms and those who do business with them, limit the firms’ access to federal buildings and employees, and refrain from hiring employees of the firms. The intent behind the president’s actions, per former advisor Steve Bannon, is to “put those law firms out of business” in response to the firms using the system of checks and balances to prevent the Administration from violating the Constitution.

Perkins Coie, Jenner & Block and WilmerHale each challenged Trump’s Orders on grounds that they violate the separation of powers and the First, Fifth, and Sixth Amendments. Warning that Trump’s actions constitute a brazen attack on the independence of the legal profession and the judicial branch, the legal coalition’s amicus briefs in support of the law firms argue that Trump’s Executive Orders not only infringe the First Amendment rights to freedom of speech and petitioning the government, but also essentially give the government an unfettered veto over a person’s right to choice of counsel due to the government pushing for a cancel culture and creating a blacklist of firms, similar to what the NRA previously claimed was done to it by a New York state official. Moreover, if the executive orders are allowed to stand, they could set a precedent for future Administrations of either political party to suppress challenges to a president’s unconstitutional policies and actions and to deter lawyers from representing the president’s political opponents or any clients adverse to the Administration.

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California Governor Gavin Newsom Announces Lawsuit Against President Trump

President Trump’s constitutional authority is about to face another serious challenge thanks to the governor of the most populous state in the union.

As KTLA reported, California Governor and likely 2028 Presidential candidate Gavin Newsom announced this morning he will be suing Trump, claiming that the president’s tariffs are “wrecking chaos” across the Golden State. This marks the first time a state has taken legal action against Trump over tariffs.

The suit filed by Newsom will argue that Trump’s use of the International Emergency Economic Powers Act to impose tariffs on Mexico, Canada, and China or a 10% tariff on all imports violates the U.S. Constitution. The act, which was signed in law by then-President Jimmy Carter in 1977, enables a president to freeze and block transactions in response to foreign threats.

“President Trump’s unlawful tariffs are wreaking chaos on California families, businesses, and our economy — driving up prices and threatening jobs,” Newsom fumed in a statement. “We’re standing up for American families who can’t afford to let the chaos continue.”

Newsom went on to argue that California could lose billions of dollars due to Trump’s tariffs.

KTLA reports that the suit will be filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, a Democrat-friendly venue. The state of California is expected to request the court to immediately block the tariffs.

As KTLA notes, Newsom’s move comes after he has begged countries to grant California counties a special exemption from tariffs.

The Gateway Pundit previously reported that Trump announced on April 2 the implementation of a 10% baseline tariff on all imports, effective April 5, 2025. The worst offenders will be hit with even tougher measures on April 9.

Speaking from the White House Rose Garden, President Trump proclaimed April 2 as “Liberation Day,” marking a new era of economic independence.

He emphasized that this measure is essential to protect American jobs and revitalize domestic manufacturing.

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‘I became like a slave’: why 43 women are suing the secretive Opus Dei Catholic group in Argentina

The first item Opus Dei gave 12-year-old Andrea Martínez was a pink dress. The second was a schedule that detailed every task for every minute of her day. Then, when she was 16, she was given a cilice – a spiked metal chain to wear around her thigh – and a whip.

In the late 1980s, Opus Dei, a secretive and ultra-conservative Catholic organisation, promised Martínez an escape from a life of poverty in rural Argentina. By attending one of their schools, they said, she would receive an education and opportunities.

“They told me I would study and progress. I thought with an education that later I would be able to help my family,” says Martínez, 50.

“But I became like a slave. They treated me like a slave, without any capacity to think or act or do.”

Martínez, along with dozens of other women in Argentina, has accused Opus Dei – which has a presence in more than 70 countries but is strongest in Spain, Italy and Latin America – of coercing them as children and adolescents into a life of domestic servitude.

They say they were forced into working up to 12-hour days, cooking and cleaning for the elite members, without pay.

The women also say they faced extreme control, their letters were censored, and they were banned from reading anything but children’s books or religious texts. When they eventually escaped, the women say they were left without money, clothes or qualifications.

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Arizona to Remove Up to 50,000 Noncitizens From Voter Rolls After Successful Conservative Lawsuit

All 15 counties in Arizona have now started reviewing and cleaning their voter rolls to remove noncitizens, including nearly 50,000 voters who registered without showing proof of U.S. citizenship.

The lawsuit was filed by America First Legal (AFL) on behalf of EZAZ.org and Yvonne Cahill, a naturalized U.S. citizen and registered voter. AFL was founded by Trump advisor Stephen Miller.

It argued that election officials were not following Arizona law, which requires proof of citizenship to vote in state and local elections. Counties must also run monthly checks to confirm the citizenship status of registered voters.

As part of the settlement, Arizona counties must now work with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to verify the citizenship of voters who didn’t provide documentation when registering.

“This settlement is a great result for all Arizonans,” said James Rogers, senior counsel at AFL in a statement provided to Fox News.

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Congressman sues gov’t over post-J6 Capitol Police actions

A congressman from Texas is suing the federal government for $2.5 million over the “unlawful harassment” he faced following the Jan. 6, 2021, protests and riots at the Capitol.

Rep Troy Nehls, R-Texas, charges that a Capitol police officer forced his way into Nehls’ congressional office without consent, then photographed materials in the room, including a whiteboard with a discussion of proposed firearms legislation.

Then the authorities followed up with an investigation by other officers.

Significant is the claim that the police violated the Speech and Debate Clause of the U.S. Constitution, which provides vast protections for members of Congress doing their duties.

The first count charges “intrusion on privacy,” for the entry of the officer into the congressman’s private office and taking pictures.

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Judge awards $6.6M to whistleblowers who were fired after reporting Texas AG Ken Paxton to FBI

A district court judge awarded $6.6 million combined to four whistleblowers who sued Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton on claims he fired them in retaliation for reporting him to the FBI.

Blake Brickman, David Maxwell, Mark Penley and Ryan Vassar notified Paxton and his office on Oct. 1, 2020, that they had reported him to the FBI for allegedly abusing his office. The four were all fired by mid-November.

Travis County Judge Catherine Mauzy ruled Friday that by a “preponderance of the evidence,” the whistleblowers proved liability, damages and attorney’s fees in their complaint against the attorney general’s office.

The judgment says the former aides made their reports to federal law enforcement “in good faith” and that Paxton’s office did not dispute any claims or damages in the lawsuit.

“Because the Office of the Attorney General violated the Texas Whistleblower Act by firing and otherwise retaliating against the plaintiff for in good faith reporting violations of law by Ken Paxton and OAG, the court hereby renders judgment for plaintiffs,” Mauzy wrote in her judgment.

The court found that the four former aides of the attorney general were fired in retaliation for reporting allegations that he was using his office to accept bribes from Austin real estate developer and political donor Nate Paul, who employed a woman with whom Paxton was having an extramarital affair.

Paxton has denied allegations that he accepted bribes or misused his office to help Paul.

“It should shock all Texans that their chief law enforcement officer, Ken Paxton, admitted to violating the law, but that is exactly what happened in this case,” Tom Nesbitt, an attorney representing Brickman, and TJ Turner, an attorney representing Maxwell, said in a joint statement.

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DNC along with Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries Sue Trump Over His Effort to Prevent Illegals from Voting – Three Days After Elon Musk Reveals Millions Illegals are Registering to Vote and Were Voting

Billionaire entrepreneur and Trump advisor Elon Musk dropped a bombshell this past weekend during a fiery 100-minute town hall in Green Bay, Wisconsin, where he campaigned for conservative judge Brad Schimel in the state’s upcoming Supreme Court election on Tuesday.

Joined by Antonio Gracias, a private equity titan and a key member of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) team tasked with rooting out waste in the federal government, Musk unveiled a shocking chart: a dramatic spike in Social Security Numbers issued to non-citizens, soaring from 270,000 in 2021 to a mind-blowing 2.1 million in 2024.

That’s almost 5 million non-citizens now embedded in the system—collecting benefits, draining taxpayer dollars, and, most alarmingly, infiltrating the voter rolls.

“This is a mind-blowing chart,” Musk declared, pointing to the data. “This wasn’t an accident. This was a massive, large-scale program under the Biden administration to import as many illegals as possible—ultimately to change the voting map of the United States, disenfranchise the American people, and lock in a permanent deep-blue, one-party state from which there’d be no escape.”

Gracias, founder of Valor Equity Partners and a self-described son of legal immigrants, echoed Musk’s outrage.

“We went to Social Security to find fraud, and we stumbled on this by accident,” he said.

“And this isn’t political, by the way. My parents are immigrants… My brother and sister all born in Spain. I’m pro-legal immigration. This is not political. This is about America and the future of America. And there are a lot of good people in the system that pointed this in this direction. I want to honor them right now. They’re working with the government today and took the risks to show us these numbers and tell us what’s going on.”

Gracias continued, “We found 1.3 million of them already on Medicaid as an example. On every benefit program we went through, we found groups from this particular group of people, 5.5 million people in those benefit programs. And then what was really, really disturbing us was why. We’re asking ourselves why. And so we actually just took a sample and looked at voter registration records, and we found people here registered to vote in this population.”

The evidence, according to Musk and Gracias, is undeniable. By sampling voter registration records, they uncovered non-citizens who not only registered but voted in American elections.

“We’ve referred them to prosecution at Homeland Security Investigations,” Gracias revealed. “That’s happening right now.”

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Judge Rejects Anti-Defamation League’s Third Attempt to Halt $25M Defamation Suit

The Gateway Pundit reported on disabled Navy veteran John Sabal’s defamation suit against the Anti-Defamation League (ADL).

Sabal, who organizes patriotic festivals and has never been arrested, alleges that the ADL defamed him when it published his name in the ADL Center on Extremism’s “Glossary of Extremism and Hate.”

The Glossary ONLY names 295 people, many of them notorious terrorists such as Osama bin Laden, Timothy McVeigh, Dylann Roof, and Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, ‘an al Qaeda member and the mastermind of the 9/11 terror attack,’ the Glossary reminds us.”

On March 31, 2025, The Honorable Reed O’Connor, Judge of the United States District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Fort Worth Division, rejected the ADL’s latest efforts to stop Sabal’s suit.

Judge O’Connor quoted well-known case law in his ruling, stating that the mere fact that a disgruntled litigant intends to inevitably appeal does not create an exceptional case warranting a mid-suit appeal, and the law depended on by the ADL in its motion is “not a vehicle to question the correctness of a district court’s ruling or to obtain a second, more favorable opinion.”

“The ADL’s latest effort to delay John Sabal’s defamation suit has failed, as the court denied the ADL’s attempt for a mid-suit appeal and stay of proceedings based on a claim that Sabal is a public figure.  In keeping with fine federal court tradition, this case will still be heard as scheduled in July,” said Warren V. Norred, of NORRED LAW.

The ruling marks the third strike for the ADL’s defense team, which has now attempted and failed to stop the suit on three occasions.

In his four-page ruling, Judge O’Connor wrote, “For the foregoing reasons,  the court denies Defendant’s Motion to Certify an Immediate Appeal (ECF No. 66).  Because the Court does not certify an immediate appeal, the Court also denies Defendant’s Motion to Stay depending an appeal.”

This case has been ongoing for over a year, and discovery has concluded.  NORRED LAW was asked to step in after the ADL sought summary judgment and was unsuccessful.

Judge O’Connor’s order on that motion carefully evaluated Mr. Sabal’s complaint, dismissed his claims regarding injurious falsehood, upheld his claim that the ADL defamed him by including him in its “Glossary of Extremism and Hate,” and suggested that he is a “dangerous, extremist threat, and even a criminal.”

Judge O’Connor also preserved Sabal’s claim regarding the ADL’s report, “Hate in the Lone Star State.”

A trial date has been set for July 16, 2025.

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North Carolina family can sue over COVID-19 vaccine administered without consent, court rules

A North Carolina mother and her son can sue a public school system and a doctors’ group for allegedly giving the boy a COVID-19 vaccine without consent, the state Supreme Court ruled.

The ruling handed down Friday reverses a lower-court decision that a federal health emergency law prevented Emily Happel and her son Tanner Smith from filing a lawsuit.

Both a trial judge and the state Court of Appeals had ruled against the two, who sought litigation after Smith received an unwanted vaccine during the height of the coronavirus pandemic.

Smith was vaccinated in August 2021 at age 14 despite his opposition at a testing and vaccination clinic at a Guilford County high school, according to the family’s lawsuit.

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Family Of Dead Boeing Whistleblower Sues Over Suicide

The family of John Barnett, a former Boeing quality control manager who became a prominent whistleblower over aviation safety concerns, has filed a wrongful death lawsuit against the aerospace giant, accusing it of a campaign of harassment and intimidation that they allege led directly to his suicide.

Mr. Barnett, 62, was found dead in his truck in what was determined to be a self-inflicted gunshot wound on March 9, 2024, in Charleston, South Carolina, according to local police reports. At the time of his death, he resided in Louisiana. The tragic incident followed days of intense questioning by attorneys regarding allegations he made against Boeing related to aircraft safety defects, according to court documents.

The lawsuit, filed Thursday in federal court in South Carolina, claims that Boeing orchestrated a systematic “campaign of harassment, abuse, and intimidation intended to discourage, discredit, and humiliate him until he would either give up or be discredited.”

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