Latest news with #2ndU.S.CircuitCourtofAppeals
8 hours ago
- Politics
Trump seeks to delay appeal of $83 million judgment in E. Jean Carroll case
The Justice Department and attorneys for President Donald Trump on Friday asked a federal appeals court in New York to delay oral arguments scheduled for next week in Trump's appeal of his $83 million defamation case. Trump is appealing a 2024 verdict ordering him to pay former magazine columnist E. Jean Carroll $83 million for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her accusation that he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied all allegations. On Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals rejected Trump's attempt to have the government substitute for him as a party in the case -- and his attorneys now argue that they should be allowed to appeal before oral arguments take place on June 24. "The United States and President Trump are entitled to immediate review of the panel's erroneous Westfall Act decision by this Court en banc and, if necessary, by the Supreme Court," a joint filing from Trump and the Justice Department said Friday. DOJ lawyers say that since some of Trump's alleged conduct in the case fell within the scope of his role as president, the Justice Department should be able to defend him in court. "The Attorney General certified that President Trump was acting within the scope of his federal office or employment at the time of his 2017 statements, made from the White House, out of which Plaintiff-Appellee's claims arose. As a result, the United States should have been substituted as a defendant in place of President Trump," they argued in Friday's filing. The 2nd Circuit last week upheld a separate, $5 million damage award to Carroll that Trump must pay.
2 days ago
- Politics
Appeals court says DOJ cannot represent Trump in appeal of E. Jean Carroll case
American taxpayers will not be paying for the ongoing appeal of President Donald Trump's $83 million defamation case, a federal appeals court determined on Wednesday. A panel of judges on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals on Wednesday denied Trump's request to have Justice Department lawyers argue in his appeal of columnist E. Jean Carroll's defamation case against Trump. A New York jury last year ordered Trump to pay the former Elle magazine columnist $83.3 million in damages for defaming her in 2019 when he denied her accusation that he sexually assaulted her in the dressing room of a Bergdorf Goodman department store in the mid-1990s. Trump has denied all allegations. DOJ lawyers had argued that since some of Trump's alleged conduct fell within the scope of his role as president, the Justice Department should be able to defend the president in court. "Substitution is required because once the Attorney General certifies that a defendant is acting within the scope of his office or employment, the United States is the party defendant unless and until a court rules to the contrary," they argued. ABC News has reached out to Trump's legal team for comment. Oral arguments in Trump's appeal of the case are set for June 24. Last week the 2nd Circuit denied Trump's request
The Hill
2 days ago
- Politics
- The Hill
Appeals court won't let Justice Department step in for Trump in E. Jean Carroll's $83M verdict
A federal appeals court panel on Wednesday refused the Justice Department's effort to put itself on the hook for an $83.3 million defamation award advice columnist E. Jean Carroll won at trial from President Trump. It's the latest setback for the president in his efforts to fight Carroll's lawsuits at the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Last week, the 2nd Circuit upheld her earlier $5 million jury award. On Wednesday, the three-judge panel denied the Justice Department's request to replace Trump as the defendant in Carroll's defamation lawsuit under the Westfall Act, a 1988 law that protects federal employees from certain lawsuits concerning things they did in the course of their jobs. The Justice Department contended Trump's denials of Carroll's sexual assault claims in a written statement and comments he made on the White House South Lawn in 2019 — the basis of her suit — were made within the scope of Trump's employment as president. 'The Court will issue an opinion detailing its reasoning in due course,' reads the 2nd Circuit's one-page order rejecting the effort without further explanation. The three-judge panel comprised Judge Denny Chin, an appointee of former President Obama; Judge Sarah Merriam, an appointee of former President Biden; and Judge Maria Araújo Kahn, another Biden appointee. 'The American People are supporting President Trump in historic numbers, and they demand an immediate end to the political weaponization of our justice system and a swift dismissal of all of the Witch Hunts, including the Democrat-funded Carroll Hoaxes, the defense of which is legally required to be taken over by the Department of Justice as that charade is fully based on the President's official acts,' a spokesperson for Trump's legal team said in a statement. The Hill has reached out to the Justice Department as well as Carroll's legal team for comment. Wednesday's ruling is the latest setback for the president at the 2nd Circuit, where he has appealed both jury awards Carroll won after coming forward during Trump's presidency with claims he sexually assaulted her in a Manhattan department store dressing room in the mid-1990s. Trump continues to deny her story. In the first trial, a jury found Trump liable for sexually assaulting Carroll and defaming her by denying her claims. Trump was ordered to pay $5 million. The full 2nd Circuit bench rejected Trump's appeal on Friday. The president's legal team has vowed to take the case to the Supreme Court next. Wednesday's decision concerned the second trial, in which Carroll last year won an $83.3 million judgment from a separate jury over additional denials Trump made of the columnist's claims, which were also ruled defamatory. Since Trump retook the presidency, his Justice Department has sought to leverage the Westfall Act to step in for the president, which would mean he wouldn't have to pay the damages and instead leave the government on the hook. It's a return to the Justice Department's position during Trump's first term, when it tried to step in near the onset of Carroll's lawsuit. The gambit tied up the case in pretrial proceedings for years, only for the Biden-era Justice Department to drop the effort in 2023. The 2nd Circuit's ruling comes ahead of oral arguments scheduled for Tuesday, when the three-judge panel will hear Trump's appeal of the jury verdict itself.
Los Angeles Times
3 days ago
- Politics
- Los Angeles Times
Disgraced former Sen. Bob Menendez arrives at prison to begin serving his 11-year bribery sentence
NEW YORK — Former U.S. Sen. Bob Menendez arrived at a federal prison on Tuesday to begin serving an 11-year sentence for accepting bribes of gold and cash and acting as an agent of Egypt. The New Jersey Democrat has been mocked for the crimes as 'Gold Bar Bob,' according to his own lawyer. The federal Bureau of Prisons confirmed that Menendez was in custody at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill in Minersville, Pennsylvania. The facility has a medium-security prison and a minimum-security prison camp. Given the white-collar nature of his crimes, it's likely he'll end up in the camp. The prison is about 118 miles west of New York City. It's home to about 1,200 inmates, including ex-New York City organized crime boss James Coonan and former gas station owner Gurmeet Singh Dhinsa, whom the New York Post dubbed 'Gas-Station Gotti' for his ruthless, violent ways. Menendez, 71, maintains his innocence. Last week, a federal appeals court rejected his last-ditch effort to remain free on bail while he fights to get his bribery conviction overturned. A three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals denied his bail motion. Pleading for leniency, Menendez told a judge at his sentencing in January: 'I am far from a perfect man. I have made more than my share of mistakes and bad decisions. I've done far more good than bad.' Menendez has also appeared to be angling for a pardon from President Trump, aligning himself with the Republican's criticisms of the judicial system, particularly in New York City. 'This process is political and it's corrupted to the core. I hope President Trump cleans up the cesspool and restores the integrity to the system,' Menendez told reporters after his January sentencing. In posts Tuesday on the social platform X that were later deleted, Menendez criticized prosecutors as politically motivated and opposed to his foreign policy views and praised Trump for 'rising above the law fare.' Menendez resigned last year after he was convicted of selling his clout for bribes. FBI agents found $480,000 in cash in his home, some of it stuffed inside boots and jacket pockets, along with gold bars worth an estimated $150,000 and a luxury convertible in the garage. In exchange, prosecutors said, Menendez performed corrupt favors for New Jersey business owners, including protecting them from criminal investigations, helping in business deals with foreign powers and meeting with Egyptian intelligence officials before helping Egypt access $300 million in U.S. military aid. Menendez, who once chaired the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, resigned a month after his conviction. He had been in the Senate since 2006. Two business owners were also convicted last year along with Menendez. His wife, Nadine Menendez, was convicted in April of teaming up with her husband to accept bribes from the business owners. Her sentencing is scheduled for Sept. 11. At his sentencing, Menendez's lawyers described how the son of Cuban immigrants emerged from poverty to become 'the epitome of the American Dream' — rising from mayor of Union City, New Jersey, to decades in Congress — before his conviction 'rendered him a national punchline.' 'Despite his decades of service, he is now known more widely as Gold Bar Bob,' defense lawyer Adam Fee told the judge. Sisak and Neumeister write for the Associated Press. AP reporter Michael Catalini in Trenton, N.J., contributed to this report.
NBC News
4 days ago
- Politics
- NBC News
Former Sen. Bob Menendez set to report to prison for 11-year sentence in gold bar bribery case
Former Sen. Bob Menendez is scheduled to turn himself in Tuesday at a federal prison in Pennsylvania to begin serving an 11-year sentence on bribery charges. An attorney for Menendez, 71, has called the punishment a "life and death sentence" given his age, and the senator has tried unsuccessfully to get a pardon or commutation from then-President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump. The Democrat, once the senior senator from New Jersey and the chair of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee, was found guilty in July of taking part in a bribery scheme that rewarded him and his wife Nadine Menendez with hundreds of thousands of dollars in gold bars and stacks of cash. Prosecutors alleged Menendez took the payoffs from some New Jersey businessmen in exchange for the senator's taking actions to benefit them and the governments of Egypt and Qatar. The bribes included gold bars, a Mercedes-Benz given to Nadine Menendez and more than $480,000 in cash, which the FBI found stuffed into closets, jackets bearing Menendez's name and other clothing when it searched his New Jersey home in 2022. He was convicted of extortion, conspiracy, obstruction of justice and acting as a foreign agent. Nadine Menendez was convicted in a separate trial and is scheduled to be sentenced in September. Her trial had been pushed back to allow her time to undergo cancer treatments. Her husband had been allowed to delay the date he had to surrender to prison in order to support her during her trial. Menendez had also asked an appeals court to let him remain free while he appeals his conviction, a request that was rejected by the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals last week. Allies of Menendez have made multiple overtures to Trump to secure a pardon or a commutation of his sentence, NBC News has previously reported, but to no avail so far. Trump has granted a number of pardons in public corruption cases since taking office in January, but they have gone to people who have supported him. Menendez was an outspoken critic of Trump during the president's first term, and voted against him in both of his impeachment trials. In the months since his conviction, Menendez has adopted some of the language Trump used when he was being prosecuted by the Justice Department, saying he's the victim of a political "witch hunt" and "weaponization" at the DOJ. He will serve his sentence at the Federal Correctional Institution, Schuylkill. The facility is a medium-security prison with an adjacent minimum-security camp.
