Legal News
Reports on lawmaking, constitutional issues, and court cases. The Daily Signal combines news reporting with conservative commentary and legal analysis.
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DOJ Charges ‘Foundation’ Members in $12M Medicaid Fraud Scheme Tied to Drugs, Violence
The Justice Department announced a nine-count indictment against four New York men for an alleged $12 million Medicaid fraud conspiracy that includes racketeering charges. The alleged scheme includes charges of violence in aid of racketeering, firearms, fraud, narcotics, and money laundering offenses, the Justice Department said Thursday. The arrests come as the Trump administration ramps… -
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DOJ: Chinese National Cast Illegal Ballot, Then Accused Another of Voter Fraud
A Chinese national allegedly voted in the 2024 election by impersonating another Chinese national and then reporting that person to authorities, according to the Justice Department. In an alleged voter fraud case with a strange twist, Yupeng Sun, 33, was charged with one count of fraudulent voter registration and one count of fraudulent voting, the… -
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Obama Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Redirect Teen Pregnancy Funds Away From Planned Parenthood Affiliates
A Barack Obama-appointed judge partially blocked a Trump administration effort to curb Planned Parenthood funding in a teen pregnancy prevention program. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Columbia on Wednesday also called the administration’s promotion of abstinence-only education a means to “defy social reality.” The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program funded about 50… -
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Appeals Court Preserves Injunction Against ICE Enforcing Immigration Laws at Churches
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling preventing federal immigration officials from conducting enforcement actions at or near houses of worship. In a 2-1 ruling by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, Judge Barbara Keenan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote that the government likely violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its… -
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Supreme Court Again Rebuffs Trump in $5 Million E. Jean Carroll Case
REUTERS—Rebuffing President Donald Trump for a second time, the Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear his appeal of a $5 million verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist. The justices rejected Trump’s request to reconsider their previous decision in… -
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Year After Deadly Crash, 21 Blue States Move to Block Trump Commercial Driver’s License Data Request
Democrat attorneys general have sued to block the Trump administration from accessing records on commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump Department of Transportation has stepped up enforcement of commercial driver’s licensing rules, seeking more information from states to find unqualified truck drivers, including illegal immigrants. It has threatened to withhold about $10 million in funding if… -
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‘Teach Children What to Think’: Lawsuit Targets Nebraska Schools’ Funding Formula
Two Nebraska families sued state and local officials Thursday, arguing the state’s K-12 education funding system violates parental rights. Parents opposed to LGBTQ+ ideology in local public schools have no other cost-free option, the lawsuit argues, alleging “viewpoint discrimination” by the state and an unconstitutional condition on a public benefit. “Parents have a right to… -
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Trump Asks Supreme Court to Allow White House Ballroom Construction to Continue
REUTERS—President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday asked the Supreme Court to allow it to continue construction of his $400 million White House ballroom after an appeals court ruled the project lacked the necessary approval from Congress. The Trump administration asked the justices to keep the ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District… -
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‘Isolated and Episodic’: Clinton-Appointed Judge Tosses Trump Lawsuit Against Harvard Over Lack of Jewish Student Protections
A federal judge dismissed a Trump administration lawsuit against Harvard University that had alleged the school failed to protect Jewish students from harassment. U.S. District Judge Richard Stearns of Massachusetts, a Bill Clinton appointee, ruled the federal government failed to show an ongoing violation of federal civil rights law on Harvard’s campus after the Oct…. -
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Trump Asks Supreme Court to Fast-Track Fight Over Mail-In Ballot Order
Solicitor General John Sauer asked the Supreme Court Wednesday to expedite review of a court order blocking President Donald Trump’s mail-in ballot policy. In June, U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani of Massachusetts, a Barack Obama appointee, blocked Trump’s mail ballot order for 23 states challenging the policy. The president’s order prevents the U.S. Postal Service… -
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11 Charged in Decade-Long Scheme Allegedly Selling Green Cards Through Fake Marriages to Chinese Nationals
Federal prosecutors have charged 11 people with involvement in more than 1,000 fake marriages to gain legal status in the United States over the last decade. The two-count indictment alleges that some foreign nationals paid as much as $100,000 to be in the sham marriages, according to the Justice Department. The scheme was primarily for… -
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Watchdog Group Says Appeals Court Must Revisit Navarro Conviction
A conservative watchdog group called for a federal appeals court to reconsider a ruling upholding the conviction of Peter Navarro, one of President Donald Trump’s closest advisers in both his first and second terms. The Oversight Project filed an amicus brief late Tuesday in Navarro’s appeal to the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Navarro spent… -
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Supreme Court to Hear Case of Catholic Preschool Excluded From Colorado Program Over State’s LGBTQ Policy
The Supreme Court in November will hear the case of a Catholic school excluded from Colorado’s universal preschool program over its views on LGBTQ issues. On Tuesday, the high court released its calendar of arguments for November that includes the case of St. Mary Catholic Parish v. Roy, scheduled for Nov. 3. The calendar also… -
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Declassified Documents Reveal Democrats’, Deep State Targeting of Sessions in Russia Probe
In the early months of President Donald Trump’s first term, when enemies of the administration clung to the since-discredited Russia collusion narrative, the FBI opened a probe called “March Toll” into then-Attorney General Jeff Sessions. The FBI launched the probe at the behest of two Democrat senators, one of whom resigned from office in disgrace… -
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‘Enjoined as Unconstitutional’: How Tax Cut Bill Unraveled 92-Year-Old Gun Control Provision
A federal court struck down parts of a 92-year-old gun control law tied to a $200 tax on suppressors and certain firearms. The 1934 National Firearms Act imposed a $200 tax and required registration and approval for suppressors, short-barreled rifles, and short-barreled shotguns. U.S. District Judge James Hendrix, of the Northern District of Texas, on… -
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Appeals Court Blocks Trump’s $400 Million White House Ballroom Project
REUTERS—A federal appeals court ordered President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday to stop construction on a $400 million ballroom on the site of the White House’s demolished East Wing, dealing the Republican leader a major setback in a case testing his presidential authority. “Each President is a temporary tenant, not the owner, of the White House” and… -
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Arizona SAVE Act Backers Sue, Say Secretary of State’s Ballot Language Is Misleading
Supporters of an Arizona version of the SAVE Act allege that the state’s top election official used loaded and inaccurate language to describe the measure when putting it on the November ballot. A group of Arizona voters is suing the office of Democrat Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes, alleging the office omitted key provisions,… -
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EXCLUSIVE: Bar Complaint Rejected After Claims E. Jean Carroll Lawyer Concealed $7 Million Funding Source for Trump Lawsuit
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—The lawyer for E. Jean Carroll will not face any sanction for not immediately disclosing that a major Democrat donor funded Carroll’s sexual assault lawsuit against President Donald Trump. The New York State Attorney Grievance Committee of the New York State Supreme Court sent a letter Monday to the watchdog group… -
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Louisiana AG Says State Could Pursue Fauci Over Deposition Statements and Diary Revelations
Louisiana Attorney General Liz Murrill said the state is exploring a criminal or civil case against Dr. Anthony Fauci stemming from his 2022 deposition. During the deposition in a civil suit brought by Louisiana and Missouri against the Biden administration, Fauci said 174 times that he didn’t recall or didn’t remember certain information. However, new… -
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Supreme Court Announces 1st Arguments for October Term
The Supreme Court will hear seven arguments in early October on cases including immigrant detention and the environment. The high court on Tuesday released its schedule for oral arguments in seven cases from Oct. 5 through Oct. 14. On Oct. 13, justices will hear arguments in the case of Genalo v. Black, concerning whether, at…