Apparently, there's a serious issue with paralegals at the Department of Justice (DOJ), as this week marked the second time one was fired under Attorney General Pam Bondi's watch.
According to Fox News, Bondi dropped the firing hammer on a second DOJ paralegal this week after it was reported that the paralegal who was terminated gave the "bird" to a National Guard member stationed in Washington D.C. on her way to work.
The paralegal was Elizabeth Baxter. She reportedly worked in at the DOJ's environmental department. It was after she arrived to work at 8:20 a.m. that she bragged about something profane she had shouted at a member of the National Guard.
As soon as AG Bondi received word of Baxter's immature and foolish move, she announced that she had terminated the paralegal promptly.
Baxter had the audacity to brag about what she had done on her way to work that morning, as Fox News noted:
Later that day, Baxter was seen on DOJ security footage sticking up her middle finger at the National Guard and exclaiming, "F--k you!" the outlet reported. She was also allegedly seen demonstrating to a department security guard how she held up her middle finger.
There is a sizeable contingent of National Guard troops currently helping D.C. Metro Police patrol the streets and keep crime down as much as possible, which has triggered many on the left who somehow claim the crime levels are find and the troops aren't needed.
Bondi not only announced Baxter's firing after news of the incident got to her, but also made sure to use the situation as a teaching moment -- and a warning -- to others who believe disrespecting our troops is an acceptable move.
"Today, I took action to terminate a DOJ employee for inappropriate conduct towards National Guard service members in DC," Bondi said.
"This DOJ remains committed to defending President Trump’s agenda and fighting to make America safe again," Bondi continued. "If you oppose our mission and disrespect law enforcement — you will NO LONGER work at DOJ."
In the termination letter, Bondi wrote, "You are removed from your position of Paralegal Specialist, GS-0950-11, Environmental Defense Section, Environment and Natural Resources Division, and from the federal service, effective immediately."
Baxter's firing followed the termination of Sean Charles Dunn, another paralegal who made a stupid decision and lost an amazing career as a result.
Dunn reportedly hurled a sandwich at a Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) agent earlier this month.
Fox News noted:
Dunn, who worked in the criminal division's international affairs section in the 4CON building, was initially charged with a felony, but a grand jury declined to hand down an indictment. He was subsequently charged with a misdemeanor, which could result in up to one year in jail.
Clearly, Bondi isn't messing around.
President Donald Trump and his administration met extreme resistance on his aggressive tariff plan from an appeals court this week, and the president isn't happy about the ruling at all.
According to the Washington Examiner, the president expressed his frustrations with the "highly partisan" appeals court for ruling against the use of his tariffs using the International Emergency Economic Powers Act.
The appeals court ruled in a 7-4 decision this week that the act doesn't grant the president the appropriate level of authority to execute such tariffs and then ruled them unlawful.
Democrats and those who were firmly against Trump's tariffs, especially those levied against Mexico, Canada and China, celebrated the appeals court ruling.
The majority for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit released its opinion this week on Trump's tariff plan.
"We conclude Congress, in enacting IEEPA, did not give the President wide-ranging authority to impose tariffs of the nature of the Trafficking and Reciprocal Tariffs simply by the use of the term ‘regulate…importation,’” the majority opinion stated.
President Trump went on a tear on Truth Social after the decision was rendered.
"Today a Highly Partisan Appeals Court incorrectly said that our Tariffs should be removed, but they know the United States of America will win in the end. If these Tariffs ever went away, it would be a total disaster for the Country. It would make us financially weak, and we have to be strong," Trump wrote.
He added, "If allowed to stand, this Decision would literally destroy the United States of America."
The president vowed to take the issue to the U.S. Supreme Court for a final decision.
"At the start of this Labor Day weekend, we should all remember that TARIFFS are the best tool to help our Workers, and support Companies that produce great MADE IN AMERICA products. For many years, Tariffs were allowed to be used against us by our uncaring and unwise Politicians. Now, with the help of the United States Supreme Court, we will use them to the benefit of our Nation, and Make America Rich, Strong, and Powerful Again!" Trump wrote.
The New Civil Liberties Alliance celebrated the appeals court ruling.
"Today’s decision comes as no surprise. Every court that has looked at the substance of the IEEPA has concluded that it does not give the President power to evade congressional limits on tariff authority imposed in other statutes. Given the number of countries affected, this case calls for a ‘universal’ injunction—no hyperbole required!" the group said in a statement.
Hopefully, the conservative majority high court will come out on Trump's side on the issue.
President Donald Trump is recruiting his son-in-law and former White House adviser, Jared Kushner, to help map out Gaza's post-war future.
According to Axios, Kushner attended a lengthy White House meeting Wednesday where Trump and his top advisers discussed plans to rebuild Gaza once Hamas is no longer in power. Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair was another notable outsider at the huddle.
Kushner and his wife Ivanka Trump, who is Trump's eldest daughter, have avoided the political spotlight since leaving their roles as senior advisers in the first Trump administration.
Trump's son-in-law has deep personal ties to the Middle East, and Kushner was instrumental to the Abraham Accords, the crowning diplomatic achievement of Trump's first term that normalized ties between Israel and several Arab states.
Kushner's informal return to the White House comes as Trump warms to an Israeli plan to occupy Gaza City and annihilate Hamas, which has governed the war-torn Gaza Strip since 2007.
Top Israeli official Ron Dermer assured Trump at Wednesday's meeting that Israel has no desire to occupy Gaza permanently or expel the Palestinians. But who would rule the devastated enclave in the future remains uncertain.
Much of Gaza has been destroyed since Israel's war with Hamas began on October 7, 2023, when Hamas terrorists killed 1,200 Israelis and took dozens captive. More than 63,000 Palestinians, including civilians and combatants, have since been killed in Israel's military offensive.
Trump's efforts to secure a durable peace have proven elusive so far.
Wednesday's meeting was reportedly inconclusive, but Trump gave Kushner and Blair approval to keep developing a plan for Gaza's post-war future, Axios reported.
Trump's own vision for Gaza has been a moving target. He previously toyed with expelling Palestinians and developing the strip into a resort, a proposal that faced furious backlash. Kushner has echoed Trump's idea in the past, saying Gaza's waterfront has "valuable" potential.
At Wednesday's meeting, Kushner and Blair shared some proposals that they had run by special envoy Steve Witkoff in the past, but never with Trump himself, according to Axios.
"They tried to give an idea of how Gaza could be governed and how you create an environment for investment so that reconstruction can happen. The goal was to run the ideas by Trump to see if he likes them and want to move forward, so that Witkoff and Rubio can use them," a source said.
In an interview with Fox News, Witkoff said the administration is putting together a "very comprehensive plan" for peace and stability.
“It’s a very comprehensive plan we’re putting together on the next day that I think many people are going to be -- they’re going to see how robust it is and how well-meaning it is,” Witkoff said. “And it reflects President Trump’s humanitarian motives here."
The Federal Reserve issued a statement obliquely pushing back on President Trump's shock firing of board member Lisa Cook, which has disturbed business as usual in Washington, D.C.
The central bank didn't directly acknowledge that Trump had fired Cook, instead noting that the Biden appointee is taking legal action to challenge her removal for alleged mortgage fraud.
"As always, the Federal Reserve will abide by any court decision," the Fed said in its statement.
Behind its measured language, the bank insinuated that it views Cook's removal as a threat to the so-called independence of the Fed, which is said to be insulated from politics.
In a pointed comment, the Fed suggested that Cook's firing was improper, noting that Fed governors "may be removed by the president only ‘for cause.'"
“Long tenures and removal protections for governors serve as a vital safeguard, ensuring that monetary policy decisions are based on data, economic analysis, and the long-term interests of the American people,” the Fed spokesperson said.
Trump explained his decision to fire Cook in a letter Monday, citing a mortgage fraud allegation forwarded to the Justice Department that accused Cook of claiming two different homes as her primary residence simultaneously.
Cook's lawyer, former Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell, filed a lawsuit Thursday in Washington D.C., arguing that an unproven allegation does not meet the "for cause" threshold.
The case was assigned to judge Jia Cobb, a Biden appointee, who set a hearing Friday morning to weigh Cook's request.
Lowell noted that Cook is “the first black woman to sit on the Federal Reserve’s Board in its 111-year history."
Lowell further added that even if the allegations are true, they should not count against her because they concern "private" conduct that occurred before she joined the Federal Reserve.
The White House has argued, however, that Cook's alleged conduct is disqualifying for a top financial regulator.
In a statement, White House spokesman Kush Desai said Trump “exercised his lawful authority to remove a governor” based on being “credibly accused of lying in financial documents from a highly sensitive position overseeing financial institutions.”
Congress has given presidents the authority to fire Fed governors "for cause", but no president before Trump has invoked this power.
It is unsurprising that the Fed would assert its long-standing independence against Trump's unprecedented move, but the central bank does not come out looking good, either, by defending a member who it appears has been credibly accused of unethical conduct.
President Trump's sacking of Federal Reserve governor Lisa Cook appears to challenge the Supreme Court's inclination to leave the central bank alone.
Days after he demanded her resignation, Trump fired Cook on Monday, citing allegations that she engaged in mortgage fraud.
Congress allows Federal Reserve board members to be removed "for cause," but Trump is the first president to ever use that power, setting up an unprecedented legal controversy that appears destined for the Supreme Court.
While we can only guess how the justices might rule on Trump's power over the Fed, they recently offered a brief hint - by brief, we mean one sentence.
"The Federal Reserve is a uniquely structured, quasi-private entity that follows in the distinct historical tradition of the First and Second Banks of the United States," the court wrote.
This single ambiguous sentence does not tell us much, but it appears to suggest that the Supreme Court sees the central bank differently from other government agencies that Trump has shaken up, with the Supreme Court's blessing.
The justices' brief commented appeared in a May emergency ruling that allowed Trump to fire Democratic members of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) and National Labor Relations Board (NRLB).
The court could now be asked, for the first time, to draw a line on when the president has established "cause" to shake up the Federal Reserve.
Given the Supreme Court's broad view of executive power, it is not unreasonable to predict that they will side with Trump when push comes to shove.
Trump's critics have blasted Cook's firing as an assault on the traditional independence of the central bank, which has for months resisted pressure from Trump to lower interest rates.
The president nominates Federal Reserve members, who serve 14-year terms spanning different administrations. Cook, who was appointed by Joe Biden, says her removal is baseless, and she plans to challenge it in court.
Trump says there are clear indications of misconduct by Cook, who allegedly claimed two different homes as her primary residence two weeks apart.
"The American people must be able to have full confidence in the honesty of the members entrusted with setting policy and overseeing the Federal Reserve," Trump wrote in a letter to Cook.
"In light of your deceitful and potentially criminal conduct in a financial matter, they cannot, and I do not have such confidence in your integrity."
Rap star Lil Nas X has been charged for attacking police during a naked, late-night drug binge in Los Angeles.
The openly gay, 26-year-old entertainer, known for the country rap single "Old Town Road," pleaded not guilty Monday to four felony counts - three counts of battery against a police officer and one count of resisting an executive officer.
The rapper, whose real name is Montero Hill, had been seen wandering the streets of Los Angeles in nothing but underwear and a pair of cowboy boots early Thursday, August 21. He is accused of injuring at least three cops as they tried to arrest him.
Footage of the disturbing incident that was publicized by TMZ showed the rapper roaming Ventura Boulevard and placing an orange traffic cone on his head.
When police arrived, the rapper "punched an officer twice in the face," according to reports.
After a struggle, the rapper was hospitalized for a suspected drug overdose and then booked in the county jail on a misdemeanor battery charge.
“This morning, around 5:50 a.m., officers responded to the 11000 block of Ventura Boulevard for a nude man walking in the street,” the police said.
“Upon arrival, the suspect charged at officers and was taken into custody. He was transported to a local hospital for a possible overdose,” the spokesperson added.
The rapper was released from jail Monday on a $75,000 bail, which is less than the $300,000 requested by prosecutors.
The Los Angeles District attorney, Nate Hochman, said the famous rapper would be held to the same standard as anyone else who breaks the law.
“Attacking police officers is more than just a crime against those individuals but a direct threat to public safety,” Nathan J. Hochman, the Los Angeles County District Attorney, said in a news release. “Anyone who assaults law enforcement will face serious consequences, no matter who they are or how famous they may be.”
Upon his release from jail, the man who roamed the streets at night while naked, and then charged at police, described his jail stay as a "terrifying" experience.
"Your girl is gonna be OK, boo. OK? S–t’s gonna be all right,” he said in an Instagram Story. “S–t’s gonna be all right. S–t. That was f–king terrifying. That was terrifying. That was a terrifying last four days. But your girl is gonna be all right.”
If found guilty, he faces up to five years in prison.
President Trump is lobbying for a loyal supporter of his to go free from prison after she received a staggering nine-year sentence.
Tina Peters, a former Mesa County election clerk, was charged and convicted in the fallout from the 2020 presidential election, a contest which Trump continues to maintain was rigged.
Although Trump cannot pardon Peters, who was tried and convicted of state crimes, the president warned of "harsh measures" if Peters is not released.
The president did not get more specific than that, but Trump is trying to use federal funding as leverage against Colorado, and Denver specifically, to pressure Democrats in the state to end "sanctuary" policies shielding illegal immigrants.
In a Truth Social post, Trump said that Peters, who is 69, is being persecuted for exposing the Democrats' corruption.
"FREE TINA PETERS, a brave and innocent Patriot who has been tortured by Crooked Colorado politicians, including the big Mail-In Ballot supporting the [sic] governor of the State. Let Tina Peters out of jail, RIGHT NOW. She did nothing wrong, except catching the Democrats cheat in the Election. She is an old woman, and very sick. If she is not released, I am going to take harsh measures!!!" Trump wrote.
Peters, a former Mesa County clerk, was accused of betraying the public trust when she allowed an unauthorized person to access voting machines that were used in the 2020 election.
She was convicted on seven out of ten counts and sentenced to nine years in state prison.
Trump himself was charged for election interference in two cases run by Democrats - one federal, and one in Georgia - but he ran out the clock on both while campaigning for the presidency last year.
On his first day back in the White House, Trump fulfilled his promise to pardon supporters of his who were prosecuted for protesting the 2020 election at the U.S. Capitol on January 6th, 2021.
Trump has been advocating on behalf of Peters for months, directing the Justice Department to secure the freedom of the "political prisoner."
Trump has accused Democrats of giving Peters more harsh treatment than many violent criminals receive, including illegal aliens who find protection in "sanctuary" jurisdictions.
“Radical Left Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser ignores Illegals committing Violent Crimes like Rape and Murder in his State and, instead, jailed Tina Peters, a 69-year-old Gold Star mother who worked to expose and document Democrat Election Fraud,” Trump said in a post on Truth Social, calling her an “innocent Political Prisoner being horribly and unjustly punished in the form of Cruel and Unusual Punishment.”
As Trump demands freedom for Peters, he is pushing to ban the use of mail-in voting in U.S. elections, citing the need to restore integrity.
Former personal attorney to President Donald Trump, Alina Habba, has been in a career whirlwind this year with her contested appointment to the position of U.S. Attorney in New Jersey.
According to The Daily Caller, a federal judge, of course, appointed by Barack Obama, ruled this week that Habba's reinstatement — through a series of unusual maneuvers — is "unlawful" as of July 1.
She was initially appointed to the position in the interim and was set to serve 120 days in the high-powered position. However, she was later replaced by her deputy, who was then fired so that Habba could replace her.
According to the judge that ruled this week against her appointment, her actions since July 1 "may be declared void."
The Daily Caller recapped Habba's unusual rise to the position.
It noted:
When Habba’s 120-day appointment as New Jersey’s interim U.S. attorney expired in July, a panel of federal judges selected her deputy, Desiree Leigh Grace, to take the position.
The Daily Caller added:
Using an unusual maneuver, the Trump administration sought to keep Habba in charge of the office. Attorney General Pam Bondi removed Grace, appointing Habba to the position of First Assistant United States Attorney and automatically making her the acting U.S. Attorney.
Middle District of Pennsylvania Chief Judge Matthew W. Brann ruled last week that she can not prosecute two defendants who challenged her appointment.
"After reviewing several issues of first impression, the Court concludes that Ms. Habba has exercised the functions and duties of the office of the United States Attorney for the District of New Jersey without lawful authority since July 1, 2025," the Obama-appointed judge decided.
The judge added that he would put his decision on hold until the appeals process plays out.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) was targeted over the weekend for being one of the Senate Republicans who helped Democrats block her appointment.
🚨 BREAKING: Acting US Attorney Alina Habba just SLAMMED Thom Tillis and Chuck Grassley for blocking her confirmation
"I would say to Sen. Tillis and Sen. Grassley: YOU are becoming part of the issue. YOU are becoming part of the antithesis of what we fought for FOUR YEARS!"… pic.twitter.com/T5diuwqElG
— Nick Sortor (@nicksortor) August 24, 2025
"End of story is she needs to be confirmed. Enough of this playing with mittens on," one X user wrote.
Another X user wrote, "This is getting ridiculous. She is perfect for the job!"
Ghislaine Maxwell had what many called a very rare talk with Todd Blanche, one of the Department of Justice's top-ranking officials, with many others speculating that the conversation could have had to do with potential immunity negotiations.
According to the Daily Caller, the Trump administration released a full transcript of her interview with Blanche this week, revealing all of the questions she was asked about deceased, convicted child sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein and her role.
In the transcript, it was revealed that Maxwell said she didn't recall former President Bill Clinton receiving a massage aboard Epstein's private jet.
She also revealed during the two-day interview that she doesn't believe President Donald Trump ever sent Epstein a birthday card.
During the interview, Blanche dialed in on several questions related to Bill Clinton.
“Do you know whether, for example, President Clinton ever received a massage?" he asked at one point.
Her answer was quite wordy, to say the least.
“I don’t believe he did,” Maxwell said, prompting Blanche to ask her if she doubted her answer.
“Well, because I don’t—so that’s a good question. The time that Epstein and President Clinton spent together, the only times I believe—well, obviously they traveled. There was that, you know, the plane, they went on the plane 26 times or whatever … So they spent time on the plane together, and I don’t believe there was ever a massage on the plane. So that would’ve been the only time that I think that President Clinton could have even received a massage. And he didn’t, because I was there."
The Daily Caller noted:
Photographs allegedly taken in September 2002 showed Clinton receiving a massage from Epstein accuser Chauntae Davies while he was traveling to Africa for a humanitarian trip on Epstein’s plane. Another accuser, Virginia Giuffre, told an attorney that Clinton visited Epstein’s private island, though she did not say that the former president committed any crimes.
As far as Trump, Maxwell said she always believed him to be a "gentleman," noting that she never saw Trump in a compromising position.
"I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody," Maxwell said.
"In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects."
It'll be interesting to see what else comes of the Trump admminstration's release of the rest of the Eptstein-related files.
The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that President Donald Trump can terminate millions of dollars in bogus health research that was geared toward diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
The 5-4 ruling is a victory in Trump's effort to restore integrity to health science, which in recent years has come under attack from woke ideology. The court was split down the middle, with Chief Justice John Roberts, a conservative, siding with the liberal minority.
The case centers on $783 million in National Institutes of Health (NIH) grant funding that the Trump administration cut earlier this year, saying it was being spent on pseudoscientific, wasteful projects at odds with Trump's priorities.
The projects covered by the grants included a study on “Buddhism and HIV stigma in Thailand,” “intersectional, multilevel and multidimensional structural racism for English- and Spanish-speaking populations," and “anti-racist healing in nature to protect telomeres of transitional age BIPOC for health equity.”
The administration's cuts sparked furious backlash from Democrats, who said the White House was targeting critical, life-saving research.
In June, a district judge appointed by Ronald Reagan issued a bizarre, emotionally charged ruling that ordered the government to discharge the funding. U.S. District Judge William Young said the termination of the NIH grants was "arbitrary and capricious" and motivated by racial hatred.
"I’ve never seen government racial discrimination like this,” Young said at a hearing. “Have we no shame?”
The Trump administration said the district court's ruling ignored a Supreme Court precedent earlier this year that allowed Trump to gut education funding targeted to DEI.
A majority of the Supreme Court agreed that Young lacked jurisdiction to force payment of the NIH grants, clearing Trump to make the cuts.
Neil Gorsuch, in a short, separate opinion chastising Young, noted a pattern of defiance from lower courts -- a trend that has frustrated Trump and his supporters.
"This is now the third time in a matter of weeks this Court has had to intercede in a case 'squarely controlled' by one of its precedents," Gorsuch wrote.
The Trump win brought out another turgid outburst -- 21 pages long -- from liberal Ketanji Brown Jackson, who has written a number of furious dissents blasting her colleagues for ruling in Trump's favor.
“This is Calvinball jurisprudence with a twist. Calvinball has only one rule: There are no fixed rules. We seem to have two: that one, and this Administration always wins,” she wrote.
Another win for Trump and common sense. Pound sand, libs!