Judge rules Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated federal law

Judge rules Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated federal law

Washington —A federal court in California ruled Tuesday that the Trump administration violated federal law when itdeployedmembers of the National Guard and active-duty U.S. Marines to Los Angeles earlier this summer in response to protests against immigration enforcement operations. In a52-page ruling, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer found that the president and his administration violated the Posse Comitatus Act, a 1878 law that prohibits the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. Breyer blocked the Trump administration from deploying or using the National Guard currently deployed in California, and any military troops in the state, for civilian law enforcement. His decision restricts the use of service members to engage in arrests, apprehensions, searches, seizures and traffic and crowd control. The injunction applies only to the Trump administration's use of the National Guard in California, not nationally, and it does not require the Defense Department to withdraw the 300 National Guard troops who remain in Los Angeles. Breyer noted that the administration is not prohibited from using troops consistent with the Posse Comitatus Act, and wrote that they can continue to protect federal property in a manner allowed under the law. The judge froze his injunction until noon on Sept. 12, likely to allow the Trump administration time to appeal to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. Breyer's ruling came after he held athree-day trialin the case brought by California Gov. Gavin Newsom in June. Newsom, a Democrat,sued in responseto Mr. Trump's decision todeploy members of California's National Guardto Los Angeles to quell protests against immigration enforcement operations taking place in the area. The presidentinvoked a law known as Title 10to send the California National Guard to Los Angeles to protect federal property and personnel. The judgegranted temporary reliefto California officials in June that required the Trump administration not to deploy the California National Guard in Los Angeles and return control to Newsom. But a three-judge panel on the 9th Circuitfound it likelythat Mr. Trump lawfully federalized the California National Guard under a different law, Title 10. Those earlier proceedings did not involve the Posse Comitatus Act. Breyer, appointed by former President Bill Clinton, held the trial on the merits of Newsom's arguments that the president violated that 147-year-old law last month. The judge's ruling The judge wrote in his ruling that the evidence put forth at the trial established that the Trump administration "systematically used armed soldiers (whose identity was often obscured by protective armor) and military vehicles to set up protective perimeters and traffic blockades, engage in crowd control, and otherwise demonstrate a military presence in and around Los Angeles. In short, Defendants violated the Posse Comitatus Act," Breyer wrote. While the Pentagonwithdrew roughly the 700 U.S. Marineswho had been sent to Los Angeles, Breyer noted that there are still 300 National Guard members stationed there nearly three months after they were first mobilized. "Moreover, President Trump and Secretary Hegseth have stated their intention to call National Guard troops into federal service in other cities across the country — including Oakland and San Francisco, here in the Northern District of California — thus creating a national police force with the President as its chief," Breyer wrote. The judge said that the Trump administration intentionally initiated the deployment of the National Guard and Marines to Los Angeles to establish a military presence there and enforce federal law. He called that conduct a "serious violation" of federal law prohibiting the use of the military for domestic law enforcement. "In fact, these violations were part of a top-down, systemic effort by Defendants to use military troops to execute various sectors of federal law (the drug laws and the immigration laws at least) across hundreds of miles and over the course of several months — and counting," Breyer wrote. Breyer rejected the administration's argument that the president's constitutional powers allow him to override the restrictions in the Posse Comitatus Act. "Under this 'constitutional exception,' as Defendants call it, the President has inherent constitutional authority to protect federal property, federal personnel, and federal functions, so any actions that can be construed as such 'protection' are lawful in spite of the Posse Comitatus Act," he wrote. "This assertion is not grounded in the history of the Act, Supreme Court jurisprudence on executive authority, or common sense." The judge said that Congress was clear about what constitutes an exception to the law, precluding the president from exercising all but his express authority under the Constitution. He also accused the Trump administration of attempting to usurp Congress' authority. "That Defendants characterize this as an 'exception' to the statute is mere wordplay; it does not change the fact that they seek to override Congress's legitimate exercise of its own authority," Breyer wrote. Attorneys for California had sought an injunction that blocked National Guard forces from participating in and protecting federal agents during immigration enforcement operations, and Breyer agreed to grant their request. The Trump administration had argued that Title 10 is an exception to the Posse Comitatus Act and therefore didn't apply to National Guard troops who were called into federal service. The judge wrote that while there is "no question that federal personnel should be able to perform their jobs without fearing for their safety," the Trump administration cannot "use this as a hook to send military troops alongside federal agents wherever they go." Since the 9th Circuit allowed the Trump administration to keep the National Guard in California, the president has moved todeploy troops to Washington, D.C.Mr. Trump has also teased sending the National Guard to other major cities throughout the country in what he casts as a looming crackdown against illegal immigration, violent crime and civil unrest. As of Monday, there are over 2,200 National Guard members in Washington, D.C., with over half of those troops sent by Republican governors throughout the country. Full interview: Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem Full Interview: Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker Teens surprise math world with Pythagorean Theorem trigonometry proof | 60 Minutes

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September 02, 2025

Judge rules Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated federal law

Judge rules Trump's deployment of troops to Los Angeles violated federal law Washington —A federal court in California ruled Tuesday tha...

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The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV's biggest prizes

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV's biggest prizes

The Corporation for Public Broadcastingwill be honored with one of the television's top prizes even as it winds down its nearly 60-year work after the U.S. government withdrew funding. The organization, which has helped pay forPBS, NPR,1,500 local radio and TV stations as well as programs like "Sesame Street" and "Finding Your Roots," will be awarded the Television Academy's Governors Award, which honors those who have "made a profound, transformational and long-lasting contribution to the arts and/or science of television." It will be handed to Patricia de Stacy Harrison, the longest-serving president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting at the Creative Arts Emmy Awards ceremony on Sept. 7. "For more than half a century, CPB has been a steadfast champion of storytelling that informs, educates and unites us and ensures public media remains a vital space where diverse voices are heard and communities are served," Television Academy Chair Cris Abrego said in a statement Tuesday. The corporation told employees that most staff positions will end with the fiscal year on Sept. 30. A small transition team will stay until January to finish any remaining work. The closure is expected to have a profound impact on the journalistic and cultural landscape — in particular, public radio and TV stations insmall communities across the United States. The private, nonprofit corporation was founded in 1968 shortly after Congress authorized its formation. It now ends nearly six decades of fueling the production of renowned educational programming, cultural content and emergency alerts about natural disasters. President Donald Trumpsigned a billin Julycanceling about $1.1 billionthat had been approved for public broadcasting. The White House claims the public media system is politically biased and an unnecessary expense. Previous recipients of the Governors Award include Jerry Lewis, John Walsh, Bob Hope, Ted Turner, Tyler Perry, "Star Trek," "American Idol" and Debbie Allen.

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September 02, 2025

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV's biggest prizes

The defunded Corporation for Public Broadcasting will get one of TV's biggest prizes The Corporation for Public Broadcastingwill be hono...

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‘Trump’s private army’: inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers

'Trump's private army': inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers

The last time the US dramatically expanded its force of immigration officers, major problems arose. Some border agentsrecruited in the 2000sturned out to becartel members. Onekidnappedand raped three women in his custody. Two others were convicted ofoff-duty murders. Now, asDonald Trumpvowsto build "the largest deportation operation" in history and kicks off a massive recruitment spree, human rights advocates and former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials are warning that misconduct and violence by officers could increase as a result. Bolstered by anunprecedented $170bn in fundingfor Immigration and Border Enforcement, the DHS is seeking tohire10,000 new Iceofficersand 3,000 Customs and Border Protection (CBP)agentsby theend of the year. In its desperate race to staff up and meet Trump deputy Stephen Miller's aggressive goal of3,000 immigration-related arrestsa day, the DHS is now advertising substantial incentives for Ice recruits. That includes asigning bonusof up to $50,000 and as much as $60,000 in student loan repayment. Related:Mother of boy, 15, held at gunpoint by US immigration agents files $1m claim It has expanded the officer recruitmentage, which was generally 21-40, to all people 18 and over, and hasshortenedtraining periods to get agents in the fieldfaster. It has launched a prolific social media campaign, featuring memes and imagery that critics say echo white supremacist ideologies. In the past, US officials have repeatedly dismissed misconduct, or even crimes, by immigration officers as anomalies. Watchdogs, however, arguecorruptionandabusewithin Ice and CBP is rampant – and that the White House's hiring tactics threaten to supercharge problems. "Abusive practices, misconduct and a sense of impunity have long existed within these agencies," said Pedro Rios, director of the American Friends Service Committee's US/Mexico border program, whichtracksofficer misconduct. "There are systemic problems with accountability … and a culture of violence." When border patrol nearly doubled its workforce between 2005 and 2011, expanding from 11,300 to 21,400 agents, hiring guidelineswere changedand training requirements were loosened, according to the Associated Press. Agentswere rushedthrough the academy before background checks were done. Ralph Basham, George W Bush's CBP commissioner,told Politico Magazine in 2014: "We made some mistakes. We found out later that we did, in fact, hire cartel members." Reports of misconduct by immigration officers increased.Nearly one CBP officerwas arrested for misconduct every day from 2005 to 2012, Politico found. CBP shootings and use-of-force complaintssurged from 2007 to 2012. In 2018, a border patrol agent wasarrestedforkilling four women, the same year another agent was arrested forkilling his girlfriend and their babyand three other CBP officers wereaccusedof sexually assaulting a colleague on office furniture they deemed the "rape table". In 2019, dozens of border patrol agents werecaughtin a racist Facebook group. In recent years, former agents were convicted ofkidnapping, sexual assaultandaccepting cartel bribes, and there were continuedreportsofsexual assaultbehind bars. "The problems of overreach, abuse and weak accountability at DHS stretch across presidential administrations," said Spencer Reynolds, senior counsel for the liberty and national security program at the Brennan Center, a non-profit. "These issues are baked into a department that has very broad mandates and operates with significant discretion." The hiring spree could exacerbate those problems. In addition to expanding the age eligibility, the DHS was speeding up onboarding for new hires by condensing training from 13 weeks to eight, officials recentlytoldNBC News, and reducing Spanish classes, firearms courses and classroom instruction. The existing training, advocates say, was already failing to prevent misconduct. Michelle Brané, the former immigration detention ombudsman under Joe Biden, said that she was concerned that it appears that some Ice and CBP officers have "a very poor understanding of the law – when you're allowed to arrest somebody, when you need a warrant, what is a valid warrant, or even basics about how people are supposed to enter the country" – and that was before training periods were shortened. Some agents wrongly believed people could apply for asylum from Mexico or cross the border at ports of entry that CBP had, in fact, blocked off – ignorance that could fuel agents' anger at immigrants, she said: "It creates resentment among staff, and that's when people start to get dehumanized and you get really horrific treatment." The DHS's hiring incentives and expanding eligibility suggest it could be struggling to meet the White House's recruitment goals, though Ice said last month it hadreceivedmore than 100,000 applications in two weeks. Lilian Serrano, director of the Southern Border Communities Coalition, an advocacy group, said the DHS has long recruited in low-income communities where there are minimal prospects for good jobs: "Some see border patrol as a way of getting a well-paid job that will lift them and their families out of poverty, even though that job means targeting their own communities." Serrano was particularly concerned that Trump's recruitment was targeting youth, with events atschoolsin border communities. Serrano's coalition has tracked border patrol misconduct and killings for years – and has seen agents' behavior worsen this year, she said: "The shift has been immediate, with agents being more emboldened to openly violate their own policies even when they know they're being recorded." Rapid recruitment will worsen those problems, she said. Scott Shuchart, a former senior Ice official under Biden, said he was concerned about white supremacists and violent extremists getting hired as the DHS lowers its standards and speeds up enrollment: "The scary ones are the people who want to be Trump's private army, the insurrectionists, the Proud Boys, the Klansmen and others who might be coming out of the woodwork." Historically, efforts to prevent the hiring of officers prone to crimes were more focused on cartel ties, though the January 6 insurrection, which sawoff-duty officersfrom across the country joining rioters, made officials more aware of the threats of far-right infiltration in recruitment, Shuchart said. While background checks might still block the hiring of white supremacists with criminal records, he said he doubted there were any efforts targeted at weeding out these ideologies in recruitment. Those fears have been exacerbated by the message in the DHS's online recruitment efforts, and as the DHS has celebrated its harsh treatment of immigrants, whether with the department's secretary, Kristi Noem,filming herselfat an El Salvador prison with men jam-packed into a cell, or the DHS posting amemeof alligators as Ice agents in Florida. Recent DHS recruitmentadvertisementshave usedlanguagelike "Defend your culture!", "Secure the Golden Age" and "Want todeport illegalswith your absolute boys?" One X.com recruitmentpostfeatured an Uncle Sam image and said, "Which way, American man?", which observers quickly pointed out was similar to the title of a 1978 white nationalistbookthat defended Hitler. The DHSsaidit was conveying that Uncle Sam was "at a crossroads, pondering which way America should go". "The message is: 'We are intentionally causing harm in order to encourage people to leave voluntarily,'" said Brané. "Cruelty is the point, and they seem proud of it. I worry you now have [recruits] coming in with the idea that they are there to harm immigrations and be as cruel as possible … It is clearly going to lead to more violations of human rights. There will be more abuse and mistreatment, whether physical or verbal, and less concern for people's wellbeing and due process." Spokespeople for the DHS, Ice and CBP did not respond to interview requests and detailed inquiries about its recruitment strategies and officer misconduct. Experts see the developments as reflective of larger systemic shifts. "Cutting back on training goes along with the complete collapse of the rule of law in this country," Shuchart said, noting that Trump's immigration crackdown has relied onunconstitutionalpractices andillegal actions, including racial profiling in Los Angeles andunlawful deportations. "You don't have to spend weeks teaching someone immigration law if you've decided the law just means the president gets to deport anyone he wants. Direct monarchical rule without law doesn't require a lot of training by the king's foot soldiers." That lack of accountability is exacerbated by the erosion of oversight. Noem hasshut down DHS oversight officesmeant to uncover and prevent misconduct, efforts that advocates said were already inadequate. Related:'I'm not coming home': Trump policy holds people in Ice custody without bail "They are rushing the hiring of these sensitive positions while gutting the institutions responsible for ensuring oversight and spewing incredibly dehumanizing rhetoric about the people who are subject to these policies," said Noah Schramm, policy strategist for the ACLU of Arizona. "It's a recipe for disaster." Advocates are particularly worried about reductions in accountability as Trumpdeploys border patrol agents to cities,including Los AngelesandWashington DC. "Border patrol is not trained in crowd control. And some agents see themselves as a military force," said Reynolds. In LA, border patrol agents werecaught making false statementsabout protesters they arrested in June. A judge earlier this year also criticized the border patrol for conducting warrantless immigration stops,saying: "You just can't walk up to people with brown skin and say, 'Give me your papers.'" Reports ofracial profilingby CBP and Ice in California havecontinued. "There will be an increased level of civil rights violations, and the public has no recourse to address them," Rios said. Stacy Suh, program director at Detention Watch Network, an immigrants' rights coalition, said the vast expansion of Ice and CBP will have far-reaching consequences. "No amount of training or slowing down hiring will address Ice's culture of secrecy and impunity," Suh said. "What we're really concerned about is how difficult it is to shrink the system once it is expanded. This hiring spree will have a devastating impact on our communities for years to come. It means more people will be targeted and detained, more people will be coerced in detention to accept deportation, and violence inside prisons will get worse."

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September 02, 2025

‘Trump’s private army’: inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers

'Trump's private army': inside the push to recruit 10,000 immigration officers The last time the US dramatically expanded its fo...

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Exclusive-Fed should be independent but has made mistakes, Treasury Secretary Bessent says

Exclusive-Fed should be independent but has made mistakes, Treasury Secretary Bessent says

By Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal ARLINGTON, Virginia (Reuters) -U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said on Monday the Federal Reserve is and should be independent but said it had "made a lot of mistakes" and defended President Donald Trump's right to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook over allegations of mortgage fraud. Trump has criticized the Fed and its chair, Jerome Powell, for months for not lowering interest rates, and recently took aim at Powell over a costly renovation of the bank's Washington headquarters. "The Fed should be independent. The Fed is independent, but I, I also think that they've made a lot of mistakes," Bessent told Reuters in an interview at a diner in suburban Washington. Asked whether the administration's efforts to remove Cook looked like an attempt to give Trump a chance to appoint a majority on the board of governors, Bessent said: "Well, or is it you're having to do the Fed's job for 'em?" Independent central banks are widely seen as crucial to a stable global financial system. Bessent said the makeup of the Fed board - with regional bank governors - meant the president could not "stack the board." Bessent rejected the idea that markets were disturbed by the Trump administration's actions. "(The) S&P's at a new high and bond yields are fine. So we haven't seen anything yet," he said. Bessent said he believed that Cook should be removed or step down if the allegations against her are true, and noted that she had not denied them. Trump last week fired Cook, the first Black woman to serve on the Federal Reserve Board of Governors, after the Trump-appointed head of the U.S. Federal Housing Finance Agency, William Pulte, accused her of mortgage fraud. Pulte asked the Justice Department to investigate the claim. The department has not filed charges against her. Cook and her supporters contend that the fraud allegations are a pretext to remove her so Trump could appoint an ally to the central bank who would promote his policy wishes. Cook is suing Trump and the Fed, saying Trump did not have the legal authority to remove her. The Trump administration says Cook described separate properties in Michigan and Georgia as primary residences on mortgage applications in 2021, which could have given her preferential interest rates. Cook has said that even if the allegations were true, they would not be grounds for removal because the alleged conduct occurred before she was confirmed by the Senate and took office in 2022. "I've been very surprised that the Fed has not done an independent review," Bessent said. "She hasn't said she didn't do it. She's just saying the president can't fire her. There's a big difference." Bessent said the Senate should act quickly to confirm Stephen Miran, chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, for a temporary post, replacing Adriana Kugler who resigned on August 1. (Reporting by Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal; Editing by Scott Malone and Edmund Klamann)

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September 02, 2025

Exclusive-Fed should be independent but has made mistakes, Treasury Secretary Bessent says

Exclusive-Fed should be independent but has made mistakes, Treasury Secretary Bessent says By Jeff Mason and Andrea Shalal ARLINGTON, Virgi...

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Trump says he's awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Trump says he's awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom

WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumpsaid Monday he will award former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the nation's highest civilian honor, two days after his longtime political ally wasseriously injured in a car crash. The decision places the award on a man once lauded for leading New York after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and latersanctioned by courts and disbarredfor amplifying false claims about the 2020 election. Giuliani was also criminally charged in two states; he has denied wrongdoing. Trump in a statement on social media called Giuliani the "greatest Mayor in the history of New York City, and an equally great American Patriot." For much of the past two decades, Giuliani's public life has been defined by a striking rise and fall. After leading New York through the aftermath of Sept. 11, he mounted a brief campaign for the Republican presidential nomination and became one of the most recognizable political figures in the country. But as Trump's personal lawyer, he became a central figure in efforts to overturn the 2020 election. Courts repeatedly rejected the fraud claims he advanced, and two former Georgia election workerswon a $148 million defamation judgmentagainst him. The election workers, Ruby Freeman and Wandrea "Shaye" Moss, said Giuliani's efforts to promote Trump's lies about the election being stolen led to death threats that made them fear for their lives. Giuliani was disbarred in New York and Washington for repeatedly making false statements about the election, and he was criminally charged inGeorgiaandArizonain connection with efforts to undo Trump's loss to Democrat Joe Biden. Giuliani, 81, was hospitalized after the Saturday night collision in New Hampshire. State police said he was a passenger in a rented Ford Bronco driven by his spokesperson, Ted Goodman, when the vehicle was struck from behind by a Honda HR-V. Giuliani suffered a fractured thoracic vertebra along with multiple lacerations, contusions and injuries to his left arm and leg, according to his security chief, Michael Ragusa. On Monday, Ragusa said Giuliani remained in the hospital but was expected to be released "soon." The Medal of Freedom, established in 1963, is awarded to individuals who have made especially meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, world peace, or cultural or other significant public endeavors.

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September 02, 2025

Trump says he's awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom

Trump says he's awarding former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani the Presidential Medal of Freedom WASHINGTON (AP) — PresidentDonald Trumpsa...

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