Courts

The federal judge overseeing the election conspiracy case against Donald Trump is warning that there are limits on what the former president can publicly say about evidence in the investigation as he campaigns for a second term in the White House. U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkin heard arguments Friday on how to structure a protective order that would prevent a public airing of all the evidence turned over by prosecutors. But she also used the forum to address the case’s unprecedented mix of legal and political concerns. Chutkan stressed that political considerations wouldn’t guide her decisions.

Donald Trump’s valet, Walt Nauta, has pleaded not guilty to new charges in the case accusing the former president of illegally hoarding classified documents at his Florida estate. The property manager of Mar-a-Lago, Carlos De Oliveira had his arraignment postponed because he still has not secured a Florida-based attorney. Trump waived his right to appear at the Thursday hearing in the federal court in Fort Pierce. The judge accepted a not guilty plea the Republican former president made in court papers last week. De Oliveira’s failure to finalize local counsel marks the latest delay in the case, which is scheduled to go to trial in May.

An armed Utah man accused of making violent threats against President Joe Biden was shot and killed by FBI agents hours before the president landed in the state Wednesday, authorities say. The shooting happened around 6:15 a.m. as special agents tried to serve a warrant on the home of Craig Deleeuw Robertson in Provo, south of Salt Lake City. Biden flew to Utah late Wednesday. The shooting is under review by the FBI. Authorities say Robertson posted online Monday that he had heard Biden was coming to Utah and he was planning to dig out a camouflage suit and begin “cleaning the dust off the M24 sniper rifle.”

A Colombian man once seen as one of the world’s most dangerous drug lords has been sentenced to 45 years in prison in the U.S. Dairo Antonio Úsuga — known as Otoniel — was sentenced Tuesday in a federal court in New York. He pleaded guilty in January to high-level drug trafficking charges. Úsuga headed the Gulf Clan, a cartel and paramilitary group with a blood-drenched grip on much of northern Colombia. Úsuga was Colombia’s most-wanted kingpin before his arrest in 2021. When pleading guilty, he admitted smuggling tons of U.S.-bound cocaine and acknowledged “there was a lot of violence.”

Tou Thao, the last former Minneapolis police officer convicted in state court for his role in the killing of George Floyd, didn't show any repentance or admit any wrongdoing as he was sentenced to nearly five years. Thao testified previously that he merely served as a “human traffic cone” when holding back bystanders as former Officer Derek Chauvin, who is white, knelt on Floyd’s neck for 9 1/2 minutes as the Black man pleaded for his life in 2020. A bystander video captured Floyd’s fading cries of “I can’t breathe.” Judge Peter Cahill found Thao guilty in May of aiding and abetting second-degree manslaughter. Monday's sentence will run concurrently with a 3 1/2-year sentence on a federal civil rights conviction.

Donald Trump's defense attorney says the former president never asked Mike Pence to overturn the 2020 election. Speaking on Sunday morning news shows, attorney John Lauro said Trump only asked Pence to “pause” the certification to allow time to investigate concerns about election irregularities. Pence flatly denied that account, saying Trump wanted him to overturn the voters' will, something he said he knew to be unconstitutional and un-American. Trump was indicted last week on charges of plotting to overturn the 2020 election. He has pleaded not guilty. Trump's baseless allegations about election tampering in 2020 have been rejected by numerous courts.

Two conservative groups are asking a federal court to block the Biden administration’s plan to cancel $39 billion in student loans for more than 800,000 borrowers. In a lawsuit filed Friday in Michigan, the groups argue that the administration overstepped its power when it announced the forgiveness in July. It asks a judge to rule the cancellation illegal. The suit was filed by the New Civil Liberties Alliance on behalf of the Mackinac Center for Public Policy and the Cato Institute. The Education Department called the suit “a desperate attempt from right wing special interests to keep hundreds of thousands of borrowers in debt.”

A Texas judge says the state’s abortion ban has proven too restrictive for women with pregnancy complications and must allow exceptions without the risk of doctors facing criminal charges. The ruling Friday is the first to undercut Texas’ abortion ban since it took effect last year. However, the state attorney general’s office said the injunction was immediately blocked by an appeal it filed to the Texas Supreme Court. Even so, the decision delivers a major victory to abortion rights supporters who see the case as a potential blueprint to weaken restrictions that Republicans have rushed to implement elsewhere in the U.S.

It was a routine part of a federal court hearing: The defendant was told not to discuss the case with any witnesses without lawyers present. But there’s nothing routine about this case. The defendant is Donald Trump, accused of orchestrating a conspiracy to overturn the results of the 2020 election. The potential witness pool is vast and includes members of the former president’s inner circle deeply involved in his reelection campaign, including some currently on his payroll. His lies about the election — which form the basis of the charges — are repeated in nearly every speech he gives.

Former President Donald Trump called it a “very sad day for America” after pleading not guilty in Washington’s federal court to charges that he conspired to overturn the 2020 election. Trump addressed the proceedings Thursday in a brief statement on a drizzly tarmac before he boarded his plane back to New Jersey. He characterized the case as a “persecution” designed to hurt his 2024 presidential campaign. Trump pleaded not guilty to four federal counts, including conspiracy to defraud the United States. He is accused of brazenly conspiring with allies to spread falsehoods and concoct schemes intended to overturn his election loss to President Joe Biden.