DOJ, under Trump, moves to drop appeal of classified docs case against his co-defendants
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(WASHINGTON) — The Department of Justice, now under new leadership following Donald Trump’s inauguration, has moved to drop its appeal of the classified documents case that once accused Trump of mishandling some of the country’s most sensitive secrets.
Acting U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida Hayden O’Bryne on Wednesday moved to dismiss the appeal against Trump’s former co-defendants in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit.
Trump pleaded not guilty in 2023 to 40 criminal counts — including violations of nine separate federal laws — for allegedly holding on to classified documents after leaving the White House in 2021 and thwarting investigators’ efforts to retrieve the documents from his Mar-a-Lago estate.
Along with longtime aide Walt Nauta and staffer Carlos De Oliveira, Trump pleaded not guilty in a superseding indictment to allegedly attempting to delete Mar-a-Lago surveillance footage.
In July, U.S. District Judge Aileen Cannon — who Trump appointed to the bench — dismissed the indictments, deeming that special counsel Jack Smith had been unconstitutionally appointed.
While Smith appealed Cannon’s decision, he was forced to drop the appeal against Trump after Trump won the November election, due to a longstanding policy against prosecuting sitting presidents. However, Smith continued to pursue the appeal against Nauta and De Oliveira prior his resignation earlier this month.
The DOJ’s motion to drop the appeal signals an end to its prosecution of Nauta and De Oliveira.
Cannon on Tuesday cited the DOJ’s ongoing appeal against Nauta and De Oliveira in her decision to block the release of Smith’s final report on the case to select members of Congress.
Pennsylvania State Police troopers found this sinkhole while searching for a missing woman; Pennsylvania State Police
(UNITY TOWNSHIP, Pa.) — Rescuers are desperately searching for a grandmother they believe fell into a deep sinkhole — holding out hope of finding her despite the difficult rescue conditions.
Elizabeth Pollard, who was last seen Monday evening, has not yet been found amid the complicated search effort in Unity Township, Pennsylvania, police said Wednesday morning.
The sinkhole is believed to be tied to an abandoned coal mine and formed while Pollard was walking in the area, officials said. Search crews have been able to make entry into the mine area, though the integrity of the mine has been compromised by the water they are using to break up the ground, Pennsylvania State Police Trooper Steve Limani said during a briefing Wednesday.
The search will continue as long as needed pending any safety concerns, though the digging process may be slower now, he said.
“Hopefully she’s in an air pocket,” Limani said during a briefing Tuesday evening, noting that there have been incidents in the region where people have survived similar situations in underground mines. “This is a rescue to me until something says that it’s not.”
Rescue teams from nearby areas have joined forces, swapping shifts to keep the effort going. Oxygen tankers are being delivered regularly to supply the mine shaft, and crews have made progress entering the underground area.
The conditions are tough, with clay-like soil making it difficult to dig, but rescuers remain determined.
“We’re doing everything we can, and no one is giving up,” said Limani.
He added, “It’s heartbreaking for her family and everyone here. But we’re not stopping. We’re all hoping for a miracle.”
Pollard was reported missing by a family member shortly before 1 a.m. Tuesday, Limani said at an earlier press conference Tuesday.
Pollard was last seen around 5 p.m. Monday, Limani said. The family member said Pollard had gone out to look for her cat Monday afternoon but has not been heard from since, he said.
Pollard’s vehicle was located shortly before 3 a.m. Tuesday with her 5-year-old granddaughter inside, though Pollard was nowhere to be seen, police said.
“At that point in time we realized this could be a very bad situation,” Limani said.
While searching for Pollard in the area, troopers found an apparent sinkhole with an opening about the “size of a manhole” 15 to 20 feet away from the vehicle, Limani said.
Emergency responders were called to the scene in what is currently being considered a rescue mission, authorities said. Local firefighters, a technical rescue team and the state’s Bureau of Mine Safety are among those working alongside an excavation team to remove dirt to access the sinkhole, Limani said.
The current evidence points toward Pollard being in the sinkhole, Limani said.
“We don’t feel a reason that we should be looking elsewhere,” he said.
The sinkhole appears to have been created during the time that Pollard was walking around, Limani said, noting there is no evidence the hole was there before she started looking for her cat.
The area where the sinkhole formed has a “very thin layer of earth” and appears to have been deteriorating “for a long time,” Limani said.
“It appears to be mostly just grass interwoven where she had stepped,” he said. “There wasn’t much earth at all to hold up that space.”
A camera inserted into the opening of the sinkhole showed a “big void, and it was all different depths,” Marguerite Fire Chief Scot Graham told reporters during the earlier press briefing.
A camera did not pick up any sounds, though authorities did see a “modern-type” shoe in the sinkhole, according to Pleasant Unity Fire Chief John Bacha.
“The process is long and it is tedious,” Graham said of the search effort.
The mine last operated in 1952, according to the state’s Department of Environmental Protection. The depth to the coal seam in this area is approximately 20 feet, a department spokesperson said.
Once the scene is clear, the department will investigate the site “to determine if this issue is the result of historic mine subsidence,” the spokesperson said.
Pollard’s granddaughter is safe, despite the cold temperatures overnight, and is currently with her parents, Limani said.
The family is asking for privacy at this time and is hoping for “good news,” he said.
“We need to get a little bit lucky,” Limani said. “We’re going to do everything we can.”
ABC News’ Alexandra Faul and Jason Volack contributed to this report.
(LAKELAND, Fla.) — A Florida woman was arrested and charged this week for ending a phone call with her health insurance provider with threats that mimicked wording associated with the suspected UnitedHealthcare CEO shooter.
The incident occurred Tuesday when Briana Boston, a 42-year-old woman from Lakeland, was speaking with a representative from Blue Cross Blue Shield after she had been told that her medical claim was denied.
In an arrest affidavit obtained by ABC News, police said that near the end of the recorded conversation with the insurance provider, Boston can be heard saying, “Delay, deny, depose. You people are next.”
Boston’s apparent threats nearly echo the words that were engraved on the bullet shell casings that authorities recovered from the scene where UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot earlier this month.
Those engraved words were “deny,” “defend” and “depose.”
However, Boston’s words do match the title of a 2010 book “Delay, Deny, Defend: Why Insurance Companies Don’t Pay Claims and What You Can Do About It.”
The book was written by legal scholar and insurance expert Jay Feinman, a professor emeritus at Rutgers Law School in New Jersey. It explores abuses of auto and homeowners insurance to “avoid paying justified claims,” according to its summary.
Luigi Mangione is a suspect in the killing, which has catapulted the nation’s health care industry into the spotlight. Mangione faces second-degree murder and a slew of other charges in both Pennsylvania and New York.
When Lakeland Police confronted Boston about the perceived threats, she apologized and said that she “used those words because it’s what is in the news right now,” according to the arrest affidavit.
Boston told authorities she does not own any guns and is not a threat, but went on to say that health care companies “deserve karma” and that they are “evil,” according to the document.
“Boston further stated the health care companies played games and deserved karma from the world because they are evil,” police said in the affidavit.
ABC News has reached out to Blue Cross Blue Shield for comment.
Following the investigation, Boston was charged with threats to conduct a mass shooting or act of terrorism and booked at a jail in Polk County, according to police.
(BELLVILLE, Texas) — A family in Austin County, Texas, is anxiously waiting for the return of their 3-year-old kangaroo after the marsupial pushed a gate open and hopped a fence.
The 5-foot-tall kangaroo, named Rowdy, was last seen early Wednesday morning on Pyka Road near Interstate 10 in Austin County, according to the kangaroo’s owner.
Local radio DJ Dana Tyson said she saw the kangaroo while heading to work, she told Houston ABC News affiliate KTRK.
“Never in my wildest dreams did I think a kangaroo would jump in front of my car,” Tyson told KTRK.
Tyson recorded the kangaroo on camera and said she later found out a nearby resident, Marsha Matus, was missing one.
Matus said she is anxious for Rowdy’s safe return because she knows he is scared.
“He is our baby. He is not your stereotypical kangaroo. He is our pet,” Matus told KTRK.
Rowdy is one of three kangaroos owned by Matus, she said. After Rowdy got out of the pen, she said he jumped the perimeter fence and ran off. Daphne, another pet kangaroo, only got as far as the yard. And Rocky, the youngest kangaroo, who is still a baby, remained inside the house.
Matus said she loves her kangaroos and she even has kangaroo signs, yard art and a personalized license plate that reads “Roo Mom.”
“They’re unique,” she said. “I’m worried to death.”
On Thursday night, Matus told KTRK a stranger even drove down to help Matus search for Rowdy using his drone that is equipped with thermal imaging. Matus and her husband also used their drone to try and find Rowdy.
In a post on Facebook, Matus says Rowdy spends his days laying down and resting because kangaroos are nocturnal. She urges that if anyone sees him that they call the Austin County Sheriff’s Office.
“Please if you spot him anywhere you can contact myself, Austin Co Sheriff’s office or DPS,” Matus posted on Facebook. “He will not go to anyone, he will not harm anyone or anyone’s pets. He knows my voice and will come to me.”
Matus hopes Rowdy is safe and that he can make it back home.
“I just hope he’s safe because I know he’s scared. I just want him home.”
ABC News reached out to the Austin County Sheriff’s Office for comment and did not receive a response.
