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.
(LOS ANGELES, Calif.) — As brush fires continue to spread across Los Angeles County, more than 1,000 prisoners, working as “incarcerated firefighters,” are among the emergency responders fighting the blazes, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation confirmed to ABC News.
The prisoners, who voluntarily sign up to be a part of the Conservation (Fire) Camps Program, are embedded with the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection, or Cal Fire, crew members.
Participating individuals are typically paid between $5.80 and $10.24 per day plus $1 an hour when responding to active emergencies, according to the CDCR.
Those responding to the Los Angeles fires and working 24-hour shifts are earning $26.90 per day, according to the law enforcement agency.
“CDCR Fire Camp Program firefighters are proud to be embedded with CAL FIRE personnel to protect lives, property and natural resources in Southern California,” the agency said in a statement.
Incarcerated firefighters have been working “around the clock” cutting fire lines and removing fuel from behind structures to slow fire spread, the CDCR said, adding that the program is a source of “crucial support” during emergencies.
The exact number of hours and shifts the incarcerated crew members have worked since brush fires erupted in Los Angeles on Jan. 7 was not immediately clear.
The agency said the program paves the way for professional emergency response certifications and job opportunities after an inmate’s release. It also allows for criminal record expungement and opportunities to reduce their sentences, according to the CDCR.
Most incarcerated fire crew members receive two additional days off their sentence for every one day they serve on a fire crew, according to the agency, and camp volunteers, who work as support staff but not on a fire crew, receive one day off their sentence for every one day they serve.
The inmate firefighting program dates back to 1915 but largely expanded in California in the 1940s because of firefighter shortages during World War II, according to the CDCR.
The state’s Assembly Bill 2147, which passed in 2020, allowed inmate firefighters to petition courts to dismiss their convictions after serving their time.
The Los Angeles fires have brought renewed attention to the program, drawing some criticism over the wages the inmate firefighters receive.
Kim Kardashian took to social media over the weekend to call for California Gov. Gavin Newsom to raise their wages. “I am urging @cagovernor to do what no Governor has done in 4 decades, and raise the incarcerated firefighter pay to a rate [that] honors a human being risking their life to save our lives and homes,” Kardashian wrote.
In comparison, California firefighters typically earn a monthly base salary between $3,672 and $4,643 plus an additional $1,824 to $2,306 of extended duty week compensation every four weeks, according to Cal Fire.
The CDCR’s inmate fire program operates 35 minimum-security facilities in 25 counties across California, including two camps designated for incarcerated women.
There are more than 1,800 incarcerated individuals staffing the camps across the state, according to the agency.
Participating prisoners have joined the thousands of federal, state and local emergency responders who are battling at least four active wildfires across Los Angeles County as of Tuesday.
The largest of the devastating blazes, the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades, has scorched more than 23,000 acres, destroyed thousands of structures and remains at 17% containment as of Tuesday afternoon.
The Eaton Fire, in Altadena, has spread over 14,000 acres and is 35% contained, according to Cal Fire. There have been at least 24 deaths between the two fires — a number officials warn may rise as emergency efforts continue.
Approximately 88,000 Los Angeles County residents are under evacuation orders Tuesday as another dangerous Santa Ana wind event is forecast to impact the already vulnerable region.
(NEW YORK) — The Federal Aviation Administration says it has found no safety issues with Southwest Airlines following several monthslong investigations launched in July after multiple close-call incidents.
The most notable incident occurred in April when a Southwest plane came within 400 feet from slamming into the ocean off the coast of Hawaii.
However, several other incidents were investigated, including a flight to Phoenix, Arizona, in May experiencing a “dutch roll,” a Southwest flight from Ohio to Florida that came within 150 feet of the water before performing a go-around and a flight in June when a Southwest plane dropped to 525 feet over Oklahoma.
Southwest, in a statement to ABC about the agency’s completion of the review, said it “appreciates the opportunity to engage with the FAA as part of our mutual dedication to safety. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees.”
The FAA also issued a statement in the aftermath of the investigations, saying they “finished its Certificate Holder Evaluation Program (CHEP) of Southwest Airlines. The review did not identify any significant safety issues.”
(WASHINGTON) — A California man who pleaded guilty to a felony for his participation in the Jan. 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol filed a letter Wednesday showing he was personally invited by a retired Republican congressman to attend President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
Russell Taylor, whom prosecutors described as a “leader” who organized a “group of fighters” to travel to Washington on Jan. 6, 2021, to obstruct Congress’ certification of Trump’s 2020 election loss, filed the letter from retired Republican Rep. Chris Stewart in a request for the judge overseeing his case to approve his travel to the nation’s capital.
Stewart makes no direct mention in the letter of Taylor’s participation in the Capitol attack, instead describing him as “a man of integrity and faith who has served those who are less fortunate.”
“Russ’ passion for what is right and good is reflected in his intentions to lift others,” Stewart said.
However, prosecutors described him as leading “not just by words, but by deeds,” in advance of the Capitol attack, according to court documents from his case. Taylor “repeatedly called for violence and a show of force” to overturn the election and, on Jan. 6 itself, led a mob that overran a police line near the inaugural stage while wearing “an exposed knife on top of a bullet proof chest plate and carrying bear spray,” according to his sentencing memo.
Taylor received credit from the judge overseeing his case, Royce Lamberth, for his agreement to enter into a plea deal with prosecutors followed by testimony at trial that helped convict one of his co-conspirators. Lamberth rejected prosecutors’ request to sentence him to over four years in prison and instead sentenced him to six months of home detention and probation.
“Counsel submits that Mr. Taylor does not pose any risk or concern for this travel request,” Taylor’s attorneys said in their letter to Lamberth on Wednesday. “He is traveling with his family including minor children. He is the guest of a former Congressman, and has demonstrated over and over again that he is trustworthy in his travel and compliance with Court Orders. We hereby request he be allowed to travel to Washington D.C. from January 16 to 21, 2025.”
