Free Republic

Key Points A federal appeals court in Manhattan rejected President Donald Trump’s effort to block enforcement of a grand jury subpoena that demands years of his income tax returns from his accountants. But court suspended enforcement of that subpoena by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr., giving Trump time to ask the Supreme Court, for a second time, to step into the case and block the subpoena permanently. Trump’s lawyer Jay Sekulow said he will ask the Supreme Court to stay the unanimous decision against the president by the three-judge panel on U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit....

On June 5, 2020, we reported that Appeals Court Orders Molotov Cocktail Lawyers Back to Jail: Two Brooklyn-based lawyers facing federal charges for allegedly throwing Molotov cocktails into a NYPD cruiser during the riots are back in federal custody after an appeals court reversed the bail decision. That initial and temporary appeals court decision now has been reversed, with a panel of the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, in a 2-1 decision, ordering the defendants released on bail and home confinement pending trial. ... ridiculous justification from the majority ... Judge Jon Newman wrote in Dissent: On the night of...

In a free society, speech at times can be annoying, obnoxious, unsettling or offensive. Panhandlers and political protesters can approach you on the street. Controversial ideas can be expressed on tee shirts, bumper stickers or license plates. And governments cannot block speech merely because it is irritating or bothersome — unless you are talking about commercial speech, in which case government bureaucrats have been given more deference to restrict speech. For example, the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission determined that Uber and Lyft drivers could not install tablets that would display advertisements or allow passengers to play games...

For years, a contentious and sometimes emotionally heated debate has raged over the issue of letting people discharge their student loan debts in bankruptcy. A recent decision opens the door for individuals with high levels of student debt to have their burdens discharged in bankruptcy. Should we cheer? Until 1976, the bankruptcy law made no distinction between student loan debt and other kinds. In that year, however, Congress amended the law so as to mostly exclude student loan debts from bankruptcy, even though the level of college debt was vastly lower than it is today. On average, college cost only...

Former Congressman Chris Collins has learned his fate in his federal insider trading case. A U.S. District judge sentenced him to 26 months in prison Friday. He was also fined $200,000. Collins pleaded guilty to securities fraud conspiracy and making false statements to the FBI. He was sentenced in federal court in Manhattan. It’s the culmination of a case that began back in August 2018 when Collins was first arrested and charged with this insider trading scheme. He maintained his innocence and won re-election. Then last year, he reversed course, pleaded guilty, and resigned from his office in Congress. Collins...

NEW YORK (Reuters) - WA federal appeals court on Wednesday refused to set aside an injunction blocking the Trump administration from enforcing a rule that would withhold green cards from immigrants likely to require government assistance such as Medicaid or food stamps. In a brief order, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan also set an expedited schedule for the White House’s appeal of a lower court ruling against the rule, with legal papers to be submitted by Feb. 14 and oral arguments to be held soon afterward. The “public charge” rule unveiled last year would make it...

The House of Representatives can enforce subpoenasseeking eight years of President Trump’s financial records, an appeals court ruled Tuesday. The majority decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals clears the way for the Democrat-controlled House to seek documents, including tax returns, for Trump and other third-party individuals and entities. The House previously served subpoenas on Deutsche Bank and Capital One for the records, yet Trump immediately sued to block their release. Deutsche Bank previously revealed that, while it has tax returns for some of Trump’s children, it is not in possession of the president’s.