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Law & Crime: Trump doubles down on claim he has ‘absolute immunity’ from Central Park 5 defamation lawsuit
President Donald Trump is doubling down on his claim that he has “absolute immunity” from a defamation lawsuit filed against him by members of the exonerated Central Park Five over false statements he made about them during a televised debate with then-Vice President Kamala Harris.
In an 11-page reply filed Wednesday, the president asserted he is entitled to an automatic stay in the case as an appellate court decides whether he is protected from litigation under Pennsylvania law. The filing argues that the state’s Uniform Public Expression Protection Act (UPEPA) — an anti-SLAPP law aimed at preventing defendants from being intimidated or silenced by the threat of expensive lawsuits — applies to the lawsuit and immunizes him against the plaintiffs’ claims.
Trump is appealing an earlier ruling by U.S. District Judge Wendy Beetlestone in which she refused to dismiss the defamation suit, holding that the Central Park Five’s claims were not barred by UPEPA, which is Pennsylvania’s version of an anti-SLAPP law.
“In enacting the [UPEPA], the Pennsylvania General Assembly explicitly recognized the severe chilling effect that lawsuits which target public participation have on constitutionally protected speech. To combat these abuses of the judicial process, the legislature provided defendants with substantive immunity from suit to spare them the burdens and expenses associated with meritless litigation,” Wednesday’s filing states. “Because the record demonstrates UPEPA immunity was intended to protect defendants from the burdens of litigation, and President Trump’s appeal presents a non-frivolous question, this Court should order an immediate stay.”
Beetlestone last month ruled that UPEPA does not apply in federal court. In his appeal, Trump asserted that the law must be applied in federal court, thereby making him immune from the plaintiffs’ suit. The appeal further argued that because Trump is allegedly entitled to immunity, it is “mandatory” that the court grant his request for a stay pending appeal.
Attorneys for the Central Park Five pushed back on Trump’s claim that a stay in the case is mandatory, claiming the president “does not cite any relevant case for this proposition” and is conflating absolute immunity — being immune from litigation — with being statutorily immune from liability.
For example, a sitting president would be immune from litigation if a lawsuit were based on any official acts taken within the scope of presidential duties, regardless of the merits. On the other hand, immunity based on anti-SLAPP statutes typically requires courts to address the merits of the plaintiff’s claims.
Trump on Wednesday argued that plaintiffs’ position “fundamentally misconstrues the statute,” claiming UPEPA “grants defendants an immediate entitlement to avoid the litigation process itself, which cannot be vindicated once Defendant is subjected to the burdens of litigation.”
“UPEPA immunity is, therefore, like that afforded to defendants under the doctrines of absolute and qualified immunity, and the Court should stay the proceedings in this case as it would in cases where such immunities are invoked,” the filing says.
The president further asserted that refusing his request to stay the proceedings while the 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals would establish a precedent allowing lawsuits to be filed against citizens “for merely voicing their opinions in quintessentially political discussions.”
The wrongly accused quintet sued Trump for false statements he made during last year’s presidential debate with Kamala Harris in which he said the plaintiffs “pled guilty” to the horrific 1989 attack on a Manhattan jogger and “ultimately killed a person.”
Antron McCray, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, and Raymond Santana gave police coerced confessions, but never pleaded guilty while Yusef Salaam did not confess or plead guilty. Additionally, no one died in the attack, which was later conclusively proven to have been committed by a man named Matias Reyes.
Crybaby Trump claims no responsibility for defamation of others during a political debate.
Trump doubles down on claiming ‘absolute immunity’ from Central Park 5 defamation lawsuit
Donald Trump is doubling down on the claim that he is immune from a defamation lawsuit filed by members of the Central Park Five in Pennsylvania.
ABC News: ICE recruitment efforts upset some local law enforcement leaders
ICE is making an effort to recruit new agents from local partners, sources say.
Leadership at some local and state law enforcement agencies across the country — including agencies that have been supportive of federal immigration enforcement efforts — grew frustrated this week with efforts by Immigration and Customs Enforcement to recruit new deportation officers and investigators from their ranks, according to several sources familiar with the matter.
Earlier this week, ICE sent a recruiting email blast directly to officers at sheriffs’ offices and other agencies who were trained by ICE to support the federal 287(g) program that allows local officers to perform certain law enforcement functions related to federal immigration enforcement.
The email left some local law enforcement leaders upset that after agreeing to have their officers help ICE, the agency was now trying to pull those officers away, sources said.MORE: Millions of undocumented immigrants will no longer be eligible for bond hearings, according to ICE memo
In the email addressed to the “287(g) community,” ICE Deputy Director Madison Sheahan said that this is a “critical time for our nation,” and “we hope to welcome you to the ICE team soon.”
“As someone who is currently supporting ICE through the 287(g) program, you understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law. Your experience in state or local law enforcement brings invaluable insight and skills to this mission — qualities we need now more than ever,” said the email, which was reviewed by ABC News.
“ICE is actively recruiting officers like you who are committed to serving with integrity, professionalism, and a deep sense of duty. This is more than a job; it’s a continuation of your service to our country,” the email said.
The email said that new recruits can receive a signing bonus of $50,000, paid over five years.
In Florida, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri told ABC News that the outreach from ICE was “wrong.”
“The State of Florida and Florida law enforcement agencies have expended significant resources and invested in our personnel to ensure that we are properly staffed so that we can provide the best law enforcement services to our residents and visitors,” Gualtieri said in a statement to ABC News.
“We have partnered with ICE like no other state to help ICE do its job of illegal immigration enforcement,” Gualtieri said. “ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership.”
One Trump administration official told ABC News that the administration understands the frustration and values its partners, and that ICE would love to attract quality law enforcement officers who wouldn’t need to be trained for as long as a new hire off the street.
Not everyone was upset by ICE’s latest recruitment effort.
In Texas, Terrell County Sheriff Thaddeus Cleveland, a Border Patrol veteran, said that while all of his deputies received a recruitment email from ICE, he is supportive of it.MORE: Trump doubles down on expanding deportations in America’s biggest cities
“I have a deputy who is interested and I’m supportive. I want to see my employees succeed at whatever their plans may be,” Cleveland said in a statement to ABC News. “I’m retired Border Patrol and I’ve received an email to come back as well.”
“Both agencies are beginning to recruit.” Cleveland said. “In the past, Border Patrol loses a lot of agents to ICE, due to there being more desirable locations in the interior of the U.S. as opposed to border towns.”
ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment from ABC News.
CNBC: Trump was told his name was in Jeffrey Epstein files before DOJ withheld documents: WSJ
- President Donald Trump was told in May by Attorney General Pam Bondi that his name appeared multiple times in Department of Justice documents about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported.
- Trump’s meeting with [Bimbo #3] Bondi at the White House as reported by the Journal occurred weeks before the DOJ said it would not release the Epstein files to the public, despite the attorney general’s earlier promises to do so.
- Trump has directed [Bimbo #3] Bondi to seek the unsealing of transcripts for grand jury proceedings related to federal probes of Epstein and his convicted procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Attorney General Pam [Bimbo #3] Bondi told President Donald Trump at a meeting in May that his name appeared multiple times in Department of Justice documents about sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday.
The May date reported by the Journal was weeks before the DOJ‘s July 7 announcement that it would not release the Epstein files despite earlier promises by the attorney general, who leads the DOJ, and others in the president’s orbit that the material would be disclosed to the public.
The DOJ said Wednesday in a statement that Bondi and Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche discussed the Epstein files with Trump as part of their “routine briefing” but did not specify the timing of the briefing.
The Journal reported that the president was also told at the meeting that “many other high-profile figures were also named” in the Epstein files and that the “files contained what officials felt was unverified hearsay about many people, including Trump, who had socialized with Epstein in the past.”
Being mentioned in the Epstein records is not a sign of wrongdoing, the Journal noted.
The DOJ’s decision not to release the Epstein files sparked backlash from Trump’s MAGA supporters, who have obsessed over conspiracies related to the Epstein case for years.
In the face of that criticism from his political base, Trump last week directed [Bimbo #3] Bondi to seek the unsealing of transcripts for grand jury proceedings related to federal probes of Epstein and his convicted procurer, Ghislaine Maxwell.
Trump had been friends with Epstein for years, but the two men fell out long before Epstein killed himself in jail in August 2019, weeks after being arrested on federal child sex trafficking charges. Epstein also had many other wealthy, high-profile friends, including Britain’s Prince Andrew.
Reached for comment on the Journal’s new reporting, White House Communications Director Steven Cheung told CNBC, “The fact is that The President kicked [Epstein] out of his [Mar-a-Lago] club for being a creep.”
“This is nothing more than a continuation of the fake news stories concocted by the Democrats and the liberal media, just like the Obama Russiagate scandal, which President Trump was right about,” Cheung said.
In a joint statement Wednesday on the Journal’s reporting, Bondi and Blanche said, “The DOJ and FBI reviewed the Epstein Files and reached the conclusion set out in the July 6 memo. Nothing in the files warranted further investigation or prosecution, and we have filed a motion in court to unseal the underlying grand jury transcripts.”
“As part of our routine briefing, we made the President aware of the findings,” Blanche and [Bimbo #3] Bondi said.
Trump was asked last week by an ABC News journalist if [Bimbo #3] Bondi had told him “your name appeared in the files.”
“No, no,” Trump replied. “She’s given us just a very quick briefing, and in terms of the credibility of the different things that they’ve seen.”
Trump went on to say he believed that “these files were made up by” former FBI director James Comey and by the administrations of former Democratic Presidents Barack Obama and Joe Biden.
The DOJ last week fired Manhattan federal prosecutor Maurene Comey, the daughter of James Comey, whose past cases had included the federal prosecutions of Epstein and Maxwell.
The Journal last week published an article reporting that Trump in 2003 sent Epstein a “bawdy” letter to mark his 50th birthday, at Maxwell’s request.
The letter “contains several lines of typewritten text framed by the outline of a naked woman, which appears to be hand-drawn with a heavy marker,” the Journal reported.
“A pair of small arcs denotes the woman’s breasts, and the future president’s signature is a squiggly ‘Donald’ below her waist, mimicking pubic hair,” according to the newspaper.
“The letter concludes: ‘Happy Birthday — and may every day be another wonderful secret,'” the Journal wrote.
Trump has angrily denied writing the letter.
“This is not me. This is a fake thing. It’s a fake Wall Street Journal story,” he said Thursday. “I never wrote a picture in my life. I don’t draw pictures of women,” he said. “It’s not my language. It’s not my words.”
On Friday, the president filed a defamation lawsuit related to the story against media mogul Rupert Murdoch; News Corp, which Murdoch’s family controls; News Corp’s CEO, Robert Thomson; the Journal’s publisher, Dow Jones & Co.; and the two reporters who wrote the article, which was published Thursday evening. News Corp owns the Journal.
Trump’s lawsuit seeks at least $10 billion in damages.
A Dow Jones spokesperson told CNBC: “We have full confidence in the rigor and accuracy of our reporting, and will vigorously defend against any lawsuit.”
Trump was told his name was in Jeffrey Epstein files before DOJ withheld documents: WSJ
President Donald Trump was friends with Jeffrey Epstein for years before the two men had a falling-out.
https://www.cnbc.com/2025/07/23/trump-jeffrey-epstein-files-wsj.html
Irish Star: Trump gives himself gloating new nickname…before immediately contradicting himself
Donald Trump gave himself a new namesake on his Truth Social platform, but just three minutes later he backtracked over a country’s pledge to recognize Palestine as a state
President Donald Trump declared he was a dealmaker on Truth Social today before immediately contradicting himself by saying he would find it hard to make a trade tariff deal with Canada.
Thursday morning saw Trump share an image of himself with a fist in the air that had the words “Donald Trump dealmaker in-chief” emblazoned across it. Then, just three minutes later, he wrote in another post that it will be “very hard” to make a trade deal with Canada in light of its Prime Minister Mark Carney announcing plans to recognise a Palestinian state.
Trump’s trade threat comes a day before higher tariffs are slapped on countries without a US trade deal. Canada is set to face a 35% tariffs on most goods it sells to the US from Friday, if a deal is not reached today. It comes as Trump makes ‘disturbing remarks’ about his 1-year-old daughter in resurfaced clip.
On the trade deals, Trump wrote, “Wow! Canada has just announced that it is backing statehood for Palestine. That will make it very hard for us to make a Trade Deal with them. Oh’ Canada!!!”
Canada’s move to recognize a Palestinian state comes after UK and France made similar announcements. Their pledge comes as a hunger in Gaza continues. On Wednesday, the Hamas-run health ministry reported seven more deaths from malnutrition.
Earlier this week, Trump said there was “real starvation” in Gaza. He also told how he was working with Israel to “get things straightened out”..
Earlier this month, Trump posted an angry letter to Carney on Truth Social, in which he accused him of having “financially retaliated against the United States.” Canada, the second-largest trading partner of the U.S. behind Mexico, failed to deal adequately with fentanyl crossing into the northern U.S. border, Trump claimed, “Instead of working with the United States, Canada retaliated with its own Tariffs.”
Fentanyl seizures by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol at the Canada-U.S. border reportedly representing less than 0.1% of U.S. fentanyl seizures between 2022 and 2024.
Carney responded to Trump’s post on X, saying that he would continue his country’s commitment to cooperating with Washington, including battling the fentanyl crisis.
“Throughout the current trade negotiations with the United States, the Canadian government has steadfastly defended our workers and businesses,” Carney wrote on X in reply to Trump. “We will continue to do so as we work towards the revised deadline of August 1. Canada has made vital progress to stop the scourge of fentanyl in North America.”
“We are building Canada strong,” he continued. “The federal government, provinces and territories are making significant progress in building one Canadian economy. We are poised to build a series of major new projects in the national interest. We are strengthening our trading partnerships throughout the world.”
It comes after a Trump family member revealed his body is “rotting inside” as she delivered a terrifying update on the president’s health.
As the U.S.A. insults and abuses one former friend after another, we are slowly being left behind as the rest of the world moves on, asking, “Is the U.S.A. really necessary?”
Trump gives himself gloating nickname…before immediately contradicting himself
Donald Trump gave himself a new namesake on his Truth Social platform, but just three minutes later he backtracked over a country’s pledge to recognize Palestine as a state
https://www.irishstar.com/news/us-news/donald-trump-nickname-canada-35650698?int_source=nba
Newsweek: Pastor in US over 20 years held by ICE after failing to obtain green card
A Maryland pastor who has lived in the United States for more than two decades was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) for overstaying his visa, prompting protests from his community and calls for his release.
Daniel Fuentes Espinal, 54, was taken into custody on July 21 while driving to work in Easton, Maryland. ICE said he entered the country legally in 2001 on a six-month visa but never left.
“It is a federal crime to overstay the authorized period of time granted under a visitor’s visa,” the agency said in a statement to Newsweek.
Why It Matters
President Donald Trump has ordered the government to carry out what Republicans call the largest deportation operation in United States history.
In addition to people living in the country without legal status, immigrants with valid documentation, including green cards and visas, have been detained. Newsweek has documented multiple cases involving green-card holders and applicants who were swept up in ICE raids.
What To Know
Fuentes Espinal, a Honduran citizen and father of three, has spent 15 years serving as a volunteer pastor at Iglesia del Nazareno Jesus Te Ama, or Church of the Nazarene Jesus Loves You, in Easton. Known for offering food, shelter and clothing to those in need, friends describe him as a man who “never expects anything in return.”
“Pastor Fuentes Espinal is a beloved pillar of the Easton community, known for giving shelter to those who need a place to sleep and for providing food and clothing to people at their most vulnerable,” family friend Len Foxwell wrote in a GoFundMe campaign that has raised more than $45,000 to help the family and cover legal fees.
Fuentes Espinal was first taken to a detention facility in Salisbury, Maryland, then transferred to Baltimore before being moved to the Winn Correctional Center in Winnfield, Louisiana.
The pastor’s family said he has been trying for years to obtain a green card, spending thousands of dollars and navigating what they called a “bureaucratic nightmare.”
“They have felt for years as if the deck is stacked against them, despite having spent a considerable amount of money and time and effort” seeking permanent residency, Foxwell told CBS News.
Supporters have mobilized quickly. Members of the Easton community gathered Friday carrying signs and American flags demanding his release.
“It’s devastated our community. It’s shocked our community,” Foxwell told CBS Baltimore.
Maryland lawmakers have joined calls for his release. In a letter condemning his detention, Representatives Sarah Elfreth and Glenn Ivey described Fuentes Espinal as “a beloved pillar” of Easton and said that “his arrest and detention by ICE does nothing to further your stated goals of making America safer.”
Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland said his team is also working with Fuentes Espinal’s family.
What People Are Saying
A spokesperson for Republican Representative Andy Harris of Maryland, in a statement to CBS News: “Congressman Harris believes due process within the immigration enforcement system is important and that facts should be clear before making any further public comment.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen of Maryland told CBS News: “The Trump administration is snatching up anyone they can find as they pursue their mass deportation agenda.”
Family friend Len Foxwell told CNN: “This is a family man, a man of faith, a small businessman who was literally just going to work to put in a full day’s work to feed his family.”
What Happens Next
Fuentes Espinal is awaiting a bond hearing. His family says they will continue to fight for his release.
Pastor in US over 20 years held by ICE after failing to obtain green card
Honduran citizen was detained in Easton, Maryland. ICE said he entered the U.S. legally in 2001 on a 6-month visa and never left.
https://www.newsweek.com/pastor-us-over-20-years-held-ice-after-failing-obtain-green-card-2107091
Washington Post: Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American history museum
The Smithsonian said it restored the display to an earlier version, which notes that “only three presidents have seriously faced removal.”
The Smithsonian’s National Museum of American History in July removed references to President Donald Trump’s two impeachments from an exhibit display. A person familiar with the exhibit plans, who was not authorized to discuss them publicly, said the change came about as part of a content review that the Smithsonian agreed to undertake following pressure from the White House to remove an art museum director.
After this story published, the Smithsonian said in a statement that “a future and updated exhibit will include all impeachments.”
A temporary label including content about Trump’s impeachments had been on display since September 2021 at the Washington museum, a Smithsonian spokesperson told The Washington Post, adding that it was intended to be a short-term addition to address current events. Now, the exhibit notes that “only three presidents have seriously faced removal.”
In addition to describing Trump’s two impeachments, the temporary label — which read “Case under redesign (history happens)” — also offered information about the impeachments of presidents Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton, as well as Richard M. Nixon, who would have faced impeachment had he not resigned. The Post viewed a photograph of the temporary signage.
Now that display has returned to the way it appeared in 2008, according to the Smithsonian spokesperson.
“In reviewing our legacy content recently, it became clear that the ‘Limits of Presidential Power’ section in The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden exhibition needed to be addressed,” the spokesperson said in a statement. “The section of this exhibition covers Congress, The Supreme Court, Impeachment, and Public Opinion. Because the other topics in this section had not been updated since 2008, the decision was made to restore the Impeachment case back to its 2008 appearance.”
The change coincides with broader concerns about political interference at the Smithsonian and how the institution charged with preserving American history could be shaped by the Trump administration’s efforts to exert more control over its work.
“The American Presidency: A Glorious Burden” opened in 2000 and was curated by a team that included then-museum director Spencer Crew, curator Harry Rubenstein and historian Lonnie G. Bunch III, who now leads the institute as secretary.
The impeachment case includes a photograph of the prosecutors in Andrew Johnson’s 1868 case, copies of the investigative report that launched Bill Clinton’s impeachment hearings in 1999 and a damaged filing cabinet from the Watergate scandal that would prompt Nixon to resign in 1974.
The online companion for the display briefly mentions Trump’s impeachments, but does not provide any further information about the cases. And a search of the history museum’s collection for “impeachment” yields 125 results for Johnson, Nixon and Clinton — and a single “Impeach Trump” button from a 2017 environmental protest.
The Smithsonian spokesperson said that a large gallery like “The American Presidency” requires a “significant amount of time and funding to update and renew.” Elsewhere in the exhibition, however, visitors can find more recent items, including commemorative pins from Trump and Joe Biden’s inaugurations in 2017 and 2021 and a large wall display featuring every U.S. president.
In January 2020, following Trump’s first impeachment, a political history curator at the American History Museum told The Post that he was on a quest to acquire the right objects to tell the story of Trump’s first impeachment. At the time, he could not predict when the display would be updated, but he said work was underway to change labels and add items.
The Smithsonian that month also announced its plans to update the impeachment section, reaffirming its commitment to actively engage “with the history, spirit and complexity of the United States’ democratic experiment by collecting, documenting and sharing the American political system, including presidential history.”
Trump is the only president in history to have been impeached twice. In 2019, he was charged by the House with abuse of power and obstruction of Congress for his attempts to withhold military aid meant for Ukraine and pressure its government to investigate his political rival Biden. He was acquitted by the Senate in 2020. Then, just over a year later, Trump was impeached again, for incitement of insurrection following the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol attack. He was acquitted a second time, after leaving office.
Since returning to the White House in January for his second term, Trump has attempted to exert influence over prominent cultural institutions, including by taking over the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, making drastic changes at the National Endowment for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Humanities and imposing budget cuts on the National Park Service.
In March, Trump signed an executive order to eliminate “anti-American ideology” across the Smithsonian museums and “restore the Smithsonian Institution to its rightful place as a symbol of inspiration and American greatness.”
Months later, Trump attempted to fire Kim Sajet, the director of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, for being a “highly partisan” person — though he had no authority to do so. The White House later provided a list of 17 instances it said supported the president’s claims about her, including the caption for the museum’s presidential portrait of Trump mentioning his two impeachments and “incitement of insurrection” for the events of Jan. 6.
In response, the Smithsonian’s Board of Regents reasserted in June that only the institution’s secretary could fire museum directors, but also announced it would scrutinize content across its museum for partisan bias. “As directed by the Board of Regents, we will undertake an assessment of the Institution, evaluating the need for any changes to policies, procedures, or personnel, and I will share our findings and recommendations with the Board,” Bunch wrote in an email to Smithsonian employees. Shortly after, Sajet announced her departure, explaining to staff that she was leaving because her presence had become a distraction from the Smithsonian’s mission.
Last week, the celebrated painter Amy Sherald pulled an upcoming exhibit from the Portrait Gallery, citing concerns that the museum considered removing her painting of a transgender woman posing as the Statue of Liberty.
“While no single person is to blame, it’s clear that institutional fear shaped by a broader climate of political hostility toward trans lives played a role,” Sherald said in a statement.
History maybe temporarily hidden or rewritten, but the disgrace of King Donald will be back with a vengeance in due time, and probably with a much larger display!
Smithsonian removes Trump from impeachment exhibit in American history museum
A temporary placard, on display since 2021, described the president’s historic impeachments. Officials said the exhibit was restored to an earlier version following a review of legacy content.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/2025/07/31/trump-impeachment-smithsonian
NBC News: ICE efforts to poach local officers are angering some local law enforcement leaders
An email to officers whose agencies partner with ICE has even some sheriffs who support the Trump administration and its immigration crackdown seeing red.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement is newly flush with billions from the “One Big Beautiful Bill” spending legislation and under pressure to rapidly hire 10,000 new agents. But one tactic it recently tried to do that hiring — aggressively recruiting new agents from some of its most trusted local law enforcement partners — may have alienated some of the leaders it needs to help execute what the Trump administration wants to be the largest mass deportation in US history.
“We’re their force multipliers, and this is the thanks we get for helping them do their job?” Polk County, Florida Sheriff Grady Judd said in an interview with NBC News. Judd said he’s not happy about a recruitment email sent by ICE’s deputy director to hundreds of his deputies and he blamed Department of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, who oversees ICE.
“Kristi Noem needs to get on her big girl pants and do what’s right. She needs to make sure that there’s an apology,” said Judd, who also made clear that he wants to “support President [Donald] Trump’s mission.”
NBC News spoke to local law enforcement leaders in four states whose agencies participate in 287(g) and whose deputies were being targeted for ICE recruitment.
The recruitment email those agencies’ officers received, sent earlier this week, appears to have targeted law enforcement officers whose agencies participate in ICE’s 287(g) program, under which local officers are deputized to help in immigration enforcement.
The email from Sheahan, which NBC News has obtained, reads in part, “As someone who is currently supporting ICE through the 287(g) program, you understand the unique responsibility we carry in protecting our communities and upholding federal law. Your experience in state or local law enforcement brings invaluable insight and skills to this mission —qualities we need now more than ever.”
The email also touts potential $50,000 signing bonuses as an incentive for joining ICE and links to a government recruitment website featuring an image of Uncle Sam, the headline “AMERICA NEEDS YOU,” and the possibility of up to $60,000 in student loan repayment beyond those signing bonuses.
“ICE actively trying to use our partnership to recruit our personnel is wrong and we have expressed our concern to ICE leadership,” the Pinellas County, Florida Sheriff’s Office said in a statement to NBC News.
The sheriff in Pinellas County is a Republican, as is Polk County’s Judd.
“It was bad judgement that will cause an erosion of a relationship that has been improving of late. And it’s going to take some getting over and it’s gonna take leadership at DHS to really take stock cause hey, they need state and locals,” Jonathan Thompson, the executive director and CEO of the National Sheriffs’ Association, said in an interview with NBC News.
Thompson said that the association has heard from more than a dozen law enforcement agencies about the recruitment emails. He also said that the group has not heard from DHS since the emails were flagged to the association, and that he intends to send a “very stern note” to ICE.
“This is inappropriate behavior of a partner organization,” Thompson said. “We’re all on the same boat. And you just don’t treat friends or partners like this.”
One Florida chief of police who did not want to be named out of concern his department could face retaliation said departments that have partnered with the federal government now fear they could lose their best officers.
“Now you know why everybody’s so pissed,” the chief said.
“This is like the transfer portal in college sports,” the chief said, adding, “We see people leave us because they believe they can make more money at other locations… Law enforcement has always been a calling. Now it’s a job.”
The DHS press office did not respond to questions about local law enforcement concerns but provided NBC News with a statement that it attributed to a senior DHS official: “ICE is recruiting law enforcement, veterans, and other patriots who want to serve their country … This includes local law enforcement, veterans, and our 287(g) partners who have already been trained and have valuable law enforcement experience. Additionally, more than $500 million from President Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill will go to increasing our 287(g) partnerships with state and local law enforcement.”
The sheriff’s office in Forsyth County, Georgia told NBC News that the Atlanta ICE office “sent an apology” for the recruitment email.
Not all sheriffs are upset with the recruitment effort. In fact some say they support it.
Thaddeus Cleveland, the sheriff of Terrell County, Texas, said, “I think if someone wants to better their life, better their career, you know, look towards the long years, the long game, retirement, there’s nothing better than the US government to go out and have a successful career.”
Cleveland, who has just four deputies on his staff, admits he can’t compete with the $50,000 bonuses that the agency is offering.
“We may not be able to turn around and hire somebody the next day. It may take a few weeks. It may take a few months. But again, I support, you know, someone wanting to pursue something they’re interested in. I may end up having to work a little more, which is okay.”
Goliad County Texas Sheriff Roy Boyd also said he’s not upset about the recruitment, and noted that his office also has to deal with the state recruiting new troopers from his department.
“We can’t compete with the salaries of the state and the feds,” he said.
Law & Crime: ‘Naked attempt to evade clear law’: Federal judge says Trump admin ‘unequivocally’ acted unlawfully in unilaterally shuttering Job Corps
A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has halted the Trump administration’s effort to shutter the Job Corps training program — the nation’s largest residential career training program for thousands of low-income youth — becoming the second to do so within the span of a month.
U.S. District Judge Dabney L. Friedrich — an appointee of President Donald Trump during his first term — on Friday granted the request for a preliminary injunction blocking the closing of 99 Job Corps centers throughout the nation, reasoning that the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) unilateral closing of the program, which was created and authorized by Congress, violated federal law.
The case stems from the Labor Department notifying the 99 private Job Corps centers across the nation on May 29, 2025, that they would “cease operations” by June 30.
The lawsuit was filed last month by a group of seven student-enrollees in the Job Corps program hailing from Georgia, Mississippi, Oregon, North Dakota, and Michigan on behalf of themselves as well as the putative class of students enrolled at all 99 centers affected by the program’s shuttering.
The complaint alleged that the Labor Department was legally required provide advance notice and an opportunity for public comment before closing any Job Corps center, as required by federal law. By failing to do so, the administration’s actions allegedly violated the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) and the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) of 2014.
The administration asserted that the shuttering of all Job Corps centers was a “statutorily authorized pause — as opposed to a closure,” a claim that Friedrich said did not stand up to scrutiny.
“This argument fails because DOL’s across-the-board shutdown extended far beyond any ‘pause’ contemplated by the statute,” the judge wrote. “The agency suspended operations at all 99 privately operated Job Corps centers without any expectation of future reopenings. And it effected the mass shutdown without complying with any of the statutory requirements that must precede a ‘pause’ in operations. DOL failed to conduct an individualized assessment or develop a performance improvement plan for any of the 99 centers. It instead suspended all operations based on the perceived failures of the Job Corps program as a whole.”
Friedrich said the nationwide shutdown was “not only unprecedented,” but also” inconsistent with its historic standard of practice.” While earlier “pauses” allowed for the realistic possibility that Job Corps centers would be reopened, here, the administration informed students that they should harbor “no expectation of transfer to another center or return to their current center.”
The court said there was no need to engage in any analysis regarding the difference between a “pause” and a “closure” because “the record unequivocally demonstrates that DOL unlawfully ‘closed’ all 99 privately operated Job Corps centers, in violation of the WIOA.”
“At bottom, DOL’s position is entirely circular: So long as the agency uses the term ‘pause’ and never makes a final decision to ‘formally close’ a center, it is authorized to shutter any Job Corps center indefinitely,” Friedrich wrote. “In DOL’s view, the WIOA’s procedural mandates hinge on the terminology the agency chooses to use, allowing it to sidestep its statutory obligations entirely. That cannot be correct. Because DOL unlawfully ‘closed’ all 99 privately operated Job Corps centers, in violation of the WIOA, the Court finds that the plaintiffs have established a likelihood of success on the merits of their APA claims.”
The plaintiffs are being represented in the case by the Southern Poverty Law Center and Public Citizen. Adam Pulver, an attorney with Public Citizen Litigation Group and lead counsel for the plaintiffs, lauded the ruling.
“The Department of Labor’s decision to abruptly close Job Corps centers across the country, ignoring legal requirements and literally putting vulnerable young people on the street, was callous, and as the Judge today agreed, illegal,” Pulver said in a statement. “The Department’s ludicrous argument to the court, that in shutting down 99 Job Corps centers it was not actually closing those centers, was a naked attempt to evade clear law.”
Federal judge says Trump admin ‘unequivocally’ violated law in shuttering Job Corps
A Trump-appointed judge blocked the administration’s effort to shutter al 99 Job Corps centers nationwide, saying it violated federal law.
NBC: A ‘beautiful’ ballroom and a new Lincoln bathroom: Trump relishes remaking the White House
In an interview with NBC News, the president discussed his renovation plans for the most famous house in America. “I’m doing a lot of improvements,” he said.
One of Donald Trump’s most visible and potentially enduring legacies as president could be the 90,000-square-foot ballroom that he is planning to build, replacing the East Wing edifice traditionally used for the first lady’s offices.
The project, set to begin in September, looms as the biggest transformation of the White House complex since Harry Truman’s day. Perhaps fitting for the onetime New York real estate developer who branded buildings worldwide with his name, Trump has taken to remaking the White House in accord with his tastes since beginning his second term.
The president told NBC News in an interview that the new ballroom will forgo the need to shuttle guests to tents pitched on the South Lawn for events that are too large for the White House to accommodate.
“When it rains or snows, it’s a disaster,” the president said over the phone, lamenting that tents are positioned “a football field away from the White House.”
Trump said that some of the world’s “finest architects” are involved, and a White House official added that Trump has viewed renderings of the ballroom. The work is expected to finish before the end of his term.
Trump estimated that taking down the East Wing and putting the ballroom in place would cost about $200 million. The East Wing was completed in 1942 under Franklin D. Roosevelt’s administration, according to the White House Historical Association.
Trump said the project would be “his gift to the country,” funded by himself and private donations.
Since returning to office, Trump has set about making an imprint on his White House surroundings. He told NBC News he is replacing what he described as a “terribly” remodeled bathroom in the Lincoln Bedroom with one that is truer to the style of the 16th president’s era.
Elsewhere on the grounds, he has put in a pair of towering flag poles and paved over a grassy patch of the Rose Garden. Wet grass poses problems for women in high heels walking through the garden, he has said.
“I was always a great real estate developer, and I know how to do that,” Trump said.
Partial to one precious metal in particular, Trump has added gold accents throughout the Oval Office.
“He has a vision to make the White House as exceptional and beautiful as possible for future presidents and administrations,” the White House official said. “He is very hands-on and involved in all of this.”
Trump checks in on construction workers on the White House grounds weekly and spends 20-30 minutes with them, asking questions, the same official said. He even invited some of those working on the Rose Garden project into the Oval Office recently.
Another White House official, also speaking on condition of anonymity, added: “The president is very directly involved, even more so than the first lady.”
Much of Trump’s aesthetic can be undone if a future president wishes. Every new president makes changes to the Oval Office décor. The Rose Garden paving can always be torn up and the grass restored. When Trump goes in 2029, the gold could follow.
“Whoever succeeds Trump, if they’re not into gold, the gilding will start to come down,” said Barbara Perry, a professor of presidential studies at the University of Virginia’s Miller Center.
Yet the ballroom could stand for decades as Trump’s creation, much as “the Truman Balcony” addition in 1948 is linked to Truman.
“I’m doing a lot of improvements,” Trump said. “I’ll be building a beautiful ballroom. They wanted it for many, many years.”
The White House released new details about the ballroom on Thursday, after NBC’s interview with the president and follow-up questions posed by the network. Trump had chosen McCrery Architects as the lead architect, according to the White House. And Trump has held meetings with White House staff members, the National Park Service and others in recent weeks.
Officials will meet with the “appropriate organizations” to keep intact the White House’s “special history … while building a beautiful ballroom that can be enjoyed by future administrations and generations of Americans to come,” Susie Wiles, White House chief of staff, said in a statement.
The private funding arrangement for the ballroom worries at least one congressman. Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Wis., a member of a House Appropriations panel that oversees the executive office of the presidency, said in an interview Thursday: “It appears that he’s trying to do this perhaps with private donations, but that could be a little odd.”
“Is this going to be a White House ballroom sponsored by Carl’s Jr.?” Pocan asked rhetorically.
Given the magnitude of the project, Pocan said that the president should bring the plan before Congress for discussion.
“This is a major renovation and clearly should come before the committee,” Pocan said. “This would fall under the definition of having proper oversight. It’s a perfectly great conversation to have in a subcommittee meeting.”
The Senate Democratic leader, Chuck Schumer of New York, noted at a press briefing Thursday that Congress has not appropriated funding for the ballroom, saying: “Listen, I’m happy to eat my cheeseburger at my desk. I don’t need a $200 million ballroom to eat it in. Okay?”
A common impression may be that the White House is a historic building frozen in amber, but it has been rebuilt, renewed and refreshed again and again since 1800, when John Adams became the first president to move in.
In most cases, presidents who undertook substantial renovations faced public blowback. In an essay posted on LinkedIn in June, Stewart McLaurin, president of the historical association, documented the fallout over the past two centuries to “give context and set precedent for more recent changes and adaptations.”
With the building about to collapse on his head, then-President Truman carried out a complete gutting of the White House interior from 1948-52 to shore up the structure with steel beams and concrete.
“Preservationists mourned the loss of original interiors, while media outlets questioned the project’s cost during post-war economic recovery,” McLaurin wrote.
The East Wing, the space earmarked for the new ballroom, was itself targeted for criticism in Roosevelt’s time.
“Congressional Republicans labeled the expenditure as wasteful, with some accusing Roosevelt of using the project to bolster his presidency’s image,” McLaurin wrote.
“However,” he wrote, “the East Wing’s utility in supporting the modern presidency eventually quieted critics.”
At this early stage in the planning, the verdict on Trump’s ballroom vision is mixed. Some White House alumni sympathized with Trump’s wish to make the complex more comfortable for visitors who often include heads of state.
Anita McBride, who was chief of staff to first lady Laura Bush, said in an email to NBC News: “I think it’s going to be an enhancement that will be welcomed by future occupants. No more big tents damaging the lawn or expensive build outs needed for major events. Clearly makes it easier to invite more people, too, when current state room capacity is limited.”
Rufus Gifford, who was chief of protocol of the U.S. in the Biden administration, likened Trump’s renovation to a renter overhauling an apartment. He shouldn’t make such dramatic structural changes to the iconic building on his own, Gifford said.
“The American people are Trump’s landlords right now,” Gifford said.
Trump, the erstwhile builder, seems to be relishing the return to his roots. Discussing his penchant for choosing paintings to decorate the West Wing, he said: “To me, it’s enjoyment; to other people, it’s work.”
