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Lisa Cook Claims It Was All A “Clerical Error” – And This Is The Nevertrump Activist Judge Who Will Decide

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Lisa Cook Claims It Was All A “Clerical Error” – And This Is The Nevertrump Activist Judge Who Will Decide

(Update: 1532ET): A Biden-appointed federal judge who defied a Supreme Court ruling earlier this month has been ‘randomly’ assigned to the (Biden-appointed) Lisa Cobb case, after the Federal Reserve Governor filed a lawsuit challenging her Monday firing by President Trump. Her complaint doesn’t deny the underlying allegations of mortgage fraud – and instead argues that she couldn’t have been fired ‘for cause’ over something that happened before she was confirmed to the Fed. 

Cook also argues that claiming two houses as her ‘primary residence’ at the same time may have been a simple ‘clerical error.’

So, we’re supposed to believe that a Harvard graduate and ‘Top leading economist’ – who’s tasked with setting Fed policy – simply missed the ‘primary residence’ designation plastered all over the mortgage papers she signed? 

Anyway, here’s the new judge, Jia Cobb, who will weigh in on the case. 

Oh Lawd status: [_] She Not Comin’, [X] She Comin’

 

Cobb recently defied the Supreme Court according to the Trump administration – after she continued to block the “expedited removal” of migrants despite a Supreme Court ruling that upheld the legality of such removals. 

“Will they be summarily removed from a country that — as they are swept up at checkpoints and outside courtrooms, often by plainclothes officers without explanation or charges — may look to them more and more like the countries from which they tried to escape?” Cobb wrote in an 84-page decision against the deportation effort.

Cobb was also the judge in Jan. 6th defendant Ryan Samsel’s case. Samsel was notably the first rioter to charge across police lines. After he was found guilty, prosecutors wanted him to go away for 20 years, however his February sentencing was called off after President Trump issued a blanket pardon to all J6ers. 

Now, the activist judge will decide at least the first step in Cook’s fate – which is sure to be appealed to the DC Circuit Court of Appeals by the losing party, after which we’re guessing it’s headed to the Supreme Court. 

*  *  *

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has sued the Trump administration, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and the Board of Governors itself – after President Donald Trump fired her on Monday over claims that she lied on mortgage applications – allowing her to double-dip on tax and lending advantages. 

The lawsuit – which doesn’t deny mortgage fraud!! – seeks “A declaration that President Trump’s August 25, 2025 purported firing … is unlawful and void and that Governor Cook remains an active member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” and a declaration from the court that “an unsubstantiated allegation of mortgage fraud prior to a Governor’s confirmation is not cause for removal.”

Update: In a statement to CNBC, Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) Director Bill Pulte said: “In her filing, Ms. Cook does not deny that these are her mortgage documents, so one has to wonder why she, or Jerome Powell, would want this to be a part of the Federal Reserve, which is supposed to have preeminent integrity and which is critical to the safety and soundness of the U.S. Mortgage Market.”

Cook’s lawsuit claims that Trump violated the Federal Reserve Act, the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and other statutory rights – and that Trump’s action lacks “cause” as required by the FRA. 

Represented by former Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell – who also represents NY Attorney General Letitia James, former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, and a whistleblower – James filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington DC – where we’re sure the Jury will be interested to hear, per her complaint, that she is the first black woman on the Board. 

And while former members of the Fed have stepped down over alleged improprieties, Cook is digging in.

We’re sure Cook’s legal team is counting on a DC jury being sympathetic to Cook’s claims in response to her firing, in which Trump accused her of “deceitful and potentially criminal  conduct in a financial matter.”

The Trump-Cook clash erupted after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte dropped receipts showing that Cook lied on 2021 loan applications for two properties in Michigan and Georgia – claiming that each was her primary residence. 

Read the complaint below:

Cook Trump Comp 082825 by Zerohedge Janitor

Developing…

 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 15:32

The Chart Baltimore Democrats Hope You Never See

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The Chart Baltimore Democrats Hope You Never See

Leftist Maryland Governor Wes Moore’s refusal to accept National Guard assistance from the federal government has left many Baltimore residents baffled, given the city’s multi-decade violent crime crisis under failed Democratic Party leadership. 

While Moore recently took a victory lap touting a supposedly “record low” homicide rate, everyone who lives in the metro area knows the truth: large swaths of the city remain ‘no-go zones’, controlled by vicious drug gangs. Years of “defund the police” policies pushed by social justice warriors in City Hall have hollowed out the police to the core. 

Remember the riots? 

Now, residents are taking note of the president’s efforts to clean up the violent crime mess in Washington, D.C. In just over two weeks, violent crime has subsided. Many are left wondering why Democratic leadership in Baltimore never had the same seriousness to clean up their city; instead, Democrats chose to defund the police and allow the metro area to descend into what Trump calls a “hellhole.”

Shocking reversal in DC crime data… 

“In the 17 days since the Guard was deployed in Washington, D.C., Baltimore has recorded more than 2,500 crimes—including six homicides, nine rapes, over 400 assaults, 252 auto thefts, 155 burglaries, and nearly 440 acts of vandalism,” local media Fox Baltimore wrote earlier this week, adding, “This crime rate is nine times higher than D.C.’s during the same period.” 

There was a time when folks in the Baltimore area would go to restaurants and bars across Inner Harbor, Harbor East, Fells Point, Canton, and even Federal Hill. But many have since fled the crime-ridden metro area for surrounding counties, as conditions became so terrible that raising a family there was no longer a suitable option. Now, folks mostly avoid the city because Democratic leadership has failed residents with a population crash to 100-year lows. 

Here’s more from the local news outlet:

Residents and business owners have expressed concern over the escalating violence. “Just brutally attacking somebody is off the case crazy,” one victim said. Betsy Smith of the National Police Association commented, “I’d think residents would welcome help for their very short-staffed police department.”

The discrepancy between the governor’s statements and the reality on the ground has left many questioning whether crime in Baltimore is truly under control. “We need to stop acting tough and start getting tough in Baltimore City,” a local resident said.

Smith added, “If the people in Baltimore City want to truly be free they need to embrace not only their local law enforcement but state and federal partners as well.” As the city grapples with its crime wave, the call for additional support continues to grow.

The most damning chart Democrats don’t want folks to see is the latest exodus from Baltimore City, starting around 2015, mainly driven by failed progressives that unleashed a manufactured crime tsunami of their own doing, making any gang scene from HBO’s The Wire look like child’s play.

Trump is giving parts of the country a taste of law and order, something that might prove contagious, given how the Democratic Party has subjected millions nationwide (btw, nobody voted for violent crime) to more than a decade of backfiring social-justice policies that transformed quiet communities into violent crime zones.

Oh, btw, the way, after Trump called out Moore.

Sigh…

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 15:25

Judge Says Kilmar Abrego Garcia Cannot Be Deported Until October

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Judge Says Kilmar Abrego Garcia Cannot Be Deported Until October

Authored by Stacy Robinson via The Epoch Times,

El Salvador native Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the target of numerous deportation efforts by the Trump administration, cannot be deported until at least early October, a federal judge has ruled.

U.S. District Judge Paula Xinis, at a hearing on Wednesday, extended an Aug. 25 order that blocked his deportation while courts consider his renewed asylum claims.

Later that day, she issued a brief order, clarifying that Abrego Garcia must remain within 200 miles of the courthouse in Greenbelt, Maryland.

Abrego Garcia had filed suit, alleging that the government was planning to deport him to Uganda.

Xinis has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 6, and said she will try to issue a ruling within the subsequent 30 days.

Abrego Garcia, an illegal immigrant, previously applied for asylum in 2019 but was denied.

However, the judge in that case ruled that he could not be deported to El Salvador, since there was concern that he faced a “clear probability of future persecution” in his native country.

He has lived in the country since age 16, is married to an American citizen, and was a construction worker.

The government stated that Abrego Garcia is a member of the transnational criminal gang MS-13, which he denied.

He was set to be deported earlier this year, but was sent to El Salvador’s maximum security prison Center for Terrorism Confinement (CECOT), along with a plane full of other deportees.

A district judge in Maryland ordered his return in April while the Trump administration said the Salvadoran was no longer under U.S. jurisdiction.

Abrego Garcia’s case drew public attention, and he gained support from some members of Congress who pressured the administration for his return.

Following a Supreme Court order on April 10, he was eventually returned to the United States and held in custody in Tennessee on charges of smuggling illegal immigrants into the country.

Authorities freed Abrego Garcia last week to await trial at home. His attorneys said that before he was released, the government offered to deport him to Costa Rica, where he would be a free man if he pleaded guilty to the human smuggling charges. After he refused, according to his lawyers, the government said he could be deported to Uganda.

Abrego Garcia was again detained after checking in with Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Aug. 25, and is asking the judge to reconsider his asylum case, according to his lawyers.

Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem said the administration will eventually deport him.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 15:05

UK, France, Germany Initiate UN Snapback Sanctions On Iran Over Nuclear Program

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UK, France, Germany Initiate UN Snapback Sanctions On Iran Over Nuclear Program

France, Germany, and the UK have submitted a letter to members of the UN Security Council announcing they are triggering the “snapback” mechanism to reimpose UN sanctions on Iran, Axios and others are reporting Thursday.

These are past sanctions which had been suspended under the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, which the US unilaterally pulled out of in April 2018 under the first Trump administration.

Axios writes that “In the letter, the three European powers emphasized that during the next 30 days – before the sanctions take effect – they are open to negotiations with Iran on a nuclear agreement that could halt the process.”

Via AFP

Tuesday saw tense discussions between Iran and the E3 nations – France, Germany, and the United Kingdom. They warned at the meeting the E3 is preparing trigger the mechanism for reimposing international sanctions on Iran if it fails to either reach a new nuclear agreement by the end of August or agrees to extend UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which covers the terms of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Axios’ Barak Ravid had earlier acknowledged that “It will take a diplomatic miracle to prevent this from happening.”

The Europeans are also pressing Iran to rejoin nuclear talks with Washington; however, the Iranians have made clear that the US can no longer be trusted – as it bombed the Islamic Republic in June at the very moment the sides were engaged in talks.

The Associated Press has explained how ‘snapback’ works in the following:

Under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reached between world powers and Iran in 2015, Iran agreed to limit uranium enrichment to levels necessary for civilian nuclear power in exchange for lifted economic sanctions. The International Atomic Energy Agency was tasked with monitoring Iran’s nuclear program.

The snapback mechanism’s purpose is to swiftly reimpose all pre-deal sanctions without being vetoed by U.N. Security Council members, including permanent members Russia and China.

The process began Thursday, when the E3 formally notified the U.N. secretary-general and Security Council president about Iran’s “significant nonperformance of commitments.”

Iran’s alleged uranium stockpiles are believed to be significantly beyond the limits set by the original deal, in both purity and quantity.

“In May, the IAEA said Iran had amassed 408.6 kilograms (900.8 pounds) of uranium enriched up to 60% purity. If it is enriched to 90%, it would be enough to make nine nuclear weapons, according to an IAEA yardstick, though a weapon would require other expertise, such as a detonation device,” the AP noted.

The joint Israel and US surprise assault of the 12-day June war might have actually done much to hasten Iran’s nuclear development and Tehran leaders now believe – not without good reason – that past and future negotiations with Washington are based on deception by the US side.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 14:45

Ether ETFs Capture 10x More Inflows Than Bitcoin In Last 5 Days

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Ether ETFs Capture 10x More Inflows Than Bitcoin In Last 5 Days

Spot Ether exchange-traded funds are selling like hot cakes in the US, attracting more than 10 times the inflows of their spot Bitcoin counterparts over the past five trading days. 

Since Aug. 21, spot Ether ETFs have seen a whopping $1.83 billion in inflows, while Bitcoin funds took only a 10th of that with $171 million, according to CoinGlass. 

The latest trading day on Wednesday continued the trend, with nine Ether funds reaching $310.3 million in inflows, while the 11 spot Bitcoin funds saw just $81.1 million. 

Ether has recovered faster than Bitcoin this week, with ETH prices climbing 5% from their Tuesday low, whereas Bitcoin only managed to gain 2.8% over the same period. 

As CoinTelegraph’s Martin Young reports, the massive shift to Ether was not missed by industry observers such as Ethereum educator and investor Anthony Sassano, who described it as “brutal.” 

Source: Anthony Sassano

Meanwhile, NovaDius Wealth Management president Nate Geraci added that spot Ether ETFs are now close to $10 billion in inflows since the start of July.

Spot Ether ETFs have been trading for 13 months and have seen $13.6 billion in total aggregate inflows, the majority of which has come in the last couple of months.

Spot Bitcoin ETFs have been around longer, trading for 20 months with an aggregate AUM of $54BN. However, just looking at the largest BTC ETF (IBIT), we can see it is rapidly catching up with the total AUM of the Gold ETF GLD…

 

The Wall Street token

The momentum has seemingly been shifting to Ethereum following the passing of the GENIUS Act stablecoin legislation in July, as the network has the largest market share of stablecoins and tokenized real-world assets. 

“It’s very much what I call the Wall Street token,” said VanEck CEO Jan van Eck, speaking on Fox Business this week. 

Meanwhile, Bloomberg ETF analyst James Seyffart reported that investment advisers were the top holders of Ether ETFs with $1.3 billion in exposure.

According to SEC filings, Goldman Sachs is the top holder with $712 million in exposure. 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 12:40

CDC Director Susan Monarez Ousted In Vaccine Policy Clash With RFK Jr.; Four Top Officials Quit In Leadership Crisis 

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CDC Director Susan Monarez Ousted In Vaccine Policy Clash With RFK Jr.; Four Top Officials Quit In Leadership Crisis 

Department of Health & Human Services announced on X late Wednesday that Susan Monarez, the first Senate-confirmed director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), is “no longer director of the CDC.”

Monarez appears to have been ousted after a month on the job, which sparked the resignation of four other senior CDC officials.

According to a New York Times report, Monarez “clashed with the secretary over vaccine policy,” which ultimately led to her firing.

Hours after HHS’ X post, attorneys Mark Zaid and Abbe Lowell wrote on the social media platform that Monarez “has neither resigned nor received notification from the White House that she has been fired, and as a person of integrity and devoted to science, she will not resign.” 

The leadership crisis unfolding at the CDC coincided with the Food and Drug Administration’s announcement of new limits on Covid vaccines – and just days after vaccine-pusher Bill Gates met with President Trump at the White House. 

Recall that Monarez previously stated, “Vaccines save lives,” and championed mRNA shots. 

The X account “Died Suddenly” published a profile of Monarez, offering readers a snapshot of her background and political leanings

NEW: Susan Monarez was fired as CDC Director for trying to keep mRNA shots on the recommended childhood vaccine schedule and saying “vaccines save lives”

Monarez has a long history of connections to Bill Gates and his foundation, such as her time at Stanford for postdoctoral research where she worked in a department chaired by Mark Davis, who went on to receive $50M from Gates before the pandemic to create vaccines and found the university’s Human Systems Immunology Center.

Monarez also served at the deputy director of ARPA under Bisen and oversaw a partnership with a biotech firm called Ginkgo Bioworks. This firm was underwritten by a Gates-controlled investment firm, Cascade Investment.

Confirmation of Monarez’s vaccine-obsessed views came from White House spokesperson Kush Desai, who told Axios News in a statement: “As her attorney’s statement makes abundantly clear, Susan Monarez is not aligned with the President’s agenda of Making America Healthy Again.”

Desai added: “Since Susan Monarez refused to resign despite informing HHS leadership of her intent to do so, the White House has terminated Monarez from her position with the CDC.“

Let’s remind readers that the globalists have captured the CDC:

At least four other CDC officials resigned on Wednesday in a massive leadership shakeup at the agency: Dr. Debra Houry, the CDC’s chief medical officer; Dr. Demetre Daskalakis, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases; Dr. Daniel Jernigan, the director of the National Center for Emerging and Zoonotic Infectious Diseases; and Dr. Jennifer Layden, director of the Office of Public Health Data, Surveillance and Technology.

The big leadership shakeup at the CDC, days after Gates’ visit to the White House, only suggests that HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s team is cleaning house.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 12:30

The Firing Spree Continues

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The Firing Spree Continues

By Philip Marey, senior US strategist at Rabobank,

The 10 year US treasury yield has fallen back to 4.22%, after peaking at 4.31% on Tuesday, so the impact of President Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook has remained modest. Meanwhile, Trump is continuing his firing spree.

On Wednesday, he first fired Robert Primus, a member of the Surface Transportation Board, the regulator of the railroad industry, that is weighing the proposed megamerger between Union Pacific and Norfolk Southern. In 2023, Primus, a Democrat, was the only member on the board to oppose a merger between Canadian Pacific and Kansas City Southern. Yesterday afternoon, he received an email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office that his position was terminated, effective immediately, without explanation. He was removed from the Board’s website. However, he planned to challenge his termination. So this is one for the courts again. On Wednesday evening, the White House said it had fired Susan Monarez, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). She has been in office for less than a month, but clashed with Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. over the CDC’s guidance on vaccines. Monarez was notified by a White House staffer that she was fired. Her lawyers said that only the President himself can fire her, so they reject the notification as legally deficient.

While President Trump’s attempt to fire Lisa Cook is heading for the courts, he is wasting no time in preparing her replacement on the Board. In fact, he wants to announce a nominee soon. On Tuesday he said “we have some very good people for that position.” Keep in mind that Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent is overseeing the selection process for the new Fed Chair. This is providing the White House with a shortlist to fill any vacancy at the Fed, such as those for Governors and regional Fed presidents (although the legal path for the latter remains unclear). What’s more, Trump’s nominee for Adriana Kugler’s seat on the Board, Stephen Miran, could also be directed toward the possible Cook vacancy. As Trump put it on Tuesday: “We might switch him to the other – it’s a longer term.” In the meantime, Senate hearings for Miran’s nomination to replace Kugler are expected next week.

Yesterday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent repeated his call for Fed Chair Jerome Powell to conduct an internal review that should include things like Lisa Cook’s mortgage fraud allegations. Talking to Fox Business, Bessent said “I’ve encouraged Chair Powell to do this on an internal basis before there is an external review.”

This week’s events underline our view that the FOMC may continue to resist delivering the amount of rate cuts that President Trump desires this year, but next year it will be increasingly difficult to keep White House influences from policy rate decisions. In the near term, we expect a rate cut in September, and then it depends on the data whether we are going to see a second one before the end of the year. Evidence of higher inflation could delay the Fed this year, while signs of labor market deterioration are likely to strengthen the case for rate cuts. However, next year the data are likely to matter less in monetary policy decisions and we expect the pace of the cutting cycle to pick up. What’s more, as we discussed in our Jackson Hole comment, we are likely see a major overhaul of the Fed. Stephen Miran is not going to the Fed just to vote for rate cuts, more importantly he is sent there by Trump as a quartermaster for the MAGA makeover.

Meanwhile, New York Fed President John Williams, in an interview with CNBC, said that the September meeting is a “live” one. He said that from his perspective every meeting is live, as the FOMC are getting the risks more in balance. Williams, who is a permanent voter in the FOMC, did not indicate whether he would support a rate cut next month. On Monday, he said that the era of low r-star appears far from over, referring to global demographic and productivity trends that have not reversed. This would imply that he still sees ample room for cutting rates.

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 12:20

Bartov Vs. Morris: Is It Genocide?

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Bartov Vs. Morris: Is It Genocide?

Is Israel defending itself – or executing a calculated genocide?

That’s the question on deck tonight at 7 pm ET, live on ZeroHedge’s homepage and X.

Two heavyweight historians—Omer Bartov, Dean’s Professor of Holocaust & Genocide Studies at Brown University, and famed Israeli historian Benny Morris—will go head-to-head.

The moderator: Mario Nawfal, the journalist with 2M+ followers on X.

Bartov: “A deliberate strategy of slow‑moving genocide”

Bartov pulls zero punches. In his New York Times op-ed titled “I’m a Genocide Scholar. I Know It When I See It,” he declares:

“My inescapable conclusion has become that Israel is committing genocide against the Palestinian people…” 

He warns the stakes are existential—not just for Gaza, but for the very foundations of international law. Bartov charges that—by now—it’s beyond debate:

The destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure, hospitals, museums, universities and “anything that would make it possible for a population after a war to try to reconstitute itself” can’t be ignored as anything less than genocidal intent.

Bartov draws a connection between IDF rhetoric and the dehumanizing language of history’s darkest episodes:

Israeli leaders have likened Gazans to “human animals”, invoking “genocidal echos” reminiscent of Wehrmacht-era ideology.

Morris: “Genocide Is a False and Grotesque Accusation”

Morris has been equally blunt in rebuttal.

“Accusing Israel of genocide is historically false, morally grotesque, and strategically destructive.” 

For him, the word “genocide” is being cynically deployed:

“The charge is not an analysis—it is a weapon. A weapon to delegitimize Israel’s right to exist.”

Morris acknowledges Gaza has been devastated, but insists intent matters.

“Genocide means a will to annihilate an entire people. That is not Israel’s objective. Israel is fighting Hamas—an organization openly committed to Israel’s destruction—not the Palestinian people as a whole.”

He warns that blurring those distinctions undermines both truth and law:

“When everything becomes genocide, nothing is.”

We’ll see you tonight at 7pm ET.
 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 12:00

D.C Grand Jury Refuses To Indict Sandwich-Throwing Former Justice Employee

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D.C Grand Jury Refuses To Indict Sandwich-Throwing Former Justice Employee

Authored by Jonathan Turley,

In 1985, Sol Wachtler, the chief justice of New York’s Supreme Court, famously said, “Any good prosecutor can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich.”

Perhaps, but it appears that indicting someone for throwing a ham sandwich may be tougher than it would appear. A grand jury has reportedly refused to indict Sean Charles Dunn, 37, shown on video shouting obscenities at Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agents standing near 14th and U streets on Aug. 10. and then striking an officer with a wrapped sandwich.

Daina Henry, a transit police detective, gave the details of the incident in a criminal complaint. Dunn at first walks away before returning and continuing a profane diatribe against the officers, who remain calm. It shows Dunn raving, “F**k you! You f**king fascists! Why are you here? I don’t want you in my city!” Dunn then throws his sandwich at officers and runs away with officers in close pursuit.

Dunn appeared to shrug off the incident, saying “I did it. I threw a sandwich.”

It is a little more than that.

I assume that the charge is brought under 18 U.S. Code § 111 – Assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers or employees:

(a)In General.—Whoever—

(1) forcibly assaults, resists, opposes, impedes, intimidates, or interferes with any person designated in section 1114 of this title while engaged in or on account of the performance of official duties; or

(2) forcibly assaults or intimidates any person who formerly served as a person designated in section 1114 on account of the performance of official duties during such person’s term of service,

shall, where the acts in violation of this section constitute only simple assault, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both, and where such acts involve physical contact with the victim of that assault or the intent to commit another felony, be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 8 years, or both.

(b)Enhanced Penalty.—

Whoever, in the commission of any acts described in subsection (a), uses a deadly or dangerous weapon (including a weapon intended to cause death or danger but that fails to do so by reason of a defective component) or inflicts bodily injury, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 20 years, or both.

The District of Columbia is known as one of the most Democratic and liberal jury pools in the country. However, this may be a case of overcharging in the eyes of the jury. As I previously noted, a sandwich is not a “deadly or dangerous weapon”  (It is more of a deli weapon). Moreover, there was no infliction of bodily injury in the case to justify an enhanced penalty.

U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro promised a maximum effort and punishment for Dunn. She posted “He thought it was funny. Well he doesn’t think it’s funny today because we charged him with a felony: Assault on a police officer. ‘So there, stick your Subway sandwich somewhere else!’”

The jury may view this as, at most, a simple assault.

There remains the question of who revealed the vote of the grand jury. There is reportedly an inquiry into the possible violation of the grand jury secrecy rule.

There is a basis for a criminal charge for assault. A refusal to indict even on a lower offense would, in my view, be a form of jury nullification. The question is whether Pirro will now seek the lower charge. She should do so. Law enforcement officers are not some dunk-tank targets for any citizen with rage issues. There needs to be consequences, even if only a misdemeanor charge.

As I previously noted,

“Dunn created this incident and wanted the notoriety. He succeeded. I expect that there will be a GoFundMe effort to cover his legal costs and he will enjoy a certain celebrity status. However, while this is not a significant assault, it is an assault on an officer. While he may have been a protester, neither he nor his sandwich qualifies as a hero.”

Dunn has already been fired from his position at the Justice Department. He should also have a criminal charge to go with his infamous assault on officers.

Jonathan Turley is the Shapiro professor of public interest law at George Washington University and the author of the best-selling “The Indispensable Right: Free Speech in an Age of Rage.”

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 11:40

Fed’s Lisa Cook Sues Trump, Powell & Board of Governors To Keep Job Amid Mortgage Fraud Fiasco

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Fed’s Lisa Cook Sues Trump, Powell & Board of Governors To Keep Job Amid Mortgage Fraud Fiasco

Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook has sued the Trump administration, Fed Chair Jerome Powell, and the Board of Governors itself – after President Donald Trump fired her on Monday over claims that she lied on mortgage applications – allowing her to double-dip on tax and lending advantages. 

The lawsuit seeks “A declaration that President Trump’s August 25, 2025 purported firing … is unlawful and void and that Governor Cook remains an active member of the Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve,” and a declaration from the court that “an unsubstantiated allegation of mortgage fraud prior to a Governor’s confirmation is not cause for removal.”

Cook’s lawsuit claims that Trump violated the Federal Reserve Act, the Fifth Amendment’s Due Process Clause, and other statutory rights – and that Trump’s action lacks “cause” as required by the FRA. 

Represented by former Hunter Biden attorney Abbe Lowell – who also represents NY Attorney General Letitia James, former Homeland Security official Miles Taylor, and a whistleblower – James filed the lawsuit in federal court in Washington DC – in what amounts to the latest in a major escalation in the growing clash between the White House and the Fed – which notably dropped interest rates while inflation soared into the home stretch of the 2024 US election (ostensibly to juice the market and help Biden), yet has resisted Trump’s demands to lower interest rates as inflation has come down. 

And while former members of the Fed have stepped down over alleged improprieties, Cook is digging in.

We’re sure Cook’s legal team is counting on a DC jury being sympathetic to Cook’s claims in response to her firing, in which Trump accused her of “deceitful and potentially criminal  conduct in a financial matter.”

The Trump-Cook clash erupted after Federal Housing Finance Agency Director Bill Pulte dropped receipts showing that Cook lied on 2021 loan applications for two properties in Michigan and Georgia – claiming that each was her primary residence. 

Read the complaint below:

Cook Trump Comp 082825 by Zerohedge Janitor

Developing…

 

Tyler Durden
Thu, 08/28/2025 – 09:41