TV News LIES

Lawyers for imprisoned British socialite Ghislaine Maxwell are fighting the requested release of 90,000 pages related to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and Maxwell, saying a law used to force the public release of millions of documents is unconstitutional.

The lawyers filed papers late Friday in Manhattan federal court to try to block the release of documents from a since-settled civil defamation lawsuit brought a decade ago by the late Epstein victim Virginia Giuffre against Maxwell. The Justice Department recently asked a judge to lift secrecy requirements on the files.

Maxwell’s attorneys said the Justice Department obtained the documents — otherwise shttps://www.huffpost.com/entry/ghislaine-maxwell-fights-release-epstein-documents_n_699a0c2fe4b050c4ef21c519?origin=home-latest-news-unitubject to secrecy orders — improperly during its criminal probe of Maxwell. They said the documents include transcripts of over 30 depositions and private information regarding financial and sexual matters related to Maxwell and others.

Some records from the year-long exchange of evidence in the lawsuit battle were already released publicly in response to a federal appeals court order.

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Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) is joining a growing group of Democrats who plan to boycott President Trump’s State of the Union address next Tuesday in favor of an alternative event, according to progressive media outlet MeidasTouch.

The outlet reported that Schiff is set to speak at a counter rally on the National Mall, dubbed the “People’s State of the Union,” that it is hosting alongside liberal advocacy group MoveOn Civic Action.

The lineup of Democratic speakers also includes Sens. Ed Markey (Mass.), Jeff Merkley (Ore.), Chris Murphy (Conn.) and Tina Smith (Minn.), as well as at least seven House members.The rally is just one of several counterprogramming efforts Democrats are expected to engage in to protest Trump’s Feb. 24 address, his first State of the Union since returning to office.

Some Democrats have signaled they may attend one of the counter rallies in addition to the State of the Union, while others say they are skipping it entirely.

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President Donald Trump kicked reporters out of a breakfast meeting Feb. 20 with governors so the officials could speak “candidly.”

“That way we’re going to talk very candidly and take questions at the end,” Trump said. “To the media, thank you. You can leave now.”

Trump’s move came after disputes with Democratic Govs. Wes Moore of Maryland and Jared Polis of Colorado led to confusion about who could attend the meeting termed a "working breakfast" in the East Room.

Reporters shouted questions as they were led out of the room, including one about whether he was considering military action against Iran.

"I guess I can say I am considering it," Trump said.

He didn’t respond to a question about whether he had spoken to Moore about the Potomac River sewage spill.

In the days before this year’s meeting, Trump blamed Moore for one of the largest sewage spills in history. The sewage system is overseen by D.C., Maryland and Virginia officials but Trump targeted Moore.

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A Republican mayor in Ohio is facing criminal allegations after authorities say he was recorded on a concealed camera smelling an underage girl’s underwear.

An incident report from the Richland county sheriff’s Office details the accusations against Wesley Dingus, 48, who serves as mayor of Butler. The claims came from a juvenile who had been staying at his residence.

According to investigators, the teen had hidden a small camera in a bedroom in the home. On 13 January, she reportedly received multiple motion alerts indicating recordings had been captured. Deputies say the footage showed Dingus smelling at least four pairs of her underwear “for several seconds” and also “touching his groin area over his clothes”.

Richland county children’s services passed the report along to law enforcement the same day the alleged incident occurred, and a deputy later interviewed the girl at her school.

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At least one Republican lawmaker is formally pushing back on President Trump’s effort to boost a controversial herbicide, glyphosate, that’s reviled by supporters of the “Make America Healthy Again” (MAHA) movement.

Trump this week stoked MAHA fury by issuing an executive order that seeks to “ensure an adequate supply” of glyphosate as a national security issue and grant “immunity” to makers of the pesticide under the Defense Production Act.

In response, Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.) drafted legislation to prevent the order’s implementation. Massie’s legislation also seeks to explicitly allow citizens to bring lawsuits related to exposure to glyphosate, the key ingredient in the frequently litigated Roundup weedkiller.

“This week I will introduce the ‘No Immunity for Glyphosate Act’ to undo the recent Executive Order which promotes glyphosate (Round-Up) and insulates manufacturers from liability,” Massie, who has broken with Trump on multiple issues, wrote on the social platform X.

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Three Vietnam War veterans and an architectural historian have filed a lawsuit against President Donald Trump’s planned triumphal arch outside Arlington National Cemetery, arguing the colossal structure is being built without congressional approval and that it would obstruct the layout of other monuments.

The lawsuit filed Thursday accuses Trump’s “Independence Arch” of being unlawful with its planned position in the traffic circle in front of the historic military cemetery.

At 250 feet tall, the statue would be “more than double the size of the Lincoln Memorial and the equivalent of a twenty-five-story office building,” states the suit, which was filed on behalf of the veterans and historian by the government watchdog group Public Citizen.

“Its location on Memorial Circle would situate the monument on an axis between the Lincoln Memorial and Arlington National Cemetery, obstructing a line of sight that was designed to represent the unification of the Nation following the Civil War and that has existed for nearly a century,” it goes on.

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