Lmst

Update:

The DC Circuit, late last night, blocked Judge #Chutkan’s ruling requiring #Citibank to disburse funds appropriated to #Biden-era #climate programs.

This is temporary & has nothing to do with the merits of the case.

#law #EPA #Trump

pon consideration of the emergency motion for stay pending appeal, which ncludes a request for an immediate administrative stay, it is ORDERED that the district court's April 15, 2025, order granting a preliminary junction be administratively stayed in part, pending further order of the court. The listrict court's order is stayed insofar as it (1) enables or requires Citibank to release * Circuit Judge Rao would administratively stay the district court's order in full, at least until the district court issues its opinion. Injunctive relief is "an extraordinary remedy that nay only be awarded upon a clear showing that the plaintiff is entitled to such relief." Winter v. Nat. Res. Def. Council, Inc., 555 U.S. 7, 22 (2008). A preliminary injunctior entered without reasoning does not meet that standard.

The purpose of this order is to give the court sufficient opportunity to consider the trict court's forthcoming opinion in support of its order granting a preliminary inction together with the emergency motion for stay pending appeal and any ponse thereto, and should not be construed in any way as a ruling on the merits of t motion. See D.C. Circuit Handbook of Practice and Internal Procedures 33 (2024). eparate order setting deadlines for responses to, and a reply in support of, the ergency motion for stay pending appeal will be issued at a later time.

The order late Tues by Judge #Chutkan “gives us a chance to breathe after the EPA unlawfully — & w/o #DueProcess — terminated our awards & blocked access to funds that were appropriated by #Congress & legally obligated,” said #ClimateUnited CEO Beth Bafford.

The lawsuit by Climate United Fund & other groups contends that the #EPA, Admin #LeeZeldin & #Citibank, which held the money, illegally blocked the funds awarded last year & had jeopardized the organizations’ operations.

#law #USpol #Trump

U.S. District Judge Tanya #Chutkan says some nonprofits awarded billions for a so-called green bank to finance #CleanEnergy & #climate-friendly projects cannot have their contracts scrapped & must have access to some of the frozen money. The ruling is a defeat for #Trump’s [mockery of an] #EPA, which argues the program is rife w/ financial mismanagement.

#law #USpol
https://apnews.com/article/epa-green-bank-grants-clean-energy-projects-1bcc9dd5c92f8dfb4304add043711278

The order by US Dist Judge #Chutkan prevents—for now—the #EPA from ending the $20B #grant program.

Chutkan's order also blocks #Citibank, which holds the money on behalf of the EPA, from transferring the money back to the govt or anyone.

#ClimateUnitedFund & other groups sued #Trump’s EPA, its admin #LeeZeldin & Citibank, saying they had illegally denied the groups access to $14B awarded last year through the #GreenhouseGas Reduction Fund, commonly referred to as a “green bank."

#law #climate

Two lawsuits could provide further insight into DOGE
https://www.muskwatch.com/i/159032671/two-lawsuits-could-provide-further-insight-into-doge

"US District Judge Tanya #Chutkan ordered #Musk and his #DOGE collaborators to provide records and testimony about its plans...seeks to establish the “parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority.”

...US District Judge Christopher Cooper requiring DOGE to expeditiously process Freedom of Information Act requests"

#ElonMusk #Coup #Corruption #Trump #USPol #USPolitics #Lawsuit #Law #FOIA #News #US #USA

Sub-heading and text(edited for length):
Two lawsuits could provide further insight into DOGE

On Wednesday, US District Judge Tanya Chutkan ordered Musk and his DOGE collaborators to provide records and testimony about its plans to slash federal agencies. The order seeks to establish the “parameters of DOGE’s and Musk’s authority.” From Politico:

"[Chutkan’s order] is a win for a group of 14 Democratic state attorneys general who are suing President Donald Trump, Musk and DOGE, arguing that Musk has unconstitutionally wielded immense power in ways that are damaging their states. Any information the states glean as a result of Chutkan’s decision will help her determine whether to block Musk and DOGE’s government activities altogether. It’s the first time a judge has ordered Musk to produce documents in a court challenge to his aggressive campaign to slash and reshape the federal bureaucracy."

Musk and DOGE have three weeks to fulfill the discovery requests.

...a Monday night ruling from U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper requiring DOGE to expeditiously process Freedom of Information Act requests...

Remarking on the initiative’s “unusual secrecy,” Cooper wrote in a 37-page opinion that DOGE has exercised “unprecedented” authority without congressional input. “The rapid pace of [DOGE’s] actions, in turn, requires the quick release of information about its structure and activities,” the judge wrote. “That is especially so given the secrecy with which DOGE has operated.”

Judge demands ‘some kind of evidence’ from Trump’s EPA to halt climate grants

Federal judge Tanya Chutkan issues restraining order pending new filings over billions in axed research grants

A federal judge considering the Trump administration’s abrupt cancellation of climate research grants worth billions of dollars
told government lawyers they had to produce
“some kind of evidence” of wrongdoing to back up such drastic actions.

Climate United, which coordinates investment in clean energy projects,
sued to seek access to $7bn that was frozen before it was cancelled on Tuesday night by #Lee #Zeldin,
the New York Republican congressman turned administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

In US district court in Washington on Wednesday, Judge #Tanya #Chutkan asked lawyers for the EPA:
“Can you proffer any evidence that [the grant] was illegal,
or evidence of abuse or fraud or bribery
– that any of that was improperly or unlawfully done, other than the fact that Mr Zeldin doesn’t like it?”

#Marc #Sacks, a government lawyer, said:
“The determination is based on the information contained in the termination letter.”
Chutkan said:
“That’s pretty circular,”
then asked if Climate United had violated federal regulations.

Sacks said:
“I think the agency cited both of those regulations within their termination letter.”
Chutkan said:
“I can cite cases all day long, but you have to have some kind of evidence or proffer to back it up.”
She also said:
“You can’t even tell me what the evidence of malfeasance is.”

There is plentiful evidence that Zeldin is implementing an assault on attempts to tackle the climate crisis.
The EPA issued a slew of rollbacks of rules to combat pollution on Wednesday.

Zeldin said he was “driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age”.
Climate groups reacted with horror.
#Jason #Rylander, legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Climate Law Institute, told the Guardian:
“Come hell or high water, raging fires and deadly heatwaves, Trump and his cronies are bent on putting polluter profits ahead of people’s lives.
This move won’t stand up in court. We’re going to fight it every step of the way.”

Climate United is not the only group to have sued over access to grants.
In New York, the Coalition for Green Capital has sued over the cancellation of a $5bn grant,
an act it called “patently and plainly unlawful on its face”
and “arbitrary and pretextual”.
In Washington, lawyers for Climate United argued that the EPA had not followed the law,
meaning Chutkan could rule on the matter.
Lawyers for the government said it was a contract dispute, so she could not.
Chutkan said:
“The government didn’t decide who it wanted to contract with.
A new administration came in, didn’t like the contract any more.
That’s what new administrations do.
But there are procedures that have to be followed.
And it doesn’t appear, at least on the record before me, that those procedures have been followed.”

The hearing ended without Chutkan issuing a ruling or temporary restraining order,
but asking both sides to make
👉new filings by Monday evening:
Climate United to amend its lawsuit
and the government to provide information about alleged wrongdoing.
“I don’t have the credible evidence that’s required,” Chutkan said.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/mar/13/epa-grants-trump-judge-tanya-chutkan?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

#Chutkan rejected the states' request to obtain sworn testimony through depositions, & said her order does not apply to #Trump.

Republican & Democratic admins have long resisted efforts to force top WH advisers to provide court testimony or info they consider privileged.

#Musk & #DOGE have until April 2 to comply w/Chutkan's order.

The lawsuit sought to bar DOGE from accessing information systems at several government departments & firing federal employees or putting them on leave.

#law

“The court is not convinced, but that is a #legal issue appropriate for resolution after fulsome briefing.…At this stage, it is sufficient that plaintiffs' discovery requests intend to reveal the scope of #DOGE's & #Musk's authority,” #Chutkan wrote.

Chutkan limited requests to material concerning agencies, employees, contracts, grants, federal funding, legal agreements, databases & data management systems that involve or engage w/the 14 states as well as entities they operate or fund.

#law

The states argued #Musk violated the #Constitution by wielding #power only ofcls confirmed by the US #Senate can exercise under the #AppointmentsClause, & sought the materials through…discovery.

#Chutkan said her order focused mainly on who at #DOGE was making cost-cutting decisions & how far they could go.

"Defendants argue that the 'inner workings of government' are immaterial to an Appointments Clause claim,” she wrote.

#law #USpol #kleptocracy #idiocracy #kakistocracy

A US judge has ordered #ElonMusk & his Department of Government *Efficiency* to turn over a variety of records & answer questions describing their efforts to slash federal spending.

Wednesday night's decision by US District Judge Tanya #Chutkan in Washington, DC, came in a lawsuit by 14 Democratic state attorneys general against #Musk, DOGE & #Trump.

#law #USpol #kleptocracy #idiocracy #kakistocracy
https://www.reuters.com/legal/us-judge-orders-doge-musk-produce-cost-cutting-records-2025-03-13/

Via #Politico @ 9:19pm ET on Mar 12, 2025

#ElonMusk #DOGE #TanyaChutkan #DonaldTrump #Musk #Chutkan

https://www.politico.com/news/2025/03/12/elon-musk-judge-orders-discovery-00227924

Click for full pic ↓

A federal judge has ordered that Elon Musk and his Department of Government Efficiency turn over a wide array of records and answer questions about plans it crafted to downsize federal agencies, fire employees and suspend federal contracts.
U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan’s order Wednesday is a win for a group of 14 Democratic state attorneys general who are suing President Donald Trump, Musk and DOGE, arguing that Musk has unconstitutionally wielded immense power in ways that are damaging their states. Any information the states glean as a result of Chutkan’s decision will help her determine whether to block Musk and DOGE’s government activities altogether.

However, per Ryan Goodman, while Judge #Chutkan denied temporary restraining order in New Mexico v #ElonMusk, she signaled that the plaintiffs have the better argument when this reaches the merits: #Musk is exercising power in violation of #AppointmentsClause.

https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463/gov.uscourts.dcd.277463.29.0_1.pdf

#law #Trump #TrumpCoup #DOGE

From Chutkan’s ruling, “That said, Plaintiffs raise a colorable Appointments Clause claim with serious implications. Musk has not been nominated by the President nor confirmed by the U.S. Senate, as constitutionally required for officers who exercise "significant authority pursuant to the laws of the United States.”

Plaintiffs legitimately call into question what appears to be the unchecked authority of an unelected individual and an entity that was not created by Congress and over which it has no oversight. In these circumstances, it must be indisputable that this court acts within the bounds of its authority.

A federal judge in Washington gave #Trump a victory *for now* when she declined on Tues to bar #ElonMusk & his associates from having access to data at 7 #FederalAgencies or involvement in #MassFirings.

In an order on Tues, Judge Tanya S. #Chutkan, wrote that a coalition of 14 state AGs had failed in seeking an emergency halt to show specific examples of how #Musk’s team’s sweeping data collection efforts could cause those states imminent or irreparable harm.

#law #DOGE
https://www.nytimes.com/live/2025/02/18/us/trump-news/elon-musk-doge-lawsuit-agencies?smid=nytcore-ios-share&referringSource=articleShare

They argue that President #Trump has "delegated virtually unchecked authority to Mr. Musk without proper #legal authorization from #Congress."

At a brief hearing Monday in the case, US District Judge Tanya #Chutkan expressed skepticism at the sweeping request the plaintiffs made to halt #DOGE work, but was also skeptical at the claim from government lawyers that #ElonMusk had no authority to make governmental decisions.

#law #TrumpCoup #USpol

@skykiss

Marcy (Emptywheel) has some very interesting things to say about this magic trick #Trump and the #WhiteHouse are attempting to pull:

"Why #ElonMusk Can’t Run #DOGE [sic] Anymore"

"Judge Tanya #Chutkan had a Presidents Day hearing on a lawsuit challenging DOGE’s actions.

In a response and declaration, the government blew off [her] first question, but on the second, denied that Musk has the power of DOGE. He’s just a senior Trump advisor, one solidly within the White House Office, and so firewalled from the work of DOGE, yet still protected from any kind of nasty disclosure requirements."

Ending with:

"In practice, Trump is saying Elon can dismantle entire agencies without Senate confirmation...

Or he was. Now he’s arguing that all this is happening without Elon’s personal direction.

There is plenty in the complaint already that debunks this, not least the narrative of how Elon started disappearing USAID even before, by his own description, Trump approved."

Here: https://www.emptywheel.net/2025/02/18/why-elon-musk-cant-run-doge-sic-anymore/

#chutkan #Musk #ElonMusk #politics #fascism

https://open.substack.com/pub/statuskuo/p/some-breaking-news?r=ymxmu&utm_medium=ios

A major lawsuit to end Elon Musk’s takeover of the federal government has landed before one of Donald Trump’s least favorite judges.
Judge #Tanya #Chutkan, who presided over Trump’s federal election interference case, was assigned the federal lawsuit
filed by 14 states against the president and Musk, attacking the so-called Department of Government Efficiency’s authority.
Chutkan gained the national spotlight as she refused to accept arguments from Trump’s legal team at nearly every step in the January 6 case.
She infuriated Trump when she placed a gag order on him in October 2023 and said that his presidential candidacy did not give him “carte blanche” to vilify public servants “who are simply doing their job.”
Trump lashed out at the judge, calling her “the most evil person” as she seemed unwilling to bend to the Supreme Court’s immunity ruling.
Now Chutkan will preside over a pivotal lawsuit that will determine the future of the U.S. government and the second Trump administration.
The suit directly attacks Musk as a “21st century tech baron,”
claiming that “the scope and reach of his executive authority appear unprecedented in U.S. history.”
“His power includes, at least, the authority to cease the payment of congressionally approved funds,
access sensitive and confidential data across government agencies,
cut off systems access to federal employees and contractors at will,
and take over and dismantle entire independent federal agencies,”
the lawsuit states.
https://newrepublic.com/post/191559/judge-tanya-chutkan-case-lawsuit-elon-musk

"In hundreds of cases like this one over the past four years, judges in this district have administered #justice without fear or favor," #Chutkan added. "The historical record established by those proceedings must stand, unmoved by political winds, as a testament & as a warning."

#criminal #Trump #law #judiciary #insurrection #PoliticalViolence #MafiaState #revisionism #USpol

"No #pardon can change the tragic truth of what happened on January 6, 2021," said Judge Tanya #Chutkan …in a brief order granting the dismissal of one rioter's #criminal case. "The dismissal of this case cannot undo the 'rampage [that] left multiple people dead, injured more than 140 people, & inflicted millions of dollars in damage.' ... And it cannot repair the jagged breach in America's sacred tradition of peacefully transitioning power.

#criminal #Trump #law #judiciary #Jan6 #USpol

🔥 Do not let up.

Keep the pressure on. Especially on Congress members. Watch #Maddow A-block from last night.

Via Kyle Cheney:

NEW: Judge #CHUTKAN is now weighing in on #Trump's mass dismissal of Jan. 6 cases, saying it "cannot whitewash the blood, feces, and terror that the mob left in its wake." 🧵 1/...

#Chutkan

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