A Texas woman was arrested and has been charged with threatening to kill the federal judge overseeing the criminal case against former President Donald Trump in Washington and a member of Congress.
Abigail Jo Shry of Alvin, Texas, called the federal courthouse in Washington and left the threatening message — using a racist term for U.S. District Judge Tanya Chutkan — on Aug. 5, court records show. Investigators traced her phone number and she later admitted to making the threatening call, according to a criminal complaint.
In the call, Shry told the judge, who is overseeing the election conspiracy case against Trump, “You are in our sights, we want to kill you," the documents said. Prosecutors allege Shry also said, “If Trump doesn't get elected in 2024, we are coming to kill you," and she threatened to kill U.S. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, a Texas Democrat running for mayor of Houston, according to court documents.
A judge earlier this week ordered Shry jailed. Court records show Shry is represented by the Houston public defender’s office, which did not immediately return a message seeking comment on Wednesday.
Trump has publicly assailed Chutkan, a former assistant public defender who was nominated to the bench by President Barack Obama, calling her “highly partisan” and “ VERY BIASED & UNFAIR!” because of her past comments in a separate case overseeing the sentencing of one of the defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot at the U.S. Capitol.
Chutkan in a hearing Friday imposed a protective order in the case limiting what evidence handed over by prosecutors the former president and his legal team can publicly disclose. She warned Trump’s lawyers that his defense should be mounted in the courtroom and “not on the internet.”
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Shares of Tesla dropped after hours Thursday after the Securities and Exchange Commission filed a [lawsuit] (https://www.scribd.com/document/389617044/SEC-vs-MUSK#from_embed) against CEO Elon Musk in federal court, alleging that the billionaire founder committed securities fraud when he tweeted about taking the company private with "funding secured" on Aug. 7. In the complaint, the SEC seeks to bar Musk from being an officer of a public company.
Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh was both furious and emotional in testimony Thursday afternoon in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee. He emphatically denied the sexual assault accusations against him, which were detailed from the same chair by Dr. Christine Blasey Ford earlier in the day.
"My family and my name have been totally and permanently destroyed," Kavanaugh said.
Rep. Nita Lowey played a key role in the Anita Hill hearings in 1991 when then-Supreme Court nominee Clarence Thomas was accused of sexual harassment. On Thursday, Lowey was present for Christine Blasey Ford's testimony about current nominee Brett Kavanaugh's alleged sexual assault and spoke of the differences between the two eras.
Prof. Christine Blasey Ford spoke to the Senate Judiciary Committee about her memories from the night of her alleged assault. She said the memory that has stuck with her the most is the laughter from Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Mark Judge as Kavanaugh was on top of her.
On Thursday morning Prof. Christine Blasey Ford appeared in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee to testify on her alleged sexual assault by Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.
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Sonny Perdue, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, said American farmers understand the need for tariffs on Chinese imports, even if they might feel some short-term pain. After President Trump imposed tariffs on China, American farmers began to feel the effects. China is the largest importer of American soybeans and that revenue stream has now been cut off. The federal government pledged $12 billion as temporary relief for farmers affected by Trump's tariffs.
Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) is currently promoting a new housing bill that calls for $450 billion to build and renovate affordable housing over the next 10 years. Warren is suggesting an estate tax on the 10,000 top earners in the U.S. to fund the bill. Warren said it's not about "punishing" people for their economic success, but rather for everyone to pay their fair share and allow middle Americans to accrue wealth through homeownership.
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