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A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration’s efforts to reduce federal homeland security funding, including for disasters, for states that do not comply with immigration enforcement policies.

US district judge Mary McElroy of Rhode Island, a 2018 Trump appointee, ruled on Monday that the latest case was “another example” of the Trump administration tying state and local government assistance to its immigration crackdown.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) cut more than $230m in federal grants for Connecticut, Delaware, Minnesota, Massachusetts, New York, Rhode Island, Vermont and the District of Columbia. The grants were a part of $1b in annual funds given to states and local governments for counter-terrorism efforts.

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Former special counsel Jack Smith wants the recording of his full deposition to a House panel released.

His attorneys sent a letter Dec. 18 to House Judiciary Committee Chair Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) requesting that his closed-door deposition be made public.

“Mr. Smith respectfully requests the prompt public release of the full videotape of his deposition. Doing so will ensure that the American people can hear the facts directly from Mr. Smith, rather than through second-hand accounts,” wrote Lanny A. Breuer and Peter Koski, Smith’s lawyers.

“We also reiterate our request for an open and public hearing. During the investigation of President Trump, Mr. Smith steadfastly followed Justice Department policies, observed all legal requirements, and took actions based on the facts and the law. He stands by his decisions,” they added.

In the deposition, Smith defended his decision to bring charges against then-former President Trump for attempting to overturn the 2020 election.

“Our investigation developed proof beyond a reasonable doubt that President Trump engaged in a criminal scheme to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election and to prevent the lawful transfer of power,” Smith said in prepared opening remarks, portions of which were obtained by The Hill. 

“Our investigation also developed powerful evidence that showed President Trump willfully retained highly classified documents after he left office in January 2021, storing them at his social club, including in a bathroom and a ballroom where events and gatherings took place.

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A federal judge has rejected a lawsuit from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce that opposed President Donald Trump’s $100,000 fee on visas for highly skilled foreign workers.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell in Washington ruled that Congress gave the president the authority to "impose on the entry of aliens any restrictions he may deem to be appropriate."

"Congress could have, but did not, impose the limit on presidential authority that plaintiffs’ urge," Howell wrote in the 56-page opinion.

The chamber, which advocates for 300,000 businesses, and the Association of American Universities, which advocates for 69 research-based institutions, argued that Trump’s administration lacked the authority to impose the fee on new H-1B visa applications, which the president imposed in September.

Trump’s fees are part of a broader strategy to favor U.S. citizens over foreign workers. The higher visa fees came amid a broader crackdown on illegal immigration, which includes mass deportations of undocumented immigrants and an end to allowing asylum seekers into the country while their cases are pending.

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The documents were released overnight on Tuesday and include a claim that Donald Trump was on a flight with Epstein and a 20-year-old woman in the 1990s. There is no indication that the woman was a victim of any crime and being included in the files does not indicate any criminal wrongdoing.

The files also include a series of emails between Ghislaine Maxwell and someone who signs himself as “A” and uses the alias “The Invisible Man”. In August 2001, “A” wrote to Maxwell: “I am up here at Balmoral Summer Camp for the Royal Family”.

Emails show Maxwell discussing arranging “girls” and “two-legged sight seeing” for a man identified in the correspondence as “The Invisible Man”, who is widely believed to be Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor. In a February 2002 email exchange about a proposed trip to Peru, Maxwell forwards messages from Juan Estoban Ganoza outlining possible activities, including visiting the Nazca Lines.

The former Barclays chief executive Jes Staley and the ex-US Treasury secretary Larry Summers were appointed as executors of Epstein’s estate, according to a newly released tranche of documents linked to the now-deceased child sex offender.

Included in the batch of files was a now-deleted fake video that appeared to depict Epstein attempting to end his life. Also in the trove are photos of the fake Austrian passport uncovered from a safe during a 2019 FBI raid of Epstein’s home in Manhattan. There is also a 2021 subpoena to the Mar-a-Lago Club relating to the federal investigation into Maxwell. Also revealed was that the FBI sought to question Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor about his links to a second millionaire sex offender, Peter Nygard.

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A coalition of Democratic-led states filed a lawsuit on Monday seeking to prevent Donald Trump’s administration from defunding the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau by refusing to request money from the Federal Reserve.

Democratic attorneys general from 21 states and the District of Columbia filed the lawsuit in federal court in Oregon, arguing that the administration’s decision not to seek additional funding for the US consumer watchdog is unlawful and undermines Congress’s authority under the US constitution.

“The administration’s actions are a handout to those who drive up costs by cheating hardworking Americans, and I will keep fighting to ensure they follow the law and our constitution,” New York attorney general Letitia James, a Democrat, said in a statement.

The CFPB did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Trump, a Republican, has sought to dismantle the CFPB since returning to office in January and has installed Russell Vought, his budget director, as the acting head of the agency. While efforts to fire most of its employees are tied up in litigation, Vought has effectively halted most CFPB activities.

The agency, which is tasked with protecting consumers in the financial sector, began operations in 2011 under Barack Obama after the 2008 financial crisis. It has since returned more than $21bn improperly taken from consumers, its supporters say.

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The White House threatened to withhold federal funding from the Smithsonian Institution if the prestigious museum system does not submit additional documentation for the Trump administration’s sweeping content review.

In a Thursday letter to Smithsonian Institution Secretary Lonnie Bunch, Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and White House budget director Russell Vought outlined the material they said still must be submitted, noting the Smithsonian’s earlier submission “fell far short of what was requested, and the overwhelming majority of requested items remain outstanding.”

The Trump administration, in August, launched a review of eight Smithsonian museums aimed at ensuring “alignment” with President Trump’s executive order “to celebrate American exceptionalism, remove divisive or partisan narratives, and restore confidence in our shared cultural institutions.”

In the Thursday letter, White House officials said funding for the Smithsonian museums is conditioned on adherence to Trump’s executive order and on compliance with the review process.

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