Author: Sky York Journal

Sky York Journal In the five days since the Justice Department began releasing the Epstein files (in a piecemeal fashion that seemingly flouted a law President Trump signed last month), the usually quiet pre-holiday stretch has seen members of Congress issuing threats of prosecution, DOJ attempts to protect President Trump and a few newsworthy revelations.  A few document dumps in, we’re getting some real information (and Trump mentions)  While the first tranche of documents contained little new information (though plentiful decontextualized photos of former President Bill Clinton), some nuggets are starting to surface.  Trump has not been formally accused of…

Sky York Journal Zohran Mamdani has felt the fear that stalks the halls of New York City’s immigration courts in the Trump era.  The mayor-elect found himself waiting nervously on a Manhattan sidewalk when his father, who is Indian-Ugandan, was called in for his citizenship interview.  “I was there earlier this year outside of 26 Federal Plaza,” Mamdani said in an interview with TPM. “I spent four hours waiting not knowing what was going to happen.”  During President Donald Trump’s second term, these types of legal proceedings have often ended in violent encounters between masked agents from the Immigration and…

Sky York Journal Throughout 2025, the Trump administration has, time after time, simply refused to spend funds that Congress appropriated. The obstinacy was without precedent in modern American governance; congressional Democrats suggested it had put the country on track toward a constitutional crisis. Republicans, who controlled both chambers of Congress, largely did nothing.  Piping up occasionally to affirm to those who were paying attention that they had not entirely lost their minds was a relatively small watchdog agency housed within the legislative branch: The Government Accountability Office (GAO).  The Trump Department of Transportation suspending Biden-era grants for electric vehicle charging…

Sky York Journal It began in the spring, when Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) went to work and “saw a dozen masked ICE agents in the lobby” of his office building.  “What’s going on here?” he recalled asking, incredulously. “What is happening?” After the initial shock, the congressman and his staff saw that the masked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents had become a regular presence at the immigration courts located in the same federal building as his Manhattan district office. Along with two other similar courts in the city, his building had become the site of an unprecedented wave of aggressive…

Sky York Journal Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said that the Justice Department will only release some of the Epstein files Friday, a move members of Congress slammed as a violation of the law President Trump signed last month.  “I expect that we’re going to release several hundred thousand documents today, and those documents will come in all different forms — photographs and other materials associated with all of the investigations into, into Mr. Epstein,” Blanche said on Fox News, adding that “over the next couple of weeks, I expect several hundred thousand more.” In an uncaptioned tweet, Rep. Thomas…

Sky York Journal The agents were on the hunt, but as they staked out the hallway in 26 Federal Plaza looking for immigrants to detain, they had other prey in mind.  “I’ve never had kangaroo. I want to try,” said Samantha Camlica, an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) who has developed a reputation for aggression among the regular observers who monitor the court.  The other four agents flanking the corridor with her on that morning late last month were wearing masks. Camlica, who has declined to comment for this series, was the only one in the group whose…

Sky York Journal This post first appeared at ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. According to this year’s tax filing, the American Athletic Conference, the $150 million collegiate sports league that includes schools like Rice and Tulane, is striving to be a leader in inclusion, but no longer in diversity or equity. UNICEF USA, which supports the United Nations’ humanitarian children’s mission, no longer wants a more equitable world for every child — just a better one. And the National Association of Community Health Centers, whose tax filing once said it focused on medically underserved populations, is…

Sky York Journal Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA), usually a fairly reliable Republican foot soldier, grilled a Trump judicial nominee Wednesday about his bigoted preachings.  President Trump nominated Olson, currently in private practice, to be a U.S. district judge for the Southern District of Indiana. He has been active in anti-trans litigation, leading a case to have trans women athletes stripped of their NCAA awards.  “During that sermon you said that marriage was not intended for all people, including, and I’m gonna quote your words, ‘our handicapped friends or our persons with physical disabilities that might prevent the robust marriage that…

Sky York Journal Four House Republicans joined a Democratic discharge petition Wednesday morning to force a floor vote on the Affordable Care Act subsidies that are set to expire at the end of the year. Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick (R-PA), Mike Lawler (R-NY), Rob Bresnahan (R-PA) and Ryan Mackenzie (R-PA) signed the discharge petition to help Democrats get to the 218 signatures they needed. This effectively forces the Republican House leadership to bring the ACA extension vote to the House floor. House rules dictate a completed discharge petition is subject to a waiting period. That means the vote could be on…

Sky York Journal This article was produced for ProPublica’s Local Reporting Network in partnership with The Salt Lake Tribune. Sign up for Dispatches to get stories like this one as soon as they are published. Dr. Kirk Moore had been on trial for five days, accused of falsifying COVID-19 vaccination cards and throwing away the government-supplied doses. The Utah plastic surgeon faced up to 35 years in prison if the jury found him guilty on charges that included conspiracy to defraud the United States. Testimony had paused for the weekend when Moore’s lawyer called him early one Saturday this July with what felt…