DC Grand Jury Rejections, FTC Commissioner Firing, and Trump's Defamation Verdicts

Chief Justice Roberts and FTC Commissioner Removal

• 🏛️ Chief Justice John Roberts has temporarily allowed President Trump to remove FTC Commissioner Rebecca Kelly Slaughter, a Democrat, pending a full Supreme Court review.
• ⚖️ The FTC Act requires "for cause" removal, but Roberts' order, issued without explanation, nullifies a lower court's reinstatement of Slaughter.
• 💡 Two theories for Roberts' action: either the Court is ready to overrule the nearly century-old Humphrey's Executor precedent on executive power, or the court finds reinstatement too intrusive an equitable remedy.
• 📅 The full Supreme Court could resolve the case this term, with deadlines set for September 15th for responses.

Grand Jury Indictment Challenges in DC

• 🚫 Prosecutors in Washington D.C. are facing an unusual trend of grand juries rejecting felony indictments, with at least seven instances reported recently.
• 🥪 This includes a case where a grand jury refused to indict a man for felony assault on an ICE officer for throwing a sandwich, leading to a misdemeanor charge instead.
• 🧐 Experts suggest grand juries may be acting as a safeguard against prosecutorial overreach or overcharging, particularly in cases involving assaults on federal officers.
• ⚖️ Grand jury proceedings are secret and typically controlled by prosecutors, making their rejections rare and their reasoning unknown, though jury nullification is a possibility.

Trump's Defamation Verdict Upheld

• 📰 A US appeals court in Manhattan upheld the $83.3 million defamation verdict against Donald Trump in the E. Jean Carroll lawsuit.
• 🧐 The Second Circuit rejected Trump's arguments that the damages were excessive, calling them reasonable in light of the "extraordinary and egregious facts."
• 🎤 The court noted Trump's disruptive courtroom behavior, including muttering and walking out during closing arguments, which may have influenced the jury.
• 🚫 Trump's claims of presidential immunity were also rejected by the appeals court.
• ⚖️ Trump's legal team is seeking to extend the deadline to appeal this verdict and a separate $5 million verdict in another defamation and sexual abuse case.