Nation & World Glance
Trump lawyer ordered to turn over Mar-a-lago case documents
WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court in a sealed order Wednesday directed a lawyer for Donald Trump to turn over to prosecutors documents in the investigation into the former president’s retention of classified records at his Florida estate.
The ruling is a significant win for the Justice Department, which has focused for months not only on the hoarding of classified documents at Mar-a-lago but also on why Trump and his representatives resisted demands to return them to the government. It suggests the court has sided with prosecutors who have argued behind closed doors that Trump was using his legal representation to further a crime.
The order was reflected in a brief online notice by a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The case is sealed, and none of the parties in the dispute is mentioned by name.
But the details appear to correspond with a secret fight before a lower court judge over whether Trump lawyer M. Evan Corcoran could be forced to provide documents or give grand jury testimony in the Justice Department special counsel probe into whether Trump mishandled top-secret information at Mar-alago.
Corcoran is regarded as relevant to the investigation in part because last year he drafted a statement to the Justice Department asserting that a “diligent search” for classified documents had been conducted at Mar-a-lago in response to a subpoena. That claim proved untrue as FBI agents weeks later searched the home with a warrant and found roughly 100 additional documents with classified markings.
Desantis to expand ‘Don’t Say Gay’ law to all grades
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – Florida Gov. Ron Desantis ‘ administration is moving to forbid classroom instruction on sexual orientation and gender identity in all grades, expanding the controversial law critics call “Don’t Say Gay” as the Republican governor continues to focus on cultural issues ahead of his expected presidential run.
The proposal, which would not require legislative approval, is scheduled for a vote next month before the state Board of Education and has been put forward by the state Education Department, both of which are led by appointees of the governor.
The rule change would ban lessons on sexual orientation and gender identity from grades 4 to 12, unless required by existing state standards or as part of reproductive health instruction that students can choose not to take. The initial law that Desantis championed last spring bans those lessons in kindergarten through the third grade. The change was first reported by the Orlando Sentinel.
Desantis has leaned heavily into cultural divides on his path to an anticipated White House bid, with the Republican aggressively pursuing a conservative agenda that targets what he calls the insertion of inappropriate subjects in schools.
Spokespeople for the governor’s office and the Education Department did not immediately return an emailed request for comment.
Arrest made in fire at planned Wyoming abortion clinic
CHEYENNE, Wyo. – A woman was arrested on charges of setting fire to a building in Wyoming that was being renovated to house the state’s only full-service abortion clinic, authorities said Wednesday, hours after a judge temporarily blocked a ban on abortion that went into effect a few days ago.
Lorna Roxanne Green, 22, of Casper, was arrested on Tuesday by Casper police and agents from the FBI and the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, Wyoming U.S. Attorney Nicholas Vassallo said in a statement.
Green faces up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine if convicted, according to the statement. She is scheduled to appear in federal court in Cheyenne on Thursday morning.
The fire was set on May 25, 2022, at a stucco house in Casper, the state’s second-largest city and the site of frequent anti-abortion protests.
A witness told police they heard glass breaking and saw a person leaving the area carrying a gas can and a black bag. Security video released by police showed a woman in a hooded shirt and mask carrying what appeared to be a red fuel can through a room of the building just before the fire.