Connecticut
Bannon released after serving 4 months in prison for contempt of Congress
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon was released from prison early Tuesday, after serving a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bannon left the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, according to Kristie Breshears, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons. He planned to hold a news conference later in the day in Manhattan, his representatives said. He’s also expected to resume his podcast Tuesday.
Bannon, 70, reported to the prison July 1 after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to delay the prison sentence while he appeals his conviction.
A jury found Bannon guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the Jan. 6 House Committee and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race.
When he began serving his sentence in July, Bannon called himself a “political prisoner.”
A federal appeals court panel upheld Bannon’s convictions in May. Bannon is now asking the full appeals court to hear his case. His legal team had argued that the congressional subpoena was invalid because Trump had asserted executive privilege. Prosecutors, though, say Bannon had left the White House years before and Trump had never invoked executive privilege in front of the committee.
Bannon faces additional criminal charges in New York state court, alleging he duped donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. A trial in that case is scheduled to begin in December.
Pennsylvania
Judge tosses congressmen’s lawsuit over overseas and military votes
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit by six Republican members of Congress seeking to make Pennsylvania election officials institute new checks confirming the identity of soldiers, sailors, and others who vote from overseas and to make sure they’re eligible.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner said he agreed with the defendants — Secretary of State Al Schmidt and one of his top deputies — who argued there were no grounds to sue and that the case was launched too late and too close to Election Day.
The Pennsylvania congressmen “provide no good excuse for waiting until barely a month before the election to bring this lawsuit,” Conner wrote. More than 25,000 overseas ballots had already been sent out when the case was filed in late September, the judge noted.
The lawsuit was filed by six of the state’s eight Republican members of the U.S. House: Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, G.T. Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, Mike Kelly and Scott Perry. The other plaintiff is PA Fair Elections, a group led by Heather Honey, an election researcher whose work has fueled right-wing attacks on voting procedures. Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with their lawyers.
During a streamed update on election matters Tuesday, Schmidt said his agency “is pleased that this frivolous lawsuit was dismissed.”
Conner said the plaintiffs were asking “to impose new verification procedures the contours of which plaintiffs themselves have been unable to fully flesh out three weeks into this litigation.” He said an injunction now “would upend the commonwealth’s carefully laid election administration procedures to the detriment of untold thousands of voters.”
During oral arguments on Oct. 18, Conner asked why the plaintiffs had not sued earlier over procedures that have been in place for years. He also pressed their lawyers to show how their clients were directly harmed by the current policies, as required for such claims.
The order issued Tuesday said the Republican congressmen had only “hypothetical concerns” about the impact overseas votes might have on their own reelection contests.
“Their status as candidates, without more, gets them nowhere,” the judge wrote.
The case could have affected thousands of ballots in Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state in the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The plaintiffs had asked the judge to declare current practices illegal under federal law and to order that the secretary of state’s office confer with the congressmen and PA Fair Elections about how to verify the identity and eligibility of people casting votes under the U.S. Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. They also asked to have overseas and military ballots segregated during the current election season pending the additional verification.
Lawyers for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, representing Schmidt and his deputy, had argued that the plaintiffs were saying valid votes could be diluted by improper ones, which they said would not be sufficient grounds for the judge to act. They said federal laws exempt overseas voters “from identification requirements imposed on other voters who register to vote by mail.”
Military voters are more likely to be Republican, while other overseas voters tend to lean Democratic. The Democratic Party is spending money this year in an effort to boost their turnout.
California
Judge accused of killing his wife is released on $2 million bail
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California judge charged with killing his wife has been released from jail on $2 million bail.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was released Friday from the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, online jail records show.
Ferguson, 74, was taken back into custody last month after the judge overseeing his case determined that he lied about drinking alcohol while he was out on bail.
Ferguson pleaded not guilty last year to murder in the shooting death of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, which his lawyer at the time said was accidental. Authorities said the couple had been arguing in August 2023 and Ferguson had been drinking when he pulled a pistol from an ankle holster and shot her in the chest.
Ferguson and his son called 911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff saying: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry,” according to prosecutors’ court filings. Authorities said they later found 47 weapons, including the pistol, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at Ferguson’s home.
The next court date in Ferguson’s case has been scheduled for Nov. 15, according to his attorney, Ed Welbourn.
Bannon released after serving 4 months in prison for contempt of Congress
DANBURY, Conn. (AP) — Longtime Donald Trump ally Steve Bannon was released from prison early Tuesday, after serving a four-month sentence for defying a subpoena in the congressional investigation into the U.S. Capitol attack on Jan. 6, 2021.
Bannon left the Federal Correctional Institution in Danbury, Connecticut, according to Kristie Breshears, a spokesperson for the federal Bureau of Prisons. He planned to hold a news conference later in the day in Manhattan, his representatives said. He’s also expected to resume his podcast Tuesday.
Bannon, 70, reported to the prison July 1 after the Supreme Court rejected his bid to delay the prison sentence while he appeals his conviction.
A jury found Bannon guilty in 2022 of two counts of contempt of Congress: one for refusing to sit for a deposition with the Jan. 6 House Committee and a second for refusing to provide documents related to his involvement Trump’s efforts to overturn his loss to Joe Biden in the 2020 presidential race.
When he began serving his sentence in July, Bannon called himself a “political prisoner.”
A federal appeals court panel upheld Bannon’s convictions in May. Bannon is now asking the full appeals court to hear his case. His legal team had argued that the congressional subpoena was invalid because Trump had asserted executive privilege. Prosecutors, though, say Bannon had left the White House years before and Trump had never invoked executive privilege in front of the committee.
Bannon faces additional criminal charges in New York state court, alleging he duped donors who gave money to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. Bannon has pleaded not guilty to money laundering, conspiracy, fraud and other charges. A trial in that case is scheduled to begin in December.
Pennsylvania
Judge tosses congressmen’s lawsuit over overseas and military votes
HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A federal judge on Tuesday threw out a lawsuit by six Republican members of Congress seeking to make Pennsylvania election officials institute new checks confirming the identity of soldiers, sailors, and others who vote from overseas and to make sure they’re eligible.
U.S. District Judge Christopher Conner said he agreed with the defendants — Secretary of State Al Schmidt and one of his top deputies — who argued there were no grounds to sue and that the case was launched too late and too close to Election Day.
The Pennsylvania congressmen “provide no good excuse for waiting until barely a month before the election to bring this lawsuit,” Conner wrote. More than 25,000 overseas ballots had already been sent out when the case was filed in late September, the judge noted.
The lawsuit was filed by six of the state’s eight Republican members of the U.S. House: Reps. Guy Reschenthaler, Dan Meuser, G.T. Thompson, Lloyd Smucker, Mike Kelly and Scott Perry. The other plaintiff is PA Fair Elections, a group led by Heather Honey, an election researcher whose work has fueled right-wing attacks on voting procedures. Messages seeking comment were left Tuesday with their lawyers.
During a streamed update on election matters Tuesday, Schmidt said his agency “is pleased that this frivolous lawsuit was dismissed.”
Conner said the plaintiffs were asking “to impose new verification procedures the contours of which plaintiffs themselves have been unable to fully flesh out three weeks into this litigation.” He said an injunction now “would upend the commonwealth’s carefully laid election administration procedures to the detriment of untold thousands of voters.”
During oral arguments on Oct. 18, Conner asked why the plaintiffs had not sued earlier over procedures that have been in place for years. He also pressed their lawyers to show how their clients were directly harmed by the current policies, as required for such claims.
The order issued Tuesday said the Republican congressmen had only “hypothetical concerns” about the impact overseas votes might have on their own reelection contests.
“Their status as candidates, without more, gets them nowhere,” the judge wrote.
The case could have affected thousands of ballots in Pennsylvania, a pivotal swing state in the presidential contest between Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump.
The plaintiffs had asked the judge to declare current practices illegal under federal law and to order that the secretary of state’s office confer with the congressmen and PA Fair Elections about how to verify the identity and eligibility of people casting votes under the U.S. Uniformed and Overseas Citizens Absentee Voting Act. They also asked to have overseas and military ballots segregated during the current election season pending the additional verification.
Lawyers for Democratic Gov. Josh Shapiro’s administration, representing Schmidt and his deputy, had argued that the plaintiffs were saying valid votes could be diluted by improper ones, which they said would not be sufficient grounds for the judge to act. They said federal laws exempt overseas voters “from identification requirements imposed on other voters who register to vote by mail.”
Military voters are more likely to be Republican, while other overseas voters tend to lean Democratic. The Democratic Party is spending money this year in an effort to boost their turnout.
California
Judge accused of killing his wife is released on $2 million bail
LOS ANGELES (AP) — A California judge charged with killing his wife has been released from jail on $2 million bail.
Orange County Superior Court Judge Jeffrey Ferguson was released Friday from the custody of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, online jail records show.
Ferguson, 74, was taken back into custody last month after the judge overseeing his case determined that he lied about drinking alcohol while he was out on bail.
Ferguson pleaded not guilty last year to murder in the shooting death of his wife, Sheryl Ferguson, which his lawyer at the time said was accidental. Authorities said the couple had been arguing in August 2023 and Ferguson had been drinking when he pulled a pistol from an ankle holster and shot her in the chest.
Ferguson and his son called 911, and Ferguson texted his court clerk and bailiff saying: “I just lost it. I just shot my wife. I won’t be in tomorrow. I will be in custody. I’m so sorry,” according to prosecutors’ court filings. Authorities said they later found 47 weapons, including the pistol, and more than 26,000 rounds of ammunition at Ferguson’s home.
The next court date in Ferguson’s case has been scheduled for Nov. 15, according to his attorney, Ed Welbourn.
