Thankful for this poignant sendoff at Newark as I bid farewell to 2025 in America. A thrill of hope, the weary self rejoices…

In a sworn declaration, SDNY US Attorney Jay Clayton confirms grand jury materials in Maxwell and Epstein’s cases have been reviewed to protect victims He conceded there could be “over redactions,” as the DOJ wanted to err on the side of caution, “in the compressed time frame”

While not exactly conducive to the will to go on, nyc sunsets have been breathtaking this December

SDNY Judge Engelmayer has granted the DOJ’s motions to unseal grand jury materials in Ghislaine Maxwell’s case and modify the protective order—including a provision as requested by Epstein victims that nothing within prohibits the gov from releasing its larger trove of materials

Manhattan Magistrate Judge Henry Ricardo has agreed to let city Comptroller Brad Lander remain released on his own recognizance in his SDNY trespassing case. He told him not to break any laws. “I will drive very much under the speed limit, your honor,” @bradlander.bsky.social said

In a troubling scene, NY Justice Carro’s CSOs just ejected a veteran court reporter for trying to challenge the sealing of footage in Luigi Mangione’s case. They shouted over her and threatened her with contempt as she tried to ID herself and object as a surrogate for the public.

In court watching footage of Luigi Mangione’s arrest in PA last December. Cops made small talk with him about the McDonald’s breakfast menu as he finished his sandwich and handcuffed him when Bing Crosby’s "I'll Be Home for Christmas" came on the radio. An American canto, you might say…

The top posts X is boosting to millions of people about the anti-immigrant “New Republican Movement” in Ireland are coming from accounts based in the US, UK, and Canada

Fascinating testimony ongoing at Luigi Mangione’s suppression hearings. A correction officer at the PA prison where he was initially held said he chatted with Mangione at length, that he was under constant surveillance as his higher-ups didn’t want an “Epstein-style situation”

AG James on a judge dismissing the Trump DOJ’s case against her: “I am heartened by today’s victory and grateful for the prayers and support I have received from around the country. “I remain fearless in the face of these baseless charges as I continue fighting for New Yorkers every single day.”

Mamdani-Trump meeting making waves internationally. My mother, via Ireland

Spoke with @bradlander.bsky.social about the FBI accessing Signal comms between court watchers. He said he’s concerned about the NYPD’s involvement “That appears to me to be a violation of the Handschu consent decree—the NYPD is not allowed to participate in the surveillance of political activity”

The White House comments on Mahmoud Khalil’s suit seeking the Trump administration’s comms with Betar, Canary Mission, and other privately run pro-Israel organizations about him and other student activists targeted for deportation. (Khalil is a lawful permanent resident, not on a student visa)

Breaking: Comptroller Brad Lander is headed to trial — by choice — on federal misdemeanor charges for trying to inspect conditions at 26 Federal Plaza. The other pols arrested alongside him in Sept got ACDs following mediation talks this morning.

Regular reminder for folks reporting on federal courts that there are two different Judges Ho (Dale / SDNY, James / 5th Cir), with two different judicial philosophies. Remember it this way: When your Judge Ho is Dale, your claims might not fail. When your Judge Ho is Jim, your chances are grim.

Former mayoral aide Mohamed Bahi just got 3 years' probation for organizing straw donations for Eric Adams Judge Ho called the tossed corruption case against the mayor the “elephant in the room” “It is hard to escape the impression that Mr. Bahi is left here holding the bag”

In SDNY with @bradlander.bsky.social, @jabaribrisport.bsky.social, and a gaggle of pols facing charges for trying to inspect conditions where migrants are detained at 26 Federal Plaza. AUSAs are in mediation talks w attys, and the vibe is chill “We’re just gonna go get some coffee,” Lander says

The panic that kicks in at 2pm every day when I realize it gets dark in two hours

Jeffrey Epstein, two days after Michael Cohen pleaded guilty in 2018: “you see, i know how dirty donald is. my guess is that non lawyers ny biz people have no idea. what it means to have your fixer flip”

Having been pardoned by Trump, Rudy Giuliani wants his bar license “immediately reinstated,” per his rep Ted Goodman

Oh my…

Asked if he sells the paper, Windsor Terrace bodega clerk informs: “No, the phones. Nobody’s buying anymore”

Alerting all New Yorkers to go outside and look up

Judge Rakoff just set back-to-back trials in the cases brought by Epstein victims against Bank of America and BNY, starting on 5/11. He’s hoping they won’t settle. “I’m much more selfish, and I would love to see two very good trials, so I just mention that for what it's worth.”

After pleading not guilty to fraud charges this AM, AG James asks Judge Walker to dismiss the case, arguing Lindsey Halligan’s “invalid and unlawful” appointment as US attorney “fundamentally tainted the structural integrity of the grand jury process” storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Daily News coverage of Canal St vendors in 1985: “Lower Manhattan merchants who display their wares on sidewalks … contend that their sales methods are as much a part of New York's history and culture as carriage rides in Central Park”

@repdangoldman.bsky.social, addressing reporters about 4 US citizens held overnight at 26 Federal Plaza, says the NYPD should arrest ICE agents for excessive force. He also announced a new task force, but no details on who will be on it or how it will meaningfully assist people targeted by ICE

In 2018, her office was given power to probe all police deaths in New York State. Zero convictions. www.nytimes.com/2021/02/26/n...

New York AG Tish James has urged members of the public who have witnessed and documented ICE activity to share their videos and photos with her office through an online portal ag.ny.gov/federal-acti...

A 3rd circuit judge was skeptical this AM of the gov’s arg that NJ shouldn’t have jurisdiction over Mahmoud Khalil’s habeas petition as he was in Louisiana when it was filed (unbeknownst to his attys) “What else do they do, unless we're creating a black hole of no jurisdiction?”

ICE detainees in New York jails are struggling to access to legal advice, phone calls, and even their own court hearings. nysfocus.com/2025/10/06/i...

Breaking: SDNY Judge Lewis Kaplan has ordered the Trump administration to disburse $33.8M in antiterrorism funds to the MTA, which FEMA/DHS has denied based on NYC’s sanctuary status

Just in -- SDNY Judge Lew Kaplan has extended a TRO blocking the Trump administration from giving anti-terrorism funds requested by the MTA to other states b/c of NYC's sanctuary status. He consolidated the NYAG’s motion for a preliminary injunction with the trial on the merits.

Women abused by Jeffrey Epstein have sued Bank of America, alleging it “showed absolute loyalty to Epstein, including a willingness to violate banking laws, ignore multiple red flags of criminality, and participate directly in sex trafficking to enable Epstein to fulfill his abusive sexual appetite”

@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social just held a presser outside the courthouse where AG James took Trump to trial to condemn the charges against her. Asked how he’ll keep the city running, if elected, when the admin withholds funds, he said he’d ensure cash is set aside for the most in need New Yorkers

New York AG Tish James says the charges filed against her by Trump’s DOJ “are baseless, and the president’s own public statements make clear that his only goal is political retribution at any cost.” “The president’s actions are a grave violation of our Constitutional order…”

BREAKING: Judge Subramanian announces he will sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs to 50 months in federal prison (~4 years) for transporting women and male escorts across the U.S. to engage in morbidly relentless sexual performances marred by violence and drug use for more than a decade.

Judge Arun Subramanian, set to sentence Sean “Diddy” Combs within the hour, says the mogul’s claim that escorts were paid for their time and not sex is “flatly inconsistent with reality and any acceptance of responsibility.”

Hitting the docket with less than 12 hours until Sean “Diddy” Combs is sentenced is this 11-minute, campaign launch-style video he wants to play in court. Unclear if the judge has OK’d it Prosecutors have requested 135 months; Combs has asked for an effective term of time served

Judge Kaplan has GRANTED the NYAG’s motion for a TRO blocking DHS from withholding funds to protect against terrorist attacks in the subway system, noting the critical program was created in the wake of 9/11, “in which 3,000 people died within sight of this courthouse”

“Women can’t ride the subway without worrying that a hoodlum will shove them onto the train tracks,” Trump said in March Today, his admin is cutting 100% of federal funds meant to protect riders from terrorist attacks Args on the AG's TRO request at 2 www.nydailynews.com/2025/10/01/n...

@nyc.streetsblog.org’s @davecolon.bsky.social and @dmey.bsky.social and their big scoop today on the DHS zeroing out the MTA’s security grants is on page two of the filing — nyc.streetsblog.org/2025/09/30/t...

In an eleventh-hour filing, @newyorkstateag.bsky.social filed a TRO seeking to stop DHS from withholding funds requested by the MTA for protecting tunnels from terrorist attacks and other large-scale emergencies before midnight. No order has hit the docket storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Story by New York Daily News' @mollycranenewman.bsky.social. Photography and video by Stephanie Keith/Getty Images. Steffi Keith is one of the toughest, sharpest photojournalists in NYC. She shot stills and video simultaneously and got the best images of anyone at the scene.

The Adams docket comes alive, one year after the feds unsealed now-dismissed public corruption charges against him. Judge Ho has agreed to add the city’s Campaign Finance Board as an interested party, as it seeks records from his 2021 and current mayoral campaign

Deleted a “skeet” misstating SDNY Judge Garnett’s order this AM, which says Trump admin officials appear to have violated her prior ruling warning against making prejudicial comments about Luigi Mangione during the pendency of his capital case. (She wants this conveyed to DAG Blanche, not Bondi)

Unless I'm reading this badly wrong and the administration puts out contrary implementation, it would appear that starting tonight, anyone with an H-1B who doesn't write a $100,000 check to the US government is banned from reentering the country if they're currently outside the US.

Comptroller Brad Lander has been released after he and 10 other electeds were detained while observing immigration proceedings at 26 Fed. Am told all are expected to be released promptly. More Tk.

BREAKING: Justice Gregory Carro has dismissed the first degree murder charge against Luigi Mangione in his state case, finding the DA put legally insufficient evidence before the grand jury. More TK.

Killer story from @grahamrayman.bsky.social, @c-sommerfeldt.bsky.social and @mollycranenewman.bsky.social today -- the boyfriend of a top Adams administration was hauled out of his and his girlfriend's apartment by ICE last month and has been detained since. www.nydailynews.com/2025/09/15/b...