Catholic bishops condemn Trump administration’s immigration enforcement – US politics live

US Conference of Catholic Bishops issues rare condemnation of president immigration crackdown and calls for ‘meaningful immigration reform’

Only 29% of Americans support using the US military to kill suspected drug traffickers without a judge or court being involved, a rebuke of President Donald Trump’s strikes in the Caribbean and eastern Pacific Ocean, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found.

The six-day poll, which closed on Wednesday as Washington continued a military buildup around Latin America that has focused especially on Venezuela, showed 51% were opposed to the killings of drug suspects and the rest were unsure where they stood.

Donald Trump is facing the prospect of a politically damaging congressional vote on releasing the Jeffery Epstein files after attempts to press two female members of Congress to withdraw their backing for it appeared to have failed. The reported refusal of Lauren Boebert, a Republican representative from Colorado, and Nancy Mace, from South Carolina, to remove their names from a discharge petition to force a vote leaves Trump exposed on an issue that carries the possibility of turning segments of his Maga base against him.

The justice department on Thursday joined a lawsuit brought by California Republicans to block the state’s new congressional map, escalating a legal battle over a redistricting effort designed to give Democrats a better chance of retaking the House of Representatives next year. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in California, challenges the congressional map championed by Gavin Newsom, the state’s Democratic governor, in response to a Republican gerrymander in Texas, sought by Donald Trump.

The BBC has apologised to Donald Trump over the editing of a Panorama documentary that led to the resignation of its director general, Tim Davie, and the BBC News chief, Deborah Turness. However, the corporation has rejected his demands for compensation, after lawyers for Trump threatened to sue for $1bn (£760m) in damages unless the BBC issued a retraction, apologised and settled with him.

James Comey, the former FBI director, and the New York attorney general, Letitia James, asked a federal judge on Thursday to drop the criminal charges against them, arguing that Donald Trump’s hand-picked US attorney, who obtained the indictments against them, was unlawfully appointed. The hearing at the federal courthouse in Alexandria, Virginia in front of Judge Cameron Currie marked the first time a judge considered one of several efforts James and Comey have made to dismiss the indictments before trials.

The Democratic congressman Eric Swalwell is the latest target of Trump’s retribution campaign against his critics, the congressman confirmed on Thursday. NBC News reports that Swalwell is facing a federal criminal investigation for alleged mortgage fraud, just as three other Democratic officials have faced in recent months.

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Source: www.theguardian.com

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