A federal appeals court on Tuesday overturned a lower court ruling that freed Columbia student and pro-Palestinian protester Mohsen Mahdawi from ICE custody. The Second Circuit panel, made up of one George W. Bush judge and two Donald Trump first-term appointees, determined that Mahdawi should not have been released from ICE custody in 2025. They argued that the Vermont-based federal judge who made the initial ruling lacked jurisdiction to do so. The panel concluded that only an immigration court could oversee Mahdawi’s detention challenge, as the case was inextricably linked to his deportation suit.
Mahdawi was arrested by masked agents in April 2025 during his scheduled citizenship interview. He later told ABC News that he felt the appointment was a “trap.” His detention was the result of an aggressive pressure campaign fronted by Secretary of State Marco Rubio to push the West Bank refugee out of the country. Palestinian advocacy could create “adverse foreign policy consequences.” Mahdawi grew up in a Palestinian refugee camp in the West Bank, where most of his family remains. He has been outspoken about his experiences growing up in the occupied region, describing the murders of his friends and loved ones by Israeli forces, and the violence he experienced when he was shot in the leg by an Israeli soldier at the age of 15. He was held at an ICE center in Louisiana last year shortly after being ripped away from his pregnant wife by plainclothes ICE agents. In Trump’s America, that is apparently not the case.
Separately, House Democrats are launching an investigation into convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who may have been acting as a foreign agent for multiple countries. Representative Jamie Raskin sent a letter to acting Attorney General Todd Blanche, Director of National Intelligence nominee Jay Clayton, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday asking for records from the Trump administration on Epstein’s international ties. “Our examination of available evidence has already revealed damning indications of Mr. Epstein’s activities on behalf of foreign states,” Raskin wrote in the letter, pointing out public evidence of the billionaire’s ties to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Russia, and Israel. In addition, Epstein “repeatedly capitalized on his long-term friendship with President Donald Trump to sign up business from these and other foreign governments and actors in the aftermath of President Trump’s first election, without ever registering as a foreign agent under the Foreign Agents Registration Act (FARA),” Raskin added.
“By advocating and facilitating on behalf of foreign countries without filing the mandatory disclosures, Mr. Epstein almost certainly violated FARA. His actions also create serious questions about the extent to which he wielded his ties to President Trump in dealings with foreign governments.” Raskin, the ranking member of the House Judiciary Committee, believes that some of them concern his foreign dealings. Raskin also asked in the letter for the DOJ to respond in writing as to whether Epstein was ever investigated for being a foreign agent. “Jeffrey Epstein never registered as a foreign agent. Yet numerous recently released documents now show he acted aggressively on behalf of multiple foreign governments, including several with interests adverse to the United States, in order to influence policies of the first Trump Administration,” the letter states.
Trump’s Justice Department has been under fire from Republicans and Democrats alike over its handling of the Epstein files, from its selective redactions to its barely meeting with Epstein’s victims. Investigating Epstein’s foreign ties could reveal more damning decisions from administration officials. FBI Director Kash Patel has come under fire from all sides for his upcoming trip to Russia in October. Patel will likely be hosted on his trip by the FSB, the Russian security service that succeeded the Soviet Union’s KGB, Politico reported Monday. Democrats and Republicans alike were shocked by news of the trip. “Kash Patel, the man who spent years peddling conspiracy theories to protect Trump from Russia investigation fallout, is now planning to personally fly to Russia and cozy up with the very security apparatus his own agency is supposed to be defending America against,” Occupy Democrats wrote on X. “No sitting FBI director has visited Moscow since Robert Mueller, back in 2013, before he went on to lead the very investigation into Trump-Russia collusion that Patel has spent years dismissing as a ‘hoax.’ Let that sink in.”
Trump ally Laura Loomer said, “Nothing to see here.” “On the same day Trump imposes a 50% tariff on Canada, Kash Patel announces he’s traveling to Russia,” said Democratic Representative Andy Kim. “Trump continues to destroy our reputation abroad by treating enemies like friends and friends like enemies.” Patel’s short time as FBI director has been mired with controversy, from his reported drinking problem to his temper tantrums, to his private jet flights with his young girlfriend on the taxpayer’s dime. While it’s not yet clear whether he plans to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin on his trip, it’s still telling that both the right and center left are suspicious of Patel’s motives—especially given the Trump administration’s greater deference to the Kremlin.
Lindsey Graham’s little sister has officially decided to run for his empty Senate seat—much to the chagrin of MAGA world. South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster appointed Darline Graham Nordone to temporarily fill Graham’s vacancy last week, days after the 71-year-old lawmaker suddenly passed away from a heart issue. “I feel like I can do it. I feel an inner peace about it. Will it be difficult? Yes, absolutely,” she told Fox News’s Sean Hannity in an interview clip shared Monday. “I’ve made a decision: I’m in.” The younger Graham took the reins of her brother’s position with Donald Trump’s blessing, despite bringing zero legislative experience to the job. Yet her determination to fill Graham’s shoes for another six years surprised the South Carolina GOP. “My understanding is that she told Governor McMaster that she would accept the appointment to fill the rest of the term, not to be a candidate for it,” state GOP Chair Drew McKissick told Politico last week, when Nordone first began publicly mulling running for a full term.
Her Monday decision also aggravated a number of right-wing influencers and media personalities, some of whom referred to the high-powered inheritance as moronic. “Hard pass. Birthright senatorship is idiotic,” Sean Davis, the CEO of The Federalist, wrote on X. “Trump continues to fill the Swamp with the worst congressional creatures, including his predictable endorsement of Darline Graham,” posted former Virginia Representative and chair of the House Freedom Caucus Bob Good. “Are there worse criteria than 1) family name, and 2) pledged unconditional and unconstitutional allegiance and obedience to the president?” Glenn Greenwald, one of the co-founders of The Intercept, observed that “it didn’t take Lindsey Graham’s sister very long to go from ‘thank you for this placeholder appointment to honor my brother until an election can be held’ to ‘you know what? I kind of like sitting in this Senate seat. Like a lot. I think I’ll stay for life, like my brother did.’” Nordone does not have much time to prepare herself for what will likely be a whirlwind special election. The deadline to enter the August race is July 28. Other GOP candidates already in the mix include Representatives Russel Fry and Ralph Norman, as well as businessman Mark Lynch, who lost to Graham in the June primary. The winner will face Democrat Annie Andrews in November.
