Unredacted: new and updated entries

Change log for Oct 5, 2026

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Correction: the entry on Trump's lawsuit against the IRS said an appeals court panel had upheld the judge's findings of collusion and bad faith, and the sanctions. That overstated it. On Sept. 29, 2026, the 11th Circuit panel refused to put the sanctions on hold while the appeal continues, finding that Trump's side had not made a strong showing that the findings were clearly wrong. The appeal itself has not been decided. The entry on Trump's $230 million claims, which described the same ruling, was fixed too. Status unchanged (Ruled unlawful).
Correction: the entry on the Supreme Court's tariff ruling said only that the replacement tariff faced a legal challenge. It was missing a ruling: on May 7, 2026, the Court of International Trade held 2 to 1 that the 10% global tariff imposed under Section 122 was also unlawful, in an order limited to the three plaintiffs that import goods. The entry now includes that ruling, the appeal, the tariff's expiration on July 24, 2026, and the states' new challenge to the Section 301 tariffs that replaced it. Status unchanged (Ruled unlawful).
Correction: the entry on Trump's 'seditious behavior' post said only that no charges had been reported. It now says that federal prosecutors asked a grand jury to indict the six lawmakers and that the grand jury refused on Feb. 10, 2026. Status unchanged (Criticized).
New in The Record, filling a gap: censuring Sen. Mark Kelly and moving to demote him over the 'illegal orders' video (Ruled unlawful). On Feb. 12, 2026, Judge Richard Leon blocked the punishment, writing that Pentagon officials had trampled on Kelly's First Amendment freedoms. The ruling is preliminary and is on appeal.
New in The Record: deporting young asylum seekers protected by a court settlement (Ruled unlawful). On Sept. 25, 2026, Judge Stephanie Gallagher found the administration in contempt for deporting a 19-year-old to El Salvador a second time, in violation of three court orders, and ordered him brought back.
New in The Record, filling a gap: closing the southern border to asylum by proclamation (Ruled unlawful). Judge Randolph Moss ruled the day-one policy unlawful in July 2025, and a divided appeals court upheld him on April 24, 2026. That ruling is on hold, and the administration has asked the Supreme Court to take the case.
New in The Record: the felony case against a former Olympian over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool (Criticized). Prosecutors dropped it on July 31, 2026, saying the damage could not be shown to be vandalism, and on Oct. 1 a judge barred them from refiling, writing that the president had pressed prosecutors to change course. The judge dismissed the case; he did not rule the prosecution unlawful.
Updated: the entry on the second birthright citizenship order now shows its exact date (Aug. 6, 2026), says what the order does, and adds the class action filed on Sept. 28 for families in the newly targeted categories. It also makes clear that the Sept. 2 ruling protects the class of children from the earlier case and does not block every part of the order. Status unchanged (Ruled unlawful).
Updated: the entry on arrests at immigration courts now says more plainly how far the final New York ruling reaches. Gothamist reports that it vacated the policy for immigration courthouses, in New York City and across the country, while some coverage describes it in terms of New York's courts. The entry also adds a separate final ruling on conditions in ICE's holding rooms at 26 Federal Plaza. Status unchanged (Ruled unlawful).
Updated: the entry on immigration agents shooting people in cars now includes a Sept. 30 ICE memo, obtained by the AP, that bars officers from chasing vehicles that fail to pull over and limits vehicle stops to officers with specific training. Status unchanged (Pending).
Updated: the entry on no-bond detention now gives the count of appeals courts: nine have ruled against the policy and two have upheld it, according to Stateline. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on the White House ban on CNN, MS NOW and Politico now includes the Justice Department's Oct. 2 filing asking the judge to let the ban resume, and the hearing set for Oct. 8, the day the current order expires. Status unchanged (Ruled unlawful).
Updated: the entry on prosecuting the president's critics now notes a separate Justice Department investigation in Florida, known as the 'grand conspiracy' probe, whose leader resigned in September 2026 without charging anyone. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on the FCC chair and Jimmy Kimmel now gives the date of the court hearing in ABC's lawsuit, Oct. 6.
Updated the Watchlist entry on the Pentagon religion office: legal experts told HuffPost that Hegseth likely has the authority to create the office and that the constitutional question is how it will be used.
Updated the Watchlist entry on troops or ICE at the polls: on Sept. 28 Hegseth directed the military to defend the midterms from foreign interference, in a memo that HuffPost reported puts cyber and intelligence capabilities first.
Updated the Watchlist entry on a new census: public comments on the proposed rule are due Oct. 13, 2026.
New in The Record: capping international students' stays at four years (Ruled unlawful). A Homeland Security rule published on July 17, 2026 would have ended admission for the length of a student's program. On Sept. 14, 2026, the day before it was to take effect, Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV postponed it nationwide, writing that its adoption clearly failed to comply with federal administrative law. The ruling is preliminary.
Correction: the entry on DOGE and Social Security records was missing a court ruling. On April 10, 2026, the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the injunction that had blocked DOGE's access, deferring to the Supreme Court's June 2025 order, and sent the case back to the trial judge. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Correction: the entry on Trump's $230 million claims against his own Justice Department said only that no payout had been confirmed. It now says that Trump agreed to drop the claims in the May 18, 2026 settlement of his separate lawsuit against the IRS, and that the Justice Department said he would receive no money. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on dismantling USAID now follows the employees' lawsuit into 2026. Judge Theodore Chuang refused to dismiss it and in February ordered Elon Musk and two former USAID officials to testify under oath; on March 4 an appeals panel blocked those depositions for now, 2 to 1. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago now says where the Villegas González case stands. Homeland Security says federal prosecutors declined to charge the officer, the Illinois State Police opened their own investigation, a Cook County judge refused on May 21, 2026 to appoint a special prosecutor, and five civil lawsuits were filed in federal court. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on the FCC chair and Jimmy Kimmel now includes the FCC's Sept. 3 request that the judge dismiss ABC's lawsuit, a hearing set for the first week of October, and the FCC's agreement to give 48 hours' notice before sending ABC's licenses to a hearing. Status unchanged (Pending).
Updated: the entry on the jet from Qatar now says that Trump took the plane out of service for more upgrades in July 2026, after the Secret Service reportedly advised against using it abroad, and that a press freedom group is again seeking the Justice Department legal opinion that approved the gift. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on disaster aid now notes that two House Democrats asked the Government Accountability Office in May 2026 to examine how disaster declarations are decided. It is a request from one party's lawmakers, not a finding. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on the antifa designation and NSPM-7 now notes that in the Minnesota prosecution a defense lawyer has asked the judge to order the government to disclose how the memo was put into practice, and that civil liberties groups from across the political spectrum filed a brief in support in August 2026. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on the killing of Renee Good now includes the two civil lawsuits her family filed in federal court on Oct. 1, 2026, one against the United States and one against eight individuals, including the agent who shot her. No criminal charging decision has been announced. Status unchanged (Pending).
Updated: the entry on the Cuba oil blockade now includes the Coast Guard's Oct. 2 announcement that it seized two ships carrying fuel bound for Cuba, one in June and one in September. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on the killing of Alex Pretti now says Hennepin County has charged two ICE agents over non-fatal incidents during the Minnesota surge, up from one. No charging decision in Pretti's death has been announced. Status unchanged (Pending).
Updated the Watchlist entry on pre-election checks: the expert the AP quoted about the Medicare fund is now named (Larry Levitt of KFF). The entry also adds that seniors in Medicare Advantage plans are not eligible for the $90 payment, and that the AP reported the $5,000 pledge would need approval from Congress and would likely cost more than $1 trillion.
The Since your last visit button is easier to spot. Its count now sits in a gold badge, its outline is heavier, and a soft gold glow stays around it. A gold ring also pulses around it slowly twice the first time it scrolls into view, then stops. The pulse is off for visitors whose devices are set to reduce motion.

New in The Record: Charging an Olympian over Reflecting Pool damage later blamed on the renovation (Criticized)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Federal prosecutors charged former Olympic canoeist David Hearn with a felony over damage to the Lincoln Memorial Reflecting Pool, then dropped the case, saying the damage came from a flawed installation. Trump kept calling it vandalism and pressed the U.S. attorney to revisit the case.

Where it stands: On Oct. 1, 2026, D.C. Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman dismissed the case with prejudice, which bars prosecutors from charging Hearn again over the same allegations. Prosecutors had asked to keep the option of refiling. In his order, Edelman wrote that Hearn faced the possibility that the government would revive a case it had already called meritless because of 'political pressure brought by the President' on his subordinates, and that the president had repeatedly disparaged the prosecutors and pressed them to change course. He also faulted the decision to bring the case, writing that the government 'shot first and asked questions later.' Those are the judge's words in an order that ended the case. He did not rule that the prosecution was unlawful, so this entry is stamped Criticized, not Ruled unlawful. The criticism on the record comes from the judge, from the prosecutors' own filing, and from legal experts cited by The Hill, who described the case as weak.

Exhibit 123, Justice system. Status: Criticized.

New in The Record: Deporting young asylum seekers protected by a court settlement (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

A Trump-appointed judge found the administration in contempt on Sept. 25, 2026 for deporting a 19-year-old asylum seeker to El Salvador a second time, in violation of three court orders.

Where it stands: Judge Stephanie Gallagher of the federal court in Maryland ordered the government to bring E.L.A. back, return his property and documents, and not carry out any removal order against him until his asylum claim is decided or the settlement expires. She found violations of orders she issued in November 2024, April 2025 and July 2026. It was her second contempt finding in the case this year; the first came after lawyers said multiple class members had been wrongly deported. She told both sides to report by Oct. 2 on whether E.L.A. wants to return and how.

Exhibit 122, Immigration & policing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

New in The Record: Closing the southern border to asylum by proclamation (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

On his first day back in office, Trump declared an invasion at the southern border and barred people who cross it from applying for asylum, and officials began removing them without a chance to seek protection.

Where it stands: On July 2, 2025, Judge Randolph Moss ruled the policy unlawful for a class of asylum seekers, writing that neither the Constitution nor immigration law lets a president adopt 'an alternative immigration system.' On April 24, 2026, a divided panel of the D.C. Circuit upheld him, holding that the proclamation and guidance ignored the laws Congress enacted. Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, would have let migrants seek other forms of protection but not asylum. The appeals ruling was put on hold, so the restrictions have stayed in effect, and in August 2026 the administration asked the Supreme Court to take the case. The reporting we found shows no decision yet on whether it will.

Exhibit 121, Immigration & policing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

New in The Record: Censuring Sen. Mark Kelly and moving to demote him over the 'illegal orders' video (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth formally censured Sen. Mark Kelly, a retired Navy captain, and opened a review that could cut his retired rank and pay, after Kelly and five other Democratic lawmakers told troops in a video that they can refuse illegal orders.

Where it stands: On Feb. 12, 2026, Judge Richard Leon, a George W. Bush appointee, barred the Pentagon from carrying out the censure or cutting Kelly's rank or pay while the lawsuit continues. He wrote that officials had 'trampled on Senator Kelly's First Amendment freedoms' and threatened the liberties of millions of military retirees. The ruling is a preliminary injunction, not a final judgment. Hegseth appealed. A D.C. Circuit panel heard arguments in May 2026 and signaled it would likely side with Kelly, Courthouse News reported. We found no report of a decision.

Exhibit 120, Press & speech. Status: Ruled unlawful.

New in The Record: Capping international students' stays at four years (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

A Homeland Security rule would have ended the decades-old practice of admitting international students for as long as their studies last, replacing it with fixed stays of up to four years. A federal judge blocked it the day before it was to take effect.

Where it stands: On Sept. 14, 2026, U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV in Massachusetts postponed the rule nationwide while the lawsuit continues. In a 48-page order he wrote that the rule's adoption clearly failed to comply with the Administrative Procedure Act, and by Forbes's count he found it arbitrary and capricious in at least four ways. He also wrote that a court cannot block a rule because it may be misguided, only if it violates the law. The ruling is preliminary, not a final decision. For now, students and scholars are still admitted for the length of their programs.

Exhibit 119, Immigration & policing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: Arresting immigrants at their immigration court hearings (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

In 2025, ICE agents began arresting people in the hallways of immigration courthouses as they left routine hearings, a practice the agency had long avoided out of concern it would discourage people from showing up to court.

Where it stands: On June 23, 2026, Judge P. Casey Pitts, ruling for an asylum seeker arrested as she left San Francisco's immigration court and two other plaintiffs, struck down the courthouse-arrest policies and the holding-time waiver nationwide. He found that ICE and the immigration court system had adopted them without the reasoned explanation the Administrative Procedure Act requires. In May 2026, after the government's admission, Castel reversed himself and blocked the arrests at three Manhattan immigration courts, with limited exceptions. In a final ruling reported on Oct. 1, 2026, he found the practice arbitrary and capricious and set the policy aside, noting that the government's briefs were silent on that question. Gothamist reports that the ruling vacated ICE's 2025 courthouse-arrest policy as it applies to immigration courthouses, which blocks the arrests in New York City and across the country. amNewYork and Newsweek also describe it as nationwide, while Courthouse News and the Washington Examiner describe it in terms of New York's immigration courts. Neither ruling bars every arrest at an immigration court: ICE goes back to earlier rules that allow them in limited circumstances.

Exhibit 115, Immigration & policing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: No bond hearings for immigrants who entered illegally, however long ago (Mixed rulings)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Under a July 2025 memo, the administration treats anyone who crossed the border illegally as subject to mandatory detention with no bond hearing, no matter how long ago they came or whether they have applied for asylum.

Where it stands: Courts have ruled both ways. By mid-May 2026 the 5th Circuit and the 8th Circuit had upheld the policy, while the 2nd Circuit (April 2026), the 11th Circuit (early May 2026) and the 6th Circuit (May 11, 2026) had ruled against it. By Oct. 1, 2026, AP reported, most appeals courts to consider the question had found that detaining these immigrants without a bond hearing violates federal law, and the ACLU says hundreds of district judges have ruled the same way. Stateline counted nine appeals courts that had ruled against the policy and two, the 5th and 8th Circuits, that had upheld it; the 4th Circuit was the ninth, according to the ACLU. On Oct. 1, 2026, the Supreme Court agreed to decide the question, in the case of Ricardo Aparecido Barbosa da Cunha, a Brazilian man arrested in September 2025 who authorities say entered illegally two decades ago and who, his lawyers say, has never been charged with a crime. SCOTUSblog reports the court will hear arguments early next year.

Exhibit 114, Immigration & policing. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: Immigration agents shooting people in cars (Pending)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

An ICE agent in Austin shot DoorDash driver Wilber Rafael Garces Perez in the back during a traffic stop. He was moved from the hospital to a detention center with the bullet still in him, then charged with assault.

Where it stands: The Travis County district attorney and Maine's attorney general are investigating. The DA asked DHS to pause Garces Perez's deportation during its probe. In late September a judge temporarily halted Garces Perez's deportation, and Austin police said they had not received the evidence they asked federal investigators for. On Sept. 30, ICE told its deportation officers in a memo obtained by the AP that they may not chase vehicles that fail to pull over under any circumstances, that only officers who have completed specific training may make vehicle stops, and that every officer at a stop must wear an activated body camera. The AP counts more than a dozen vehicle stops since last year in which ICE agents fired their guns, killing at least four people. Court testimony the same day in the Austin case showed that the two officers involved would not have complied with the new rules.

Exhibit 103, Immigration & policing. Status: Pending.

Updated in The Record: Banned CNN, MS NOW and Politico from the White House (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Trump barred three news organizations from the White House grounds, and their reporters' credentials were confiscated or switched off.

Where it stands: On Sept. 24, 2026, Trump-appointed Judge Timothy Kelly ordered the outlets' access restored, finding the ban likely unconstitutional because reporters got no due process. He rejected the national security rationale, noting Trump himself had cited the outlets' negativity. The order lasts 14 days while the case continues. The order covers the White House grounds only. Since then the White House has kept CNN off two presidential trips it was scheduled to cover for the TV pool, to Tennessee last weekend and to Texas and Oklahoma on Oct. 1, when no pool camera went along. The outlets have asked for a preliminary injunction that would keep the ban blocked for the length of the case and restore CNN's place in the TV pool. In a filing on Oct. 2, the Justice Department asked the judge to let the ban resume. Kelly will hear arguments on Oct. 8, the day his order expires.

Exhibit 102, Press & speech. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: A second birthright citizenship order after losing at the Supreme Court (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Five weeks after the Supreme Court struck down his first order, Trump signed two more on Aug. 6, 2026, creating new categories of U.S.-born children who would not be recognized as citizens.

Where it stands: On Sept. 2, 2026, Judge Deborah Boardman in Maryland barred the government from enforcing the new order against the class of children covered by the earlier case, writing that it is 'almost certainly unconstitutional' as applied to them because the Supreme Court had already decided they are citizens at birth. The ruling is preliminary and does not block every part of the order. On Sept. 28, the ACLU and other groups filed a new class action in federal court in Washington for families in the newly targeted categories; the plaintiffs are two couples who work for international organizations and a couple expecting a child through a U.S. surrogate. There is no ruling in that case yet.

Exhibit 97, Immigration & policing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: Suing his own IRS, then settling for audit immunity (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Trump sued the IRS over a 2019 leak of his tax information, and his own administration settled: a $1.8 billion 'anti-weaponization' fund plus immunity from audits for Trump, his family and his businesses.

Where it stands: In July 2026 Judge Kathleen Williams ruled the lawsuit a bad-faith attempt to manipulate the courts, barred anyone from relying on the settlement, ordered sanctions and referred Trump's lawyer to the Florida Bar. Trump and the Justice Department appealed. On Sept. 29, 2026, a three-judge panel of the 11th Circuit refused to put the sanctions on hold while the appeal continues, finding that Trump's side had not made a strong showing that her findings of collusion and bad faith were clearly wrong. That was a ruling on a request for a pause, not a final decision: the appeal itself is still pending, and the sanctions stay in force in the meantime.

Exhibit 91, Self-dealing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: Supreme Court: his emergency tariffs were illegal (Ruled unlawful)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

The Court ruled 6 to 3 that the emergency-powers law Trump used for his sweeping 'Liberation Day' and fentanyl tariffs doesn't let presidents impose tariffs at all.

Where it stands: Refund claims are working their way through the Court of International Trade and customs. The replacement tariff lost in court too. On May 7, 2026, the Court of International Trade ruled 2 to 1 that the 10% global tariff Trump imposed under Section 122 of the Trade Act of 1974 exceeded his authority, because the deficits he cited were not the balance-of-payments deficits that law requires. The order covered only the three plaintiffs that import goods. The government appealed, and on May 12 the appeals court temporarily put the order on hold; we found no report of a final appeals ruling. The Section 122 tariff expired at its 150-day limit on July 24, 2026. The day before, the U.S. Trade Representative put new tariffs into effect under a third law, Section 301, and Oregon and other states have gone back to the trade court to challenge those, saying they mirror the expired tariff almost exactly.

Exhibit 84, Checks & balances. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: An oil blockade to force a change of government in Cuba (Alleged)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

A Jan. 29 executive order threatened tariffs and sanctions on any country that sends oil to Cuba, choking off the island's fuel imports as Trump pushed openly for regime change.

Where it stands: No court has ruled on the blockade itself, but the tariff threat in the Jan. 29 order is no longer in force. On Feb. 20, 2026, the day the Supreme Court ruled that the emergency law Trump relied on does not allow tariffs (a separate entry here), he signed an order ending the emergency-law tariffs in nine executive orders, the Cuba order among them. That order kept the national emergency he declared over Cuba in effect and left every other action taken under it untouched. Independent UN human rights experts call the blockade illegal, say the sanctions breach the UN Charter, and in August condemned a new round of them as coercion of a sovereign state. They report a backlog of more than 96,000 surgeries, including 11,000 for children.

Exhibit 81, War & foreign affairs. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Border agents kill ICU nurse Alex Pretti (Pending)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Seventeen days after Renee Good's death, federal agents in Minneapolis shot and killed Alex Pretti, a 37-year-old intensive care nurse.

Where it stands: The Justice Department opened a civil rights investigation. The county's charging decision is pending and may fall to the next county attorney.

Exhibit 79, Immigration & policing. Status: Pending.

Updated in The Record: An ICE agent kills Renee Good in Minneapolis (Pending)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

During Operation Metro Surge, an immigration crackdown in the Twin Cities, ICE agent Jonathan Ross shot and killed Renee Good.

Where it stands: Minnesota sued for the evidence and received it in July 2026. Hennepin County prosecutors say they now have enough to make a charging decision; none has been announced. On Oct. 1, 2026, Good's family filed two civil lawsuits in federal court: one naming the United States as the only defendant, and one against eight individuals, including Ross, Stephen Miller, Kristi Noem and Greg Bovino. The suits allege wrongful death and a conspiracy to interfere with civil rights, and say Ross and other agents at the scene violated several of the Department of Homeland Security's own policies.

Exhibit 72, Immigration & policing. Status: Pending.

Updated in The Record: 'SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH!' (Criticized)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

After six Democratic lawmakers who are veterans or former intelligence officers told troops they can refuse illegal orders, Trump called them traitors, said they should be arrested, and reposted a call to hang them.

Where it stands: Sedition carries up to 20 years in prison, not death. No one has been charged. Federal prosecutors in Washington asked a grand jury to indict the six lawmakers, and on Feb. 10, 2026, the grand jury refused. Two days later a federal judge blocked the Pentagon's attempt to punish Kelly, finding it violated his First Amendment rights (see the entry on Kelly's censure).

Exhibit 66, Justice system. Status: Criticized.

Updated in The Record: Asking his own Justice Department for $230 million (Alleged)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Trump filed claims seeking about $230 million in taxpayer money as compensation for the federal investigations into him, to be decided by officials he appointed, including his former defense lawyer.

Where it stands: Trump agreed to drop the claims. On May 18, 2026, the Justice Department announced a settlement of his separate $10 billion lawsuit against the IRS (Exhibit 91), and said that Trump and his legal team had also agreed to drop these claims and that he would receive no monetary payment or damages of any kind. The agreement gave them until June 15, 2026, to withdraw the claims. A federal judge later found that the IRS lawsuit had been brought for an improper purpose, and on Sept. 29 an appeals court refused to put her sanctions on hold while the appeal continues; the entry on the IRS lawsuit has the details. No payout has been reported in the coverage we found.

Exhibit 59, Self-dealing. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Treating left-wing politics as terrorism (Alleged)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

After Charlie Kirk's assassination, Trump declared 'antifa' a domestic terrorist organization and signed NSPM-7, a memo directing agencies to investigate networks that foment political violence.

Where it stands: U.S. law has no mechanism for designating domestic groups as terrorist organizations, and antifa is a movement, not an organization. Civil liberties groups say the memo targets beliefs, not actions. The administration has since won convictions in the first terrorism case it tied to antifa: in March 2026 a federal jury in Texas found eight people guilty of providing material support to terrorists and other charges over a July 4, 2025 shooting that wounded a police officer outside the Prairieland immigration detention center, and one of them was convicted of attempted murder. The defendants denied any antifa affiliation and said they went to show support for the immigrants held inside. In June 2026 federal prosecutors charged 15 people with impeding the immigration crackdown in Minnesota, describing them as antifa members who conspired to block arrests and deportations. In that Minnesota case a defense lawyer has filed exhibits on how the Justice and Homeland Security departments put the memo into practice and has asked the judge to order the government to disclose more. In August 2026 civil liberties groups from across the political spectrum, including FIRE and the Cato Institute, filed a brief supporting that request. In the reporting we found, no court has ruled on the memo itself.

Exhibit 52, Justice system. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Prosecuting the president's critics (Mixed rulings)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

After Trump publicly pressed his attorney general, the Justice Department indicted former FBI Director James Comey, New York Attorney General Letitia James and former adviser John Bolton.

Where it stands: A judge threw out the Comey and James cases in November 2025 after ruling Halligan was unlawfully appointed; the administration appealed, and an appeals court heard arguments in September 2026. Prosecutors also tried twice to get a new indictment of James, and grand juries in Norfolk and Alexandria declined both times. In April 2026 Comey was indicted again, in North Carolina, on charges that an Instagram photo of seashells spelling out '86 47' threatened the president. His motions to dismiss it as vindictive are pending, and his arraignment has been pushed to January 2027. Bolton's case was different in kind: he pleaded guilty in June 2026 to illegally keeping classified material. A separate Justice Department investigation in the Southern District of Florida, known as the 'grand conspiracy' probe and aimed at people NBC News describes as Trump's perceived political enemies, has produced no charges. Its leader, Joe diGenova, resigned in September 2026. NBC reported that department leaders felt it was moving too slowly and that it is expected to continue, with prosecutors seeking grand jury testimony from former officials.

Exhibit 51, Justice system. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: The FCC chair leans on ABC, and Kimmel goes dark (Pending)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Hours after FCC chair Brendan Carr warned ABC affiliates they could handle Jimmy Kimmel 'the easy way or the hard way,' ABC suspended his show.

Where it stands: In April 2026 the FCC ordered an early review of all eight broadcast licenses held by ABC-owned stations, years before they expire and the first early review it had ordered in more than 50 years, citing the network's diversity and inclusion practices. On Aug. 18, 2026, ABC, its parent company Disney and the eight stations sued the FCC in federal court in Washington on First Amendment grounds, calling the review retaliation for their speech and quoting Carr's remark about Kimmel. On Sept. 3 the FCC asked U.S. District Judge Loren AliKhan to throw the lawsuit out, arguing that it would hobble the agency's investigation into allegations of unlawful discrimination at Disney and that the case belongs in a federal appeals court. A hearing is set for Oct. 6, and the FCC has agreed to give at least 48 hours' notice before sending the licenses to a hearing. No ruling yet. Republican Sen. Ted Cruz compared Carr's comments to a mafioso's and called them dangerous.

Exhibit 48, Press & speech. Status: Pending.

Updated in The Record: Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago (Mixed rulings)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

During a federal immigration surge in Chicago, ICE agents shot and killed Silverio Villegas González at a traffic stop, and a Border Patrol agent shot teacher's assistant Marimar Martinez several times.

Where it stands: Journalists and protesters sued, saying agents violated their First and Fourth Amendment rights with tear gas, pepper balls and batons, and U.S. District Judge Sara Ellis issued a preliminary injunction limiting agents' use of force. In March 2026 a panel of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated that injunction 2 to 1, calling it 'constitutionally suspect'; by then the plaintiffs had asked to end the case and Ellis had dismissed it. No one has been charged over Villegas González's death: the Department of Homeland Security has said federal prosecutors declined to charge the officer who shot him, and the FBI will not discuss its investigation. The Illinois State Police opened their own investigation in spring 2026 and plan to turn it over to Cook County prosecutors when it is finished. On May 21, 2026, a Cook County judge refused to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate alleged abuses by federal agents during the operation. In early July 2026 lawyers filed five civil lawsuits in federal court in Illinois seeking to hold agents accountable; the complaints do not yet name the agents. Of more than two dozen protest-related arrests, none reached trial and at least nine were dropped.

Exhibit 46, Immigration & policing. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: Took a luxury 747 from Qatar's royal family (Alleged)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Trump accepted a Boeing 747-8 from Qatar's rulers to fly as Air Force One, with ownership passing to his presidential library foundation before he leaves office.

Where it stands: Congress has not consented. Lawsuits over emoluments in his first term ended as moot once he left office. On Oct. 2, 2026, Law360 reported that a press freedom organization is trying again to force the Justice Department to release the legal opinion, signed by then-Attorney General Pam Bondi, that allowed Trump to accept the jet.

Exhibit 20, Self-dealing. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Disaster aid slowed, denied and split along party lines (Alleged)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Trump halted new hazard-mitigation grants and has rejected disaster requests from Democratic-led states at a record rate.

Where it stands: The Brennan Center calls the FEMA cuts arbitrary and unlawful. In a separate lawsuit by 20 states, Judge Richard Stearns in Massachusetts ruled on Dec. 11, 2025, that FEMA's cancellation of a disaster-preparedness grant program, Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), was unlawful, though he stopped short of ordering money released for specific projects. That ruling now has its own entry (Exhibit 113). In late May 2026 two House Democrats, Bennie Thompson and Timothy Kennedy, asked the Government Accountability Office to examine the criteria FEMA uses in recommending disaster declarations; the office confirmed it had received the request. No court has ruled on whether the disaster denials were political.

Exhibit 17, Congress's money. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Dismantling USAID, an agency Congress created (Mixed rulings)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

The administration cancelled about 83% of USAID's programs, locking staff out of their systems and firing many by mass email.

Where it stands: On March 18, 2025, U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ruled that the dismantling likely violated the Constitution, found that the agency had been effectively eliminated, and blocked Musk's team from further cuts. Ten days later, on March 28, a three-judge panel of the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals lifted that order, at least for now. It found the evidence did not show Musk was the one giving the orders, since the cuts were approved by government officials, and suggested a separation-of-powers challenge should be aimed at the administration itself. The employees' lawsuit continues before Judge Chuang, who refused to dismiss it. In February 2026 he ordered Musk and two former USAID officials, Peter Marocco and Jeremy Lewin, to answer questions under oath, saying there was no alternative because the employees had been unable to get the information from documents or lower-ranking officials. On March 4, 2026, a 4th Circuit panel blocked those depositions for now, 2 to 1. The majority wrote that questioning high-ranking officials is a last resort and that the judge was wrong to find there were no alternatives. The death figures are projections (the authors' range runs from about 8 to 19 million), not counts.

Exhibit 11, Congress's money. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated on the Watchlist: Checks before the vote: $500 'refunds', $90 for seniors and a $5,000 promise (Developing)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Weeks before the midterms, Treasury began mailing $500 checks, with a letter signed by Trump, to more than 950,000 people with Obamacare plans in 30 states. On Oct. 2 Trump announced $90 payments to more than 20 million Medicare enrollees, and he has promised every adult $5,000 if Republicans keep Congress.

What to watch for: Whether anyone challenges the legal authority for the $500 or $90 payments or the presidential letters, whether the Medicare money actually goes out as announced, and whether the $5,000 pledge becomes an actual proposal in Congress.

Watch 10, Elections. Status: Developing.

Updated in The Record: DOGE gets into Americans' Social Security records (Mixed rulings)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Musk's DOGE team pushed into Social Security systems holding Social Security numbers, bank, tax and medical data for nearly everyone in the country.

Where it stands: A Maryland judge blocked the access as a likely Privacy Act violation, writing that DOGE never gave a single reason it needed everything. The Supreme Court lifted that block in June 2025, over three dissents. On April 10, 2026, the full 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals vacated the Maryland judge's injunction and sent the case back to her, with a majority deferring to the Supreme Court's order. The majority opinion found that the unions have standing to sue, and the lower court could still order DOGE employees to destroy any illegally obtained data. On Sept. 29, 2026, the Government Accountability Office reported on DOGE teams at six other agencies (the CFPB, Education, NOAA, the SEC, the SBA and the VA). Four of them reported that the teams had access to more than 23 systems, which held sensitive information including personal data; the SBA and the VA did not say which systems their teams could reach. The GAO said it could not determine what the teams were allowed to do in those systems, and that without the records it asked for, Congress and the public lack assurance the information was properly secured. The review did not include the Social Security Administration.

Exhibit 8, Checks & balances. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated on the Watchlist: A Pentagon religion office reporting straight to Hegseth (Developing)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

In his Sept. 30 address at Quantico, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth created an Office of Religious Affairs that reports directly to him, saying it would continue 'for secretaries of war after me.'

What to watch for: What the 90-day report, due around the end of December, asks for and where the money goes: whether funding or policy favors particular faiths or outside religious groups, and whether anyone brings an Establishment Clause challenge. If the report covers only routine chaplain needs and no challenge has been filed, this comes off the list.

Watch 7, Press & speech. Status: Developing.

Updated on the Watchlist: Refusing to rule out troops or ICE at the polls (Developing)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

With the midterms weeks away, administration officials have repeatedly declined to rule out sending National Guard troops or federal agents to polling places.

What to watch for: Whether troops or armed agents are actually sent to a polling place on or before Election Day, Nov. 3, and how the court rules in the Denver lawsuit. Federal law makes it a crime to bring troops or armed federal officers to a polling place, except to repel armed enemies of the United States.

Watch 5, Elections. Status: Developing.

Updated on the Watchlist: A 'new census' that would leave out undocumented immigrants (Developing)

Mon, 05 Oct 2026 01:50:01 GMT

Trump ordered the Commerce Department to start work on a new census that excludes people without legal status, using information from the 2024 election.

What to watch for: Whether the Census Bureau makes the rule final after the public comment period, and how courts rule on any challenge, such as the one New York's attorney general has said the state is weighing. Public comments on the proposal are due Oct. 13, 2026.

Watch 1, Elections. Status: Developing.

Change log for Oct 4, 2026

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Correction: the entry on the attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook was stamped Mixed rulings because of a separate Supreme Court ruling that allowed the firing of FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, which now has its own entry. Every ruling about Cook herself has gone against the administration: a district judge found her firing likely unlawful in September 2025, an appeals court left that order in place, and on June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court let her stay while her case continues. Status changed from Mixed rulings to Ruled unlawful. The rulings are not final, and the entry now says so.
New in The Record: arresting immigrants at their immigration court hearings (Ruled unlawful). In June 2026 Judge P. Casey Pitts struck down ICE's courthouse-arrest policies nationwide, and in a final ruling reported on Oct. 1 Judge P. Kevin Castel in Manhattan found the practice arbitrary and capricious.
New in The Record: removing seven vaccines from the list recommended for all children (Ruled unlawful). On March 16, 2026, Judge Brian Murphy put the January changes and the appointments to the remade vaccine advisory panel on hold as likely violations of federal law. The government has appealed, and the appeal is reported to be set for argument on Oct. 6.
Correction: the entry on the firing of the CDC's vaccine advisers and director said there was no court case. It now includes Judge Murphy's March 16, 2026 ruling that the remaking of the vaccine committee likely violated federal law. Status unchanged (Criticized); the ruling is covered in full in the new entry on the childhood vaccine schedule.
New in The Record, filling a gap: the takeover of the U.S. Institute of Peace (Mixed rulings). Judge Beryl Howell ruled it unlawful in May 2025, an appeals court put her ruling on hold, and on Sept. 30, 2026 the same court barred the government from carving Trump's name into the building while the case continues.
Updated: the entry on the cancelled $1 billion now includes the lawsuit California and six other states filed on Sept. 30. Status unchanged (Official finding).
Updated: the entry on the family crypto business now includes the conditional federal bank charter approved for World Liberty's trust company on Aug. 14, 2026. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Correction: the Watchlist entry on the complaint against Minnesota's federal judges called Patrick Schiltz the chief judge. He held that post until recently, and the entry now says so.
Moved from the Watchlist to The Record: going after reporters' sources (Pending). The Watchlist entry was waiting to see whether any journalist would be subpoenaed to testify. One had been: a grand jury subpoena for New York Times freelancer Matthew Cole, delivered in February 2026 and made public on Aug. 1, which he is contesting in federal court. It was missed when the Watchlist entry was created.
Correction: the Watchlist entry on a new census said no detailed plan had been released. On Sept. 9, 2026, the Census Bureau proposed a rule that would leave undocumented immigrants and others without permanent legal status out of the count used to divide House seats after the 2030 census. The entry now describes the proposal and watches for a final rule and any court challenge.
Updated the Watchlist entry on cutting general and admiral posts: the cut covers about 170 positions, senators who focus on defense gave it a cool reception, and the top Democrat on the Armed Services Committee says Congress has to be consulted.
Updated the Watchlist entry on the Pentagon religion office: Democratic lawmakers and church-state groups call it a violation of the First Amendment, and the Catholic Archdiocese for the Military Services welcomed it.
Updated the Watchlist entry on federal citizen lists: both sides have filed their final briefs in the privacy group's lawsuit, and the judge has not yet ruled.
Updated the Watchlist entry on pre-election checks: Democrats have questioned whether the $90 Medicare payments are legal, the White House has not said what legal authority it is relying on, and one expert told the AP the law behind the fund gives the administration wide discretion.
Correction: the entry on the Texas mid-decade map stopped at the Supreme Court's December 2025 order letting the map be used. It now adds that on April 27, 2026, the court reversed the lower court's ruling outright. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on the attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook now includes the White House's Aug. 5, 2026 letter saying Trump is again considering removing her, sent after the Supreme Court said she was owed notice and a chance to respond. As of Oct. 1 no decision had been announced.
Updated: the entry on cancelled NIH research grants now says the Supreme Court left in place the ruling against the guidance behind the cuts, and that NIH restored more than 2,000 grants and did not reverse course. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on prosecuting the president's critics now notes that grand juries twice declined to indict Letitia James again after her case was dismissed. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated: the entry on immigration agents shooting people in cars now notes that a judge temporarily halted the deportation of the man shot in Austin, and that Austin police say federal investigators have not shared the evidence they asked for. Status unchanged (Pending).
Updated: the entry on taxpayer-funded ads now notes that the watchdog group CREW asked Homeland Security's inspector general to investigate. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on the lapse in food aid now says how the court fight ended. The bill that ended the shutdown funded SNAP in full, and on Nov. 13, 2025, the administration withdrew its Supreme Court request as moot. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
New in The Record: no bond hearings for immigrants who entered illegally, however long ago (Mixed rulings). Appeals courts have split on the July 2025 policy, and on Oct. 1, 2026 the Supreme Court agreed to decide it.
Updated: the entry on DOGE and Social Security records now includes a Sept. 29, 2026 Government Accountability Office report on DOGE teams at six other agencies, which said Congress and the public lack assurance that those agencies' data was properly secured. Status unchanged (Mixed rulings).
Updated the Watchlist entry on troops or ICE at the polls: Attorney General Todd Blanche said on Oct. 4 that it is false that the Justice Department's election monitors will be armed.
Updated the Watchlist entry on pre-election checks: Trump announced $90 Medicare payments to more than 20 million seniors, to be paid from a fund Congress created in 2008; whether he has the authority to divert it is unclear.
Every entry now has its own page at unredactedrecord.com/e/ followed by its id, with its own headline and status in link previews. Each headline on the timeline links to it, and Copy link and Share now give that page and come first on each entry; older links ending in #e- still work. If an entry is ever moved or removed, its old link forwards to the new entry or says why it was removed.
Fixed: for 18 entries marked as dated to the month only, the version of the page shown to search engines and readers without JavaScript displayed a specific day; it now shows the month only, as the interactive page always did. Copy buttons now confirm when they have copied, printing from dark mode no longer leaves some text too pale to read, and a mistyped address now shows a not-found page.
Returning visitors now see a chip showing how many entries were added or updated since their last visit, and can filter to them. The last visit is remembered only in the visitor's own browser.
Added an RSS feed of new entries, updates and this change log (unredactedrecord.com/feed.xml), and a page listing what changed in the past seven days with text ready to paste into a post (unredactedrecord.com/this-week/).
Added a data download in the footer: the whole record as a CSV file for Excel or a JSON file, with each entry's number, date, topic, status, last-checked date, full text (what happened, where it stands, the administration's side), sources and a link to its page.
Three entries now show their exact date instead of the month only, after the dates were confirmed: the attempt to fire Fed Governor Lisa Cook (Aug 25, 2025), the deportations to South Sudan (Jul 4, 2025) and the Kennedy Center board's vote to add Trump's name (Dec 18, 2025). Nothing else in those entries changed.
Correction: the entry on clean-energy grants cancelled in Democratic-voting states was missing a court ruling and the administration's defense. It now includes Judge Amit Mehta's Jan. 12, 2026 ruling that cancelling grants only in those states violated the Fifth Amendment, a June 2026 settlement that restored more grants, the Energy Department's statements that no termination was political, and the Aug. 4 referral of Secretary Wright to the Justice Department. Its status changed from Pending to Ruled unlawful, and its date is now July 15, 2026, the day the court filing became public.
Correction: the entry on dismantling USAID was missing two court rulings. It now includes Judge Theodore Chuang's March 18, 2025 ruling that the dismantling likely violated the Constitution and the 4th Circuit's March 28, 2025 order lifting it. Status changed from Alleged to Mixed rulings.
Correction: the entry on Operation Midway Blitz in Chicago was missing two court rulings. It now includes Judge Sara Ellis's injunction limiting agents' use of force and the 7th Circuit's 2 to 1 decision in March 2026 vacating it. Status changed from Alleged to Mixed rulings.
Correction: the entry on the dropped case against New York's mayor said no court had ruled on whether there was a deal. It now includes Judge Dale Ho's April 2025 ruling, which dismissed the case permanently and said the request looked like a bargain for immigration policy concessions. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on disaster aid now notes a December 2025 ruling that FEMA unlawfully cancelled a disaster-preparedness grant program (BRIC). Status unchanged (Alleged), because no court has ruled on the disaster denials the entry is about.
Correction: the entry on the Iran war said Congress had rejected nine war-powers resolutions by May and stopped there. It now says that both chambers adopted a resolution in June 2026 directing the president to remove U.S. forces (the House on June 3, the Senate 50 to 48 on June 23), that the operations continued, and that a lawsuit asking a court to declare the war unconstitutional was filed on Sept. 24, 2026. Status changed from Alleged to Pending.
Correction: the entry on the Alien Enemies Act said no court had settled whether the invocation was lawful and left out a district court ruling. It now includes Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr.'s May 2025 ruling that the proclamation is unlawful. Status unchanged (Pending) while the standing of that ruling on appeal is confirmed.
Status change: the entry on seized oil tankers said only that there was no ruling. The Justice Department went to federal court in February 2026 to take ownership of the first tanker and its oil, which the entry had not included. Status changed from Alleged to Pending.
Status change: the entry on the FCC chair and Jimmy Kimmel said only that there was no ruling. It now includes the FCC's April 2026 early review of ABC's station licenses and the lawsuit ABC filed against the FCC on Aug. 18, 2026. Status changed from Alleged to Pending.
Status change: the entry on American children sent to Honduras did not include the lawsuit the two families filed against the federal government on July 31, 2025. It now does. Status changed from Alleged to Pending.
Moved Download the data up in the footer, directly under the stamp legend, and added a Follow updates row with buttons for What changed this week and the RSS feed.
Renamed the Copy this entry button to Copy text, on the timeline and on each entry's own page. It copies the same thing as before.
Moved the Add to post button to the end of each entry's button row, so the other buttons no longer shift when it is switched on.
Updated: the entry on the Epstein files now includes two watchdog reviews opened in April 2026, one by the Justice Department's inspector general and one by the Government Accountability Office. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on U.S. citizens held by immigration agents now includes the December 2025 report by Senate Democrats, described as what it is: a report by one party's senators, not an official finding. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on killings near U.S.-backed aid sites in Gaza now includes a reported State Department inspector general investigation into how the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation spent a $30 million U.S. grant. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on the UAE stake in the Trump family's crypto company now includes the inquiry opened by Rep. Ro Khanna in February 2026. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Correction: the entry on the Alien Enemies Act left out a ruling in the administration's favor. On May 13, 2025, Judge Stephanie Haines of the Western District of Pennsylvania held that the act can be used against members of Tren de Aragua, while requiring 21 days' notice before any removal. Because district courts have ruled both ways, its status changed from Pending to Mixed rulings.
Correction: the entry on the oil blockade of Cuba said only that no court had ruled. It now says that the tariff threat in the Jan. 29 order ended on Feb. 20, 2026, when Trump signed an order ending his emergency-law tariffs on the day of the Supreme Court's tariff ruling, and that the same order kept the national emergency over Cuba and other measures in place. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated: the entry on the antifa designation and NSPM-7 now includes two developments that favor the administration: a Texas jury's March 2026 convictions of eight people on terrorism charges in a case prosecutors tied to antifa, and charges filed in June 2026 against 15 people in Minnesota. Status unchanged (Alleged).
Updated the Watchlist entry on troops or ICE at the polls: Denver and three civic groups filed the first lawsuit over the issue on Sept. 10, asking a federal court to keep armed immigration agents away from polling sites.
New entry: FEMA's cancellation of its largest disaster-preparedness grant program (BRIC), which Judge Richard Stearns ruled unlawful on Dec. 11, 2025 and ordered the agency to carry out in a second order on March 6, 2026 (Exhibit 113, Ruled unlawful). The ruling was previously a sentence in the disaster-aid entry, which now points to it.
Updated: the entry on the AP ban now spells out the two rulings with their dates: the April 8, 2025 ruling that the ban was unconstitutional, and the June 6, 2025 appeals order that lets the White House keep the AP out of the Oval Office and other restricted spaces while the case continues. Status unchanged (Pending).

New in The Record: 'Give it up or go to jail': going after reporters' sources (Pending)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Trump threatened to jail a reporter who would not name the source for a story about a downed U.S. airman in Iran, and his Justice Department has subpoenaed a New York Times freelancer to testify about his sources for another story.

Where it stands: Cole is contesting the subpoena in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia, where the filings are sealed. On Aug. 14, 2026, the Times and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press asked the court to unseal them. The reporting we found shows no public ruling, and no journalist held in contempt or charged. The Times is providing Cole's legal defense.

Exhibit 118, Press & speech. Status: Pending.

New in The Record: Taking over the U.S. Institute of Peace, then putting his name on it (Mixed rulings)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In March 2025 the administration fired most of the board of the U.S. Institute of Peace, an independent nonprofit that Congress created in 1984, and a DOGE team took over its Washington headquarters with the help of law enforcement officers.

Where it stands: On May 19, 2025, Judge Beryl Howell ruled in a 102-page opinion that the board members were fired unlawfully and that everything done afterward by the leaders installed in their place, including the staff terminations and the transfer of the building, was 'null and void.' In June 2025 the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals put her ruling on hold while the government appeals, a preliminary order that left the administration in control. On Sept. 30, 2026, a panel of the same court voted 2 to 1 to bar the government from carving Trump's name into the building until it decides the case. The appeals court is also weighing how the Supreme Court's June 2026 decision allowing the president to remove officials at independent agencies affects the dispute.

Exhibit 117, Checks & balances. Status: Mixed rulings.

New in The Record: Removing seven vaccines from the list recommended for all children (Ruled unlawful)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

On Jan. 5, 2026, the CDC removed seven vaccines from the list it recommends for every child, including the shots against hepatitis B, rotavirus and the flu, without first getting a recommendation from its vaccine advisory committee.

Where it stands: On March 16, 2026, Judge Brian Murphy of the federal court in Boston put the January changes on hold, along with the appointments of 13 of Kennedy's panel members and the votes the remade panel had taken. He found the medical groups likely to prove that both the schedule changes and the rebuilding of the panel violated the Administrative Procedure Act, wrote that the January memo was contrary to law and arbitrary, and said the 13 appointees appeared 'distinctly unqualified.' The recommendations that were in place before the changes apply again for now. The ruling is preliminary and rests on how the changes were made: the judge found the government likely skipped procedures the law requires. The government appealed, and Medical Daily, citing STAT, reported that the First Circuit Court of Appeals is scheduled to hear arguments on Oct. 6, 2026.

Exhibit 116, Health & science. Status: Ruled unlawful.

New in The Record: Arresting immigrants at their immigration court hearings (Ruled unlawful)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Exhibit 115, Immigration & policing. Status: Ruled unlawful.

New in The Record: No bond hearings for immigrants who entered illegally, however long ago (Mixed rulings)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Exhibit 114, Immigration & policing. Status: Mixed rulings.

New in The Record: Ending FEMA's largest disaster-preparedness program without Congress (Ruled unlawful)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

In April 2025, FEMA ended Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC), its largest program for helping communities prepare for disasters before they strike, calling it wasteful and politicized.

Where it stands: On Dec. 11, 2025, Judge Richard Stearns ruled that the administration had no authority to end the program, calling the move an 'unlawful executive encroachment' on Congress's power to appropriate money, and ordered FEMA to reverse the termination. On Feb. 17, 2026, the states told the court those steps had not been taken. On March 6, 2026, Stearns found FEMA had given no indication that it had complied and ordered it to take concrete steps within 14 days, including making pre-disaster mitigation funds available, telling states where their projects stand and filing status reports with the court.

Exhibit 113, Congress's money. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: Invoking a 1798 wartime law to deport Venezuelans without hearings (Mixed rulings)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Trump invoked the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, declaring the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua an invading force so that its alleged members could be removed from the country with no immigration hearing.

Where it stands: District courts have ruled both ways, and no appeals court has settled whether the invocation was lawful. In May 2025, Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. of the Southern District of Texas held that the proclamation exceeds the scope of the act and is unlawful, and permanently barred the government from using it against detainees in his district. On May 13, 2025, Judge Stephanie Haines of the Western District of Pennsylvania, a Trump appointee, ruled the other way: the act can be used to remove Venezuelans 14 or older who are in the country without legal status and are members of Tren de Aragua, though she ordered at least 21 days' notice and a chance to be heard before any removal. NPR reported at the time that at least three other federal judges had found the administration was using the act improperly. In a separate case, a Fifth Circuit panel ruled the same way in September 2025, finding that an invasion under the act means a military act of war, but the full court vacated that panel ruling and in August 2026 dismissed the case as moot after the government deported the three named plaintiffs under ordinary immigration law instead. The Supreme Court's bar on removals under the act remains in place, and the question can return in other cases. Judge James Ho wrote that the court should have upheld the president's actions.

Exhibit 109, Immigration & policing. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: Cancelled nearly $1 billion Congress approved, with no vote (Official finding)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Days before the fiscal year ended, the White House used a 'pocket rescission' to kill almost $1 billion in bipartisan funding, timed so it expires before Congress can act.

Where it stands: On Sept. 29, 2026, the Government Accountability Office ruled that the move violated the Impoundment Control Act: proposing to cancel money does not let a president hold it past the end of the fiscal year. Federal News Network counts it as the administration's 12th impoundment violation found by GAO. Senate Appropriations Chair Susan Collins, a Republican, also called it unlawful and said the budget office withheld the money for months to set up the cancellation. On Sept. 30, 2026, California and six other states sued in federal court in San Francisco over the withheld money, including about $810 million the White House moved to cancel by Reuters's count, arguing that refusing to spend it violates the Constitution's separation of powers.

Exhibit 107, Congress's money. Status: Official finding.

Updated in The Record: Taxpayer-funded TV ads praising Trump before the midterms (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The administration is airing TV spots celebrating Trump, labeled 'Paid for by the U.S. Government,' weeks before the November elections, paid for with $20 million in Homeland Security money.

Where it stands: Public Citizen filed a complaint with GAO, the watchdog group CREW asked Homeland Security's inspector general to investigate, and top Democratic appropriators demanded the ads come off the air. Republicans have objected too: Senate Majority Leader John Thune said the ads shouldn't be paid for with taxpayer money, and Sen. Thom Tillis compared them to the advertising of Hungary's former leader Viktor Orban. Experts say they differ from past public-service campaigns because they don't point viewers to any government program. GAO hasn't ruled.

Exhibit 105, Elections. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Admitted in court: clean-energy money cut because states voted blue (Ruled unlawful)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The administration cancelled more than $7.5 billion in clean energy funding for projects in Democratic-voting states, then acknowledged in a court filing that the grants were chosen for that reason alone.

Where it stands: On Jan. 12, 2026, Judge Amit Mehta of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia ruled that cancelling grants only in Democratic-voting states violated the Fifth Amendment's guarantee of equal protection. His ruling threw out the terminations of the seven grants at issue in that lawsuit, brought by the city of St. Paul and clean-energy groups; it did not address the rest. In June 2026 a settlement in a second case, also signed by Mehta, restored 11 more. Broader challenges by a coalition of states and by the University of California researchers are pending, and as of June hundreds of awards remained terminated.

Exhibit 96, Congress's money. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: A war with Iran that Congress never approved (Pending)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The U.S. and Israel launched Operation Epic Fury against Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, with no declaration of war or authorization from Congress.

Where it stands: On Sept. 24, 2026, the advocacy group NIAC Action sued in federal court in Washington, asking a judge to declare the war unconstitutional without Congress's approval. There is no ruling yet, and courts have often dismissed war-powers lawsuits before reaching the merits. Congress has voted repeatedly: as of that date the House had approved three of six war-powers resolutions and the Senate two of 14. In June both chambers adopted one directing the president to remove U.S. forces from hostilities with Iran (the House on June 3, the Senate 50 to 48 on June 23), but the operations continued; such resolutions carry little legal weight. Legal scholars argue the war violates the Constitution, the UN Charter and the War Powers Resolution's 60-day limit. UN investigators keep documenting U.S. strikes that kill civilians, including at a wedding in September. As of late September, the U.S. naval blockade continues, an Iranian missile injured eight Marines on Sept. 14, and Trump rejected Iran's latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz.

Exhibit 86, War & foreign affairs. Status: Pending.

Updated in The Record: A secret $500 million stake from a UAE spy chief, then AI chips (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The Wall Street Journal revealed an entity backed by UAE national security adviser Sheikh Tahnoon bought 49% of the Trump family's World Liberty Financial for $500 million, signed four days before the inauguration and never disclosed.

Where it stands: No ruling. On Feb. 5, 2026, Democratic Rep. Ro Khanna opened an inquiry into the deal and wrote to World Liberty Financial asking for information about the $500 million investment. Sens. Elizabeth Warren and Elissa Slotkin called for conflict-of-interest investigations.

Exhibit 82, Self-dealing. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Epstein files: late, blacked out, and victims exposed (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Congress ordered the Epstein files released by Dec. 19, 2025. The Justice Department delivered them late, heavily redacted, and with some victims' identities exposed.

Where it stands: Two watchdogs are reviewing the release, and neither has reported yet. In April 2026 the Justice Department's inspector general opened a review of whether the department properly identified, redacted and released the records, and said it will publish its findings. The Government Accountability Office then agreed to its own review at the request of a bipartisan group of senators. Bipartisan critics, led by Republican Rep. Thomas Massie, say DOJ didn't comply with the law. Trump appears throughout the files; he has not been charged with any crime and denies involvement in Epstein's crimes.

Exhibit 70, Justice system. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Seizing oil tankers: 'We keep it, I guess' (Pending)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

U.S. forces seized a Venezuelan oil tanker at sea, and days later Trump ordered a 'total and complete blockade' of sanctioned tankers going in or out of Venezuela.

Where it stands: In February 2026 the Justice Department filed a complaint in federal court in Washington to take permanent ownership of the first seized tanker, the Skipper, and nearly 2 million barrels of oil. A judge must sign off before the oil can be sold. It was the first such complaint for any of at least 10 tankers intercepted since late 2025.

Exhibit 68, War & foreign affairs. Status: Pending.

Updated in The Record: Letting food aid lapse for 42 million people (Mixed rulings)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

During the government shutdown, the administration said SNAP food benefits would not go out in November, despite an emergency fund holding more than $4.6 billion.

Where it stands: An appeals court ruled unanimously that full payment could be required. Justice Jackson temporarily paused the full-payment order while appeals played out, and on Nov. 11, 2025, the full court extended the pause over her objection. The fight ended without a final ruling: the bill that ended the shutdown funded SNAP in full through the end of the fiscal year, and on Nov. 13 the administration withdrew its Supreme Court request as moot.

Exhibit 62, Congress's money. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: More than 170 U.S. citizens held by immigration agents (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

ProPublica documented more than 170 American citizens detained by immigration agents in 2025, some kicked, tased, beaten or held for days without a lawyer.

Where it stands: On Dec. 9, 2025, Senate Democrats led by Sen. Richard Blumenthal published a report, based on interviews with nearly two dozen citizens, that concluded immigration agents have frequently detained and mistreated Americans; one was held for four days. It is a report by one party's senators, not an official finding. The Supreme Court had earlier allowed agents in the Los Angeles area to consider factors including race.

Exhibit 57, Immigration & policing. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Firing every vaccine adviser and the CDC director (Criticized)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. fired all 17 members of the CDC's vaccine advisory committee, and the CDC director was fired after 29 days on the job.

Where it stands: On March 16, 2026, Judge Brian Murphy found that Kennedy's remaking of the vaccine committee likely violated federal law. He put the appointments of 13 of the new members on hold, along with the votes the remade panel had taken (see the entry on the childhood vaccine schedule). The ruling is preliminary and the government has appealed. The firings also drew bipartisan concern at Senate hearings.

Exhibit 44, Health & science. Status: Criticized.

Updated in The Record: Tried to fire a Federal Reserve governor (Ruled unlawful)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Trump moved to remove Fed Governor Lisa Cook, the first attempt to oust a sitting governor in the Federal Reserve's 112-year history.

Where it stands: In September 2025 Judge Jia Cobb ruled that the firing likely violated the Federal Reserve Act, because the allegations concern conduct from before Cook joined the Fed, and her right to due process, because she got no notice or chance to respond. She ordered that Cook stay on the board, and an appeals court left that order in place. On June 29, 2026, the Supreme Court ruled 5 to 4 that Cook stays while her case continues, finding she had not been given notice and a chance to respond before she was fired. These rulings are not final. They keep Cook in office while her lawsuit continues, and the Supreme Court did not decide whether the president has cause to remove her. On Aug. 5, 2026, the White House sent Cook a letter saying Trump was considering removing her over the same allegations and giving her until Aug. 26 to respond. She responded, and as of Oct. 1 the White House had not said publicly what it will do. Her lawsuit is still before Judge Cobb. The same day as its Cook ruling, the Supreme Court allowed the firing of FTC commissioner Rebecca Slaughter in a separate case.

Exhibit 43, Checks & balances. Status: Ruled unlawful.

Updated in The Record: Ordering up a mid-decade gerrymander (Mixed rulings)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

At Trump's direction, Texas redrew its congressional map mid-decade to net an expected five Republican seats, after his Justice Department sent a letter targeting four Democratic districts.

Where it stands: A federal panel, in an opinion by a Trump-appointed judge, found substantial evidence of racial gerrymandering and blocked the map in November 2025. On Dec. 4, 2025, the Supreme Court put that ruling on hold over three dissents, so the map is in use for the 2026 midterms, and on April 27, 2026, it reversed the panel's decision outright in a brief order. The challengers' other claims against the map have not been fully litigated.

Exhibit 33, Elections. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: Cancelling research on minority and LGBTQ health (Mixed rulings)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

NIH terminated hundreds of grants tied to diversity or gender identity, including studies on breast cancer, Alzheimer's, HIV prevention, depression and suicide.

Where it stands: Reagan-appointed Judge William Young ruled the cuts void and illegal and said that in 40 years on the bench he had never seen government racial discrimination like it. In August 2025 the Supreme Court, 5 to 4, put on hold his order to restore the grants, saying such claims likely belong in the Court of Federal Claims, while a separate majority left in place his ruling against the guidance behind the cuts. STAT reported that NIH had by then restored more than 2,000 terminated grants and did not reverse course afterward. As of early 2026, the question of whether researchers must take their claims to the claims court was before the First Circuit Court of Appeals.

Exhibit 26, Health & science. Status: Mixed rulings.

Updated in The Record: Hundreds killed seeking food at U.S.-backed aid sites (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

After Israel blocked supplies into Gaza for more than two months, the U.S.- and Israel-backed Gaza Humanitarian Foundation took over food distribution. In its first month, the UN recorded 509 killings near its sites.

Where it stands: The UN called the model inherently unsafe and demanded an independent investigation. Major aid groups refused to work with it. In May 2026 the Financial Times reported, citing three people familiar with the inquiry, that the State Department's inspector general is investigating how the foundation spent a $30 million U.S. grant; the office would neither confirm nor deny an investigation. The foundation suspended operations in October 2025 and is now defunct.

Exhibit 23, War & foreign affairs. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: A meme-coin dinner and family crypto deals while in office (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Trump hosted a dinner for top buyers of his $TRUMP meme coin, and his family's crypto ventures became one of his biggest sources of income.

Where it stands: No charges. A former White House ethics lawyer says federal conflict-of-interest law would bar any other executive branch official from doing this.

Exhibit 22, Self-dealing. Status: Alleged.

Updated in The Record: Deporting American children (Pending)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

ICE deported three U.S.-citizen children with their mothers to Honduras, including a 4-year-old with metastatic cancer who was sent without his medication.

Where it stands: On July 31, 2025, the two families sued the federal government in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Louisiana, asking for the removals to be found unlawful, for their return to the United States, and for damages. No ruling has been reported. Earlier, Trump-appointed Judge Terry Doughty wrote that it is illegal and unconstitutional to deport a U.S. citizen, and that he strongly suspected the government had done so without meaningful process.

Exhibit 19, Immigration & policing. Status: Pending.

Updated on the Watchlist: Cutting 20% of general and admiral posts after firing dozens of top officers (Developing)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth is cutting general and admiral positions by 20% by Jan. 1, 2027, doubling the cut he ordered in 2025.

What to watch for: Which positions and officers are cut, whether the choices track loyalty rather than need, and how Congress responds.

Watch 9, Checks & balances. Status: Developing.

Updated in The Record: Banned the AP over 'Gulf of America' (Pending)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

AP reporters were shut out of the Oval Office, Air Force One and White House events because the wire service kept calling it the Gulf of Mexico.

Where it stands: On April 8, 2025, a district judge ruled the ban unconstitutional and ordered the AP's access restored. On June 6, 2025, a panel of the D.C. Circuit put that order partly on hold, 2 to 1, while the appeal continues, letting the White House keep the AP out of the Oval Office and other restricted spaces for now. The two judges in the majority wrote that the White House is likely to win because those spaces are not forums opened for private speech. The case is still going.

Exhibit 6, Press & speech. Status: Pending.

Updated on the Watchlist: Federal 'citizen lists' for every state, possibly released before the vote (Developing)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Under Trump's March executive order, Homeland Security and Social Security are compiling lists of verified adult citizens in every state, and a Justice Department lawyer told a federal judge he could not say whether they will be released before the midterms.

What to watch for: Whether the lists or the portal for states goes live before Nov. 3, how Judge Xinis rules in EPIC's lawsuit, and whether any state removes voters based on the lists. Federal law bars states from systematically removing voters within 90 days of a federal election, so a purge before Election Day would face an immediate legal fight.

Watch 6, Elections. Status: Developing.

Updated in The Record: Dropped the corruption case against NYC's mayor, and prosecutors quit (Alleged)

Sun, 04 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The Justice Department ordered prosecutors to drop bribery charges against New York Mayor Eric Adams, saying the case hampered his ability to help with immigration enforcement.

Where it stands: On April 2, 2025, Judge Dale Ho dismissed the case permanently, so the charges can never be refiled, saying he could not force the department to prosecute. He rejected the department's stated reasons and wrote that 'everything here smacks of a bargain': dismissal in exchange for immigration policy concessions. He said his ruling was not an opinion on the allegations against the mayor. Both Adams and Bove denied in court that there was any deal.

Exhibit 5, Justice system. Status: Alleged.

Change log for Oct 3, 2026

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

Added a Last checked date to every entry, permanent exhibit numbers, a link for each entry, an About section and this change log.
Revised 14 headlines to replace loaded wording with plainer descriptions. No facts or statuses changed.
New in The Record: Waiving dozens of laws to wall off Big Bend (Mixed rulings).
Correction: the Watchlist entry on federal citizen lists now includes a June 2026 ruling against the citizenship database that had been missed. The same facts were added to the entry on the March 2026 voting order.
Every entry is now written into the page itself, so search engines, link previews, archives and readers without JavaScript see the full record. Clarified in About what inclusion means and how "wide, documented criticism" is defined; the latest changes now show by default.
New in The Record, filling gaps: invoking the Alien Enemies Act (Pending); firing the Democrats on independent agencies (Criticized); ending Temporary Protected Status (Mixed rulings); offshore wind stop-work orders (Ruled unlawful).
The counts at the top of the page are clickable. Dark mode stays the default; the toggle still remembers your choice.
Updated: boat strikes (a judge ordered the legal memo behind them turned over for review), Kennedy Center (a Senate bill to bar demolition was blocked), federal citizen lists (the earliest launch date under the court's notice order is Oct. 28).
Added shareable links for any filtered view (Copy link to this view), Expand all and Collapse all buttons, a back-to-top button, a Share button on phones, a clean print layout, and a keyboard skip link.
Fixed a layout bug on narrow phones where the Last checked line could push the page wider than the screen, and made the keyboard skip link the first thing in the tab order.
Phone layout: filters now fold behind a Filters button so entries start sooner, the month strip shows a fade and a swipe hint where it scrolls, and jumping to an entry no longer lands it under the sticky search bar.

New in The Record: Stop-work orders for offshore wind farms already under construction (Ruled unlawful)

Sat, 03 Oct 2026 12:00:00 GMT

The Interior Department ordered construction halted on Empire Wind off New York in April 2025, on Revolution Wind off Rhode Island in August, and on Dec. 22, 2025, on all five offshore wind farms being built in federal waters, citing national security.

Where it stands: Courts have ruled against every order. In September 2025 and again on Jan. 12, 2026, Judge Royce Lamberth, a Reagan appointee, found the Revolution Wind halts likely unlawful, calling the second one arbitrary and capricious and finding that supposedly new classified information did not explain stopping the work. By Feb. 2, 2026, all five projects had won injunctions, and a Massachusetts judge had declared the permitting freeze illegal in December 2025. The administration then missed its deadline to appeal.

Exhibit 112, Checks & balances. Status: Ruled unlawful.