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3. Federal judge’s Columbia clerk boycott didn’t…

Judiciary

Federal judge’s Columbia clerk boycott didn’t harm public confidence in judiciary, judicial council rules

By Debra Cassens Weiss

April 10, 2025, 11:36 am CDT

A judge on the U.S. Court of International Trade did not violate ethics rules by refusing to hire law clerks who attended Columbia University, according to the judicial council of the 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals at Chicago.

In an April 8 decision, the council dismissed the complaint against Judge Stephen A. Vaden, one of 13 federal judges who participated in the boycott and explained why in a letter to the school.

Law360, Reuters and the Volokh Conspiracy have coverage.

President Donald Trump has nominated Vaden to be the deputy secretary of the Department of Agriculture, Reuters reports. A U.S. Senate panel had a hearing on his nomination Tuesday.

The judges had refused to hire law clerks who attended Columbia University or Columbia Law School because of the university’s handling of disruptions caused by pro-Palestinian protesters. Columbia has become “an incubator of bigotry,” the judges said in their letter to Columbia, and the judges have lost confidence in the institution.

Vaden’s boycott and his signature on the letter do not harm the integrity of the judicial office, do not harm public confidence in the judiciary, and do not cast doubt on his impartiality, the judicial council said.

“A judge may refuse to hire law clerks from a law school or university that has, in the judge’s view, failed to foster important aspects of higher education, like civility in discourse, respect for freedom of speech and viewpoint nondiscrimination,” the opinion said.

The chief judge of the U.S. Court of International Trade had transferred the ethics complaint against Vaden to the 7th Circuit’s judicial council for review. The person who filed the ethics complaint is in prison for his role in firebombing and vandalizing Jewish synagogues.

Vaden was represented by the First Liberty Institute, a nonprofit conservative legal organization, and Lisa Blatt of Williams & Connolly.

Judicial councils have also tossed ethics complaints against 11 of the other 12 boycotting judges, including, apparently, two federal appeals judges: Judge James C. Ho of the 5th Circuit at New Orleans and, according to Reuters, Judge Elizabeth L. Branch of the 11th Circuit at Atlanta.

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3. Trump pauses enforcement of foreign bribery…

White Collar Crime

Trump pauses enforcement of foreign bribery law, cites harm to ‘American economic competitiveness’

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 11, 2025, 3:24 pm CST

President Donald Trump signed an executive order Monday that that generally pauses enforcement of a law that bars companies operating in the United States from bribing foreign officials.

The Feb. 10 order requires U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to formulate updated guidelines for enforcing the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act that “prioritize American interests, American economic competitiveness with respect to other nations, and the efficient use of federal law enforcement resources.”

Bondi has 180 days to work on the guidelines and has the option of extending the period for another 180 days, the order said. During that time, Bondi should stop new Foreign Corrupt Practices Act investigations or enforcement actions, the order said. She is also required to review existing investigations and actions, taking action to restore proper bounds on enforcement. Bondi can determine whether an exception to the pause should be made in individual cases, however.

A White House fact sheet said “unpredictable FCPA enforcement” makes American companies less competitive. Overenforcement of the law also interferes with Trump’s authority to conduct foreign affairs under Article II of the Constitution, the document said.

Bondi issued a memo Feb. 5 that directs Department of Justice lawyers to prioritize Foreign Corrupt Practices Act prosecutions in which foreign bribery facilitated crimes of cartels and transnational criminal organizations, according to an analysis by Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer. The law firm also said the statute of limitations in Foreign Corrupt Practices Act cases “outruns the Trump administration,” meaning that a prosecution could be fair game after Trump leaves office.

Publications with coverage of Trump’s order include Reuters, CNBC, Fox News and the New York Times.

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3. NRA general counsel violated statutory duties…

Verdicts & Settlements

NRA general counsel violated statutory duties but caused no monetary harm, jurors find; LaPierre liable for $5.4M

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 26, 2024, 12:41 pm CST

The general counsel for the National Rifle Association was among three senior NRA leaders found to have violated their statutory duties by jurors Friday.

Jurors found former NRA executive vice president and former CEO Wayne LaPierre liable for $5.4 million in damages and former chief financial officer Wilson “Woody” Phillips liable for $2 million. Jurors also found that the NRA didn’t handle charitable funds properly and violated state whistleblower laws.

But jurors found that NRA corporate secretary and general counsel John Frazer did not cause financial harm and was not liable for damages. Jurors found that he made false statements in NRA filings, but there was no cause to remove him.

Democratic New York Attorney General Letitia James announced the Feb. 23 verdict in a press release.

Law360, NBC News and the Associated Press have coverage.

James had sued the NRA and top officials for civil fraud. Her lawsuit alleged that LaPierre exploited the NRA for the benefit of himself and his inner circle, using donor money to pay for private jets, expensive meals and family vacations.

According to the press release, James presented evidence that Phillips allegedly had a no-show post-employment contract, that whistleblowers faced harassment and intimidation, that the NRA paid invoices for LaPierre’s repeated flights to the Bahamas, and that invoices worth more than $4 million were passed through a vendor to conceal expenses incurred by NRA executives.

LaPierre has already repaid the NRA more than $1 million, leaving him liable for $4.35 million.

A separate bench trial will determine whether an independent compliance monitor should be appointed. The trial will also determine whether the NRA and Frazer should be barred from soliciting funds for charitable organizations in New York.

A lawyer from Frazer, William Fleming, told Law360 that he is disappointed with the verdict.

In an online statement, the NRA said the jury verdict “confirms what the National Rifle Association of America … contended all along—that it was victimized by certain former vendors and ‘insiders’ who abused the trust placed in them by the association.”

“During a 24-day jury trial, the NRA established the [New York attorney general] cannot prove self-dealing or bad faith by the NRA board of directors,” the statement said. “The NRA disputed key allegations in the [New York attorney general]’s complaint—namely, that any governance issues at the NRA are ‘persistent.’ As importantly, the NRA established that it adopted new policies and accounting controls, displaced vendors and ‘insiders’ who abused the association, and accepted reparations for costs determined to be excess benefits. Most of these corrective measures—part of an internal investigation ignited by the NRA board—were adopted before the [New York attorney general] filed her lawsuit. The NRA’s commitment to good governance was on full display during the trial proceedings.”

See also:

“Civil fraud trial seeking independent monitor for NRA begins after CEO’s resignation, official’s $100K settlement”

“Ex-NRA CEO didn’t consult GCs office about key legal decisions, general counsel testifies”