Today (Sunday), the administration of US President Donald Trump renewed its request to the Supreme Court to allow a plan that would restrict voting by mail before the congressional elections scheduled for November, after a federal judge on Friday blocked the implementation of those restrictions.
Trump administration lawyers submitted an urgent request to the nation's highest court to allow the US Postal Service to restrict mail-in voting, even as some states have already begun sending mail-in ballots ahead of the midterm elections scheduled for November 3.
Federal Judge Indira Talwani, who resides in Boston, extended a ban on Friday preventing the new rule from taking effect.
The final decision on whether to move forward with the administration's restrictions on mail-in voting now rests with the Supreme Court.
John Sawer, who represents the Trump administration before the Supreme Court, urged the court to allow the rule to go into effect immediately, warning that maintaining the injunction issued by the lower court “risks causing confusion and chaos,” as more states issue mail-in ballots.
Supreme Court Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson set a deadline on Wednesday to respond to the Trump administration’s request.
The administration had previously filed an emergency request with the Supreme Court to vacate the short-term injunction issued by Judge Talwani. Before the Supreme Court issued its ruling on that request, Judge Talwani extended the ban on Friday, prompting the administration to submit a new request on Sunday.
Trump has spent years calling for restrictions on mail-in voting, amid his false claims that his defeat in the 2020 presidential election was the result of widespread fraud in the election.
A US federal appeals court rejected President Donald Trump's administration's request to lift the ban on the use of a federal immigration database to verify the accuracy of citizenship records on state voter lists.
In a ruling issued yesterday, Friday, by a majority of two votes to one, the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia refused to lift the ban imposed by a lower court on the use of the “Systematic Verification of Aliens to Obtain Benefits” database of the Department of Homeland Security, according to Reuters.
The previous ruling ruled that the government may not use this system before the midterm elections scheduled for November 3, in which Republicans will try to maintain their narrow majority in both chambers of Congress.
Lead Judge Sri Srinivasan and US Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, who were appointed to the Court of Appeals by former President Barack Obama, upheld the lower court's decision that the systematic verification system violates the Social Security Act because it shares personal information about millions of Americans.
The Court of Appeal judges also cited concerns about the possibility of inaccurate citizenship information, which could result in people having to prove their citizenship to remain registered on voter lists, and in some cases could even lead to their voter registration being cancelled.
US Circuit Judge Gregory Katsas, appointed by Trump, dissented from the majority opinion.
In July, a judge in Florida ordered the US Department of Homeland Security to resume granting four Republican-led states access to the database, after another judge prevented the department from continuing to use the database nationwide.
The American newspaper "The New York Times" quoted sources as saying that about 50 officers and employees of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff were subjected to a lie detector test against the backdrop of leaks in the media.
In details, according to the newspaper, American government investigators took an exceptional step by subjecting about 50 members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in the US Army to lie detector tests, against the backdrop of leaks to journalists, including information about the war with Iran causing a shortage of basic ammunition stocks, according to officials who were briefed on these procedures.
Investigators asked military officers and civilian employees of the Joint Chiefs of Staff whether they had disclosed classified information to members of the media, and whether they had provided information about declining US munitions stocks.
Lie detector tests after reports of missile shortages
According to the newspaper, lie detector tests were conducted in August, after a wave of news reports revealed a decline in stocks of basic munitions, including long-range missiles and interceptor missiles for the Patriot system.
According to what informed sources told the newspaper, it seemed that what they described as a “show of force” was aimed not only at identifying anyone who might have leaked information, but also at intimidating others who might think about doing so in the future.
Between 1,500 and 2,000 officers and officials work in the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the body is responsible for coordinating operations, policies, and war plans with the leaders of combat military commands around the world.
The Pentagon: We take leaks of classified information very seriously
Pentagon spokesman Sean Parnell said in a statement that the department “does not comment on internal personnel matters or matters related to investigations, but it takes all leaks of classified national security information very seriously, and conducts the necessary investigations into them.”
He added: “Securing classified information is critical to ensuring the security of the United States and our forces deployed around the world.”
"Unprecedented"...
The newspaper explained that the scope of this investigation is unparalleled. Never before in modern history have mass lie detector tests been conducted on the senior ranks of the US military.
Retired Admiral Donald J. Goetter, who served as the Navy's chief legal adviser from 2000 to 2002, told the New York Times: "I have never seen polygraph tests used on this scale or at this high level of officials."
He added: “In my experience, this is not precedented.”
This step comes at a time when several news organizations revealed details about the war with Iran depleting American ammunition stocks, and published reports about concerns within the administration about the strategic path of the conflict.
Trump is pressing to prosecute information leakers
US President Donald Trump pressured administration officials to intensify the search for people who leaked information.
But the president went beyond simply trying to stem the flow of unauthorized information; He described critical media coverage of the US handling of the war in Iran, as well as shortages in ammunition stocks, as “betrayal.”
The leaks deepened the atmosphere of mistrust and suspicion within the Pentagon, an atmosphere that current and former officials say worsened during the era of Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, according to the newspaper.
Hegseth reinforces the atmosphere of suspicion inside the Pentagon
The New York Times reported that Hegseth, surrounded by a tight inner circle of loyalists, ousted or obstructed the promotions of at least 80 generals, admirals and other officials during his tenure in office.
Since early last year, the Pentagon has been conducting a number of investigations into the leak of information, in response to news coverage that covered his leadership of the ministry, at a time when he himself faced criticism after he shared sensitive details about strikes in Yemen in a group on the “Signal” application last year.
Hegseth has not held a briefing for reporters at the Pentagon on the US war in Iran since May 5, and he has also sought to limit journalists' access to the Pentagon.
Last month, the Defense Department fired the publisher and editor of Stars and Stripes, a government-funded news organization that covers the US military.
The journalists said that the dismissal came in retaliation for their coverage of the deteriorating conditions aboard the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln.
Trump continued his support for Hegseth, saying he was doing a “fantastic job,” despite growing concerns about the turmoil taking place in the Pentagon’s leadership.
