Trump Threatens Jail for Journalists Who Revealed Airman Lost in Iran
Another dispute over Donald Trump’s antagonism with the media appears to be headed to court soon after the president said unnamed journalists will “go to jail” for publicly leaking information about the two-man crew of an F-15E fighter jet downed in Iran this month.
The two men were injured when their airplane was shot down by a shoulder-fired heat-seeking missile that detonated in their engine.
One of them was rescued within hours but the other was forced to hide in a mountain crevice for more than two days before the U.S. military found and extracted him in a daring aerial maneuver.
Before he was found, multiple news organizations reported that he was lost somewhere in the Iranian mountains.
The reports led Iran's government to offer a $60,000 reward for his capture and to launch an intense search for him by the Iranian military and civilians.
The U.S. military got to him first, despite news reports that appeared to imperil the man's life and increased danger for American rescuers.
Two Israeli journalists are admitting they were the first to report the story. Both refuse to name their sources.
The reports then were repeated by CBS News, The New York Post, The Washington Post and other news outlets.
"We think we'll be able to find it out because we're going to go to the media company that released it, and we're going to say, ‘National security, give it up or go to jail,'" Trump said.
"When they did that, all of a sudden the entire country of Iran knew that there was a pilot that was somewhere on their land that was fighting for his life,” Trump said. “And it also made it much more difficult for the pilots and for the people going in to search for him."
Israel's N12 News reporter Amit Segal acknowledges he broke the story Friday morning that one of the "crew members was successfully rescued."
A second Israel N12 News reporter, Barak Ravid, wrote a story for Axios and posted on X Friday that one American pilot was rescued but another was missing. Ravid cited "an Israeli official and a second source with knowledge" as his sources.
"An American fighter jet was shot down by Iranian fire. A search is underway to locate the two crew members, according to a source familiar with the details,” Ravid wrote on X.
The Israeli reports were followed hours later by stories from CBS News, The Washington Post, Reuters and The New York Post reporting that a search continued for a missing American airman.
Trump said the “leaker” was “a sick person.”
"They put this mission at great risk," Trump said. "They put that man at great risk, and they put the hundreds of people that went in looking for him, because everyone now knows that we're going in."
White House officials acknowledge they know the news outlet suspected of wrongdoing but declined to name it publicly while the investigation continues.
Trump called the press conference to update the media on the war with Iran and the rescue of the downed airmen. In a Truth Social post, he wrote the rescue was “an AMAZING show of bravery and talent by all!"
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Democrats Want Trump Out of Presidency, Saying His Threats Imperil World Peace
Growing numbers of congressional Democrats are invoking constitutional authority to remove President Donald Trump from office amid his increasing reliance on military action to achieve his policy goals.
They cite what they describe as irrational rhetoric related to war with Iran, an attack in January on Venezuela and militarization of immigration policy. They say he is exceeding presidential powers by acting without approval by Congress.
Rather than a symbolic condemnation of his actions through impeachment, more than 70 lawmakers want Trump out of the presidency.
Their proposals are based on Article 25 of the U.S. Constitution, which authorizes removal of a president for incompetence. In Trump’s case, they are questioning his mental health.
An example they mention is Trump’s threat days ago to destroy a “whole civilization” in Iran.
They accuse him of murder and violations of international laws on human rights.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the president remains fully capable of carrying out the duties of the office and accused Democrats of attempting to weaponize the Constitution.
“President Trump was elected to lead this country and he is doing exactly that,” Leavitt said in a statement. “The suggestion that the 25th Amendment should be invoked is a baseless political stunt from Democrats who disagree with the president’s policies.”
Vice President JD Vance also dismissed the idea he would consider invoking the amendment, which allows a vice president and a majority of the Cabinet to declare a president unable to perform the duties of office. It must be followed by congressional approval before the vice president then becomes the acting president.
“The president is fully engaged in the work of governing and making decisions for the American people every day,” Vance said. “There is no scenario where members of this administration would support an effort to remove him under the 25th Amendment.”
The proposals to remove Trump from the presidency are all coming from Democrats, who hold 214 of 435 seats in the U.S. House, or 49 percent of the total. In the Senate, Democrats hold 47 of 100 seats, or 47 percent.
Congress must approve removal of a president by a two-thirds majority in both chambers, assuming the vice president and Cabinet want him out.
John Rogan, who served as chief counsel to the congressional commission that drafted the 25th Amendment before it won approval in 1967, said removing a president is intended only for extraordinary circumstances such as severe incapacity, not political disputes.
Nevertheless, several Democrats have proposed articles of impeachment that urge Congress to act independently to kick Trump out of office, regardless of preliminary procedures required by the Constitution.
Among them is Rep. John B. Larson of Connecticut, who said in a statement, “Donald Trump has blown past every requirement to be removed from office. And it's getting worse.”
He joined other Trump critics in saying the president’s rhetoric and decisions regarding Iran pose a danger to global stability that require immediate action.
“He's becoming more unstable by the day,” Larson said. “His profane and sacrilegious Easter Sunday and subsequent threats, including ‘a whole civilization will die’ and ‘open the Strait…or you’ll be living in hell’ not only foreshadow war crimes, but put our security at risk.”
Trump warned that “the entire country can be taken out in one night” if Iran failed to meet U.S. demands to cease blocking oil tankers and other ships trying to pass through the Strait of Hormuz. About 20 percent of the world’s oil passes through the strait.
He said that “a whole civilization will die tonight, never to be brought back again” if Iran did not comply with his ultimatum. The last-minute two-week ceasefire agreement he reached last week is still in effect but only barely as threats from the Iranians continue.
Rep. Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wrote on X, "This is a threat of genocide and merits removal from office. The President’s mental faculties are collapsing and cannot be trusted."
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Supreme Court Vacates Bannon Conviction, Signaling Shift in Jan. 6, 2021 Prosecutions
The Supreme Court last week vacated the criminal conviction of an adviser to President Donald Trump over his refusal to testify during the congressional investigation of the Jan. 6, 2021 attack on the Capitol.
The Justice Department wants the contempt of Congress charges against Steve Bannon dismissed.
The Supreme Court sent the case back to a lower court for a new ruling that will erase one of the highest-profile criminal convictions tied to the Jan. 6 investigation.
It also reflects a broader shift by the Justice Department under the Trump administration on prosecutions of the president's supporters.
Bannon was convicted in 2022 on two counts of contempt of Congress. A judge from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit sentenced him to four months in prison.
He served the prison term in 2024 after his appeals failed but continued to seek to clear his conviction record.
The Trump administration’s Justice Department argued in a Supreme Court brief, “The government has determined in its prosecutorial discretion that dismissal of this criminal case is in the interests of justice.” Government attorneys said the original prosecution was "ill-conceived."
The Supreme Court ruling is likely to influence convictions of other persons who refused to cooperate in the House Select Committee investigation.
They included former White House trade adviser Peter Navarro. He was convicted of contempt of Congress for defying a subpoena from the same committee and served a four-month sentence in 2024. The Justice Department has indicated it no longer will defend Navarro’s conviction
More than a thousand people were charged with crimes tied to the insurrection at the Capitol ranging from trespassing to conspiracy. Trump issued a sweeping clemency for all of them on Jan. 20, 2025, the first day of his second term as president.
His proclamation granted “full, complete and unconditional pardons” to roughly 1,500 people. A smaller number of people charged with unrelated crimes like illegal gun or drug possession were not pardoned by the president’s order.
Bannon was not charged for participating in the riot. Congressmen wanted to question him about what appeared to be his advance knowledge that an insurrection was coming, which they suspected of originating with Trump.
Bannon said his refusal to testify was based on attorney advice and the executive privilege of the president and his staff. Executive privilege is the doctrine that allows the president to withhold confidential policy communications from disclosure to Congress, the courts, or the public to protect the functioning of the presidency.
Bannon served as chief strategist and senior counselor to Trump in 2017. He helped to shape the president’s political agenda during his first term.
During his War Room podcast the day before the insurrection, Bannon was discussing the planned rally in Washington, D.C., at which Trump spoke while Congress was certifying the presidential victory of Joe Biden.
"All hell is going to break loose tomorrow,” Bannon told his listeners. “Just understand this: all hell is going to break loose tomorrow."
He later denied knowing that a riot was planned or that Trump intended to cause one.
“It has been one battle after another for five years, but today the Supreme Court vacated an unjust conviction, and in doing so validated a fundamental rule like oil and water, politics and prosecution don’t mix,” said M. Evan Corcoran, one of Bannon’s lawyers.
He still faces separate legal challenges in New York, where he pleaded guilty to defrauding donors in a private border wall fundraising effort. The New York state court conviction is unaffected by Monday’s Supreme Court action.
The Supreme Court case is Bannon v. United States, No. 25-453, U.S.Sup.Ct., April 6, 2026.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Three Psychiatric Workers Indicted After Death of Patient in D.C.
Federal prosecutors in Washington, D.C., last week indicted three former employees of the Psychiatric Institute of Washington on charges of criminal negligence in connection with the death of a patient who authorities say was left without lifesaving care for more than 20 minutes.
The indictment, announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Pirro, alleges the workers failed to properly respond to a medical emergency involving a 58-year-old patient who stopped breathing while in the hospital’s care. The patient died in April 2020.
Those charged are Nelson Kuma, 37, Richard Hounnou, 45, and Norma Munoz-Bent, 68, all residents of Maryland. According to the indictment, Kuma and Hounnou worked as psychiatric counselors at the facility, while Munoz-Bent was a registered nurse.
Prosecutors allege the three employees delayed care at least 21 minutes after the patient began convulsing and appeared to stop breathing. The delay violated fundamental medical standards, according to the charges.
“This trio did nothing to help this patient,” Pirro said during a news conference announcing the case. “This man didn’t have a chance there. He was left to die.”
The patient was admitted to the psychiatric hospital on April 13, 2020, and died 13 days later. Although the indictment refers to him only by his initials, a wrongful-death lawsuit filed by a relative identifies him as Gary Wilson, a man who reportedly had a pre-existing heart condition.
According to allegations in the lawsuit, the patient had been under doctor’s orders requiring constant supervision but instead was left unattended.
The hospital is a 130-bed private psychiatric facility that provides behavioral health treatment for children, adolescents and adults. It is operated by a subsidiary of Universal Health Services, a Pennsylvania-based hospital company that owns and manages medical facilities across the United States.
Advocacy group Disability Rights DC previously cited Wilson’s death in a 2021 report that found “disturbing specific and systemic failures” at the institute.
The three defendants pleaded not guilty to the criminal negligence charges during a court appearance last week and were released pending trial. If convicted, each could face a maximum sentence of up to 20 years in prison. They are scheduled to return to court May 29.
Meanwhile, the wrongful-death lawsuit filed by Wilson’s niece has been temporarily suspended while the criminal case proceeds. The civil complaint alleges the hospital falsified medical records related to the incident, an accusation that the hospital has disputed while seeking dismissal of the suit.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.
Maryland Reaches Tentative Settlement Over Key Bridge Collision and Collapse
The State of Maryland reached a "settlement in principle" last week with the owner and operator of the massive cargo ship that struck and toppled the Francis Scott Key Bridge two years ago in Baltimore.
It was one of the nation's most catastrophic maritime disasters.
Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown said that Grace Ocean Private Limited and Synergy Marine Pte Ltd., which owns and manages the M/V Dali, agreed to resolve a significant portion of the state’s claims.
The March 26, 2024, disaster claimed the lives of six construction workers and paralyzed the Port of Baltimore for months. The state’s lawsuit alleged the disaster resulted from negligence and the "reckless operation" of an unseaworthy vessel.
"For two years, Maryland workers, families, and communities have carried the weight of a disaster that should never have happened," Brown said in a statement. "Our work is not finished, but this settlement is an important step toward accountability."
The state’s announcement follows a separate $350 million settlement reached this month between the ship’s owners and ACE American Insurance Company, the bridge’s primary insurer.
ACE American Insurance is now legally authorized to recover its payout from any parties found negligent in the collision, which most likely means the ship’s owners.
Maryland officials estimate the price tag for a replacement bridge has soared to between $4.3 billion and $5.2 billion, with a projected completion date of 2030. The federal government is offering to help pay for much of the reconstruction.
U.S. District Judge James Bredar has told the remaining parties, such as the City of Baltimore and the families of the victims, to be prepared for a high-stakes bench trial scheduled to begin June 1. The trial will address the shipowners’ ongoing attempt to use an 1851 maritime law to cap their total liability at roughly $44 million.
The design for the new span has reached about 70 percent completion.
For more information, contact The Legal Forum (www.legal-forum.net) at email: tramstack@gmail.com or phone: 202-479-7240.