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Dozens of student pilots sue United Airlines and its flight school

CHICAGO (AP) – Dozens of former student pilots who say they racked up tens of thousands of dollars in debt for tuition are suing United Airlines and its flight school in the Arizona desert, saying it didn’t have enough teachers or aircraft to properly train and graduate its students.

The federal lawsuit accuses United and the school, United Aviate Academy, of falsely promoting a well-equipped, intensive training program that would put students on a path to becoming commercial pilots after a year. In reality, the students said in an amended complaint filed last week, their flight time was limited due to the staffing shortages and frequent staff turnover. In some cases, students were teaching other students, according to the lawsuit.

Some of the students said they ultimately left the program when it became clear they would not finish training after a year. But many of them alleged in the lawsuit that they were wrongly expelled from the school for “taking too long to advance” through the program.

Around the time of the pandemic, United purchased the pilot school in the Phoenix suburb of Goodyear to address a critical problem facing the industry: not enough pilots. Airlines have complained about the shortage for years, but they made it worse during the COVID-19 outbreak by encouraging pilots to take early retirement when air travel collapsed in 2020.

In a statement, Chicago-based United said it couldn’t comment on specific allegations, citing the ongoing lawsuit, but it defended its pilot school.

“We have the highest confidence in the rigorous curriculum and flight training program provided at United Aviate Academy and are proud of the school’s hundreds of graduates,” the statement said.

The lawsuit claims the school had an enrollment cap of 325 students “to ensure sufficient resources.” Instead, according to the complaint, there were more than 380 students enrolled in the program in March 2024.

Within months, the school’s accrediting body issued a warning letter to the flight school, in part because of its enrollment numbers, according to the lawsuit.

Around this time, the lawsuit claims that United Aviate Academy began expelling students from the program “in order to comply with the enrollment cap.”

By August of that year, the school was placed on probation by the Accrediting Commission of Career Schools and Colleges, according to the lawsuit. The school voluntarily withdrew its accreditation in January.

United told The Associated Press that it “is exploring an alternative accreditation that better meets the needs of the flight school.”

Richard Levy, a retired captain who flew for a major international airline for 41 years and who now works as a flight instructor in Texas, said a one-year program is in line with industry training standards. He said students who want to fly commercial jets will typically train for about a year for certain certifications, then go on to work for a regional airline and log additional flying time — up to 1,500 hours — before they can fly for a major airline.

What’s important, Levy said, is that students are flying frequently and following a structured, uniform program during their training.

But the lawsuit says that at one point there were roughly 20 aircraft for the hundreds of students enrolled in United’s flight school. One student said he was able to fly just once or twice over several months and was repeatedly reassigned instructors. He was eventually expelled for “taking too long to advance” through his courses, the lawsuit alleges.

Another expelled student said she had a different instructor during each of her first four flights. During her eighth flight, she said, her instructor was a fellow student of the program.

“It was students teaching students,” the lawsuit says. It also alleges that students were sometimes evaluated by instructors who were not pilots themselves.

Levy said he’s “never heard of” non-pilots evaluating student pilots.

Most of the students suing said they took out loans with the expectation that they were attending a one-year program that would lead to “gainful employment.” Many of them had to relocate to Arizona to attend the program.

One student sold his home, according to the lawsuit. Another left his job of 21 years to “pursue his dream” of becoming a pilot while his husband stayed behind at their home in Texas.

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Phoenix on behalf of 29 former students from states across the country, including Florida, Texas, California, Colorado, Nevada and Connecticut.

Judge throws out rule that would have capped credit card late fees

HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas judge on Tuesday threw out a federal rule that would have capped credit card late fees after officials with President Donald Trump’s administration and a coalition of major banking groups agreed that the rule was illegal.

The ruling by U.S. District Judge Mark Pittman in Fort Worth came a day after the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and a collection of major industry groups that had filed a lawsuit last year to stop the rule announced they had come to an agreement to throw out the rule. The groups that sued included the American Bankers Association, the Consumer Bankers Association, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The banks and other groups had alleged the new rule — proposed last year under the administration of President Joe Biden — violated the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure or CARD Act of 2009, which was enacted to protect consumers from unfair practices by credit card companies. The groups claimed the new rule did not allow credit card issuers “to charge fees that sufficiently account for deterrence or consumer conduct, including with respect to repeat violations.”

“The parties agree that, in the Late Fee Rule, the Bureau violated the CARD Act by failing to allow card issuers to ‘charge penalty fees reasonable and proportional to violations,’” attorneys with the CFPB wrote in a joint motion on Monday with the banking groups to vacate the rule.

The banks have been pushing hard to stop the late fee rule, due to the potential billions of dollars the banks would lose in revenue. The CFPB estimated when it issued the proposal last year that banks brought in roughly $14 billion in credit card late fees a year.

“This is a win for consumers and common sense. If the CFPB’s rule had gone into effect, it would have resulted in more late payments, lower credit scores, higher interest rates and reduced credit access for those who need it most. It would have also penalized the millions of Americans who pay their credit card bills on time and reduced important incentives for consumers to manage their finances,” the banking groups and others said in a joint statement on Tuesday.

Even if the lawsuit had gone forward, the banking groups had a good chance of winning as Pittman in a December ruling had said they would have likely prevailed as he found that the new rule violated the CARD Act by not allowing credit card issuers to charge penalty fees that are reasonable and proportional to violations.

The CFPB has been in turmoil since the Trump administration earlier this year began dismantling it, targeting it for mass firings and dropping various enforcement actions against companies like Capital One and Rocket Homes. A federal judge last month issued a preliminary injunction that temporarily stopped the agency’s demise.

The CFPB was created in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis to protect consumers from unfair, deceptive, or abusive practices by a wide range of financial institutions and businesses.

Border deployment vehicle accident kills two service members, third in critical condition

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two service members deployed to the U.S. Southern border were killed and a third is in serious condition after a vehicle accident near Santa Teresa, New Mexico, the military announced late Tuesday.

The region where the accident took place is just over the state line and west of Fort Bliss, a major Army installation in West Texas that has played a critical role in dispatching military deportation flights and served as a touchpoint for thousands of soldiers and pieces of equipment now deployed along the border.

The troops are deployed there in support of President Donald Trump’s executive order to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

A defense official speaking on the condition of anonymity to provide additional details not yet made public said the accident occurred in a civilian vehicle, but no civilians were harmed in the incident.

The incident did not involve any of the scores of Stryker vehicles the Pentagon has sent down to the border to perform patrols, the official said.

The accident occurred around 8:50 a.m. MDT Tuesday; the names of the deceased will not be released until the next of kin are notified.

RFK Jr.’s mixed message about the measles outbreaks draws criticism

WASHINGTON (AP) — As measles outbreaks popped up across the U.S. this winter, pediatricians waited for the nation’s public health agency to send a routine, but important, letter that outlines how they could help stop the spread of the illness.

It wasn’t until last week — after the number of cases grew to more than 700, and a second young child in Texas had died from a measles infection — that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention finally issued its correspondence.

The delay of that letter may seem minor. But it is one in a string of missteps that more than a dozen doctors, nurses and public health officials interviewed by The Associated Press identified in the Trump administration’s response to the outbreak.

Health secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s efforts to contain an epidemic in a tight-knit, religious community in West Texas have run counter to established public health strategies deployed to end past epidemics.

“What we are lacking now is one, clear strong voice — from the federal to the state to the local — saying that the vaccine is the only thing that will prevent measles,” said Patricia Stinchfield, a nurse and infectious disease expert who helped stop a 2017 measles outbreak in Minnesota’s Somali community.

An ‘extremely unusual’ approach to the outbreak

Behind the scenes, Kennedy has not been regularly briefed in person on the outbreak by his own infectious disease experts at the CDC at least through March 21, according to Kevin Griffis, a career staffer who worked as the agency’s communications director until he resigned that day.

Even after the measles claimed its first young Texas victim in late February, Kennedy had still not been briefed by CDC staff, Griffis said. His account was confirmed by a second former federal health official, who resigned at the end of February.

A spokesperson for Kennedy did not answer specific written questions about how he had been briefed or his communications with CDC staff.

The spokesperson said the CDC activated an Atlanta-based response in early February to provide overall guidance on measles testing and vaccination strategy. An on-the-ground team was deployed to West Texas throughout most of March and withdrawn on April 1.

It was a “joint decision” between state and federal officials to send the team home, CDC spokesman Jason McDonald said. Another team of seven was dispatched back to the region this week.

In previous administrations, health secretaries held weekly briefings with CDC staff, lasting between 25 and 30 minutes, during infectious disease outbreaks, both former HHS officials said. Kennedy, instead, received updates on paper or through email, Griffis said.

“That is extremely unusual,” said Griffis, who sat in on such briefings with the previous health secretary and said that none were held for Kennedy during his first month on the job. “I’ve never seen that before.”

In another irregularity, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the nation’s largest network of pediatricians, has not been tapped to work with the CDC on the outbreak, according to the organization’s officials. Historically, the CDC and AAP have convened for monthly or biweekly briefings during outbreaks to share updates, which include details about what doctors are seeing and questions they’re fielding from parents in exam rooms. The officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely discuss the health department’s response.

The only updates provided widely to pediatricians by the CDC have come from a health alert network update sent on March 7, a week after the first U.S. measles death in a decade, and the letter sent to providers last week, which, according to the pediatric academy officials, was late in the outbreak.

Kennedy praised the CDC on Tuesday during an event in Indianapolis, saying it “had done a very good job controlling the measles outbreak.”

Kennedy endorses vaccines, but still raises safety doubts

Kennedy’s inconsistent and unclear message on the measles vaccines has also made the outbreaks difficult to contain, experts say.

He has occasionally endorsed the measles, mumps and rubella vaccine as “effective,” but also continues to raise safety concerns about the shots in other statements. In a CBS interview last week, he claimed the vaccines were “not safety tested.”

That approach has been the biggest flaw of the government’s response, said Dr. Carlos del Rio, the president of the Infectious Disease Society of America.

“Imagine if the captain of the Titanic had told you that you need to be careful about lifeboats and think about other opportunities,” del Rio said.

Trials were conducted on thousands of children before the vaccine was approved for use in the 1960s. The federal government has since used medical records to continue to monitor for side effects from use in millions of people since.

Health secretaries have typically delivered a clear message urging the public to get vaccinated during outbreaks, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, a former deputy director at the CDC who retired after 33 years at the agency in 2021.

President Donald Trump and his first-term health secretary, Alex Azar, urged people to get shots during news conferences in 2019, when measles ripped through Brooklyn and infected more than 1,200 nationwide.

“You don’t necessarily need the secretary of health to attend a funeral, OK, but you don’t want to have mixed messages on vaccines,” Schuchat said. “Someone in a federal building in Washington can do a lot of harm from the way that they are messaging.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott also quiet on vaccines

Local leaders have largely been left alone to urge the public to take up vaccinations.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, has not urged the public to get vaccinated, either. He has not held any news conferences about the outbreak and posted just once on social media about measles since January. Any statements about the illnesses, which have also put 56 people in the hospital at some point, have been left to his aides.

Abbott’s office did not respond to questions about his response to the outbreak.

Governors in other states have responded more forcefully to the growing measles case count. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green, a Democrat and a doctor, made front page news last week after urging Hawaiians to take up vaccines when the state recorded its first measles case in a year.

Ahead of a busy travel week for the Easter holiday, Nebraska Gov. Jim Pillen, a Republican, unequivocally called on people to vaccinate themselves and their children. There are no known measles cases in Nebraska, but an outbreak is active in neighboring Kansas.

“If you’re not vaccinated, you’re going to get measles,” Pillen said last week.

Those types of statements are important for the public to hear leaders say from the top down, said Dr. Oxiris Barbot, who was New York City’s health commissioner during the 2019 measles outbreak.

Barbot worked with local rabbis, as well as doctors and nurses in the Jewish community, to send messages that encouraged vaccine uptake. Calls from Trump and Azar, who urged the public to vaccinate, helped her make the case, too.

When national leaders distance themselves from that message, she said it “starts to erode the effectiveness of people who are trying to convey those messages at the local level.”

Suspect in shooting at Dallas high school is in custody, officials say

DALLAS (AP) — A suspect in a shooting at a Dallas high school that wounded four students and drew a heavy police response to the campus has been taken into custody, school district officials announced Tuesday night.

Three of the students were injured by gunfire and the fourth was injured in their lower body, according to the Dallas Fire-Rescue Department. The department said units were dispatched to Wilmer-Hutchins High School just after 1 p.m. and that the four students, all of whom are male, were taken to hospitals with injuries ranging from serious to not life-threatening.

“Quite frankly, this is just becoming way too familiar. And it should not be familiar,” Stephanie Elizalde, superintendent of the Dallas Independent School District, said at a news conference.

The school district said in a statement Tuesday night that a suspect was apprehended within hours of the shooting, but didn’t provide details about the person or say whether they had been arrested.

Christina Smith, assistant police chief for the Dallas Independent School District, said at the earlier news conference that the investigation was fluid and she did not have any information on what led to the shooting.

The three who were shot were between the ages of 15 and 18, while the age of a person with a “musculoskeletal injury” was not known, Dallas Fire-Rescue said.

School district officials and police gave few details during the news conference held several hours after the shooting, which drew a large number of police and other law enforcement agents to the roughly 1,000-student campus.

“I know that there are many questions and we’re not going to have all of the answers right now because some of the information will be inaccurate,” Elizalde said.

Authorities said other students and their parents had been safely reunited after the students had evacuated earlier in the day from the campus. Aerial television footage taken above the high school Tuesday afternoon showed multiple police vehicles thronging the complex.

Elizalde said that there would be no school at the high school for the rest of the week but that counselors would be available to students.

Smith said that the gun didn’t come into the school during “regular intake time.” She said “it was not a failure of our staff, of our protocols, or of the machinery that we have.” But she said she could not elaborate on that.

Shauna Williams, who has two students at the campus, said after the shooting that she was now considering homeschooling them. At the same school last April, one student shot another in the leg.

“I can’t keep going through this as a parent,” she told Dallas television station KDFW. “I’m telling you, it’s very frightening to think about losing your child, your kids.”

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said in a statement that “our hearts go out to the victims of this senseless act of violence.”

Former Texas Rep. Mayra Flores is recovering after health scare

AUSTIN (AP) — Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores is recovering after being hospitalized Tuesday shortly after announcing that she will run for a U.S. House seat in 2026, according to her campaign.

In a statement posted on X, the campaign said “Mayra Flores faced a sudden health scare, but thanks to the incredible care she received and the support of her loved ones, she is now fully recovering and feeling stronger than ever.”

Flores, who is from Texas, launched a bid Tuesday to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar. Her campaign announced just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details.

ORIGINAL STORY: Former Republican U.S. Rep. Mayra Flores of Texas on Tuesday launched a bid to unseat Democratic Rep. Henry Cuellar in 2026, followed by her campaign announcing just hours later on social media that she had been hospitalized with no further details.

Flores was the first Mexican-born congresswoman in the U.S. House after winning a 2022 special election in another Texas border district. She served about six months in Congress but lost her bid for a full term.

Her campaign did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment about why she was hospitalized.

“We pray that Mayra will return stronger than ever, ready to continue her unwavering commitment to serving our country,” her campaign said in a statement posted on X.

Flores’ challenge highlights Republicans’ growing confidence in making gains in South Texas, a region once a stronghold for Democrats but has slowly chipped away its support for the party in recent elections. President Donald Trump flipped several counties near the border — including the two most populous, Hidalgo and Cameron — in November. Starr County, with a predominately Hispanic and working-class population, broke generations of precedent when it flipped for Trump in 2024.

Cuellar, who has represented Texas’ 28th Congressional District for two decades, won reelection last year against a Republican newcomer who had little outside support. It was a test of Cuellar’s resiliency after he and his wife were indicted in 2024 on bribery charges. Prosecutors allege the couple accepted nearly $600,000 in bribes from an Azerbaijan-controlled energy company and a bank in Mexico. Cuellar has said that he and his wife are innocent, and the case remains ongoing.

Cuellar’s office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment.

Shooting reported at a Dallas high school, and officials soon after say campus secured

DALLAS (AP) — Police responded Tuesday to reports of a shooting at a Dallas high school where students were seen leaving the campus and school authorities later reported the campus had been secured.

Authorities did not immediately provide further details on the incident, which drew a large number of police and emergency vehicles to the campus of Wilmer-Hutchins High School in south Dallas.

The Dallas Independent School District later said the campus had been secured but it did not elaborate on what had occurred. The school has roughly 1,000 students.

Aerial television footage taken above the high school showed multiple police vehicles at the complex on Tuesday afternoon.

By mid-afternoon the school district said parents could reunite with students at a nearby stadium. The district also said counselors were available on site.

UT Health expands operations in Tyler

TYLER – UT Health East Texas is continuing to expand their health care operations by building a new facility in Tyler.

According to our news partner, KETK, the new state-of-the-art facility will have an area of more than eight thousand square feet. It will open up at Loop 323 and Earl Campbell Parkway in West Tyler near the Sam’s Club, and the new building will offer an urgent care center, a pediatric clinic, and a primary care clinic.

UT Health CEO Todd Hill spoke about the need for the new facility due to Tyler’s continued population growth.

“This location is at the heart of Tyler’s rapid growth along the western corridor,” Hill said. “As our community expands, we remain committed to meeting the increasing demand for quality healthcare close to home. This investment ensures that families in this area have convenient access to the care they need, when they need it.”

A groundbreaking ceremony for the new facility will be held at 10 a.m. on April 17 and the building is anticipated to be opened later this year.

Deputy receives award after saving a man’s life

UPSHUR COUNTY – According to our news partner, KETK, an Upshur County deputy received the lifesaving award on Tuesday after saving a man’s life during an overdose in March.

Upshur County Sheriff Larry Webb presented Deputy Lucrecia Davidson the lifesaving award after she responded to an overdose call on March 27 where a man was found unresponsive and lying on the floor.

Officials said Davidson was the first on scene and administered two doses of Narcan and continued to provide CPR while keeping his airway clear until EMS arrived and transported him to the hospital.Then man slowly began to respond and survived the incident due to Davidson’s quick actions.

The Sheriff’s office commented, saying, “Thank you, Deputy Davidson, for your unwavering service to the citizens of Upshur County.”

Tax preparer sentenced for role in refund fraud scheme

TYLER –A Tyler tax preparer has been sentenced to federal prison for her role in a tax refund fraud scheme in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe McGlothin, Jr. Karistha Johnson, 38, pleaded guilty to making false and fraudulent statements on a tax return and was sentenced to 24 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Jeremy D. Kernodle on April 15, 2025. Johnson was ordered to pay $1,244,934 in restitution.

“Ms. Johnson, in her role as a tax preparer, took advantage of those seeking assistance by filing fraudulent returns,” said Christopher J. Altemus Jr., Special Agent in Charge of IRS Criminal Investigation’s Dallas Field Office. “By fabricating deductions and business expenses, she filed hundreds of false returns, resulting in more than $1.2 million in fraudulent refunds. The women and men of IRS-CI remain dedicated to safeguarding our tax system and ensuring that individuals who engage in fraudulent activities face the full consequences under the law.” Continue reading Tax preparer sentenced for role in refund fraud scheme

Part of Rose Rudman Trail closed temporarily for tree maintenance

TYLER – The City of Tyler announced that a portion of Rose Rudman Trail will be closed all day Thursay, April 17 for tree trimming. The part of the Trail in question runs parallel to South Donnybrook Avenue, north of Shiloh Road. Officials stressed this area should be avoided until work is completed. This part of the trail will reopen Friday, April 18.

Trump administration pulls support for Dallas-to-Houston bullet train

DALLAS – The Dallas Morning News reports the Trump administration is pulling nearly $64 million in support for a proposed Dallas-to-Houston bullet train project, with Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy calling the project “a waste of taxpayer funds.” The U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday that it would terminate a $63.9 million grant for the project led by Texas Central, the company behind the planned high-speed rail line. The funds were awarded to Amtrak, a public rail provider that Texas Central said in 2023 would help move the project forward. The Federal Railroad Administration and Amtrak agreed to terminate the $63.9 million previously awarded under the Corridor Identification and Development Program, according to Monday’s announcement. “This project was originally announced as a purely private venture, but as the cost estimates dramatically ballooned, the Texas Central Railway proposal became dependent on Amtrak and federal dollars for development work,” the DOT said in a statement.

“The project capital cost is now believed to be over $40 billion — making construction unrealistic and a risky venture for the taxpayer,” the statement added. The company announced plans more than a decade ago for a proposed train to shuttle passengers from Dallas to Houston in about 90 minutes compared to the 3½-hour car trip on Interstate 45. Texas Central planned to model the bullet train after partner Japan Central Railways’ Shinkansen system. The project has faced many delays and leadership changes since, and uncertainty about the final costs remain. In a hearing before the Texas House Transportation Committee earlier this month, a Texas Central representative said details about how the rail line would be funded and the project timeline remains in flux. The company also expressed doubt that Amtrak would continue to lead the effort.

Smith County deputy and K9 officer place second in competition

SMITH COUNTY – Our news partner, KETK, reports that a Smith County deputy and K9 placed second out of 39 teams at a narcotics competition in Florida.

According to the Smith County Precinct 5 Constable’s Office, Deputy Alvin Gordon and K9 Blaze attended the National Narcotics Detector Dog Association (NNDDA) National Training Conference at the Hyatt Conference Center in Titusville, Fla., from April 7 through April 11, where they competed against other K9s and handlers.

NNDDA holds an annual seminar for hundreds of K9s and their handlers with extensive training, including K9 liability, K9 supervisor’s course, training sites and certification, K9 troubleshooting problems, patrol competition, and narcotics competition. Officials said Gordon and Blaze came home with second place in the narcotics competition out of 39 teams.

“We could not be prouder of these two, and the work they do for Smith County,” the precinct 5 constable’s office said.

Measles cases linked to Texas outbreak reach 561, with 20 new infections confirmed

AUSTIN — The measles outbreak in western Texas continues to grow, with 561 confirmed cases, according to new data published Tuesday.

This is an increase of 20 new cases over the last five days.

Almost all of the cases are in unvaccinated individuals or in individuals whose vaccination status is unknown, according to the Texas Department of State Health Services (DSHS).

Four of the cases are among residents who have been vaccinated with one dose of the measles, mumps, rubella (MMR) vaccine. Seven cases are among those vaccinated with two doses.

At least 58 people with measles have been hospitalized so far.

Children and teenagers between ages 5 and 17 make up the majority of cases, followed by children ages 4 and under.

Gaines County, which borders New Mexico, remains the epicenter of the outbreak, with 364 cases confirmed so far, DSHS data shows.

This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.

Susman Godfrey files federal lawsuit against President Trump

HOUSTON – The Dallas Morning News says Texas litigation powerhouse Susman Godfrey filed a federal lawsuit late Friday accusing President Donald Trump of issuing unconstitutional executive orders against it and other law firms. The law firm calls the president’s actions a violation of the rule of law and “a grave threat to this foundational premise of our Republic.” The 66-page complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., alleges that President Trump “is abusing the powers of his office” and “is engaged in an unprecedented and unconstitutional assault on those bedrock principles [found in Article I and in the First and Fifth Amendments] and on the independent bar.” “In recent weeks, the president has issued multiple executive orders targeting law firms and their employees in an express campaign of retaliation for representing clients and causes he disfavors or employing lawyers he dislikes,” the lawsuit states, “If a president can with impunity seek to destroy a law firm because of the clients it represents, then the rule of law itself is in grave danger.”

“The executive order makes no secret of its unconstitutional retaliatory and discriminatory intent to punish Susman Godfrey for its work defending the integrity of the 2020 presidential election,” the Houston-based firm states in the complaint. Susman Godfrey served as legal counsel for Dominion in its defamation lawsuit against Fox News and other media outlets, which broadcasted claims by President Trump and his supporters that the Dominion electronic voting machines helped rig the 2020 election. Fox News settled the lawsuit for $787.5 million instead of going to trial. And the very same day that the White House released the executive order against Susman Godfrey, lawyers for the firm won a huge court victory for Dominion in a billion-dollar defamation case against the conservative news channel Newsmax Media in another 2020 presidential election dispute. On Wednesday, President Trump issued an executive order that accuses the firm of “egregious conduct and conflicts of interest” and representing “clients that engage in conduct undermining critical American interests and priorities.” The order by the president suspends “security clearances held by individuals at Susman Godfrey pending a review of whether such clearances are consistent with the national interest.” “Susman spearheads efforts to weaponize the American legal system and degrade the quality of American elections,” President Trump wrote in the executive order. “Susman funds groups that engage in dangerous efforts to undermine the effectiveness of the U.S. military through the injection of political and radical ideology, and it supports efforts to discriminate on the basis of race.”