Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan adds former Bush solicitor general to defense team

Milwaukee Judge Hannah Dugan, who was arrested and charged last week with hiding a previously deported illegal immigrant in her jury room in order to shield him from immigration officials, has tapped former Bush solicitor general Paul Clemente to represent her, according to Law.com.

Clemente, an appellate legal heavyweight, served as the U.S. solicitor general from 2005 to 2009 and has argued more than 100 cases before the U.S. Supreme Court. 

He was on President Donald Trump's short list of Supreme Court nominees during his first term and provided independent legal advice on the Justice Department’s request to dismiss the corruption case against New York City Mayor Eric Adams. Clement recommended that the case be dismissed with prejudice, meaning the charges could not be refiled.

MILWAUKEE JUDGE HANNAH DUGAN 'TEMPORARILY RELIEVED OF HER OFFICIAL DUTIES' BY WISCONSIN SUPREME COURT

Clemente joining Dugan’s defense team is significant given his conservative political background and long-standing career of arguing on behalf of conservative causes, including opposing gun control and same-sex marriage, according to Law.com.

He also litigated against the Obama administration, challenging the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act.  

Dugan was arrested Friday and charged with obstruction of an official proceeding and concealing an individual to prevent discovery and arrest, according to a criminal complaint. 

Federal agents from ICE, FBI, CBP and DEA attempted to arrest the undocumented male – Mexican national Eduardo Flores-Ruiz – following his scheduled criminal court appearance before Dugan on April 18 to face three misdemeanor battery charges for allegedly beating up two people.

Dugan demanded that the officers proceed to the chief judge’s office and – after his hearing ended – escorted Flores-Ruiz and his attorney out a restricted jury door, bypassing the public area where agents were waiting in order to help him avoid arrest, per the complaint.

NEW MEXICO SUPREME COURT BANS JUDGE AFTER ALLEGED TDA MEMBER ARRESTED AT HOME

Dugan appeared in federal court in Milwaukee on Friday and her next court appearance is May 15.

The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued an administrative order on Tuesday calling for Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Hannah Dugan to be "temporarily relieved of her official duties."

Clement, meanwhile, is a founding partner of Clement & Murphy PLLC, a boutique appellate law firm based in Washington, D.C., and a distinguished lecturer in law at the Georgetown University Law Center, where he initially served as an adjunct professor starting in 1998.

Following graduation, Clement clerked for Judge Laurence H. Silberman of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit as well as for Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia. 

Clement's advocacy in the high court also includes recently arguing Loper Bright v. Raimondo, which effectively overturned the Chevron doctrine. The doctrine previously gave deference to an agency's interpretation of a federal regulation. 

He also served as chief counsel of the U.S. Senate Subcommittee on the Constitution, Federalism and Property Rights.

Clement will join a legal team led by Steve Biskupic, a former U.S. attorney and a George W. Bush appointee who prosecuted seven officers for the 2004 racially motivated assault of Frank Jude Jr., according to Law.com reports.

Other members of the defense team include Craig Mastantuono of Mastantuono Coffee & Thomas and Jason Luczak and Nicole Masnica of Gimbel, Reilly, Guerin & Brown, per the outlet.

Fox News Digital's Haley Chi-Sing, Breanne Deppisch and Greg Wehner contributed to this report.

Georgia Sen. Jon Ossoff says Trump's 'chaos and uncertainty' leading to economic challenges

Sen. Jon Ossoff, D-Ga., said the economic challenge sparked by President Donald Trump's "chaos and uncertainty" is the biggest issue facing the Peach State, stressing that the president's uncertain economic policy is impacting how businesses and residents make decisions for the future.

Ossoff, preparing to run for re-election in 2026, potentially against Georgia's popular Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, who has yet to announce if he will join the race. Ossoff is the only Democrat seeking reelection who represents a state that Trump won last year, making him a top target for Republicans hoping to maintain their Senate majority.

"I am more than prepared for any challenger," Ossoff, 38, told The Associated Press on Saturday while declining to comment on any potential opponents.

Ossoff defeated incumbent Republican Sen. David Perdue in a runoff in 2021, helping Democrats flip control of the Senate and hold onto the chamber's majority for four years during the Biden administration.

SENATOR JOINS GROUP OF FAR-LEFT LAWMAKERS WHO THINK TRUMP HAS — AGAIN — COMMITTED IMPEACHABLE OFFENSES

During his first four years, Ossoff attempted to establish a reputation as a senator working to advance Georgia's traditional interests, including its farmers and military bases. He says he will attempt to work with Republicans to deliver for Georgia.

The senator, who has recently intensified his criticisms of Trump, warned Saturday that businesses and households in Georgia are struggling to plan for the future because of constant changes in the federal government's trade and economic moves.

"Businesses are unable to invest with an understanding of what the rules of international trade will be from one hour or week or month to the next," Ossoff told The Associated Press. "Households are unable to plan their annual budgets because there’s so much chaos and uncertainty in the implementation of federal economic policy."

"This administration needs to clearly define its economic objectives, and it needs to competently implement its plan, whatever that plan may be," he continued. "The fact that the White House does not even know what its policy is, and is with such unpredictability and chaos, lurching from one policy to the other, is putting the state’s economy at serious economic risk."

STACEY ABRAMS CONSIDERS 3RD RUN FOR GEORGIA GOVERNOR DESPITE BACK-TO-BACK DEFEATS

Ossoff also expressed concerns about Trump's authoritarian and "un-American" executive action since returning to the White House in January, pointing to the president's attempts to go after his political opponents.

"We have never seen a president try to wield the federal government to crush his critics and political adversaries," Ossoff said. "That’s something new in American history, and it is, in my view, un-American. And it’s something that should chill us to the bone, no matter our politics, no matter our policy preferences."

The lawmaker urged Republicans to remember that eventually a Democrat will be president again and "the shoe will be on the other foot."

"This is about checks and balances," he said. "This is about whether or not the executive branch is constrained as designed by our Constitution, by judicious legislators who can put their partisanship aside to protect the public interest."

Ossoff explained that, while Democrats have limited power without control of the White House or either chamber of Congress, a big part of his job at the moment is to inform the people of Georgia that Trump's policies are not in the state's best interest.

In addition to his criticism of Trump, Ossoff has cited shortcomings during the Biden administration, particularly when it comes to border security. He was one of 12 Democrats who voted for the Laken Riley Act, named after a Georgia nursing student murdered by Venezuelan migrant Jose Antonio Ibarra.

The law requires illegal migrants accused — even without a conviction — of theft or violent crimes to be detained by the Department of Homeland Security.

"My view is that the American people expect and deserve secure borders," Ossoff said. "And I think the Biden administration failed in its border policies. The American people expect and deserve for people who enter this country illegally and may pose a threat to public safety or national security to be apprehended by the authorities."

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

"But the American people don’t support and don’t expect federal police raids on elementary schools and hospitals and churches," he continued, referring to the Trump administration's controversial immigration enforcement actions. "And [the American people] don’t expect our military installations to become mass prison camps for immigrants and don’t want entire families rounded up with no due process. We just learned yesterday about a two-year-old U.S. citizen — a two-year-old girl — who was deported without due process. Our immigration policy needs to be responsible and serious. It also needs to be humane."

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

About Us

Virtus (virtue, valor, excellence, courage, character, and worth)

Vincit (conquers, triumphs, and wins)