(NEW YORK) — Stocks futures traded slightly higher early Wednesday, following another volatile day for the market amid the continued rollout of President Donald Trump’s tariffs on goods from top U.S. trading partners.
Dow futures were higher by 189 points or 0.46%. Both the Nasdaq and S&P 500 also appeared ready to open narrowly higher on Wednesday.
Traders are expected to be looking to Wednesday’s inflation report for clues on the health of the economy amid Trump’s escalting trade war. Expectations are that inflation will be up 2.9% compared to a year ago. A worse-than-expected report could add to negative stock sentiment.
Trump’s 25% tariffs on all imported steel and aluminum products came into effect overnight. The European Commission said EU member states would retaliate with duties on U.S. goods, sending European markets mostly higher.
Some economists say that while the tariffs could boost the local steel industry in the United States, they could also lead to higher prices for industries that purchase steel. Those higher prices may eventually reach consumers.
The U.S. relies heavily on imported aluminum and those costs are expected go up as well.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
State Emergency Service of Ukraine/Anadolu via Getty Images
(LONDON) — The prospects for a ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine are “in Moscow’s hands,” a top aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said following successful U.S.-Ukraine talks in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Andriy Yermak — the head of Zelenskyy’s office — was part of the Ukrainian delegation that met with American representatives in Jeddah, where both teams agreed to pursue a 30-day ceasefire and use the pause in fighting as a launchpad for full peace negotiations to end Russia’s 3-year-old invasion of its neighbor.
“Ukraine is ready to accept a 30-day ceasefire if Russia agrees,” Yermak wrote on Telegram on Wednesday morning. “This is a necessary step to begin work on real security guarantees and preparing the final terms of a peace agreement.”
“But now the key is in Moscow’s hands — the whole world will see who really wants to end the war and who is simply playing for time,” he added.
Moscow was readying itself to hear details from Tuesday’s U.S.-Ukraine meeting, with officials “scrutinizing” the publicly released statements, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said on Wednesday.
He added that Russia “doesn’t want to get ahead of itself” on the potential ceasefire, saying the Kremlin will want to first get specifics directly from Washington. A “summit phone call” may be in the cards, he said.
President Donald Trump’s return to office has put Ukraine in a strategic bind, no longer able to rely on the “ironclad” — if at times hesitant, according to many Ukrainians — American support during former President Joe Biden’s time in office.
Trump has aligned with Russian narratives about the conflict, framing Ukraine as the key impediment to peace, falsely blaming Kyiv for starting the war, undermining Zelenskyy’s legitimacy as president and seeking to recoup years of American aid via a controversial minerals sharing deal.
Last week, the Trump administration announced a freeze on U.S. military aid to and intelligence sharing with Ukraine. Tuesday’s meeting in Saudi Arabia saw that pause lifted, officials said.
Moscow has welcomed the radical U.S. shift in rhetoric and policy, which culminated in an explosive Trump-Zelenskyy Oval Office meeting last month.
Kyiv has been striving to prove its readiness for peace, while stressing that no deal can succeed without American security guarantees to deter repeat Russian aggression. Ukrainian leaders have also cast doubt on Russia’s apparent readiness to end the fighting and urged their U.S. partners to be wary of the Kremlin.
Following Tuesday’s talks, Zelenskyy wrote on Telegram of the 30-day ceasefire plan, “Ukraine accepts this proposal, we consider it positive, we are ready to take this step. The United States of America needs to convince Russia to do so.”
“We agree, and if the Russians agree, the silence will take effect at that very moment,” he added. “An important element in today’s discussions is America’s readiness to restore defense assistance to Ukraine and intelligence support.”
“Ukraine is ready for peace,” Zelenskyy wrote. “Russia must also show whether it is ready to end the war — or continue it. The time has come for the whole truth. I thank everyone who helps Ukraine.”
Trump told reporters Wednesday that he expects imminent further talks with Russian representatives. “Ukraine has agreed to it, and hopefully Russia will agree to it,” the president said of the proposed ceasefire.
“We’re going to meet with them later on today and tomorrow, and hopefully we’ll be able to wipe out a deal,” he continued. “But I think the ceasefire is very important. If we can get Russia to do it, that’ll be great. If we can’t, we just keep going on and people are going to get killed. Lots of people.”
When asked how close a ceasefire was, Trump responded, “Well, I hope it’ll be over the next few days. I’d like to see. I know we have a big meeting with Russia tomorrow, and some great conversations hopefully will ensue,” Trump said.
U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer in a statement said that “the ball is now in the Russian court.”
“This is an important moment for peace in Ukraine and we now all need to redouble our efforts to get to a lasting and secure peace as soon as possible,” he said in a statement on Wednesday.
Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff — who took part in the recent U.S. talks with both Ukraine and Russia — is due to visit Moscow “in the coming days,” according to a source familiar with the plans. Russia’s state-run RIA Novosti news agency also reported Wednesday that CIA Director Jim Ratcliffe spoke by phone with Sergey Naryshkin — the head of Russia’s Foreign Intelligence Service.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, meanwhile, said in an interview published Wednesday that he does not believe Trump wants to provide security guarantees to Ukraine.
“He has his own view of the situation, which he regularly and directly states,” Lavrov said. “This war should never have started.”
Despite apparent progress in Jeddah, the fighting continues. Fierce combat is ongoing all along the front line, particularly in the western Russian Kursk region, where Moscow’s forces are pushing Ukrainian troops back from positions seized in a surprise August offensive.
Overnight, both sides launched drones across the shared border. Russia’s Defense Ministry reported the downing of 21 Ukrainian UAVs.
Ukraine’s air force reported three missiles and 133 drones launched into the country overnight. The air force said 98 of the drones were shot down and 20 lost in flight without causing damage. Odesa, Kharkiv, Sumy and Kyiv regions were affected, the air force said.
ABC News’ Kelsey Walsh and Joe Simonetti contributed to this report.
(LOS ANGELES) — The woman who said she was 13 when Shawn “Jay-Z” Carter and Sean “Diddy” Combs sexually assaulted her after the 2000 MTV Video Music Awards is heard on a recording agreeing Jay-Z did not assault her and saying her lawyer pushed her to sue Jay-Z.
The woman’s lawsuit against Jay-Z and Combs has since been withdrawn with prejudice, meaning it cannot be revived.
The recording, an excerpt of which was obtained by ABC News, is between the woman, identified as Jane Doe, and two private investigators associated with Carter.
“He was just there, but he didn’t have anything to do with any sexual acts towards you?” the private investigator asked.
“Yeah,” Jane Doe replied.
Carter’s attorney, Alex Spiro, denies that Jay-Z has ever met Jane Doe.
In the recording, the woman is heard telling the investigators that her lawyer, Tony Buzbee, put her up to suing Jay-Z.
“He was the one that kind of pushed me towards going forward with him, with Jay-Z,” the woman is heard saying.
“Buzbee did?” the investigators asked. “Yeah,” the woman replied.
Buzbee called the idea that he pushed her into suing Jay-Z a “blatant lie.”
“As far as the suggestion that I pushed Jane Doe to bring a case against Jay Z – That is a blatant lie that is directly contrary to all the documentary evidence,” Buzbee said in a statement provided to ABC News.
Carter’s attorney said “the tape speaks for itself” and should leave no doubt about his innocence.
“She says in no uncertain terms Mr. Carter did not do this. It’s effectively a lie and the only reason Mr. Carter is even involved in this is because she was pushed to involve him,” Spiro told ABC News in an exclusive interview.
Jane Doe has said, in a sworn declaration, she stands by her claims and dropped her lawsuit because of “fear of intimidation and retaliation from Jay-Z” and his fans.
She also denied telling the investigators Buzbee sought her out as a client or that he encouraged her to pursue a false claim against Jay-Z. She said she felt “intimidated and terrified” at being confronted on her doorstep and that the investigators knew her name and address.
Spiro said the investigators who approached Jane Doe did not coerce or threaten her.
“She voluntarily met, spoke to them and she told them her truth, which was under no circumstances did Mr. Carter do this,” Spiro said.
Jay-Z, who has sold more than 140 million albums, is one of the world’s best-selling artists. He is married to Beyoncé and they share three children. His attorney said that this has impacted the Carter family.
“It’s tough to hear a false lie said about you, spread through the internet, and affecting your children,” Spiro said. “It’s tough on him. It’s tough on anybody. But what he does is he proves himself innocent. Today is hopefully the final chapter in that. And then they’re gonna move forward. That’s what Jay does.”
Carter is now suing Jane Doe and Tony Buzbee for defamation, which they deny.
“The truth had to fully come out. This person cannot be allowed to sort of hide from the reality that this was a false accusation,” Spiro said.
(MADISON, WI) — A closely watched Wisconsin Supreme Court election takes center stage as Republican-backed Brad Schimel and Democratic-backed Susan Crawford are set to debate on Wednesday, locked in a race for a seat that is technically nonpartisan but has become the center of a political firestorm.
The April 1 election will determine which of the candidates, vying to replace retiring Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, will help determine the ideological bent of the court, which currently leans liberal. The winner will join the bench as the court grapples with hot-button issues such as abortion access and redistricting.
The race could also preview how voters in the battleground state feel a few months into President Donald Trump’s second term.
“They’re using it as a test as to President Trump’s popularity,” Janine Geske, a law professor at Marquette University and a former Wisconsin Supreme Court justice, told ABC News. “He took Wisconsin in the election. And the question is, how will this election go?”
The debate, hosted by ABC affiliate WISN-TV and the Marquette University Law School, will air online and on ABC News affiliates across Wisconsin at 7 p.m. Central time on Wednesday.
Schimel, the candidate backed by Republicans, is a former state attorney general who is a circuit court judge in Waukesha County.
“I got in this race 16 months before Election Day because I recognize … you gotta meet voters where they are,” Schimel told WISN in February.
Crawford, backed by Democrats, is a Dane County circuit court judge and a former private attorney. She at points represented Democratic-aligned groups such as Planned Parenthood, an organization supporting abortion access.
“I have spent a lot of time talking about my record, my background as a prosecutor, as a lawyer representing people in court and standing up for their rights,” Crawford told WISN in February.
Over $40 million has been spent on ad reservations, both aired already and for future reservations, in the race, according to advertisement tracking firm AdImpact. (Recent polling from the Marquette University Law School showed a sizable percentage of voters do not have an opinion on either candidate.)
The election is also seen as one indication of Elon Musk’s influence beyond Washington, where he has overseen major cuts to the federal government.
A conservative group affiliated with Musk, Building America’s Future, has spent more than $1.6 million on television ads in the Wisconsin Supreme Court race, while another one Musk backs, America PAC, has spent over $6 million on get-out-the-vote efforts and digital media, according to state campaign finance records. The expenditures are marked as either opposing Crawford or supporting Schimel.
Musk himself has not weighed in much directly about the race, but he posted on X last month urging people to “vote Republican for the Wisconsin Supreme Court to prevent voting fraud!” Schimel has said he has never spoken to Musk and told reporters in February, “I don’t have any agenda that I’m working alongside anyone.”
These groups’ investment in the race has sparked pushback from Democrats.
“Wisconsin voters don’t like Elon Musk running our federal government and they don’t want him buying elections in Wisconsin either,” Democratic National Committee Chairman Ken Martin said in a statement on Monday.
Crawford’s own support has not been free of scrutiny. Schimel and his supporters have pointed to major donors seemingly supporting Crawford, including liberal billionaire George Soros and Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker, a Democrat. According to state campaign finance records, those individuals donated to the Wisconsin Democratic Party, and the state party has donated $2 million to Crawford.
Crawford has said she has made no promises to any donors and has also emphasized her independence.
While this election is being eyed nationally as the first major race of 2025, experts and supporters of either candidate say it also could have major impacts for the state of Wisconsin, including on issues such as redistricting, voting rights and abortion access.
For example, there is a Wisconsin Supreme Court case regarding if the Wisconsin Constitution protects the right to an abortion, which the court might consider after the new justice is seated.
Wisconsin has an 1849 statute on the books that would effectively limit all abortions in the state, although the law is not enforced.
If the court were to determine in a different case that the statute is still in effect and later that abortion access is not protected by the Wisconsin Constitution, it could mean abortion is determined illegal in Wisconsin, Chad Oldfather, another law professor at Marquette University, told ABC News.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported that Schimel had previously indicated support for leaving the 1849 law in place. More recently, Schimel told WISN that on abortion access cases, “I treasure life even when it’s not planned, but I respect that the law puts this in the hands of voters, and I will respect their will. … [My] personal opinions? No, they don’t have any role.”
Crawford, on her end, told WISN she has made no promises to any abortion access advocacy groups but said she is proud of the work she did as a lawyer “fighting for people’s rights,” including when representing Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin.
Women Speak Out PAC, a group that is affiliated with Susan B. Anthony Pro-Life America, a group that opposes abortion access, launched canvassers and volunteers to get out the vote for Schimel. SBA has made a six-figure investment in the race.
“Lives are literally on the line in this race, and they depend upon Wisconsin voters showing up for Brad Schimel. … If Schimel doesn’t win, the court will be a tool of the Left,” Kelsey Pritchard, political communications director for SBA, told ABC News in an interview.
EMILY’s List, a political group that supports female candidates who support abortion access, has donated to Crawford and ran a digital fundraising campaign to encourage others to donate.
“As Trump, MAGA Republicans, and unelected billionaires like Elon Musk try to rip away the freedoms we’ve fought so hard for, electing Judge Susan Crawford to the Wisconsin state Supreme Court means protecting these rights that are under attack,” EMILY’s List President Jessica Mackler said in a statement to ABC News.
ABC News’ Hannah Demissie, Soorin Kim and Will Steakin contributed to this report.
(WASHINGTON) — An inflation report to be released on Wednesday will provide a fresh gauge of economic performance under President Donald Trump as markets slide and recession fears swell in response to an escalating trade war.
Economists expect the data to show that inflation eased in February.
Consumer prices are expected to have risen 2.9% over the year ending in February, which would amount to a slight slowdown from a 3% rate recorded in January.
Analysts and households alike will closely watch for movement in egg prices, which soared 53% in January compared to a year ago. Bird flu has decimated the egg supply, lifting prices higher.
The Trump administration has started investigating egg producers to learn if market practices have contributed to the price hikes, a source familiar with the matter told ABC News.
Inflation has fallen dramatically since a peak of about 9% in 2022, but a recent acceleration of price increases has placed inflation a percentage point higher than the Federal Reserve’s target rate of 2%.
If the report reveals a cooldown in February, that could soften pressure on the Federal Reserve, which bears responsibility for keeping inflation under control.
Federal Reserve Chair Jerome Powell last week said the administration’s tariff plan would likely raise prices for U.S. shoppers and retailers
The scale and duration of the tariffs remain unclear, but a portion of the taxes on imports will probably reach consumers, Powell told an economic forum in New York City last week.
“We’re at a stage where we’re still very uncertain about what will be tariffed, for how long, at what level,” Powell said. “But the likelihood is some of that will find its way. It will hit the exporters, the importers, the retailers and to some extent consumers.”
The stock market has plunged since Trump imposed tariffs on Mexico, Canada and China last week, giving rise to warnings on Wall Street about a potential economic downturn. Within days, Trump delayed some of the tariffs on Canada and Mexico.
On multiple occasions in recent days, the White House declined to rule out a possible recession, saying the tariffs would require a “period of transition.”
A solid, albeit disappointing jobs report on Friday exacerbated concerns among some observers.
Employers hired 151,000 workers last month, falling short of expectations of 170,000 jobs added. The unemployment rate ticked up to 4.1%, which remains a historically low figure.
The Trump administration slapped 25% tariffs on goods from Mexico and Canada, as well as 10% tariffs on imports from China. The fresh round of duties on Chinese goods doubled an initial set of tariffs placed on China last month.
A day later, Trump issued a one-month delay for tariffs on auto-related goods from Mexico and Canada. The carve-out expanded soon afterward with an additional one-month pause for goods from Mexico and Canada compliant with the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement, or USMCA, a free trade agreement.
On Tuesday, Trump announced plans to add another 25% tariff on Canadian steel and aluminum, bringing the total to 50%. The move came in response to threats made by Ontario to cut off electricity to parts of the U.S., Trump said.
Hours later, Ontario Premier Doug Ford issued a joint statement with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on X announcing the suspension of the 25% surcharge on electricity sent to the U.S.
The tariffs slapped on Canada, Mexico and China are widely expected to increase prices paid by U.S. shoppers, since importers typically pass along a share of the cost of those higher taxes to consumers.
A key gauge of consumer confidence registered its largest monthly drop since August 2021, the nonpartisan Conference Board said in February.
The share of consumers who expect a recession within the next year surged to a nine-month high, the data showed. A growing portion of consumers believe the job market will worsen, the stock market will fall and interest rates will rise, the report added.
ABC News’ Katherine Faulders and Soo Youn contributed to this report.
Philipp von Ditfurth/picture alliance via Getty Images
(LONDON) — The European Union responded on Wednesday to the Trump administration’s metals tariffs, saying member states would place countermeasures on some 26 billion euros, or about $28 billion, worth of U.S. goods.
The U.S. at midnight began imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from all trading partners, with no exceptions or exemptions, the White House said.
Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said in a statement that the EU “must act to protect consumers and business.”
“Tariffs are taxes. They are bad for business, and even worse for consumers,” von der Leyen said. “These tariffs are disrupting supply chains. They bring uncertainty for the economy. Jobs are at stake. Prices will go up. In Europe and in the United States.”
The European measures were designed to match the scope of those U.S. tariffs, which the European Union said would be worth about $28 billion. The countermeasures were expected to begin on April 1 and be fully in place by April 13, the commission said.
“In the meantime, we will always remain open to negotiation,” von der Leyen said.
The countermeasures comprise two steps, the first of which is to restore on April 1 a set of previously suspended 2018 and 2020 countermeasures against the U.S. on a range of products.
For step two, member states will then put in place by mid-April new countermeasures targeting about 18 billion euros worth of U.S. goods entering the bloc.
Those new countermeasures will target both industrial and agricultural products, including steel and aluminum, home appliances, wood products, poultry, beef and other food imports, according to a fact sheet released on Wednesday.
Maros Sefcovic, the EU’s trade commissioner, said European officials would continue working with their U.S. counterparts toward a “win-win” outcome, but the “unjustified tariffs on our exports will not go unanswered.”
“We should be making this great relationship stronger, not weaker,” he said in a statement.
(ROME) — The pope rested peacefully overnight as he begins his 27th consecutive day in hospital this morning, the Vatican said.
The pope’s prognosis was “lifted” on Monday, meaning he is no longer in imminent danger, but the clinical picture still remains complex.
The 88-year-old pontiff will continue “for additional days, the pharmacological medical therapy in a hospital environment” due to the “complexity of the clinical picture and the significant infectious picture presented at hospitalization,” the Vatican said.
“The improvements recorded in previous days have further consolidated, as confirmed by both blood tests and clinical objectivity and the good response to pharmacological therapy. For these reasons, the doctors decided to lift the prognosis,” the Holy See, the Vatican’s press office, said in a statement Monday.
Francis’ doctors said there are positive signs of the pontiff’s recovery, but caution remains, according to the Vatican sources.
Francis was admitted to Rome’s Gemelli Hospital on Feb. 14 and was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia.
Thursday will mark the 12th anniversary of when Pope Francis was voted to succeed Pope Benedict XVI, who previously resigned.
(NEWARK, NJ) — A Pennsylvania man attempting to go through airport security was discovered to have been hiding a living turtle in his pants as he tried to sneak it onto the plane, authorities said.
The incident took place last Friday at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey when a man from Pennsylvania was going through a body scan in the security area when an alarm was triggered “in the area of the man’s groin,” according to a statement from the Transportation Security Administration on Tuesday.
“A TSA officer administered a pat-down of the area of the man’s body where the alarm was triggered and in doing so, determined that there was something concealed in the area of the man’s groin,” TSA officials said regarding the incident. “When asked if there was something hidden in his pants, the man, a resident of East Stroudsburg, Pa., reached down the front of his pants and pulled out a live turtle that was wrapped in a small blue towel.”
The turtle was estimated to be approximately five inches in length and identified to be a red-ear slider turtle – one of the most popular breeds of pet turtle in the United States – by the man once he was caught by airport security.
“Port Authority Police questioned the man, took possession of the turtle and indicated that they would contact the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and local animal control officials,” the TSA said.
The unnamed man missed his flight and was escorted out of the checkpoint by police.
Thomas Carter, TSA’s Federal Security Director for New Jersey, said that this is the first time he has ever seen someone trying to smuggle a live animal down the front on their pants as they attempted to go through security.
“I commend our officer who conducted the pat-down in a very professional manner in an effort to resolve the alarm,” said Carter. “We have seen travelers try to conceal knives and other weapons on their person, in their shoes and in their luggage, however I believe this is the first time we have come across someone who was concealing a live animal down the front of his pants. As best as we could tell, the turtle was not harmed by the man’s actions.”
Li Hongbo / Feature China/Future Publishing via Getty Images
(WASHINGTON) — U.S. tariffs on imported steel and aluminum are now in effect, part of an escalating series of trade maneuvers by President Donald Trump that have unsettled markets.
As of Wednesday, the U.S. is imposing 25% tariffs on all steel and aluminum imports from all trading partners with no exceptions or exemptions, according to an earlier statement by the White House.
Products that are expected to be impacted include canned goods, vehicles and washing machines.
Baseball bats, sewing needles and lamps could also go up in price.
While the tariff is being slapped on imports from all countries, the U.S. imports more steel and aluminum from Canada than any other country.
The 25% tariffs go into effect just a day after Trump threatened to double the tariff specifically on Canada amid an intensifying tit-for-tat between the two countries over Trump’s tariff policies.
Earlier this week, Ontario Premier Doug Ford threatened to impose a 25% surcharge on electricity from the province sent to U.S. customers in response to earlier U.S. tariffs on Canadian goods.
That led to a threat from Trump to up the tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum imports to 50%.
Trump later reversed course after an agreement was reached and Ford pulled back his threat to impose the electricity surcharge.
“After President Trump threatened to use his executive powers to retaliate with a colossal 50 percent tariff against Canada, Ontario Premier Doug Ford spoke with Secretary Lutnick to convey that he is backing down on implementing a 25 percent charge on electricity exports to the United States,” White House spokesman Kush Desai said in a statement.
Ford will travel to Washington, D.C., for a meeting with U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick on trade.
ABC News’ Zunaira Zaki contributed to this report.
(NEW YORK) — One day ahead of a court hearing for Mahmoud Khalil — the activist who was arrested by Immigration and Customs Enforcement on the campus of Columbia University, despite possessing a green card — his wife and attorney both released statements shedding more light on Khalil’s detainment and the days leading up to it.
Khalil’s wife, who is eight months pregnant, issued a statement speaking of the outpouring of love she has received and the urgent need for him to be home in time for their baby’s birth.
In it, she said that Khalil “begged” Columbia University for legal support one day before his arrest, explaining that he was fearful that ICE might target him.
Khalil allegedly sent an email to the university urging them to intervene, his wife said.
“I haven’t been able to sleep, fearing that ICE or a dangerous individual might come to my home. I urgently need legal support and I urge you to intervene,” he reportedly said in his email.
His wife claimed that the university never responded.
ABC News reached out to Columbia for comment and has not independently reviewed the reported emails.
Khalil’s wife also said in her statement that a “doxxing” campaign began targeting her husband about six days ago and anti-Palestinian groups were also spreading “false claims” about him.
She recalled the moment she was also threatened with arrest when she refused to leave her husband with the agents, claiming that the couple was never shown a warrant.
“I was born and raised in the Midwest. My parents came here from Syria, carrying their stories of the oppressive regime there that made life unlivable. They believed living in the US would bring a sense of safety and stability. But here I am, 40 years after my parents immigrated here, and just weeks before I’m due to give birth to our first child, and I feel more unsafe and unstable than I have in my entire life,” her statement said.
The Trump administration said it detained Khalil, who was a leader of the encampment protests on Columbia’s campus, alleging he was a supporter of Hamas.
Baher Azmy, one of the lawyers representing Khalil, called his client’s alleged alignment with Hamas “false and preposterous.”
According to a joint letter filed in court and obtained by ABC News, the government and Khalil’s attorneys conferred on Monday but were unable to agree on how to proceed. Khalil’s side asked the court to first decide a pending motion to compel the government to return him to New York; the government indicated that it intends to move to dismiss or transfer the case for improper venue and is asking the court to address that first.
“For everyone reading this, I urge you to see Mahmoud through my eyes as a loving husband and the future father to our baby. I need your help to bring Mahmoud home, so he is here beside me, holding my hand in the delivery room as we welcome our first child into this world. Please release Mahmoud Now,” the statement from Khalil’s wife concluded.
Attorney Amy E. Greer said she spoke with Khalil on Tuesday and that he is “healthy and his spirits are undaunted by his predicament.”
“He also greatly appreciates, and, typically for him, is moved by the extraordinarily broad and steadfast support he has received from a variety of communities that understand what is at stake,” she said.
Greer also hinted that some of the administration’s comments about Khalil, including President Donald Trump’s social media posts, may be used by his legal team to argue for his release.
“The remarks by government officials, including the President, on social media only confirm the purpose – and illegality – of Mahmoud’s detention. He was chosen as an example to stifle entirely lawful dissent in violation of the First Amendment. While tomorrow or thereafter the government may cite the law or process, that toothpaste is out of the tube and irreversibly so. The government’s objective is as transparent as it is unlawful, and our role as Mahmoud’s lawyers is to ensure it does not prevail,” Greer said.
The court has scheduled a hearing on the habeas petition on Wednesday at 11:30 a.m.
Khalil’s team will be asking the court to order the government to return him to New York to while the legal battle plays out. Khalil is currently being held in Louisiana — a move that Greer claimed is a “blatantly improper but familiar tactic designed to frustrate the New York federal court’s jurisdiction.”
