02 U.S. Politics

Mayo Clinic rebrands woke DEI initiatives to dodge Trump’s ban– www.theblaze.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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The Mayo Clinic is rebranding its diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as “belonging,” following President Donald Trump’s executive order prohibiting all such DEI-related programs.

On Inauguration Day, Trump signed an executive action “Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing,” banning the “illegal and immoral discrimination programs” within the federal government. The administration warned it would pull federal funding, including grant awards, from entities that continue implementing DEI-related initiatives despite the ban.

‘In keeping with this focus and recent national events, we’re embracing an opportunity to accelerate Mayo Clinic’s belonging journey to reflect our culture of collaboration and respect and support positive patient experiences.’

Trump’s action appears to have prompted some companies, including the Mayo Clinic, to effectively cancel the acronym while potentially keeping the same goals under a new name.

Judge Scraps Biden Rule Forcing Businesses to Promote Abortions– www.lifenews.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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A federal judge has canceled a Joe Biden-era rule that required businesses to promote abortion.

The rule, perpetrated by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission under Biden, demanded that employers provide abortion-related leave and other practices that violated the beliefs of a multitude of business operators and owners.

A report in the Washington Stand explained the impact of the ruling from Daniel Traynor, a Trump appointee to the District Court of North Dakota, is that 9,000 Catholic businesses now do not have to grant abortion leave and other practices contrary to their beliefs.

Democratic Leaders Hit with Worst Poll in Gallup History as Fanatics Like AOC Take Over– www.westernjournal.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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In terms of both popular approval and general depravity of thought, modern Democrats have reached new depths.

Thus, President Donald Trump would do well to take a page from one of his illustrious 19th-century predecessors.

According to a Gallup poll published on Thursday, public confidence in congressional Democrats — the party now led by the likes of Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York, as well as lesser known yet equally radical figures such as House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries of New York, Rep. Ilhan Omar of Minnesota, and Rep. Jasmine Crockett of Texas — has plummeted to a historic low of 25 percent.

For comparison’s sake, the prominent pollster had Democrats’ confidence rating at 34 percent as recently as 2023.

Likewise, shortly after now-former President Joe Biden took office in 2021, that rating stood at 49 percent.

Trump to Pull $1 Billion in Taxpayer Funding from Harvard– slaynews.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Amid the escalating battle with Harvard University, President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to withdraw another $1 billion in taxpayer-funded federal funding from the prestigious school.

The alleged plan was revealed in a report from the Wall Street Journal

The outlet reported that the $1 billion is related to Harvard’s health research funding, according to sources familiar with the matter.

The latest report comes just days after the White House asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revoke the tax-exempt status of the elite Massachusetts Ivy League school.

The order was issued over Harvard’s failure to address anti-Semitism on campus.

In March, the Department of Justice (DOJ) began a “comprehensive review” of the school’s federal contracts and government-funded grants.

Jeffries pushes back on Hogg’s call to prop up Democratic challengers– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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In response to DNC Vice Chairman David Hogg’s latest comments, House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY) said his focus remains on targeting Republican incumbents, not established Democrats in the 2026 midterm elections.

“Here’s the thing,” Jeffries told Jonathan Karl on ABC’s This Week. “I’m gonna really focus on trying to defeat Republican incumbents so we can take back control of the House of Representatives and begin the process of ending this national nightmare that’s being visited upon us by far-right extremism.”

Jeffries’s comment comes as Hogg shared he intends to use his organization, Leaders We Deserve, to spend $20 million to fund younger Democratic candidates running against incumbents in safe blue districts.

Trump Admin Expands Mining In ‘First Wave’ Of ‘Critical Mineral Production’– dailycaller.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Under President Donald Trump’s administration, the permitting process for “critical mineral” mining is set to be more “transparent” as the greenlit projects will have a public review process.

The Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council (Permitting Council) announced this adjustment on Friday to bring “increased transparency, accountability, and predictability” to the review process. This comes after the National Energy Dominance Council (NEDC) selected its “first wave” of “critical mineral” projects in accordance with Trump’s March 20 executive order on expanding “American mineral production.”

“This is just the beginning — many more projects are expected to be added to the list on a rolling basis over the next few weeks,” the announcement reads. NEDC flagged 10 initial projects in this “first wave” of domestic mining operations, outlined in the announcement.

“This is the first use of the Permitting Council’s transparency authority, and we look forward to showcasing the many benefits the Federal Permitting Dashboard can bring to critical infrastructure projects as part of President Trump’s Executive Order on increasing American mineral production,” Manisha Patel, Acting Executive Director at the Permitting Council, said in the statement.

U.S. Flags to Fly Half-Staff to Honor Pope Francis After Passing– www.breitbart.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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President Donald J. Trump has ordered all United States flags on government and military properties to be lowered to half-staff in memory of His Holiness Pope Francis on the morning after his passing.

The Vatican announced the pope’s passing early Monday morning in Rome after a fight against pneumonia, Breitbart News reported. He was 88.

Francis had recently left Rome’s Gemelli Hospital, where he was admitted on February 14, before briefly meeting with Vice President JD Vance on Easter Sunday.

Trump released a proclamation shortly after the news broke, calling for flags to be flown at half-mast until sunset out of “respect” for the Catholic leader:

As a mark of respect for the memory of His Holiness Pope Francis, by the authority vested in me as President of the United States by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, I hereby order that the flag of the United States shall be flown at half-staff at the White House and upon all public buildings and grounds, at all military posts and naval stations, and on all naval vessels of the Federal Government in the District of Columbia and throughout the United States and its Territories and possessions until sunset, on the day of interment.  I also direct that the flag shall be flown at half-staff for the same length of time at all United States embassies, legations, consular offices, and other facilities abroad, including all military facilities and naval vessels and stations.

IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-first day of April, in the year of our Lord two thousand twenty-five, and of the Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and forty-ninth.

Poll Shows Jaw-Dropping Shift Among Young Americans– trendingpoliticsnews.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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A new survey from the Yale Youth Poll has revealed a stunning generational divide in American politics — and a particularly brutal blow for former Vice President Kamala Harris among the youngest male voters.

According to the poll, conducted in early April and released this week, 18–21 year-old men now hold a net positive favorability toward President Donald Trump (+7), while Harris has plummeted to a staggering negative favorability of -48. That’s a 55-point gap between the two political figures, a number almost unheard of in modern polling.

The poll, conducted by an undergraduate-led research project at Yale University, surveyed 4,100 registered voters, including an oversample of 2,025 voters aged 18–29. It measured attitudes on a wide range of issues from immigration to free speech, and included various message tests to assess how voters respond to different political framings.

But the most striking revelation came in the breakdown by age. While voters aged 22–29 favored Democrats by 6.4 points on the generic congressional ballot, those aged 18–21 went the other direction — backing Republicans by a double-digit margin of 11.7 points. That represents a significant generational rift within Gen Z itself.

Trump ‘Stands Strongly Behind Pete Hegseth’ Amid Latest SignalGate Controversy › American Greatness– amgreatness.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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President Trump is standing firmly behind Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth in the wake of newly leaked revelations that he shared sensitive information about upcoming military strikes in a second Signal group chat with family members.

The group chat included Hegseth’s wife, Jennifer, a former producer for Fox News;  his brother Phil; and his personal lawyer, Tim Parlatore, the New York Times reported. Both Phil Hegseth and Tim Parlatore work for the Pentagon, but, according to the Times,  it was not clear why they were included in discussions on upcoming Middle East strikes.

The “SignalGate” controversy erupted last month after Jeffrey Goldberg, editor-in-chief of The Atlantic, was included in a Signal group chat discussing plans about the attack on Houthis in Yemen. Goldberg publicized the chat in the Atlantic, withholding details purportedly over national security concerns.

The Atlantic later published the entire group chat, showing that Secretary of Defense, Pete Hegseth had posted the “exact times American aircraft were taking off for Yemen” 31 minutes before the first warplanes launched.

Bacon questions Hegseth’s fitness to lead Pentagon: ‘I wouldn’t tolerate it’– thehill.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Rep. Don Bacon (R-Neb.) on Monday stopped just short of calling on Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth to be removed following a new report that alleges the secretary shared detailed military plans in a group chat that included his wife, brother and personal lawyer.

“If it’s true that he had another [Signal] chat with his family, about the missions against the Houthis, it’s totally unacceptable,” Bacon told Politico, adding, “I’m not in the White House, and I’m not going to tell the White House how to manage this … but I find it unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it if I was in charge.”

Bacon’s remarks come after The New York Times reported on a previously undisclosed Signal group chat, in which Hegseth allegedly shared detailed information about forthcoming military strikes in Yemen on March 15.

Four More Dems Continue Down the Train Wreck Path, Now in El Salvador – RedState– redstate.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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How committed are Democrats to going off the tracks, aligning themselves with illegal alien and alleged MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia?

Apparently so committed on the train wreck path that they went to El Salvador anyway, even though they were denied Congressional money and American taxpayer dollars to support their trip by House Oversight Committee Chair James Comer in a very blunt statement.

Justice Alito Voices Dissent on Supreme Court’s ‘Legally Questionable’ Late Night Order › American Greatness– amgreatness.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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The U.S. Supreme Court’s order early Saturday morning to block further deportations of illegal aliens by the Trump administration has drawn sharp dissent from Justice Samuel Alito who described the Court’s actions as “legally questionable.”

The order, which seeks to temporarily block the administration from deporting any more accused Venezuelan gang members under the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, directs that detainees held in the Bluebonnet Detention Center in northern Texas not be removed, “until further order of this court.”

Alito was joined by fellow Justice Clarence Thomas in his dissent, which stated that there was “dubious factual support” for the court to grant the request due to an emergency appeal by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).

Alito specifically took the majority to task for allowing the ACLU to leapfrog lower courts to get a Supreme Court injunction, failing to allow a district court to certify a class prior to the order, issuing “legally questionable” relief without hearing from the opposing party and issuing the order “literally in the middle of the night.”

 

‘Fake News’ That They’re on the Hunt for Pete Hegseth’s Replacement– townhall.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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On Monday, the very same day that President Donald Trump defended Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth while speaking to the press at the White House East Egg roll, NPR claimed in a report that the White House was seeking Hegseth’s replacement. It’s a claim that White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt is making clear is “fake news.”

 

News of the report spread over X, with Laura Rozen repeating the claim over X. She could not cite a link, though a report was indeed published at 1:22pm by Tom Bowman to the NPR website, as Leavitt’s post mentioned.

Pete Hegseth, White House SLAM legacy media for ‘peddling lies’ after reports on second Signal chat | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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“The president stands strongly behind Secretary Hegseth, who is doing a phenomenal job leading the Pentagon.”

Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth hit back at reporting released on Sunday that claimed he discussed detailed information about forthcoming strikes on Houthi targets in Yemen in a second Signal chat. The report from the New York Times cited four anonymous people with knowledge of the chat.

“What a big surprise that a bunch of, a few leakers get fired and suddenly a bunch of hit pieces come out from the same media that peddled the Russia hoax,” Hegseth told reporters when asked to respond to the “Signal chat controversy” while attending the White House Easter Egg Roll. “They got Pulitzers for a bunch of lies.”

Was That ‘Maryland Father’ the Unluckiest Man Ever? Or Just a Member of MS-13?– townhall.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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We had quite a lot to say earlier about Politico’s obsequious coverage of Sen. Chris Van Hollen, who has been milking the ‘Maryland Father’ storyline for as much attention and publicity as he can get.  The trouble he’s had, though, is in facing even the slightest bit of pushback on his preferred narrative, in which his favored poster child’s actual record is an irrelevant ‘distraction.’  When unhappy facts are presented to him, he treats them as irrelevant deflections, while himself…deflecting to yet another attack on the Trump administration.  I tacked this clip from CNN onto the earlier post, but it’s important to watch.  The Senator doesn’t want to grapple with the question of whether his “constituent” — on whom he’s lavished great attention and effort — is in fact a criminal gang member, in addition to being an illegal immigrant.  Neither, it seems, does the gaggle of additional Congressional Democrats who’ve made the same pilgrimage to El Salvador.

 

Alito Rebukes Supreme Court’s Midnight Deportation Interference– thefederalist.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Justice Samuel Alito has choice words for his high bench colleagues who released a blanket opinion “literally in the middle of the night” on Saturday, ordering the Trump administration to halt the deportation of Venezuelans suspected of being Tren De Aragua gang members from custody in the Northern District of Texas.

In his dissent joined by Justice Clarence Thomas, Alito argued the court “hastily and prematurely granted unprecedented emergency relief” to an expanded number of suspected criminal aliens in a “legally questionable” manner — especially because “it is not clear that the Court had jurisdiction.”

Contrary to his fellow justices’ assumption of authority, Alito noted even the Fifth Circuit “held that it lacked jurisdiction” because it was unsure whether a District Court’s failure to rule on the alleged gang members’ request for a temporary restraining order “before the expiration of a truncated counsel-imposed deadline” counted as a denial. Alito clarified later in the dissent that the counsel for the Venezuelans “insisted on a ruling within 45 minutes on Good Friday afternoon” and proceeded with an appeal when that demand was not met.

Judge reduces bond of Nashville man charged with kidnapping, raping two teen girls at gunpoint | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Dejuan Moore had been held on an $810,000 bond, but Judge Khadija Babb lowered it to $304,000.

A Nashville man charged with raping two teenage girls at gunpoint had his bond significantly reduced by a Davidson County, Tennessee judge, prompting backlash from sexual assault victim advocates.

Dejuan Moore was being held on an $810,000 bond, but Judge Khadija Babb lowered it to $304,000. Moore faces a series of serious charges, including two counts of aggravated rape, three counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, three counts of especially aggravated kidnapping, as well as resisting arrest, evading arrest, and evading arrest by a motor vehicle.

Moore’s defense attorney, Jennifer Thompson, argued the original bond was excessive, pointing to Moore’s lack of criminal history and what she called “strong ties to the Nashville community.” She said Moore wants to be released to support his girlfriend and her children.

“He was supportive of him and his girlfriend and their household,” Thompson claimed. However, victim advocates expressed outrage over the judge’s decision.

“It makes it seem like his life is more important than the victims he sexually assaulted,” said Lorraine McGuire, Vice President of Community Relations at the Sexual Assault Center, according to Fox 17 News.

Van Hollen’s big moment: Defending a constituent and defying Trump– www.politico.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Chris Van Hollen has spent nearly a decade as an under-the-radar lawmaker. But the Maryland Democrat, who gave up a leadership trajectory in the House to serve in the Senate, may now finally be meeting his moment.

Van Hollen has grabbed the national spotlight amid a two-day trip to El Salvador to meet with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, a Maryland resident who was mistakenly deported by the Trump administration on erroneous charges of gang membership. After being initially blocked from entering a maximum-security prison by the Salvadoran government, Van Hollen ultimately succeeded in sitting down Thursday with his constituent, who had since been transferred to another detention facility.

“If you deny the constitutional rights of one man, you threaten the constitutional rights and due process for everyone else in America,” Van Hollen said Friday at a press conference at Dulles International Airport, shortly after returning from El Salvador.

He was flanked by advocates holding signs emblazoned with the words, “Thank you Senator Van Hollen.”

Trump highlights photo of Abrego Garcia’s knuckles with apparent MS-13 tattoos– www.washingtonexaminer.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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President Donald Trump argued Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s tattoos prove he is a MS-13 gang member who should not be allowed back into the United States.

On Friday evening, Trump highlighted a photo of Abrego Garcia’s hand that appeared to contain “MS-13” tattooed on his knuckles. MS-13 is a Salvadoran-native gang that the U.S. has designated a terrorist organization.

“This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such ‘a fine and innocent person.’ They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc,” the president wrote in a post to Truth Social.

The photo Trump showed included labels claiming to identify what the tattoos, each on one knuckle, represented. “M” was supposedly represented by a marijuana leaf, “S” was represented by a smiley face, “1” was represented by a cross, and “3” was a skull, according to the legend, with the latter two images possibly being to cover up the two numbers.

 

Wrongful deportation highlights Democratic split on how to fight Trump– www.dailykos.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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The Democratic Party faces a growing rift over how to take on President Donald Trump. On one side, younger, more defiant members are pushing for generational change and a harder line. On the other? Moderates and institutionalists who seem pretty comfortable clinging to the status quo.

The split has been on full display in the party’s response to the wrongful deportation of Maryland father Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was sent to a notoriously brutal prison in El Salvador without due process.

Democrats like Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen have been on the front lines, demanding accountability and treating the case like the crisis it is. Others, such as California Gov. Gavin Newsom, are dismissing the party’s focus on Garcia as a “distraction,” urging Democrats to hit Trump on tariffs and trade instead.

Maryland Sen. Chris Van Hollen, right, speaks with Kilmar Abrego Garcia, the Maryland man whom the Trump administration wrongly deported El Salvador, in a hotel restaurant in San Salvador, El Salvador, on April 17.

BREAKING: President Trump shares photos of Kilmar Abrego Garcia’s MS-13 gang tattoos | The Post Millennial– thepostmillennial.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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“This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such a ‘fine and innocent person,'” President Trump wrote.

On Friday, President Donald Trump released a photo of the tattoos belonging to MS-13 gang member Kilmar Abrego Garcia, who was recently deported to El Salvador after unlawfully residing in the United States. The tattoos on his knuckles are affiliated with the MS-13 gang, which include a marijuana leaf, a smiley face, a cross, and a skull. These symbols are intended to spell out “MS-13.”

The photo evidence comes after Democratic lawmakers claimed that the Trump administration unlawfully deported illegal immigrant Abrego Garcia to El Salvador’s Terrorism Confinement Center (CEDOT), who had been residing in the United States with his wife in Maryland. This resulted in Senator Chris Van Hollen (D-Maryland) travelling to El Salvador in an attempt to bring the foreign terrorist back to the US.

“This is the hand of the man that the Democrats feel should be brought back to the United States, because he is such a ‘fine and innocent person,'” President Trump wrote on X. “They said he is not a member of MS-13, even though he’s got MS-13 tattooed onto his knuckles, and two Highly Respected Courts found that he was a member of MS-13, beat up his wife, etc. I was elected to take bad people out of the United States, among other things. I must be allowed to do my job. MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN!”

House Oversight Chairman DENIES Democrats’ Request for Taxpayer-Funded El Salvador Trip: “Pay For It Yourself”– wltreport.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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House Oversight Chairman James Comer has denied a request from two Democrat Representatives who sought approval of funds to visit Kilmar Abrego Garcia in El Salvador.

Reps. Robert Garcia and Maxwell Frost had asked to receive funds from the Congressional budget (that’s taxpayer money) to fly down to El Salvador and meet with alleged MS-13 gang member and wife-beater Abrego Garcia.

Comer bluntly shut down the request, telling the Democrat Congressmen that he will “not approve a single dime of taxpayer funds” to be used for such a purpose. He noted that Democrat Sen. Van Hollen already visited Abrego Garcia.

“If you also wish to meet with him, you can spend your own money,” he stated.

Ocasio-Cortez raised $9.6 million in 3 months, smashing her own record– www.politico.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) raised $9.6 million in the first three months of the year — more than double her second-highest quarter — a massive haul that comes amid increasing calls by progressives for her to mount a 2028 primary challenge against Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer.

Ocasio-Cortez, who now has more than $8 million in cash-on-hand, has spent recent weeks barnstorming the country with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour, drawing thousands of supporters. Her fundraising was included in a Federal Elections Commission report filed Tuesday.

A leader of the progressive movement, Ocasio-Cortez has long been a fundraising powerhouse who draws upon a vast network of small-dollar donors.

She said in a post on X that the average campaign donation was $21, and campaign manager Oliver Hidalgo-Wohlleben said in a statement that 64 percent of contributions came from first-time donors, adding that “AOC doesn’t take a dollar from lobbyists or corporate PACS. Our top donor professions are teachers and nurses.”

“I cannot convey enough how grateful I am to the millions of people supporting us with your time, resources, & energy,” Ocasio-Cortez said of her fundraising. “Your support has allowed us to rally people together at record scale to organize their communities.”

Plagiarism Accusations Threaten To Upend Democrats’ Climate Lawsuit Against Oil Companies– freebeacon.com

pgnewser April 21, 2025 0

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A federal judge in Puerto Rico issued a scathing order last week accusing Democratic prosecutors on the island of plagiarizing nearly their entire 241-page complaint that blamed oil companies for causing global warming.

In the order Wednesday, district court judge Aida Delgado-Colon outlined how David Efron, the lead attorney representing Puerto Rico’s capital city San Juan, appears to have plagiarized a similar but separate complaint that 16 Puerto Rican municipalities filed a year earlier. A side-by-side comparison of the two complaints shows large blocks of text are copied word-for-word.

Delgado-Colon wrote that the situation should serve as a cautionary tale for all members of the bar, characterizing San Juan’s complaint and subsequent briefs as “copycat filings” and stating that the case presents an “astonishing example of plagiarism in the legal profession.” She added that a monetary sanction charging Efron would be insufficient to address the seriousness of the circumstances and said a separate order is needed to properly address it.

“Attorney Efron’s plagiarism constitutes attorney misconduct and an ethical violation,” she wrote. “The touchstone of plagiarism is lack of attribution. As in law school, passing someone else’s work off as one’s own is wrong as a matter of fact and professional ethics.”