Judge threatens Trump with sanctions in his pollster lawsuit
Share this @internewscast.com

Left: President Donald Trump takes part in a G7 Summit session on Monday, June 16, 2025, in Kananaskis, Canada (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein). Right: Pollster J. Ann Selzer (Jenny Condon Photography, used with permission of FIRE).

The federal judge overseeing Donald Trump’s lawsuit for “consumer fraud” against an Iowa newspaper and a pollster, who inaccurately forecasted the 2024 election results, has cautioned the president’s personal attorneys to submit a revised complaint by the specified deadline to avoid facing penalties.

On Wednesday, U.S. District Judge Rebecca Goodgame Ebinger declined to grant Trump a stay that would have extended a fundamental filing deadline by another month, after granting a previous extension and after Trump did not elect to dismiss his own lawsuit.

Trump was ordered to file his amended complaint against now-retired pollster J. Ann Selzer, the Des Moines Register, and media company Gannett on July 18, removing current and former lawmaker “co-plaintiffs” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks and Bradley Zaun from the case and “eliminating claims exclusive to those Plaintiffs.”

Instead of filing the amended suit, however, Trump sought a stay on the day of the deadline, claiming that the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit should be allowed to decide first whether jurisdictional technicalities meant the case actually was successfully dismissed.

“Again, on the final day Trump was permitted to file the previously ordered amended complaint, Trump moved for ‘the Court [to] stay the requirement to file an amended complaint for 30 days following the Eighth Circuit’s disposition of the motion’ described above,” Ebinger noted. “Defendants resist.”

The judge concluded that because Trump “has not shown a strong likelihood of success or the presence of irreparable harm,” he was not entitled to a stay. But she also warned him to comply with the new deadline of July 25 by 5 p.m., or else.

“The Court expects compliance with all court orders. Failure to comply with orders of the Court may result in sanctions,” Ebinger wrote. “The parties must comport with all rules regulating this litigation, including the Local Rules and applicable deadlines.”

The warning from the judge did not come out of nowhere. Selzer’s attorneys with the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) days ago blasted the plaintiff for acting like “compliance” with court orders is “optional” by essentially blowing off the July 18 deadline to repeat a failed stay tactic.

“This is the second time Plaintiff Donald Trump has defied an order from this Court directing him to file an amended complaint removing the allegations he added ‘to defeat the Court’s jurisdiction over the case,'” the filing said. “The first time, after this Court denied Plaintiff’s remand motion and ordered him to file an amended complaint within seven days, he instead filed a motion for stay.”

“This Court promptly denied that motion and ordered Plaintiff to file his revised pleading on July 18th,” the defendants summed up. “He’s now pulled the same stunt again.”

Share this @internewscast.com
You May Also Like

Police Share New Details About Location Where a Father Murdered His 3 Daughters

DNA analysis has verified that the former Army soldier accused of killing…

Authorities report a bystander killed in road rage shooting

Left: Yarely Ashley Hermosillo (GoFundMe). Right: Jesus Preciado Dousten (Glendale Police Department).…

Woman Sentenced to Prison for Tragically Running Over Her Mother

Inset: Anna Millette (WXIX/YouTube). Background: Police in Miami Township, Ohio, were called…

Bail Refused for Teen Suspect in Shooting of Mother and Stepfather

A Georgia teen accused of killing her mother and stepfather was denied…

Man Detained Following Discovery of Deceased Woman, Allegedly His Ex-Partner

A man has been arrested after a woman believed to be his…

Son Murders Father Following Dispute About Poor Grades and Technology Usage

Inset: Lincoln Peterson during his sentencing (Las Vegas Review Journal). Background: The…

Police Say Teen Attempted to ‘Relieve’ Grandma’s Suffering

Background: Pushaw Road in Glenburn, Maine (Google Maps). Inset: Ethan William Herbert…

Man Pleads Guilty to Killing Father During Pokémon Game with Child

Background: News footage from Evanston, Ill., where Servando Hamros was killed in…

Young Man Claims ‘Grim Reaper’ Instructed Him to Attack Grandmother with Hatchet, He Tells Police

A 19-year-old man from Maine has been incarcerated following allegations that he…

Court Reveals Reality TV Star Provided $10,000 to Family of Injured Pilot

Reality TV star Matt Wright offered $10,000 to the family of a…

Gainesville resident receives 18-month prison term for involvement in dogfighting

Staff report GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Keith Gerard Miles, 42, has been given…

Son Conceals and Incinerates Father’s Body in Firepit, Says Sheriff

Inset: Richard Keith Wilder (Marion County Sheriff’s Office). Background: The rural area…