DC Attorney General Brian Schwalb filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration over its moves to take over the city’s police department and appoint an emergency commissioner. Schwalb spoke with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer and Pamela Brown about the lawsuit.

Washington

The Attorney General of Washington DC has initiated legal action against the Trump administration, alleging an unlawful and hostile takeover of the Metropolitan Police Department. The lawsuit argues that the Home Rule Act only grants the president limited emergency powers and does not permit a full federal takeover of local law enforcement.

DC officials contend that the federal intervention has caused confusion and risked public safety, despite federal claims of increased arrests and weapon seizures. The attorney general maintains that crime rates have declined under local leadership and that federal assistance should support, not undermine, the city's efforts. The case highlights ongoing tensions between local and federal authorities over control and accountability in the nation's capital.

DC attorney general sues Trump admin over police takeover

The Attorney General for Washington DC is suing the Trump administration over what he calls the hostile takeover of the city's police department. D. C. Attorney General Brian Schwab joins us now to discuss this. Thanks for coming on. So the law, specifically the Home Rule Act, gives trump emergency powers to take over the city's law enforcement for quote federal purposes. What exactly are you challenging here? Well, thank you for having me this morning. The president and the Attorney General of the United States have attempted an illegal hostile takeover of our local police force, the Metropolitan Police Department. And in so doing, they have so chaos and endangered the public safety and the residents and visitors to the District of Columbia. The Home Rule Act, which grants authority to the local government here in the District of Columbia, including to control the police, gives the president very limited authority to seek to have the assistance of the MPD and the mayor if there is a federal emergency that requires that it does not give the president or the Attorney General the authority to take over MPD and to purport to change the command and control and governance of MPD. That is exactly what the president and the Attorney General's order seek to do. And that is why we're in court this morning, seeking to hold the federal government accountable to following the law. The Home Rule Act is a federal law passed by Congress. Nobody is above the law, including the president and, most importantly, our U. S. Attorney General. I want to dig deeper. Attorney General, you argue in your filing that Trump's actions are, and I'm quoting now from your document, putting the safety of D. C. Residents and visitors at risk, close quote. But since this takeover happened, the Trump administration is touting dozens of criminal arrests for assault and distribution of illegal drugs. It's also saying that at least 10 handguns have been seized. Do you see any of that as progress? Look, over the last week, there has been a lot of confusion and chaos in the city. But what has been clear is that the chief of police, under the guidance of the mayor, has been working with federal law enforcement, which, by the way, we do all day every day here in this city. But the disruption, the takeover purported takeover of MPD throws that into chaos and confusion. And as Chief Smith has said in the papers in her nearly 30 years of enforcing the law, both as a federal law enforcement officer and as chief of police, she has never seen any action that causes more risk to the public safety than the actions of A. G. Bondi last night in her bondi order of about 7 45 at night. And earlier this week, the U. S. Attorney for D. C. Janine Pirro called you out by name when she was talking about crimes committed by kids in the city. Let's watch what she said. These kids understand that the jurisdiction is through the state Attorney General Brian Schwab. I did a poster of the young man from Doge who was beaten bloody with a severe concussion, a broken nose. And then I did a poster of what happens to those kids because I can't arrest them. I can't prosecute them. They go to family court and they get to do yoga and arts and crafts enough. How do you respond to that? Well, we have been prosecuting and holding young people accountable under the law since I've been attorney general for the past two plus years since I've been attorney general. The crime rates in this district have gone down meaningfully. In fact, even according to the Justice Department and the president's own words, crime in the district is more than 51% decreased since I've been attorney general. We are holding young people accountable and they should be held accountable while crime is on its way down here in the district. One crime is one too many, and I'm not going to be satisfied until we stop all crime. The fact of the matter is that the federal government could be helping us in terms of addressing crime rather than interfering. We have a court that has nearly 20 plus percent of our court judges on the Superior Court vacant, which disrupts the administration of justice, not just criminal justice, housing justice, civil cases. And the federal government has the ability to help us fill those vacancies. The federal government got in the way of more than a billion dollars of fiscal year 25 funding. That's taxpayer dollars, D. C. Taxpayer dollars that could be used for programs and law enforcement here in the city. So the federal government wants to help BC be safer. We welcome help. We do not need a hostile and illegal takeover. Just really quickly, though, to follow up. What specifically are you doing in this case that you need? Pirro pointed out against the perpetrator of this Doge employee. I mean, she's saying they go to family court and they get to do yoga, arts and crafts. What specifically are you doing in that case? Well, I'm not at liberty under our laws to talk about the specifics of any particular prosecution in the family court. But with all our cases, we will hold people accountable. We will hold them accountable under the law with the evidence we have, and our track record demonstrates that in terms of the number of prosecutions we've engaged in so much. So the detention of young people has caused the mayor to have to issue an executive order to increase the capacity of our detention center. So we are holding young people accountable under the law, and we will continue to do so. An attorney general, while the numbers clearly show that crime here in Washington D. C. Has been on the decline. The chairman of the D. C. Police Union says he agrees with Trump that crime is out of control in the city and that something needs to be done. That's a direct quote. He also says every aspect of D. C.'s criminal justice system is broken. Do you dispute what do you dispute what he says? I think that the union president is either misinformed or inaccurate in his statements regarding crime being reduced. Look, we have more work to do. Every community needs to fight as best as it can to keep people safe. I'm not going to be satisfied until we have a zero crime rate in this city. That's part of what we have to do. Uh, and I have to do is the chief law enforcement officer of our city. But we have made progress under the local leadership of the mayor and the chief of police. We must be able to continue that progress, and the interference of the federal government is not going to help. It's only gonna hurt.

U.S. President Donald Trump and Russia's Vladimir Putin have arrived in Alaska ahead of their high stakes talks on Ukraine. The expected one-on-one meeting between Trump and Putin has expanded to include U.S. officials Steve Witkoff and Marco Rubio and other Russian officials.

Ukraine Invasion

Trump, Putin arrive in Alaska for historic summit

Israel's far-right finance minister approved the construction of a controversial new settlement in the West Bank, saying it "finally buries the idea of a Palestinian state." But it's unclear if this move will actually go through. Rights groups swiftly condemned the plan.

Jerusalem

Middle East Conflict

Israeli finance minister approves new West Bank settlement

U.S. President Donald Trump indicated in an interview that he hoped to push Russian President Vladimir Putin toward a second meeting but acknowledged there was a chance Friday’s meeting would not succeed.

Trump shifts tone, confident on deal to end Ukraine war

Israeli Finance Minister Bezalei Smotrich said a plan to add more than 3,000 homes to a controversial settlement in the West Bank would bury ‘the idea of a Palestinian state.’

Israel furthers plan for settlement that divides the West Bank

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy met with British Prime Minister Keir Starmer in London. This comes one day before U.S. President Donald Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska to discuss a possible ceasefire in Ukraine.

London

Zelenskyy, Starmer meet ahead of Trump, Putin summit in Alaska

Speaking in the Oval Office on Thursday, President Trump sounded optimistic about his upcoming summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.

Trump says he thinks Putin and Zelenskyy will make peace

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has announced plans to build another immigrant detention center, dubbing it the "Deportation Depot." The facility will be in North Florida.

Jacksonville

DeSantis announces plan to build another immigrant detention center

President Trump had a virtual call Wednesday with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of his meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Friday in Alaska. After the call, Zelenskyy said he told Mr. Trump that "Putin is bluffing."

Ukraine's Zelenskyy warns President Trump ahead of meeting with Putin

U.S. President Donald Trump said he would ask the Republican-controlled Congress to extend federal control of Washington's city police force beyond 30 days, escalating his campaign to exert presidential power over the nation's capital.

Trump wants to extend federal control over Washington police

With just hours left to reach a deal on plastics, negotiators in Geneva were scrambling to resolve a deadlock caused by “red lines” of member countries. Nations are crafting the first global, legally binding treaty on plastics pollution at the United Nations office in Switzerland.

Geneva

Global plastics treaty talks in Geneva stall as deadline looms

At least 123 people have been killed in 24 hours, according to Gaza's Health Ministry. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says people will be given the opportunity to leave Gaza before a planned ground offensive, but no one is being pushed out.

Israeli strikes pound Gaza ahead of planned ground offensive

America's NATO allies stood firmly with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy ahead of the face-to-face meeting between President Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska. The European leaders showed a united front that there should be no peace deal without Ukraine's involvement.

Kyiv

NATO allies stand with Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin summit

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement must improve conditions for detainees at New York's 26 Federal Plaza, a judge ruled Tuesday.

New York

Judge rules ICE must improve conditions for detainees at NY facility

National Guard troops arrived in Washington, D.C., following President Donald Trump's deployment and federalization of local police to crack down on crime in the nation's capital.

National Guard troops arrive in Washington, D.C.

U.S. President Donald Trump said that he had a "very good call" with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, days before his scheduled Alaska meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Trump had 'very good call' with Zelenskyy ahead of Putin meeting

Israel's military chief of staff, Lt. Gen. Eyal Zamir, has approved the framework of a plan for a new offensive in Gaza. CBS News Middle East reporter Courtney Kealy has more details.

Israeli military chief approves 'framework' for new Gaza offensive

President Donald Trump said Wednesday there will be “very severe consequences” if Russian President Vladimir Putin doesn’t agree to stop the Ukraine war after Friday’s summit.

Trump warns of 'severe consequences' if Russia doesn't stop war

A Wisconsin woman on Tuesday was found guilty in the United Kingdom of trying to kill a man at point-blank range in 2019. Aimee Betro, 45, was part of a plot with two other co-conspirators to murder Sikander Ali, prosecutors said.

Birmingham

American woman found guilty of UK murder-for-hire plot

Record-high temperatures across Europe are fanning wildfires across the continent. Experts say a warming climate and an increase in flammable vegetation from rural depopulation are major factors.

Madrid

Historic heat fuels fires across Europe

Hungary's PM Viktor Orbán said the EU attempts to set conditions for a meeting to which leaders of the EU were not invited. He also called for an EU-Russia summit.

Brussels

EU leaders rally behind Ukraine ahead of Trump-Putin talks

President Trump said Monday he expects that Russia and Ukraine will "land swap" certain territories as part of an eventual ceasefire deal. Mr. Trump is set to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday.

Trump claims 'land swapping' between Russia, Ukraine will happen

Taylor Swift confirmed her 12th studio album, "The Life of a Showgirl," in a teaser for her upcoming appearance on her boyfriend Travis Kelce's podcast. Swift did not disclose the release date of the album.

Taylor Swift announces new album, 'The Life of a Showgirl'

U.S. President Donald Trump said that his planned meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska on Friday will be to "feel out" the leader as pressure mounts for Russia and Ukraine to make a peace deal.

Trump to meet with Putin in Alaska on Friday

A meeting between US President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin is set to take place in Alaska, with European leaders notably excluded from the talks. Until Europe can defend itself, it's not likely to be invited to a great power dialogue, experts have told Euronews.

Alaska

Europe frozen out as U.S. and Russia prepare for Alaska talks

U.S. President Donald Trump said on Monday that Kyiv and Moscow will both have to cede land to end the war in Ukraine and talks with Russian President Vladimir Putin this week will instantly show whether the Kremlin leader is willing to make a deal.

Breakdown