MAZZARA jos acting gc
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STRICT SCRUT KRISTI NO MO?
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AN 3 26
The Department of Homeland Security has become embroiled in a "power struggle" following the ouster of Secretary Kristi Noem, according to a new report from The Daily Beast, with sources indicating that an employee dubbed her "hatchet man" had been ousted.
Donald Trump announced last week that Noem was being removed from her post as DHS secretary, amid reports that he was furious with her for claiming that he signed off on a $220 million ad campaign. She will depart the role by the end of March, and the president has nominated Sen. Markwayne Mullin to replace her.
In the meantime, The Daily Beast reported on Thursday that a notable Noem loyalist, Deputy CBP Commissioner Joseph Mazzara, had been "escorted" out of DHS after an alleged effort to force out one of the outgoing secretary's internal enemies, CBP Commissioner Rodney Scott. Sources within the agency called Mazzara, who had no prior law enforcement experience and was hired only three months ago, a "henchman" for Noem and her "special government employee" Corey Lewandowski.
"Mazzara, who is an attorney with no history of law enforcement, was appointed Customs and Border Protection (CBP) Deputy Commissioner less than three months ago by Noem’s chief aide and rumored lover, Lewandowski, in an apparent attempt to undermine and force out CBP’s long-serving Commissioner Rodney Scott," the report detailed. "It didn’t work."
Sources indicated that the directive to fire Mazzara came from Trump himself, with his office being "emptied" as he "was walked out of the building" on Wednesday.
"Mazzara was very much in the Noem camp, and Rodney Scott can’t stand him," one source from CBP told the outlet. "So perhaps Scott was able to get him booted. With Noem gone, Scott was able to fire him. He had the opening and he took it.”
Mazzara's appointment was announced via a memo circulated around DHS in late December. It instructed staffers to direct claims that would have once gone through Scott to the new deputy.
"He was Corey’s #1,” another DHS source said. “He was Corey’s henchman and sought to fire anyone not loyal to Noem, Corey and Trump."
“From the day he arrived, Mazzara served happily as the administration’s, and specifically Lewandowski’s, hatchet man,” one senior offical told The Daily Beast. “He personally removed well over a dozen senior career leaders, some who had served in government since the Reagan years, and replaced them with Trump loyalists. Quite the turn of events for him to be removed from his post.”
The senior source added: "Mazzara showed no interest in the actual work of the department. He was more concerned with ‘owning the libs,’ at the expense of the department’s mission and obligation to keep America safe.”
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REFPPub
Trump’s Shuttering of DHS Civil Rights Office Freezes 600 Cases — ProPublica
They Don’t Care About Civil Rights”: Trump’s Shuttering of DHS Oversight Arm Freezes 600 Cases, Imperils Human Rights
The closure of the 150-person office, which protected the civil rights of both immigrants and U.S. citizens, strips Homeland Security of its internal guardrails as the Trump administration turns DHS into a mass-deportation machine, analysts say.
by J. David McSwane and Hannah AllamApril 8, 2025,
ProPublica is a nonprofit newsroom that investigates abuses of power. Sign up to receive our biggest stories as soon as they’re published.
On Feb. 10, more than a dozen Department of Homeland Security officials joined a video conference to discuss an obscure, sparsely funded program overseen by its Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. The office, charged with investigating when the national security agency is accused of violating the rights of both immigrants and U.S. citizens, had found itself in the crosshairs of Elon Musk’s secretive Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE.
It began as a typical briefing, with Homeland Security officials explaining to DOGE a program many describe as a win-win. It had provided some $20 million in recent years to local organizations that provide case workers to keep people in immigration proceedings showing up to court, staff explained, without expensive detentions and ankle monitors.
DOGE leader Kyle Schutt, a technology executive who developed a GOP online fundraising platform, interrupted. He wanted Joseph Mazzara, DHS’s acting general counsel, to weigh in. Mazzara was recently appointed to the post after working for Ken Paxton as both an assistant solicitor general and member of the Texas attorney general’s defense team that beat back public corruption charges.
Schutt had a different interpretation of the program, according to people who attended or were briefed on the meeting.
“This whole program sounds like money laundering,” he said.
Mazzara went further. His facial expressions, his use of profanity and the way he combed his fingers through his hair made clear he was annoyed.
“We should look into civil RICO charges,” Mazzara said.
DHS staff was stunned. The program had been mandated by Congress, yet Homeland Security’s top lawyer was saying it could be investigated under a law reserved for organized crime syndicates.
“I took it as a threat,” one attendee said. “It was traumatizing.”
For many in the office, known internally as CRCL, that moment was a dark forecast of the future. Several said they scrambled to try to fend off the mass firings they were seeing across the rest of President Donald Trump’s administration. They policed language that Trump’s appointees might not like. They hesitated to open complaints on hot-button cases. They reframed their work as less about protecting civil rights and more about keeping the department out of legal trouble.
None of it worked. On March 21, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem shut down the office and fired most of the 150-person staff. As a result, about 600 civil rights abuse investigations were frozen.
“All the oversight in DHS was eliminated today,” one worker texted after the announcement that they’d been fired.
Eight former CRCL officials spoke with ProPublica about the dismantling of the office on the condition of anonymity because they feared retribution. Their accounts come at a time when the new administration’s move to weaken oversight of federal agencies has faced legal challenges in the federal courts. In defending its move to shut CRCL, the administration said it was streamlining operations, as it has done elsewhere. “DHS remains committed to civil rights protections but must streamline oversight to remove roadblocks to enforcement,” said DHS spokesperson Tricia McLaughlin.
CRCL staff “often functioned as internal adversaries to slow down operations,” McLaughlin added. She did not address questions from ProPublica about the February meeting. Mazzara and Schutt did not reply to requests for comment.
The office’s closure strips Homeland Security of a key internal check and balance, analysts and former staff say, as the Trump administration morphs the agency into a mass-deportation machine. The civil rights team served as a deterrent to border patrol and immigration agents who didn’t want the hassle and paperwork of an investigation, staff said, and its closure signals that rights violations, including those against U.S. citizens, could go unchecked.
The office processed more than 3,000 complaints in fiscal year 2023 — on everything from disabled detainees being unable to access medical care to abuses of power at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and reports of rape at its detention centers. For instance, following reports that ICE had performed facial recognition searches on millions of Maryland drivers, a CRCL investigation led the agency to agree to new oversight; case details have been removed from the DHS website but are available in the internet archive. The office also reported to Congress that it had investigated and confirmed allegations that a child, a U.S. citizen traveling without her parents between Mexico and California, had been sexually abused by Customs and Border Protection agents during a strip search.
Those cases would have gone nowhere without CRCL, its former staffers said.
“Nobody knows where to go without CRCL, and that’s the point,” a senior official said. Speaking of the administration, the official went on, “They don’t want oversight. They don’t care about civil rights and civil liberties.”
The CRCL staff, most of them lawyers, emphasized that their work is not politically motivated, nor is it limited to immigration issues. For instance, sources said the office was investigating allegations that disaster aid workers with the Federal Emergency Management Agency had skipped over houses that displayed signs supporting Trump during the 2024 election.
“The Office for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties touches on everyone,” one fired employee said. “There’s this perception that we’re only focused on immigrants, and that’s just not true.”
Uncertainty and Panic....
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Involvement with Miller: In April 2025, Mazzara filed a sworn court declaration stating that DHS does not have the authority to retrieve a deported individual from another sovereign country. His actions relate to the same immigration case that Stephen Miller has commented on publicly.
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an 10 25
A new memo from the Department of Homeland Security authorizes Federal Protective Service officers to leave federal property and, if necessary, enter private homes to “eliminate” threats, including what it describes as an “identified sniper” located blocks away from a federal facility, journalist Marisa Kabas reported Friday in her newsletter The Handbasket.
The internal memo, titled “Federal Protective Service [FPS] Policy and Off-Property Jurisdiction,” was written by DHS Acting General Counsel Joseph Mazzara and circulated to all FPS personnel on Wednesday by Benjamine Huffman, the DHS Senior Official Performing the Duties of the Under Secretary for Management, per the report.
Addressing concerns about the legal limits of FPS jurisdiction, Mazzara wrote that such limits “are misplaced,” and that “the limits to FPS’s authority off federal property are the edges of the Constitution on one side and necessity on the other.
Mazzara stated that FPS officers are permitted to respond to incidents even far from federal buildings if a “reasonable nexus” to the protection of federal property exists.
He wrote: “FPS could even enter a private residence containing an identified sniper blocks away from a federal facility in order to eliminate that exigent threat. There is simply no legal barrier to FPS taking action off federal property where a reasonable nexus to protecting that property exists.”
The phrase “identified sniper” refers to an individual who has been clearly recognized by FPS as posing a lethal, long-range threat — likely armed and positioned to target a federal building or officers.
The memo frames this as a justification for the use of force and warrantless entry in urgent situations.
Mazzara also wrote that FPS may set up barriers, fences, and other physical controls in areas near, but not limited to, federal buildings.
“This is not limited to the sidewalk or streets immediately adjacent to federal buildings as we do not live in a world of sticks and stones, but Mausers and Winchesters,” he said, referencing rifle brands.
One FPS employee, who was not named, told The Handbasket: “It’s quite clear that agents are being told they can go wherever. All of it was quite alarming and an unusual email to receive both in content and tone.”
The guidance comes as National Guard troops have been deployed to cities like Chicago, where DHS agents have recently been involved in arrests of immigrants, journalists and clergy. U.S. Northern Command confirmed Wednesday that these deployments are intended to protect DHS personnel and property.
In an accompanying email, Huffman wrote that the guidance “reaffirms that FPS officers and, by extension, any DHS personnel performing protective functions at ICE or CBP facilities may operate beyond federal boundaries when a clear nexus exists to the protection of federal property. Meanwhile, although the memo presents its scenarios as responses to threats, internal reports from DHS itself suggest a different picture.
The New York Times reported that FPS assessments of recent protests in cities like Portland described them as “low energy,” offering no indication of heightened threats that would warrant expanded enforcement powers.
Another FPS employee told The Handbasket: “I guess they got jealous of ICE being able to do anything they want.”
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whitehouse ltr
Re: Protected Whistleblower Disclosure of Erez Reuveni Regarding Violation of Laws,
Rules & Regulations, Abuse of Authority, and Substantial and Specific Danger to
Health and Safety at the Department of Justice
Dear All:
We, the Government Accountability Project and Gilbert Employment Law, P.C., represent
Mr. Erez Reuveni, formerly the Acting Deputy Director for the Office of Immigration Litigation
(OIL) of the Department of Justice (DOJ), and a whistleblower. Mr. Reuveni presents the
following disclosures to your attention for your respective offices to take appropriate oversight
action.
Between March 14, 2025, and April 5, 2025, Mr. Reuveni, almost immediately after
receiving notice of his promotion to serve as Acting Deputy Director of OIL, became aware of the
plans of DOJ leadership to resist court orders that would impede potentially illegal efforts to deport
noncitizens, and further became aware of the details to execute those plans.
On April 4, 2025, after raising concerns internally to his chain of command for nearly three
weeks regarding the government’s compliance with court orders and candor to the courts, Mr.
Reuveni appeared before Judge Paula Xinis, United States District Court Judge in the District of
Maryland, on behalf of the government in the case of Mr. Kilmar Abrego Garcia. During that
appearance, Mr. Reuveni candidly and truthfully informed the court, based on the evidentiary
record, that Mr. Abrego Garcia’s removal from the United States was a mistake. Later that evening,
Mr. Reuveni refused directions from his superiors to file a brief misrepresenting those facts to the...
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npr opb
A Maryland federal judge wants to find out if government officials are acting in “bad faith” in the case of Kilmar Armando Abrego Garcia, who was mistakenly sent to a notorious Salvadoran prison.
Judge Paula Xinis on Tuesday called for a two-week process of “expedited discovery,” including questioning government officials under oath, to learn whether the government is doing enough to try to bring him back.
Abrego Garcia, a Salvadoran citizen, had lived in Maryland for about 15 years before he was deported to El Salvador last month, despite being granted protections by an U.S. immigration judge. He is in custody in Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele’s mega-prison, known as CECOT. The Supreme Court said the Trump administration should facilitate his return.
“It is a fact now, of this record: every day he is detained in CECOT is a day of irreparable harm,” Xinis said from the bench on Tuesday. “We have to give process to both sides but we are going to move. No tolerance for gamesmanship and grandstanding.”
Lawyers for the Justice Department and those representing Abrego Garcia have one week to conduct depositions of Joseph Mazzara, the acting general counsel at the Department of Homeland Security, as well as of acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement field office director Robert Cerna, and of other officials who have filed declarations before the court.
The hearing is the first courtroom appearance about Abrego Garcia’s case since Bukele met with President Trump in the Oval Office on Monday, and told reporters that he is not going to “smuggle a terrorist into the United States.”
The U.S. government has accused Abrego Garcia of being a member of the MS-13 gang, which the Trump administration has since designated a Foreign Terrorist Organization. Abrego Garcia’s lawyers dispute that he is a member of the gang, and say he doesn’t have a criminal record.
In a court filing ahead of the hearing, Abrego Garcia’s lawyers argued “the Government should at least be required to request the release of Abrego Garcia” — and that to date it has not done so.
The Department of Homeland Security said it “prepared to facilitate Abrego Garcia’s presence in the United States in accordance with those processes if he presents at a port of entry,” Mazzara said in a declaration filed minutes before the hearing began.
However, Mazarra said that if Abrego Garcia does appear at a port of entry to the U.S., he would be detained by DHS and either removed to a third country, or the government would go through a judicial process to try to send him back to El Salvador.
Oval Office meeting as evidence
The DOJ also filed a transcript of Monday’s press conference in the Oval Office. Drew Ensign, a lawyer for the Justice Department, presented the transcript, arguing that the issue of Abrego Garcia was “raised at the highest level” and provided proof the government was trying to “facilitate” his return.
But Judge Xinis called references to the comments made at the White House “nonresponsive” in court about whether the administration is working to release Abrego Garcia from CECOT and ensure that his case is handled as it would have been in the U.S., were he not improperly sent abroad.
White House Deputy Chief of Staff Stephen Miller speaks as Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Pam Bondi, U.S. Attorney General, sit nearby as President Trump meets with President Nayib Bukele of El Salvador in the Oval Office on April 14.
“If you were removing domestic barriers then there would be no smuggling, right?” Xinis said, referencing Bukele’s “smuggling terrorists” remark.
“If I make a finding of contempt it will be based on the record before me,” she added. “No, I don’t consider the transcript you gave me to be answering the question.”
The White House has argued its actions align with the court’s orders.
“We’re very confident that every action taken by this administration is within the confines of the law, and we continue to comply with the court’s orders,” White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Tuesday.
El Salvador’s Bukele says he lacks power to bring him back
The U.S. Supreme Court last week in an unsigned decision upheld Xinis’ order that the federal government must “facilitate” Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and “to ensure his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
However, the Supreme Court also said the judge should clarify her decision “with due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.”
Focusing on that line of “deference” over foreign policy, several administration officials have argued it’s up to Bukele whether Abrego Garcia is returned.
“If they [El Salvador] wanted to return him, we would facilitate it – meaning provide a plane,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said during the Oval Office press conference.
But in that same press conference, Bukele said he does not have the power to send Abrego Garcia back to the U.S.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement, as well as White House officials, admitted that an administrative error resulted in Abrego Garcia’s deportation.
An immigration judge granted Abrego Garcia a withholding of removal in 2019, meaning that although he did enter the country illegally, the U.S. could not deport him to El Salvador.
His attorney told NPR he had applied and had been granted a work permit, which had been regularly renewed since then.
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Judge To DOJ: No, ‘Facilitate’ Doesn’t Mean ‘Do Nothing’ In Abrego Garcia Case
from the something's-gotta-change dept
Wed, Apr 16th 2025 09:30am - Mike Masnick
As the US government trotted out its latest excuses for illegally trafficking Abrego Garcia to a Salvadoran torture camp, the district court overseeing the case has made it clear that she’s had enough of the government defying her orders. In ȧ hearing followed by an order granting discovery, Judge Paula Xinis has made it clear that she knows the government is defying her orders to help bring Abrego Garcia back to the US, and she’s pretty fed up with their tap dancing and stalling.
At issue is the government’s creative interpretation of what it means to “facilitate” Garcia’s return — an interpretation that seems to consist entirely of doing absolutely nothing while claiming their hands are tied. As Judge Xinis points out, contrary to what the administration has been claiming about the Supreme Court siding with them, it did not. She’s simply enforcing what SCOTUS already said was her right to do:
This Court, in turn, ordered no more than what the Supreme Court endorsed: that Defendants “take all available steps to facilitate the return of Abrego Garcia to the United States as soon as possible,” because bound within this remedy is Abrego Garcia’s “release from custody” and the assurance that Abrego Garcia’s “case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.”
While the Trump admin, led by Pam Bondi and Stephen Miller, keeps falsely claiming that “facilitate” only means providing him with a flight to the US if El Salvador wants to release Garcia, Judge Xinis systematically dismantles this bullshit interpretation:
Notably, to “facilitate” means “to make the occurrence of (something) easier; to render less difficult.” Facilitate, Black’s Law Dictionary (12th ed. 2024). Merriam-Webster defines the term as “to make easier or less difficult: to free from difficulty or impediment.” Facilitate, MerriamWebster Dictionary, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/facilitate (last visited Apr. 14, 2025). And the Oxford English Dictionary defines “facilitate” as “[t]o assist (a person); to enable or allow (a person) to do something, achieve a particular result, etc., more easily.” Facilitate, Oxford English Dictionary, https://doi.org/10.1093/OED/5808503853 (last visited Apr. 14, 2025). Defendants therefore remain obligated, at a minimum, to take the steps available to them toward aiding, assisting, or making easier Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and resuming his status quo ante. But the record reflects that Defendants have done nothing at all.
Instead, the Defendants obliquely suggest that “facilitate” is limited to “taking all available steps to remove any domestic obstacles that would otherwise impede the alien’s ability to return here.” ECF No. 65 at 3 (emphasis in original). The fallacy in the Defendants’ argument is twofold. First, in the “immigration context” as it were, id., facilitating return of those wrongly deported can and has included more extensive governmental efforts, endorsed in prior precedent and DHS publications. Thus, the Court cannot credit that “facilitating” the ordered relief is as limited as Defendants suggest.
Second, and more fundamentally, Defendants appear to have done nothing to aid in Abrego Garcia’s release from custody and return to the United States to “ensure that his case is handled as it would have been” but for Defendants’ wrongful expulsion of him. Abrego Garcia, 604 U.S.— , slip op. at 2. Thus, Defendants’ attempt to skirt this issue by redefining “facilitate” runs contrary to law and logic.
She also notes that the three “daily” status reports the DOJ delivered (late each day) did not meet what she ordered, which is why she is requiring discovery, even as the DOJ insisted she should not order discovery:
Third, the discovery is necessary in light of Defendants’ uniform refusal to disclose “what it can” regarding their facilitation of Abrego Garcia’s release and return to the status quo ante, or present any legal justification for what they cannot disclose.2 Id. Fourth, the burden on the Government is minimal, particularly because, as the Supreme Court underscored, it “should be prepared to share what it can concerning the steps it has taken and the prospect of further steps.” Id. Fifth, the request for discovery is timely in that Defendants have not yet complied with this Court’s directives, and Abrego Garcia appears to remain inexplicably detained in CECOT. Sixth, discovery must proceed without delay, as Abrego Garcia is indisputably entitled to the due protections that Defendants have denied him—and to be free from the risk of grave injury resulting from his continued detention in CECOT.
As for Stephen Miller’s argument that the Supreme Court sided with the White House and all they have to do is yell “foreign affairs” to get out from under any court judgment, the court’s having none of it:
Again, this Court is ever mindful of the Supreme Court’s directive that the Court’s injunctive relief must be accorded with “due regard for the deference owed to the Executive Branch in the conduct of foreign affairs.” Abrego Garcia, 604 U.S.—, slip op. at 2. But this deference does not mean the Court must ignore the Defendants’ repeated refusal to provide even the most basic information as to any steps they have taken to facilitate “Abrego Garcia’s release from custody in El Salvador and to ensure that his case is handled as it would have been had he not been improperly sent to El Salvador.” Id. Thus far, the Defendants appear to have taken no steps, and provided no explanation, legal or otherwise, for such inaction
And thus, Judge Xinis has set a very aggressive discovery schedule. The lawyers for Abrego Garcia can depose the various administration officials who filed those status reports, including various ICE officials and a State Department official. But also Joseph Mazzara, the acting general counsel for Homeland Security.
During the hearing, DOJ lawyer Drew Ensign tried to protest that Mazzara, as acting general counsel, shouldn’t be deposed as it would raise privilege issues, but Judge Xinis shut that down, noting the DOJ should have considered that before they had him sign declarations in the case.
The depositions should all be completed by next Wednesday, followed by Garcia’s lawyers being able to supplement their motion for relief based on those depositions by Monday, April 28th, and the DOJ able to respond by April 30.
Some observers were annoyed that this represents two more weeks in which Garcia is left rotting in a Salvadoran torture camp, but Xinis appears to know what she’s doing. As some note, two weeks is the minimum required to hold a party in contempt for failure to comply. Others suggest that this aggressive discovery schedule, in which various government officials will have to go on the record explaining how badly they fucked all this up may be designed to just get the DOJ to get Garcia on a plane back to the US to avoid this process.
Of course, others are predicting that the Trump admin will seek to run back to the warm embrace of John Roberts at SCOTUS, seeking to get Judge Xinis off their back (though as Judge Xinis noted, there’s really no basis for that). But also, it gives Roberts the opportunity to point out how the administration is directly lying about what SCOTUS’s original 9-0 ruling said about how the US should help bring Garcia back.
Obviously, this process is tragically slow for Garcia and his family. Garcia’s wife gave an impassioned and heartfelt statement prior to the hearing which is worth watching:
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DACA
...Opponents of DACA, chiefly Texas and eight other Republican-led states, have said in court arguments and legal briefs that hundreds of millions of dollars in health care, education and other costs fall on states when immigrants are allowed to remain in the country illegally.
A key element of the arguments before the appeals panel is whether lead plaintiff Texas has shown that it has standing to bring a lawsuit and whether a lower court judge in Texas had authority to issue a nationwide ruling.
DACA supporters argued that Texas hasn’t shown that the costs it cites are traceable to the policy and, thus, hasn’t shown that it has standing. Judge Stephen Higginson, questioning Joseph Mazzara of the Texas Attorney General’s Office, noted that 22 states have said they benefit from the contributions of DACA recipients, who are known as “Dreamers.”
“How could a single judge tell all 22 other states who are so grateful for these people that actually they’ve all got to leave the United States?” Higginson asked. “How does a single judge have that authority?”
However, Judge Jerry Smith said he was doubtful that Texas lacks legal standing,
“I don’t understand how you get anywhere with that argument,” Smith told Brian Boynton, who was arguing for the Biden administration.
An earlier 5th Circuit ruling fought held that Texas did have standing. Boynton said the Supreme Court has since raised the bar for states to prove standing, but Smith said the precedents Boynton cited don’t contain unequivocal language that would require the appeals court to back off its previous finding.
...
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off bs
November 04, 2024 | Press Release
Attorney General Ken Paxton Files Amicus Brief Supporting President Trump, Arguing Special Prosecutor Jack Smith Was Illegally Appointed by Biden-Harris DOJ
Attorney General Ken Paxton filed an amicus brief in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit supporting President Donald Trump’s claims that special prosecutor Jack Smith was illegally appointed by the U.S. Department of Justice (“DOJ”).
The brief argues that the Biden-Harris Administration’s appointment of the special prosecutor in this case directly implicates Texas’s fundamental interest in preventing unlawful federal action. DOJ claims that the U.S. Attorney General—acting without any statutory guidance from Congress—may empower a private individual to spend tens of millions of dollars to enforce federal criminal laws.
Further, Texas’s brief argues that the appointment of a “special prosecutor” triggers the principle of constitutional avoidance. The Constitution requires Congress to provide meaningful guidance when empowering federal agencies to choose between two available enforcement paths yet, here, the statutes DOJ cites provide no guidance at all.
“The Biden-Harris Administration’s appointment of Jack Smith was blatantly unconstitutional,” said Attorney General Paxton. “DOJ, without any authority, spent more than $30 million to hire a private individual to harass the former President by weaponizing partisan lawfare against him. This erodes the rule of law that distinguishes the United States from third-world, totalitarian regimes.”
The brief explains: “By any measure, it is extraordinary to suppose that Congress empowered the Attorney General to appoint a private attorney to lead (rather than simply assist) a significant multi-district investigation and prosecution on behalf of the United States. It is even more extraordinary to suppose that Congress would allow the Attorney General to do this for one of the most high-profile and expensive prosecutions imaginable: The unprecedented prosecution of a former President of the United States. Because the claimed power is extraordinary, Congress must speak clearly before courts can conclude that the Attorney General is authorized to wield it.”
To read the brief, click here. no joe
//
Attorney General Ken Paxton Secures Landmark Agreement with Central Texas Medical Provider to Protect Parental Access to Children’s Electronic Health Records
October 10, 2025 | Press Release
Attorney General Ken Paxton Files Joint Motion with the Texas GOP Urging the Court to Close the Republican Primaries
October 09, 2025 | Press Release
Attorney General Paxton Investigates Discord After the Platform was Used by the Reported Assassin Who Murdered Charlie Kirk
October 09, 2025 | Press Release
Attorney General Paxton Arrests Eight Individuals, Including Foreign Nationals, Connected to Houston Abortionist Who Illegally Practiced Without Medical Licenses
October 08, 2025 | Press Release
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(The Center Square) – Six staffers from the Office of the Texas Attorney General have taken a leave of absence to defend their former boss, Ken Paxton, who was impeached by the Texas House on Saturday.
Their temporary departure was first reported by The Daily Wire and independently confirmed by Hearst Newspapers.
Paxton was suspended from office until the outcome of a Senate trial determines if he returns to or is removed from office. In the interim, First Assistant Attorney General Brent Webster is the acting head of the agency.
Six employees taking leaves of absence include Solicitor General Judd Stone, Assistant Solicitor General Joseph N. Mazzara, Assistant Solicitor General Kateland Jackson, Senior Attorney Allison Collins, Executive Assistant Jordan Eskew, and Division Chief of the General Litigation Division Chris Hilton, who’s been outspoken in Paxton’s defense.
Hilton attempted to present evidence to the House General Investigating Committee, which refused to interview Paxton or anyone from his staff as part of its investigation. Hilton told reporters last Thursday that the committee was engaged in an “illegal investigation” and a report it issued was “filled with falsehoods and misrepresentations.”
One week ago, the committee held a three-hour hearing at which four attorneys hired by the committee presented the findings of their investigation. The attorneys, some of whom are registered Democrats, had all worked in the offices of the Harris County District Attorney and U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas in Houston. They presented no sworn testimony and no documentation; no witnesses were interviewed by the committee.
On Thursday, the committee issued 20 articles of impeachment and within 24 hours the full House voted to impeach Paxton by a vote of 121-23.
The Texas GOP, Paxton and others argue the impeachment didn’t follow basic due process, was political, illegal, unethical and unjust.
An outside law firm also found that Paxton didn’t break any laws or violate procedure.
The House has announced its prosecutorial team and the Senate its committee to establish trial rules. The rules are expected to be announced June 20. Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick has said the trial will start no later than August 28.
It remains unclear if the six employees will continue to receive a salary during their leave of absence and requests for comment on this issue have gone unanswered.
When Webster took the helm, he told OAG staff that Paxton "has built the best litigation team in America" since October 2020, after former employees were fired, something the OAG maintains was for cause and not wrongful termination.
"When we go head-to-head against the federal government and the Department of Justice, we win," he said. "In our affirmative litigation, we've accomplished a positive win rate out of the 50+ cases against the Biden DOJ within a 22 month period."
"The State of Texas has had no better elected official than Ken Paxton defending citizen's rights, fighting for justice, and preserving freedom," Webster told employees, adding that they would together "continue to be the best legal team in America."
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[### Catholic #MeToo victims and advocates face backlash
National Catholic Reporter
https://www.ncronline.org › news › catholic-metoo-vict...](https://www.ncronline.org/news/catholic-metoo-victims-and-advocates-face-backlash)
Jul 17, 2018 — In March, Joseph Mazzara, a Christendom graduate and judge advocate in the Marine Corps, sued Provencher for what he says are false ...
by Heidi Schlumpf
View Author Profile
Follow on Twitter at @heidischlumpf
Join the Conversation
Send your thoughts to Letters to the Editor. Learn more
July 17, 2018
This September Donna Provencher will give birth to her second child. A few weeks after that, she may be appearing in court to defend herself in a defamation lawsuit that she sees as backlash for her speaking out about rape on a Catholic college campus.
"It's really terrifying," Provencher said of the suit, which is asking for $25,000 in damages plus fees and court costs — more than the single mother makes in a year. She has had to crowdfund to raise money for an attorney.
She sees the lawsuit as part of a broader pushback against the Catholic #MeToo movement, in which women from Catholic schools and organizations have come forward with allegations of sexual assault and of mishandling of their allegations.
"Even from day one, a disproportionate number of people have been making incredibly ugly comments about rape victims: defending the school, questioning rape victims' mental health, questioning their credibility," Provencher said about allegations of sexual assault and administrative inaction at Christendom College, a small Catholic school in Front Royal, Virginia.
"I didn't expect standing up for rape victims to be a controversial position."}:
DisHonorRoll is made possible through a grant from the Media Consortium.
The public bullying and harassment got worse as more victims came forward, she said.
"It was astounding just how angry people were — not that [sexual assault] had occurred, but that someone dared to expose it," she said. "I didn't expect standing up for rape victims to be a controversial position."
Provencher is a leader of a support and advocacy group for Christendom women who say they were sexually assaulted and who are calling for the traditionalist school to adopt Title IX or similar protections. Because the school does not accept any federal funding, it is not required to follow Title IX regulations, the federal law that mandates procedures for handling complaints of sexual discrimination, harassment or violence.
The group, originally called Christendom Advocacy and Support Coalition, or CASC, when it was founded last winter, has broadened its mission to include other Catholic schools and renamed itself "Dinah's Voice" (after the Genesis story of Jacob's daughter who was raped but defended by her family). Christendom Advocacy and Support Coalition is now a project of Dinah's Voice.
Retaliation against the group and its individual leaders has included attacks on social media, especially on a blog called "Truth Exists/CASC Exposed," a cease-and-desist letter from another university, and now the lawsuit.
In March, Joseph Mazzara, a Christendom graduate and judge advocate in the Marine Corps, sued Provencher for what he says are false allegations of sexual assault against him, made in January in a Facebook comment in which she mentioned his name, among others.
Provencher said she was only defending sexual assault victims against attacks of false accusations and repeating an earlier comment by someone who had knowledge of an incident involving Mazzara.* That person's post — and others — were removed by the page's administrator, she said.
"I never stated that any of these men were guilty of a crime or sexual assault," said Provencher, who is director of communications for Dinah's Voice, and although a rape survivor, did not experience sexual assault at Christendom.
Entrance sign to Christendom College, Front Royal, Virginia (Wikimedia Commons/AgnosticPreachersKid)
"It was more of a broader, sociocultural comment of 'Why are we always siding with the men in any kind of allegation of campus rape? Why are we defaulting to that, instead of giving the victims the benefit of the doubt?' " she told NCR.
In his complaint, filed in Virginia on March 12, Mazzara maintains that he never committed a rape and/or sexual assault during his time at Christendom, nor was he ever accused of or investigated for such a crime. He also claims that Provencher knew Mazzara was not guilty and that she acted negligently or with malice and a desire to injure him.
From the beginning, those who opposed Christendom Advocacy and Support Coalition have threatened retaliatory lawsuits, say Provencher and other victims and advocates.
Adele Chapline Smith, Dinah's Voice executive director, also has been on the receiving end of legal action for her work with the organization. In June, attorneys representing Ave Maria University in Florida sent Smith a letter about a Dinah's Voice blog post titled "Fighting rape culture is our business."
The letter threatened legal action unless the blog post was removed, alleging Smith made "reckless" and "unsubstantiated claims" about an "unproven allegation" of sexual assault at Ave Maria.
Dinah's Voice decided to remove the blog post, which at that point had been viewed 33 times, Smith said. She said many of the allegations in the letter were false, but that she did not have time to get legal advice and couldn't afford a lawsuit.
"It's appalling," Smith said of the backlash from "people who would rather fight us than make their schools safer places. Our crime is that we're trying to get these schools to be more accountable."
Smith said she was surprised by the cease-and-desist letter because her blog post merely repeated news from another blog about a former Ave Maria faculty member suing the school for allegedly reporting a colleague's "scandalous" behavior. That report is still posted online.
Much of the connection among victims — and the retaliation — has happened online, with critics of the victims' group, including a former Christendom employee, regularly capturing screenshots of members' words and sharing them elsewhere.
While it started on the Christendom alumni Facebook group, those moderators eventually quieted discussion about the issue of sexual assault there. That's when a few alumni began the Truth Exists/CASC Exposed blog, where they argue that CASC members are "advocates of mob justice."
They allege that because CASC (now Dinah's Voice) advocates to "believe women," the group "rejects due process and the presumption of innocence" and instead "believe[s] that the accused is guilty until he proves his innocence." In addition, the group "doesn't actually know what 'rape' or 'consent' mean," and therefore "is not a credible advocate for rape victims."
Provencher said the blog writers — who remain anonymous but say they are alumni and friends of Christendom, though in no way affiliated with the university — have attacked her personally and misinterpreted things she has written.
"Anything we have ever said in a public forum ... is twisted and used against us," she said.
Other examples of retaliation against Catholic victims and advocates include:
A Christendom alumna threatened to report a CASC member, who is a therapist seeking licensure, to the Virginia Board of Counseling and to her supervisor.}:
Jessica Mesman Griffith, a primary organizer of the innovative Trying to Say God Conference, held last year at the University of Notre Dame, was recently disinvited from the planning committee of the second conference by host St. Michael's College in Toronto. The reason came in an email from an organizer: Griffith came forward with allegations of sexual harassment by a colleague. (The conference has since been canceled.)}:
An NCR article that investigated sexual assault claims at Franciscan University at Steubenville in Ohio was attacked by Crisis magazine for being affiliated with the Media Consortium, which was inaccurately said to be funded by progressive philanthropist George Soros. (See editor's note below.)}:
Editor's note on funding
After NCR published two stories this spring about women's experiences of sexual assault at Franciscan University of Steubenville in Steubenville, Ohio, and Christendom College in Front Royal, Virginia, several media outlets, including Crisis magazine, incorrectly reported that funding for the stories came from an organization supported by George Soros' Open Society Foundation.
NCR had already begun the reporting on these stories when we learned that an association of independent media to which NCR belongs, The Media Consortium, had received a grant to fund reporting projects with "consistent, powerful storytelling that puts a human face on campus sexual violence." The staff of another consortium member, Bitch Media, a journal of feminist thought and culture, administered the funds and project, which they titled the "#DisHonorRoll."
We informed the consortium and the fund administrators of the stories we had in progress and they agreed to send us two grants, $150 and $500, to offset some of our reporting expenses.
Jo Ellen Green Kaiser, the executive director of The Media Consortium, told us that the funding for this project came via the Foundation for National Progress and that the consortium had received funds from the Open Society Foundation in 2009-2010, but none before or since.
A full list of outlets that have published stories in the #DisHonorRoll project is here.
—Dennis Coday
For victims of sexual assault, "retaliation in some form or another is ubiquitous," said Hilary Jerome Scarsella, a theology doctoral student at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee, who works with Into Account, which supports victims of sexual violence in Christian contexts.
"The question is how is it going to happen and to what extent and how disruptive to a survivor's life is it going to be," she said.
Sexual violence victims can experience retraumatization, whose effects can be more severe than the original assault itself, Scarsella said. This is especially the case when retaliation occurs in a survivor's own community of support — such as a church or a school.
Both sexual violence and retaliation are attacks on the person's character, she said. "It disintegrates a survivor's sense of self. And if that dynamic infiltrates one's community, the retraumatization can be damaging and have a lasting effect."
Smith said that's why the Dinah's Voice support group is so important, "so no one ends up feeling alone as their character is being assaulted and maligned," she said. "It's psychologically exhausting."
The bullying and threats have not stopped the advocacy group, however, although its members have been more cautious.
An idea to protest at Christendom's May graduation, where Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas — himself a prominent subject of a sexual harassment accusation — was honored and gave the commencement address, was put on hold.
"We were all really scared," recalled Provencher of the decision to be "judicious" about what to say or do around graduation. "The ongoing cyberbullying and harassment had really peaked at that time."
But Dinah's Voice will not be silenced, say its leaders, and plans are underway to host a conference on Catholic feminism geared toward alumni of Catholic schools.
"I'm not going to let them stop us,' said Smith. "There are bigger things at stake. We're fighting for something that's really important."
Meanwhile, Provencher prays the lawsuit against her is dismissed or dropped. "I want the drama of all this to be far away," she said. "Then I can do my thing and speak up for victims."
[Heidi Schlumpf is NCR national correspondent. Her email address is hschlumpf@ncronline.org. Follow her on Twitter @HeidiSchlumpf.]
*This sentence has been changed to clarify the source of the comment Provencher repeated.
An earlier version of this sentence incorrectly stated that this CASC member was studying to become a therapist.
A version of this story appeared in the July 27-Aug 9, 2018 print issue under the headline: Catholic #MeToo victims and advocates face backlash.
2 yrs later? she agreed to pay him? declared bankruptcy?
As such, the Court finds summary judgment is denied as to judicial estoppel.
CONCLUSION
For the foregoing reasons, it is ORDERED that Plaintiff’s Motion for Summary Judgment
on First Amended Complaint to Determine Dischargeability of Debt Pursuant to 11 U.S.C.
§ 523(a)(6) (ECF No. 42) is GRANTED IN PART and DENIED IN PART;
It is FURTHER ORDERED that the Court shall give preclusive effect to the dollar amount
of the debt and the finding of defamation provided in the Judgment entered in the Chesterfield
County General District Court on September 30, 2019;
It is FURTHER ORDERED that the Court must receive evidence of Defendant Donna
Shute Provencher’s intent, along with legal argument, to determine whether the Judgment is a
nondischargeable debt under 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6); and
It is FURTHER ORDERED that all other relief requested in Plaintiff’s Motion for
Summary Judgment on First Amended Complaint to Determine Dischargeability of Debt Pursuant
to 11 U.S.C. § 523(a)(6) (ECF No. 42) is DENIEd
---
sum
Mazzara v. Provencher (In re Provencher)
---
[### HARVEST NEWS
St. Isidore Church
https://stisidore.church › uploads › 2025/06 › 20...](https://stisidore.church/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/2025-06-29-Bulletin-with-ads.pdf)
Joseph Mazzara, Family. Robert Mason, Mason Family. Cordula Garza De Jesus (8th Anniv), Daughters. Max & Stella Sobolewski, Son. Giorgio Pascucci ...
### IT IS HEREBY ADJUDGED and DECREED that the below ...
United States Courts (.gov) https://www2.txwb.uscourts.gov › opinions › opdf
Dec 4, 2020 — On March 27, 2018, Joseph Mazzara (“Mazzara”) filed a Warrant in Debt that initiated a lawsuit2 against debtor Donna Shute Provencher ...
15 pages
Missing: abortion | Show results with: abortion
---
off bs 2 2025
Attorney General Ken Paxton has extended his congratulations to Joseph Mazzara, a former executive staff member of his office, on his new appointment as Acting General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security within the Trump Administration. In a press release, Paxton acknowledged Mazzara's legal expertise and commitment to constitutional freedoms, as well as his background as a decorated Marine, stating that these experiences prepare him well for his role in national security. "During his time in my office, Joe was a courageous defender of the rule of law, bringing his sharp legal mind and unwavering dedication to protecting our constitutional freedoms," said Attorney General Paxton in a statement obtained by the Texas Attorney General's office.
Throughout his tenure at the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Mr. Mazzara's roles included serving as Special Counsel to both the Attorney General and the First Assistant Attorney General. As Assistant Solicitor General prior to serving as a special counsel, he litigated on behalf of the State in various high-profile cases across different levels of the judicial system, which, adorned with accolades, speaks to Joe's extensive legal background. He represented Texas in the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit, and the Texas Supreme Court.
Before joining the Office of the Attorney General in September 2022, Mazzara gained legal experience clerking for several judges, including the Honorable Edith H. Jones, Brantley Starr, and Stephen A. Vaden. His background also includes serving as in-house counsel for President Trump's national re-election campaign in 2020. Mazzara is an alumnus of George Mason University's Antonin Scalia Law School, and he has also served as a member of the United States Marine Corps.
This recent development reflects ongoing collaboration between state-level legal offices and the federal government during Trump’s administration. Mazzara, now focusing on national security matters, is positioned to influence a broader range of policy and governance. His background as a combat veteran and legal professional supports his qualifications for this role, and his military and legal experience provides him with an understanding of the responsibilities associated with the position.
---
One reporter stood out among the press covering Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton's impeachment trial last week: a 13-year-old boy, reporting for his own paper.
JUANA SUMMERS, HOST:
Last weekend, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton was acquitted of 16 impeachment charges against him. The 10-day trial took place in the Texas Senate. In the Texas newsroom, Sergio Martínez-Beltrán watched every minute of it from the Statehouse gallery, and he soon noticed someone else in the gallery with perfect attendance who stuck out among the gaggle of hardened political reporters. Here's Sergio.
SERGIO MARTINEZ-BELTRAN, BYLINE: Listen, the impeachment trial was interesting for us professional political nerds, but at times it could also be tedious with complicated procedural moves and legal slang.
(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)
UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: A motion is considered granted if it receives yea votes.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: So when I saw these teenage boy there every day paying close attention, taking notes, I had to ask why.
VINCENT MAZZARA: Partly for school, partly because my dad is a lawyer on the defense council, partly because it's Texas history, and you know, you want to be part of that.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: And partly because Vincent Mazzara, teenage journalist, was reporting on the trial for his own newspaper.
VINCENT: It's called the Grand Enclave Bugle. Not a lot of people know about it, and it doesn't have an official website.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: He's old-school - print only, written on a typewriter.
VINCENT: It's just a fun thing I do. I was reading a book about a kid who started his own newspaper, so I decided to start a little newspaper for my neighborhood.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: And in case you missed it, he's got a pretty big conflict of interest. His dad is Joseph Mazzara, a lawyer for Attorney General Ken Paxton. But Vincent is 13, so we'll let it slide. He hasn't been to J school yet, and his 20 subscribers probably won't mind.
VINCENT: It's some old ladies, some friends of mine, some friends of my parents, a couple of my relatives.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: And he uses a distributor to deliver the paper.
How old is your distributor?
VINCENT: I believe he's 12.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: The headline on the latest issue of the Grand Enclave Bugle reads "Texas History: The Trial Of The Century." And here's the lead, quote, "these past few weeks have been crazy at the Texas Capitol." He goes on to give a recap of the trial, describing it as, quote, "bumpy from the first witness through last." The paper includes a weather section, a movie review, even a political cartoon featuring a Ukrainian getting smashed by a Russian hammer. Right now, Mazzara's not making any money off the endeavor, but that could change in the future.
VINCENT: If I end up getting more people, it might be, like, one nickel.
MARTINEZ-BELTRAN: A newspaper that costs a nickel in this economy? Sounds like a good deal. For NPR News, I'm Sergio Martínez-Beltrán in Austin.
---
ggl 1025
[### Document: Declaration of Joseph N. Mazzara (April 15, 2025)
Civil Rights Litigation Clearinghouse
https://clearinghouse.net › doc](https://clearinghouse.net/doc/158657/)
Document: Declaration of Joseph N. Mazzara (April 15, 2025) ; State / Territory: Maryland ; Document Type: Declaration/Affidavit ; Docket Number(s): ; ECF Number: 77.
[### Abrego Garcia v Kristi Noem (District Court of Maryland, No ...
Primary News Source
https://primarynewssource.org › Source Document](https://primarynewssource.org/sourcedocument/abrego-garcia-v-kristi-noem-district-court-of-maryland-no-825-cv-00951-declaration-of-joseph-mazzara-acting-dhs-general-counsel/)
Apr 14, 2025 — Abrego Garcia v Kristi Noem (District Court of Maryland, No. 8:25-cv-00951) (Declaration of Joseph Mazzara, Acting DHS General Counsel).
[### Judge demands to know if White House is helping return ...
Oregon Public Broadcasting - OPB
https://www.opb.org › article › 2025/04/15 › judge-de...](https://www.opb.org/article/2025/04/15/judge-demands-to-know-if-white-house-is-helping-return-wrongly-deported-maryland-man/)
Apr 15, 2025 — Lawyers for the Justice Department and those representing Abrego Garcia have one week to conduct depositions of Joseph Mazzara, the acting ...
### united states district court
Amazon Web Services https://clearinghouse-umich-production.s3.amazonaws.com › ...
I declare under penalty of perjury that the foregoing is true and correct. Executed this 18th day of April 2025. Joseph N. Mazzara. Acting General Counsel. U.S. ...
[### July 30, 2025
U.S. Senate (.gov)
https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov › 2025/08](https://www.whitehouse.senate.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2025-07-30-Letter-to-CJ-Roberts-Boasberg-Complaint.pdf)
Jul 30, 2025 — Reuveni challenges DHS GC Mazzara's assertion that, “DHS had nothing to do with this operation as far as I'm aware,” regarding. Secretary ...
189 pages
[### Supreme Court Affirms Lawlessness of the Removal ...
The George Washington Law Review
https://www.gwlr.org › Archive](https://www.gwlr.org/kilmar-abrego-garcia/)
Apr 18, 2025 — Declaration of Joseph N. Mazzara at 2, Abrego Garcia v. Noem, No. 8:25-cv-00951 (D. Md. Apr. 15, 2025), ECF No. 77, available at https://www ...
[### Judge demands to know if White House is helping return ...
NPR
https://www.npr.org › judge-maryland-abrego-garcia](https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5366017/judge-maryland-abrego-garcia)
Apr 15, 2025 — Supreme Court says Trump officials should help return wrongly deported Maryland man. Lawyers for the Justice Department and those representing ...
[### Trump team sidesteps court questions about efforts to ...
The Hill
https://thehill.com › homenews › 5248815-trump-court...](https://thehill.com/homenews/5248815-trump-court-mistakenly-deported-man/)
Apr 14, 2025 — “DHS does not have the authority to forcibly extract an alien from the domestic custody of a foreign sovereign nation,” Joseph Mazzara, the ...
[### The judiciary has options to keep pressing the Trump ...
Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington
https://www.citizensforethics.org › crew-investigations](https://www.citizensforethics.org/reports-investigations/crew-investigations/the-judiciary-has-options-to-keep-pressing-the-trump-admin-on-abrego-garcias-case/)
Apr 22, 2025 — ... declarations in this case: Joseph Mazzara (acting general counsel of the Department of Homeland Security), Evan Katz (assistant director of ...
---
LI no last name joseph-n-m-978b5a11
Joseph N. M.
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The Civil Division front office is hiring law student volunteers for summer 2026.
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Fall 🍂 into a fantastic Spring 🌿 internship!
The Office of the Attorney General (OAG) provides unpaid internships for motivated undergraduate students and individuals. Interns are selected based on factors such as scholastic achievement, grade-point average, demonstrated leadership skills, participation in extracurricular activities, and communication skills. Internships are unique and tailored to each intern's needs, interests, and schedule.
Apply by November 20th.
To apply for an OAG internship, interested individuals must follow the instructions listed on our website: https://lnkd.in/gQWrrfSJ
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:{:{}:
Experience}:
U.S. Department of Homeland Security logo
Acting General Counsel
Acting General Counsel
U.S. Department of Homeland Security · Full-timeU.S. Department of Homeland Security · Full-time
Jan 2025 - Present · 10 mosJan 2025 to Present · 10 mos
Texas Attorney General logo
Texas Attorney General
Texas Attorney General
Full-time · 2 yrs 5 mosFull-time · 2 yrs 5 mos
Special Counsel to the Attorney General
Special Counsel to the Attorney General
Jun 2024 - Jan 2025 · 8 mosJun 2024 to Jan 2025 · 8 mos
Assistant Solicitor General
Assistant Solicitor General
Sep 2022 - Jan 2025 · 2 yrs 5 mosSep 2022 to Jan 2025 · 2 yrs 5 mos
Austin, Texas, United StatesAustin, Texas, United States
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Judicial Law Clerk
Judicial Law Clerk
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U.S. Court of International Trade logo
Judicial Law Clerk
Judicial Law Clerk
U.S. Court of International Trade · Full-timeU.S. Court of International Trade · Full-time
Jan 2021 - Aug 2021 · 8 mosJan 2021 to Aug 2021 · 8 mos
New York, New York, United StatesNew York, New York, United States
In-House Counsel
In-House Counsel
In-House Counsel
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EducationEducation
George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School logo
George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School
George Mason University - Antonin Scalia Law School
Doctor of Law - JD, LawDoctor of Law - JD, Law
2013 - 20172013 - 2017
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Marine Corps University
Marine Corps University
Expeditionary Warfare SchoolExpeditionary Warfare School
2014 - 20152014 - 2015
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State Bar of TexasState Bar of Texas
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Recommendations that Joseph N. receives will appear here.Recommendations that Joseph N. receives will appear here.
PublicationsPublications
The Fossat[t] Curse,
The Fossat[t] Curse,
The Green Bag · Jan 1, 2018The Green Bag · Jan 1, 2018
An article on errors in certain Supreme Court practice treatises.An article on errors in certain Supreme Court practice treatises.
Artillery in the Foothills
Artillery in the Foothills
Marine Corps Gazette · Dec 1, 2013Marine Corps Gazette · Dec 1, 2013
Article on the use of an Artillery battery in the foothills of the Hindu Kush, near Kajaki, Afghanistan, in a quasi-infantry roll. It discusses the possible lessons learned for restructuring the table of organization of a battery tasked with such a mission.Article on the use of an Artillery battery in the foothills of the Hindu Kush, near Kajaki, Afghanistan, in a quasi-infantry roll. It discusses the possible lessons learned for restructuring the table of organization of a battery tasked with such a mission.
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Academic Writing Award
Academic Writing Award
Issued by Marine Corps Defense Services Organization · Mar 2019Issued by Marine Corps Defense Services Organization · Mar 2019
Henry G. Manne Award for Excellence in Law and Economics
Henry G. Manne Award for Excellence in Law and Economics
Issued by Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University · May 2017Issued by Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University · May 2017
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Associated with George Mason University School of Law
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---
Acting General Counsel
- Texas Office of the Attorney General (June 2024-Jan. 2025)
*Special Assistant to the Attorney General
---
off bs
Joseph N. Mazzara is a married father of six, a Marine combat veteran, and an experienced litigator. He graduated from Christendom College and Scalia Law, and clerked for Judges Edith Jones, Brantley Starr, and Stephen Vaden. Most recently he was Special Counsel to Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton.
---
Joseph and Jennifer Mazzara are a young, married Catholic couple. Meeting at Christendom College, they wed soon after graduating in 2008. God has blessed them with one son, and with another kid on the way! Jennifer now raises that one son, teaches piano and runs the local chapel’s RCIA program. Joseph joined the Marines. Their websites are The Three B’s, Midnight Radio.
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joseph N. Mazzara}:
Homeland Security (.gov)
https://www.dhs.gov › person › joseph-n-mazzara](https://www.dhs.gov/person/joseph-n-mazzara)
May 14, 2025 — Joseph N. Mazzara is a married father of six, a Marine combat veteran, and an experienced litigator. He graduated from Christendom College ...
[### Office of the General Counsel
Homeland Security (.gov)
https://www.dhs.gov › office-general-counsel](https://www.dhs.gov/office-general-counsel)
Jul 1, 2025 — The Office of the General Counsel (OGC) integrates over 3000 attorneys from throughout the Department into an effective, client-oriented, ...
[### Leadership
Homeland Security (.gov)
https://www.dhs.gov › leadership](https://www.dhs.gov/leadership)
Deputy Under Secretary for Management, Paul Stackhouse · Chief of Staff, Greyson McGill · Chief Financial Officer (acting), Holly C. · Chief Security Officer ( ...
[### Joseph Mazzara
James Wilson Institute
https://www.jameswilsoninstitute.org › joseph-mazzara](https://www.jameswilsoninstitute.org/joseph-mazzara)
Joseph Mazzara clerks for the Hon. Judge Stephen Alexander Vaden of the US Court of International Trade. This fall, he will clerk for the Hon. Judge Edith H. ...
[### Attorney General Ken Paxton Congratulates Special ...
Office of the Attorney General (.gov)
https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov › news › releases](https://www.texasattorneygeneral.gov/news/releases/attorney-general-ken-paxton-congratulates-special-counsel-role-president-trumps-department-homeland)
Feb 4, 2025 — Attorney General Ken Paxton congratulated executive staff member Joseph Mazzara for joining the Trump Administration as Acting General Counsel for the US ...
[### Joseph N. Mazzara Official Portrait (001)
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (.gov)
https://www.cbp.gov › medialibrary › assets › photo](https://www.cbp.gov/medialibrary/assets/photo/58608)
Joseph N. Mazzara Official Portrait at DHS Headquarters (Photo by Mikaela McGee) (DHS Photo by Mikaela McGee/Released)
Missing: Acting | Show results with: Acting
### Joseph Mazzara - U.S. Department of Homeland Security ...
LegiStorm https://www.legistorm.com › person › bio › Joseph_N_...
See more about Joseph Mazzara including contact information, employment history and other biographical information.
[### DHS top lawyer says 'no legal barrier' to actions officers ...
The Handbasket
https://www.thehandbasket.co › dhs-fps-memo-mazzara...](https://www.thehandbasket.co/p/dhs-fps-memo-mazzara-chicago-portland)
1 day ago — In a memo obtained exclusively by The Handbasket, Federal Protective Service (FPS) officers were given free rein.
[### General Counsel - Federal Vacancies
Government Accountability Office (GAO) (.gov)
https://www.gao.gov › fedvacancy](https://www.gao.gov/fedvacancy/24041)
Consequently, calls or emails to agency personnel may not be returned until GAO resumes operations. For details on how the bid protest process will be handled ...
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