Category: News

The federal judge blocking the deportation of pro-Hamas activist Mahmoud Khalil—a key instigator of alleged anti-semitic unrest and intimidation on the Columbia University campus—is the scion of a powerful and influential liberal family with ties to George Soros, Media Matters for America, and former President Barack Obama, The National Pulse can reveal.

U.S. District Court Judge Jesse M. Furman, who issued a temporary order preventing Khalil’s removal from the United States while he considers a habeas corpus challenge to the arrest filed by Khalil’s attorney, holds a deeply liberal political pedigree and even clashed with President Donald J. Trump during his first term. He was appointed by former President Obama in 2011.

THE FIRST CLASH.

In late 2018, Judge Furman presided over Department of Commerce v. New York, in which 17 Democrat states sued the Trump admin over adding a question to the 2020 U.S. Census asking the respondent’s citizenship status.

The Commerce Department, which oversees the census, argued that the citizenship question was added back in order to ensure compliance with the Voting Rights Act of 1965. During the discovery phase, prior to the trial proceedings, Judge Furman came to believe the question was actually added to the census form under the direction of Trump’s White House chief strategist, Stephen K. Bannon, and then-Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R).

Furman attempted the unusual move to have then-Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross deposed before the trial, but was reversed after an emergency appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court.

After several delays, Furman finally ruled in the case on January 15, 2019, finding in favor of the Democrat-controlled states and against the Trump administration. The liberal judge contended “…the decision to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census – even if it did not violate the Constitution itself – was unlawful for a multitude of independent reasons and must be set aside.”

Furman’s ruling was subsequently upheld upon appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court—though the justices left open the potential for the citizenship question to be added to the 2020 Census under other justifications.

SCION OF LIBERAL ELITES.

While Judge Furman has made a name for himself in far-left legal circles since his appointment to the federal bench by former President Barack Obama in 2012, he remains overshadowed by his brother and late mother—both of whom have held tremendous influence over aspects of American politics. The judge’s brother, Jason Furman—a Harvard economist and professor—served as the chair of the Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) under former President Obama.

As an Obama White House advisor, Jason Furman is credited as one of the key architects of Obamacare and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, which contained substantial bailouts for corporate interests following the 2008 financial crisis. So enamored was Obama with Furman that the former president dubbed him “one of the most brilliant economic minds of his generation.”

Following the Obama White House, Jason Furman continues his advocacy for globalist neoliberal economics. He sits on the Council on Foreign Relations, the G30 economic group, and the Aspen Economic Strategy Group. Additionally, he contributes to The Wall Street Journal.

FUNDING THE LEFT.

Although Judge Jesse Furman and his brother Jason both made names for themselves in elite Democrat political circles, their late mother, Gail Furman, was a true liberal political heavyweight. As the president of the Furman Foundation, Gail Furman was an early and major backer of Media Matters for America and its founder, David Brock. Additionally, the Furman Foundation served as a major donor to the Tides Center—an affiliate of the far-left Tides Foundation.

Media Matters—which has also received significant funding from billionaire progressive George Soros—has long engaged in partisan media manipulation in an effort to silence conservative and populist voices. Additionally, the far-left group is considered by most a staunch ally of Hillary Clinton.

However, Gail Furman’s influence in American politics extends even further. Along with George Soros and members of the progressive Democracy Alliance, Gail Furman was responsible for launching the Secretary of State Project—a 527 political action committee (PAC) that, between 2006 and 2010, sought to elect Democratic Secretaries of State across the country. Once elected, these Secretaries of State proceeded to undermine election integrity and loosen voter laws, effectively tilting elections in favor of Democratic candidates.

Notably, the PAC was integral in the election of Minnesota Secretary of State Mark Ritchie in 2006. Ritchie would go on to oversee the 2008 United States Senate election recount in Minnesota—a race that eventually went narrowly to the Democrat candidate Al Franken by a margin of just 312 votes.