…“This unlawful ongoing student-loan payment pause fits a familiar pattern that already played out in the context of the federal eviction moratorium. First, Congress enacts a temporary economic-relief program, then an administrative agency extends that program indefinitely, and finally, courts step in to halt the unlawful scheme,” said Shen Li, a lawyer for the New…

…In a second Tuesday order, the panel clarified the scope of a confidentiality order that barred Newman from discussing details of the probe that aren’t already public. Counsel for Newman didn’t immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The New Civil Liberties Alliance represents Newman in her lawsuit…

“The CARES Act’s six-month student-loan debt payment pause reflected Congress’s considered judgment for when payments and interest must resume,” said Sheng Li, Litigation Counsel at the New Civil Liberties Alliance, a legal group leading the push for a preliminary injunction, in a statement. “The Department of Education had and has no authority to override that…

“The undue haste with which the special committee is proceeding is indicative of the denial of due process,” the suit adds. Moore, Prost and Taranto did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Newman is being represented by attorneys John Vecchione and Gregory Dolin of the New Civil Liberties Alliance in Washington…

…The complaint further takes issue with the way the Federal Circuit panel is handling its probe, including issuing “a gag order threatening Judge Newman and her counsel with sanctions should any of them publicize the ongoing investigation.” The district court should immediately lift the speech limitations on Newman and declare them unconstitutional, she said. The…

…The groups said that decision “rests on a novel holding that would require judgment in favor of criminal defendants whenever a court perceives any ambiguity in a criminal statute.” “We agree with the Gifford Law Center that the issue is an important one and that the Supreme Court should grant review in order to resolve…