Tag Archives: DOJ

The Wall Street Journal reports: Justice Department and FBI officials disagreed back in August about whether their investigation into the handling of sensitive documents justified the search of Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort. Fewer officials had doubts earlier this month, when prosecutors took an even bolder step: asking a grand jury to indict the former president on 37 counts. What turned …

From the Justice Department: A federal jury in the Eastern District of New York convicted a Canadian man today for perpetrating a decades-long mass-mailing fraud scheme that stole more than $175 million from victims in the United States. According to court documents and evidence presented at trial, Patrice Runner, 57, a Canadian and French citizen, operated a mass-mailing fraud scheme …

Axios reports: A Florida federal judge on Tuesday scheduled the criminal trial of former President Donald Trump for his alleged illegal retention of classified government documents to begin Aug. 14. But experts do not expect the trial to begin nearly so early, given the time needed to resolve complicated legal issues before a jury starts hearing testimony and being presented …

CNN reports: A magistrate judge has signed off on special counsel Jack Smith’s request that former President Donald Trump and his co-defendant Walt Nauta be prohibited from disclosing information the discovery handed over to the defense in the criminal case Trump and Nauta now face from the special counsel. Among the restrictions approved by US Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart, who …

The Washington Post reports: A Washington Post investigation found that more than a year would pass before prosecutors and FBI agents jointly embarked on a formal probe of actions directed from the White House to try to steal the election. Even then, the FBI stopped short of identifying the former president as a focus of that investigation. A wariness about …

The Washington Post reports: As former president Donald Trump prepares for trial on charges that he repeatedly violated government rules for handling classified information, his legal team may get a tactical timing advantage from an unlikely source: government rules for handling such secrets. Trump’s indictment on dozens of charges, including mishandling classified documents and trying to obstruct investigators’ efforts to …

From the Justice Department: United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces the arrest and unsealing of a criminal complaint charging Timothy Craig Jolloff (46, Fort Myers) and Lisa Ann Jolloff (56, Fort Myers) with one count of conspiracy to commit money laundering and one count of illegal monetary transactions. Timothy Jolloff is also charged with one count of wire fraud. …

The Associated Press reports: The Justice Department on Friday filed a motion seeking to block former President Trump from releasing any classified materials that will be released to his legal team during his prosecution for the mishandling of records at Mar-a-Lago. The suggested protective order, which will be reviewed by Judge Bruce Reinhart, would allow Trump to review the 31 …

From the Justice Department: A Florida man was sentenced today for a felony charge for his actions during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress convened to ascertain and count the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. Mason Joel Courson, …

From the Justice Department: A Pennsylvania man was sentenced today for assaulting law enforcement during the breach of the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021. His actions and the actions of others disrupted a joint session of the U.S. Congress that was in the process of ascertaining and counting the electoral votes related to the 2020 presidential election. Mikhail Edward …

NBC News reports: A federal investigation into the Minneapolis Police Department, launched in the wake of the 2020 murder of George Floyd, found that the police department and the city itself engage in a “pattern or practice” of excessive force and racial discrimination that violates both the United States Constitution and federal law. The so-called pattern-or-practice investigation — like the …

Tucson’s CBS affiliate reports: Federal court documents paint Eric Ridenour, the suspect in the Douglas church fires, as a man with a violent criminal history who doesn’t like women or gay men preaching. Authorities have said Ridenour set fires at St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church and First Presbyterian Church in Douglas on May 22, 2023. Both buildings were extensively damaged. St. …

From the Justice Department: Special agents with the FBI and the Naval Criminal Investigative Service this morning arrested two Orange County men on federal charges alleging they used a Molotov cocktail to firebomb a Costa Mesa clinic operated by Planned Parenthood Federation of America. Tibet Ergul, 21, of Irvine, and Chance Brannon, 23, of San Juan Capistrano, an active duty …

From the Justice Department: A Montana man was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Brian M. Morris to 18 years in prison followed by five years of supervised release for shooting into a residence and attempting to shoot others with the intent of ridding a town of LGBTQI+ residents. John Russell Howald, of Basin, was convicted by a federal jury …

The Washington Post reports: A D.C. chiropractor who took part in the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol was sentenced Tuesday to two months in jail for a misdemeanor offense. But he still faces a wrongful-death lawsuit accusing him of assaulting a police officer who later died by suicide. The D.C. officer, Jeffrey Smith, 35, suffered a brain …

Congress Minutes reports: House Republicans are already running into what will likely be a key point of contention on government funding: What to do about the Justice Department and FBI.  The issue came up Tuesday when GOP leadership huddled with a group of lawmakers that represent a cross-section of the conference. The meeting, according to GOP lawmakers in attendance, underscored …

Florida Politics reports: If Ron DeSantis becomes President, the Department of Justice Civil Rights Division would have a new task. The Florida Governor and 2024 Republican candidate told radio host Hugh Hewitt the Justice Department would branch out its understanding of civil rights to “do all discrimination” as part of “taking some of these agencies and making sure they’re actually …

Via press release from the Justice Department: The Justice Department issued the following statement from Attorney General Merrick B. Garland in honor of Pride Month: “As we recognize Pride Month and celebrate the LGBTQI+ community, the Justice Department renews its commitment to protecting the rights of every person to live free from discrimination and persecution based on who they are …

Politico reports: A federal indictment unsealed Friday charges former President Donald Trump with 37 felony counts. Prosecutors allege that Trump arranged to remove a massive collection of highly sensitive classified material — much of which consists of intelligence about the “defense and weapons capabilities” of the United States and foreign countries — to his private residence as he left the …

The Associated Press reports: A Virginia man who told his wife — and a federal jury — that he had “fun” at the U.S. Capitol riot was sentenced on Friday to six years in prison for attacking police as he stormed the building. Markus Maly’s prison sentence is significantly lower than the punishment that prosecutors sought for his role in …