Tag Archives: DOJ

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr sharply criticized on Monday the F.B.I.’s decision to open the Russia investigation, undercutting a major finding in a long-awaited watchdog report and at the same time showing his willingness to act as President Trump’s vocal defender. The report, by the Justice Department’s inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, found that the …

CNBC reports: The Department of Justice’s internal watchdog on Monday released its long-awaited report on the FBI’s decision to investigate Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, including its surveillance of a then-Trump campaign aide. Inspector General Michael Horowitz found that there was a proper legal basis for the FBI to seek a surveillance warrant against Carter Page, a former …

Politico reports: A federal judge has turned down the Justice Department’s bid to keep secret several financial disclosure forms ex-acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker submitted before his filings were formally accepted by ethics officials. Acting on a Freedom of Information Act suit brought by BuzzFeed, U.S. District Court Judge Trevor McFadden ruled Wednesday that the draft financial disclosures are not …

The Washington Post reports: Speaking to a roomful of police officers and prosecutors on Tuesday, Attorney General William P. Barr drew a parallel between protests against soldiers during the Vietnam War and demonstrations against law enforcement today. But this time, he suggested, those who don’t show “respect” to authority could lose access to police services. “Today, the American people have …

The Washington Post reports: Attorney General William P. Barr has told associates he disagrees with the Justice Department’s inspector general on one of the key findings in an upcoming report — that the FBI had enough information in July 2016 to justify launching an investigation into members of the Trump campaign, according to people familiar with the matter. The Justice …

The New York Times reports: The Justice Department’s inspector general found no evidence that the F.B.I. attempted to place undercover agents or informants inside Donald J. Trump’s campaign in 2016 as agents investigated whether his associates conspired with Russia’s election interference operation, people familiar with a draft of the inspector general’s report said. The determination by the inspector general, Michael …

The Washington Post reports: When Rudolph W. Giuliani went to Madrid in August to confer with a top aide to the Ukrainian president and press for political investigations sought by President Trump, he also met with a previously unidentified client with very different interests. While in Spain, Giuliani stayed at a historic estate belonging to Venezuelan energy executive Alejandro Betancourt …

The New York Times reports: A highly anticipated report by the Justice Department’s inspector general is expected to sharply criticize lower-level F.B.I. officials as well as bureau leaders involved in the early stages of the Trump-Russia investigation, but to absolve the top ranks of abusing their powers out of bias against President Trump, according to people briefed on a draft. …

The Associated Press reports: Attorney General William Barr said he initially had his own suspicions about financier Jeffrey Epstein’s death while behind bars at one of the most secure jails in America but came to conclude that his suicide was the result of “a perfect storm of screw-ups.” Barr said his concerns were prompted by the numerous irregularities at the …

The New York Times reports: Two federal workers who were on duty the night Jeffrey Epstein killed himself in a Manhattan jail were expected to be taken into custody on Tuesday morning on federal charges related to their alleged failure to check on him, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. The two federal Bureau of Prisons employees …

The Washington Post reports: Federal prosecutors in New York are preparing to file criminal charges as early as this week against two Bureau of Prisons workers who were supposed to check regularly on millionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein the night he hanged himself in his cell, according to people familiar with the matter. The two corrections workers, whose names have …

The New York Times reports: Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday vigorously defended President Trump’s use of executive authority and suggested that House Democrats were subverting the will of voters by exploring whether to remove the president from office for abusing his power. Mr. Trump campaigned on a vow to upend Washington, and voters were aware of his agenda …

ABC News reports: United States Attorney General William Barr says he does not recall a request by the White House to publicly defend President Trump over the July 25 call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, which has become a central focus of the U.S House impeachment inquiry. Barr was visiting Memphis Wednesday to announce an initiative to reduce gun violence. …

Courthouse News reports: Federal prosecutors unsealed an indictment Thursday that charges a Long Island tech company with rebranding Chinese-made security equipment as “Made in the U.S.A.” before selling them to the U.S. military. The complaint takes aim at Aventura Technologies Inc., run by Jack Cabasso, which allegedly raked in $88 million, including more than $20 million in federal government contracts, …

CBS News reports: The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel has concluded that high-level presidential advisers have “absolute immunity” from congressional subpoenas for their testimony, according to a letter sent Sunday. In the letter to White House counsel Pat Cipollone, Assistant Attorney General Steven Engel said John Eisenberg, a White House attorney who was scheduled to be deposed Monday morning, …

Courthouse News reports: The Justice Department took early appeal steps Monday after a federal judge upheld the legality of the impeachment inquiry led by Congress into President Donald Trump. Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell had issued the decision Friday in an order that gave the Department of Justice until Oct. 30 to turn over redacted secret grand jury material …

The Washington Post reports: A company in which President Trump’s brother has a financial stake received a $33 million contract from the U.S. Marshals Service earlier this year, an award that has drawn protests from two other bidders, one of which has filed a complaint alleging possible favoritism in the bidding process. The lucrative government contract, to provide security for …

ABC News reports: A judge has ordered the Justice Department to give House Democrats secret grand jury testimony from special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation. Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell made the directive in a brief order on Friday. Democrats had requested that the department provide the material, which was redacted from Mueller’s report, as part of their ongoing …

The New York Times reports: For more than two years, President Trump has repeatedly attacked the Russia investigation, portraying it as a hoax and illegal even months after the special counsel closed it. Now, Mr. Trump’s own Justice Department has opened a criminal investigation into how it all began. Justice Department officials have shifted an administrative review of the Russia …

The New York Law Journal reports: The New York City Bar Association in a statement Wednesday called on U.S. Attorney General William Barr to stand aside in any ongoing or future review by the Department of Justice of issues stemming from the Trump administration’s dealings with Ukraine, in which Barr has allegedly involved. If Barr does not recuse himself, the …