Tag Archives: DOJ

Courthouse News reports: New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu and his state’s lottery commission sued the Department of Justice on Friday over a recent regulatory change that would bar the sale of lottery tickets online. “Today New Hampshire is taking action to protect public education in New Hampshire,” Sununu said in a statement. “The opinion issued by DOJ puts millions of …

ABC News reports: The Justice Department has warned the White House a national emergency declaration is nearly certain to be blocked by the courts on, at least, a temporary basis, preventing the immediate implementation of the president’s plan to circumvent Congress and build the wall using his executives powers. However, a senior White House official tells ABC News that the …

The Hill reports: The Senate voted Thursday to approve William Barr as attorney general, giving the Justice Department its first confirmed chief since President Trump ousted Jeff Sessions last fall. More than 50 senators voted for Barr’s nomination, giving him enough support to be confirmed. The vote caps off a relatively low drama fight over Trump’s second nominee for the …

CBS News reports: Soon after speaking to President Trump about the firing of his boss James Comey, Andrew McCabe, who became the bureau’s acting director, began obstruction of justice and counterintelligence investigations involving the president and his ties to Russia. In his first television interview since his own firing, McCabe tells 60 Minutes‘ Scott Pelley he wanted those inquiries to …

The Associated Press reports: The Justice Department told the House Judiciary Committee Thursday afternoon that acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker will not appear at Friday’s closely-watched oversight hearing unless he receives a written assurance by 6 p.m. ET Thursday that he will not be served with the subpoena the committee pre-emptively authorized to use if he avoids questions. The House …

Politico reports: The Justice Department placed an online job posting for a pair of attorneys to tackle border wall litigation in South Texas — a sign of coming property seizures and other legal controversies that President Donald Trump anticipates if he plows ahead with his signature project. Trump has demanded that Congress provide $5.7 billion to build more than 200 …

NPR reports: President Trump’s choice to lead the Justice Department, William Barr, is likely to enter a contentious scene when he answers questions from lawmakers beginning Tuesday morning. Barr, who previously served as attorney general under President George H.W. Bush, is scheduled to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee for his confirmation hearing. Senators are sure to question him about …

Bloomberg reports: The partial government shutdown is now damaging the FBI’s capacity to conduct investigations and other national security operations, the president of an association representing about 13,000 FBI special agents told reporters. The FBI Agents Association is calling on Congress and Trump to immediately come to an agreement to fully fund the FBI and pay special agents during the …

Reuters reports: President Donald Trump’s attorney general nominee, William Barr, has said he will allow Special Counsel Robert Mueller to finish the investigation into Russia’s role in the 2016 presidential election, Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said on Wednesday. Graham told reporters Barr assured him the investigation would continue. “I can assure you he has a very high opinion of Mr. …

ABC News reports: Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein is expected to leave his role in the coming weeks, multiple sources familiar with his plans told ABC News. Rosenstein has communicated to President Donald Trump and White House officials his plan to depart the administration around the time William Barr, Trump’s nominee for attorney general, would take office following a Senate …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Matthew Whitaker, the acting U.S. Attorney General, has incorrectly claimed on his résumé and in government documents to have been named an Academic All-American while playing football at the University of Iowa, according to the documents and the organization that awards that honor. Mr. Whitaker, who was a tight end on the Iowa team from …

CNBC reports: The Justice Department on Thursday announced charges against Chinese two nationals accused of conducting a global hacking campaign. The defendants, Zhu Hua and Zhang Shilong, are charged with conspiracy to commit computer intrusions and conspiracy to commit wire fraud as part of multiple years long campaigns to steal from numerous foreign governments and dozens of companies. Through a …

CNN reports: Acting Attorney General Matt Whitaker has consulted with ethics officials at the Justice Department and they have advised him he does not need to recuse himself from overseeing special counsel Robert Mueller’s Russia investigation, a source familiar with the process told CNN Thursday. The source added Whitaker has been in ongoing discussions with ethics officials since taking the …

CNN reports: Former Attorney General William “Bill” Barr, President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Justice Department, reached a decisive and controversial conclusion that Trump’s interactions with ex-FBI Director James Comey would not constitute obstruction of justice, according to a copy of a newly released June 2018 memo to senior Justice officials. The fact that Barr weighed in on such …

The Wall Street Journal reports: The Justice Department is effectively banning rapid-fire bump stock devices, like the ones used in last year’s Las Vegas massacre, making them illegal to own or sell and likely setting the stage for long legal battles with gun owners and manufacturers. Acting Attorney General Matthew Whitaker signed and submitted a regulation prohibiting the firearm accessory …

CNN reports: Previously, the DC and Maryland lawsuit alleging the President had received illegal gifts through the Trump International Hotel was moving to its discovery phase, with the state attorneys general sending out several subpoenas, including to the Trump Organization. A federal judge had allowed the lawsuit against Trump’s businesses to move forward from the states, though the judge had …

Politico reports: Special counsel Robert Mueller appeared to be locked in a subpoena battle with a recalcitrant witness Friday in a sealed federal appeals courtroom, the latest development in a mystery case that has piqued the curiosity of Mueller-obsessives and scoop-hungry journalists. Oral arguments in the highly secretive fight played out behind closed doors under tight security. Officials at the …

CNN reports: Rep. Adam Schiff argued today that the Department of Justice “needs to re-examine” the Office of Legal Counsel’s opinion that a sitting US president should not be indicted. “I think the Justice Department needs to re-examine that OLC opinion, the Office of Legal Counsel opinion, that you cannot indict a sitting president under circumstances in which the failure …

The Associated Press reports: President Donald Trump said Friday he will nominate former Attorney General William Barr to again lead the Justice Department, a move that could have ramifications for the investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election. The attorney general for President George H.W. Bush from 1991 to 1993, Barr in recent months has criticized aspects of the …

The Washington Post reports: Former attorney general William P. Barr is President Trump’s leading candidate to be nominated to lead the Justice Department — a choice that could be made in coming days as the agency presses forward with a probe of Russian interference in the 2016 election, according to multiple people familiar with the deliberations. Barr, 68, a well-respected …