justice department
Trump administration is scrapping $1.8B fund meant to compensate president’s allies, Blanche says
WASHINGTON | The Trump administration is scrapping plans to create a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate allies of the Republican president, the Justice Department’s top official said Tuesday in retreating from a program that faced setbacks in the courts and a fierce political backlash that had threatened to stall key elements of the White […]
Trump administration pauses $1.8B fund amid legal, fierce political backlash
WASHINGTON | President Donald Trump is reconsidering whether to move forward with a $1.8 billion fund meant to compensate his allies, a person familiar with his thinking said Monday, as the Justice Department also said it would temporarily pause the program’s implementation in compliance with a court order. The potential retreat is a nod to […]
Justice Department opens investigation into E. Jean Carroll, who accused Trump of assault: AP source
WASHINGTON | The Justice Department has opened an investigation into whether E. Jean Carroll, the longtime advice columnist who has said Donald Trump sexually assaulted her in a New York department store 30 years ago, lied during the course of civil litigation against the Republican president, according to a person familiar with the matter. The […]
Southern Poverty Law Center seeks dismissal of ‘vindictive’ Justice Department indictment
WASHINGTON | A Justice Department indictment against the Southern Poverty Law Center is part of a “top-down” campaign of retribution against President Donald Trump’s perceived political enemies and constitutes a vindictive prosecution that must be dismissed, lawyers for the nonprofit argued Tuesday in urging a judge to toss the case out. The Alabama-based nonprofit was […]
Judge finds evidence of vindictive prosecution in Kilmar Abrego Garcia case
NASHVILLE, Tenn. | A federal judge on Friday dismissed a human smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia, finding that the Justice Department’s pursuit of criminal charges was designed to punish him for challenging his mistaken deportation to El Salvador last year. The ruling amounted to an extraordinary rebuke of a Justice Department that under President […]
Trump immunity from IRS audit shocks experts, who warn it could undermine trust in tax system
NEW YORK | Remember Donald Trump’s response in the 2016 presidential debate, when Hillary Clinton blasted him for paying virtually no federal taxes? “That makes me smart,” Trump said. By that logic, Trump is looking smarter than ever now. On Tuesday, the Internal Revenue Service agreed to drop all pending probes of Trump over whether […]
Blanche doesn’t rule out considering payments for violent Jan. 6 rioters as he defends $1.8B fund
WASHINGTON | Acting Attorney General Todd Blanche on Tuesday wouldn’t rule out the possibility that people who carried out violence during the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the U.S. Capitol will be considered for payouts from a new $1.776 billion fund to pay individuals who believe they were targeted politically. Pressed during a Congressional hearing […]
FBI offers $200,000 reward to catch ex-Air Force specialist wanted on espionage charges in Iran
WASHINGTON | The FBI is offering a $200,000 reward for information leading to capture and prosecution of a former U.S. Air Force counterintelligence specialist who defected to Iran in 2013 and was later charged with revealing classified information to the Tehran government. Monica Elfriede Witt, 47, was indicted by a federal grand jury in February […]