department of justice
Ex-Southern Poverty Law Center official charged in broader criminal case against group, lawyer says
WASHINGTON | A former Southern Poverty Law Center official has been charged in the Department of Justice’s broader criminal case against the Alabama-based civil rights group, a frequent target of conservative critics who claim the nonprofit is politically biased. Heidi Beirich, a political extremism expert who left the law center about six years ago, was […]
Judge criticizes the Justice Department as he dismisses Jan. 6 seditious conspiracy case
WASHINGTON | A federal judge decried efforts to rewrite the history of the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol as he reluctantly dismissed the seditious conspiracy case against members of the far-right Oath Keepers extremist group at the Trump administration’s request. The move Tuesday closes the book on the Jan. 6 cases that were […]
After 6 years, Trump brings his election obsession to primetime at the White House
In the weeks after Donald Trump lost to Joe Biden in 2020, the people Trump appointed to run the Department of Justice, cybersecurity agencies and intelligence departments all said the same thing — the election was fair, legitimate and free of major fraud or foreign interference. In his second term, Trump, a Republican, has tried […]
DOJ’s immigrant voting letter to Colorado election officials labeled as intimidation tactic
This story was first published at Colorado Newsline. DENVER | Colorado’s secretary of state and voter advocates say they stand by Colorado’s election system and workers following the Trump administration’s latest attempt to target election officials. The U.S. Department of Justice sent a letter earlier this week that threatens criminal prosecution of election officials who […]
Trump administration’s Title IX enforcement questioned in Colorado school cases
This story was originally published by Chalkbeat. DENVER | An all-gender bathroom in a Denver high school was at the center of the first sex discrimination investigation of the second Trump administration. A year and a half later, the federal Office for Civil Rights has taken no enforcement action. Neighboring Jeffco Public Schools, meanwhile, has […]
Trump’s fixation on voting has had mixed results. He still has ways to affect November’s elections
ATLANTA | President Donald Trump has tried many ways to tighten his grip on U.S. elections, from signing executive orders to pushing restrictive legislation in Congress. Monday’s Supreme Court ruling siding with states that accept late-arriving mail ballots was the latest example showing the limits of his reach. It followed back-to-back rulings last week that […]
America split from monarchy 250 years ago. Trump’s presidency is testing how far it’s come
The 250th anniversary of America’s liberation from a king kicked off with a campaign-style rally on the National Mall by President Donald Trump, whose face already stares down from banners fluttering from federal buildings across the nation’s capital. The images illustrate how the Republican president has dominated daily life since returning to power and, to […]
Judge blocks use of federal database to check citizenship, saying it could wrongly purge voters
WASHINGTON | A federal judge on Monday ruled that a recently revamped version of a federal tool central to the Trump administration’s efforts to nationalize elections can no longer be used. U.S. District Court Judge Sparkle L. Sooknanan sided with advocacy groups that argued the recent upgrades to the program, called Systematic Alien Verification for […]
Education Department overhaul sparks concerns for students with disabilities
For months, and sometimes longer, parents of kids with disabilities say they have waited for the Education Department to make progress on their complaints of bullying or other discrimination. Now that the department is offloading civil rights enforcement and special education, some parents and advocates warn a process that has largely been stalled since President […]
Trump ramps up Education Department’s dismantling with changes on special education and civil rights
WASHINGTON |President Donald Trump’s administration on Tuesday accelerated its dismantling of the Education Department, delegating much of its work to protect the nation’s at-risk students. The Department of Justice will take on enforcement of civil rights in education, while the Department of Health and Human Services will oversee special education, administration officials announced. With those […]