Attorney General Merrick Garland faced questioning from House Republicans at an oversight hearing on Wednesday, with Rep. Mike Johnson mistakenly calling him "Mr. Weiss" and pressing him on the Hunter Biden probe. Garland denied receiving any direction from the White House regarding the investigation and discussed the Justice Department's decision to drop the criminal case against Michael Flynn. The hearing is expected to last several hours as Republicans further question Garland about the Justice Department's handling of the Hunter Biden investigation and other matters.
Posts tagged as “The Justice Department”
The United States Department of Justice has announced the extradition of Ovidio Guzman Lopez, the son of former Sinaloa Cartel leader Joaquin "El Chapo" Guzman Loera, to the United States. U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said the extradition is part of the Justice Department's effort to attack the cartel's operations, and comes just two days after El Chapo's wife was released from a federal prison. Lopez is currently in federal custody in Chicago and is facing drug trafficking charges, but no further details have been released.
Joseph Padilla, a disabled Army veteran and former prison corrections officer, was sentenced to 78 months in prison for his involvement in the January 6th Capitol riot. He was convicted of assault with a dangerous weapon, obstruction of Congress and other charges. The Justice Department has charged more than 400 people in connection with the riot, and more than 250 have been convicted.
Leo Brent Bozell IV, the son of conservative activist Brent Bozell, has been convicted of 10 charges related to his involvement in the storming of the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021. These charges include five felonies, such as obstructing the proceedings, assaulting a federal officer, and entering a restricted area of the Capitol. Bozell is the latest of more than 400 people to be charged in connection with the Capitol riot and is scheduled to be sentenced on August 6.
A federal appeals court has temporarily paused a lower court's ruling that would have required Texas to remove its controversial floating river barriers from the Rio Grande. The barriers, which are intended to deter migrants from crossing the U.S.-Mexico border, were installed by the state of Texas and will remain in place for the time being. The Justice Department had argued that the barrier was a violation of the U.S. Constitution and the International Boundary and Water Commission Treaty of 1970, while Texas argued that the barrier was necessary to protect the state from illegal immigration. The appeals court's decision is only temporary, and the case will continue to be litigated in the courts.
Elon Musk, the world's richest man, has recently come under fire for engaging in anti-Semitic behavior, including blaming the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) for his company's declining ad revenue and Jeffrey Clark, one of Donald Trump's co-defendants in Georgia, posting a religious attack against a former Justice Department official. The public has responded with shock and outrage, calling for accountability and the ADL has released a statement condemning the behavior. This has highlighted the need for greater awareness of anti-Semitism and other forms of bigotry.
The Biden administration has proposed a new regulation that would expand the definition of a firearm dealer and require them to register with the federal government and conduct background checks on customers. This would close the so-called "gun show loophole" and ensure that all gun sales involve background checks. The proposed rule is open for public comment for 60 days, after which the Justice Department will review the comments and make a final decision.
Joe Biggs, a leader of the Proud Boys organization and former Army veteran, was sentenced to 17 years in federal prison on Thursday after being convicted of seditious conspiracy in connection to the January 6th attack on the US Capitol. The sentence is the second longest handed down in the Justice Department's investigation into the Capitol attack, and Biggs was also convicted of conspiring to obstruct Congress and civil disorder. The US Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia said in a statement that Biggs "served as an instigator and leader" during the attack and had "encouraged and directed other Proud Boys members to join him in the attack on the Capitol."