A Senate amendment requiring photo identification for voting failed to advance after a 53-47 vote, amid heated debate over the broader SAVE America Act, which seeks to impose stricter voter ID and citizenship verification measures. Democrats opposed the amendment, citing concerns about voter access and ballot secrecy, while Republicans argued it was necessary for election integrity and reflected public opinion favoring voter ID laws. Additional election-related controversies include fears of ICE presence at polling places and a lawsuit demanding transparency over a voter data sharing agreement involving Social Security Administration staff, highlighting ongoing tensions ahead of the 2026 midterms.
Posts tagged as “The Justice Department”
The House Ethics Committee will hold a rare public hearing to investigate Democratic Representative Sheila Cherfilus-McCormick of Florida for allegedly misappropriating $5 million in federal pandemic relief funds and using some of the money to finance her 2022 congressional campaign. Cherfilus-McCormick denies the charges, which include theft, money laundering, and illegal campaign contributions, stemming from an indictment related to overpayments made to her family’s company holding a FEMA contract. The bipartisan committee will determine if she violated House rules, with potential penalties including censure or expulsion, despite her legal team's request to delay and close the hearing until her criminal trial concludes.
The U.S. Justice Department admitted to mistakenly citing a May 2025 ICE memo to justify arrests at immigration courthouses, despite the memo explicitly excluding federal immigration courts where arrests have been made. This error, uncovered amid ongoing litigation by immigrant advocacy groups, has prompted a reconsideration of court rulings that previously upheld the practice. Despite the admission, DHS affirmed it will continue courthouse arrests, a policy criticized for its harsh impact on immigrants like Dylan Contreras, a student detained after a routine hearing.
A Trump administration official has made new criminal referrals against New York Attorney General Letitia James, alleging possible homeowner's insurance fraud related to two properties in Norfolk, Virginia. The referrals claim James falsified occupancy information on insurance applications, but her attorney denounced the actions as politically motivated and part of a vendetta by the Trump administration. These allegations follow previous unsuccessful attempts to prosecute James on mortgage-related charges amid her ongoing legal battles with Trump and his organization.
The U.S. Justice Department and Michael Flynn have reached a financial settlement in Flynn’s lawsuit alleging wrongful prosecution, though the settlement terms were not disclosed. Flynn, who was charged in 2017 with making false statements to the FBI and later pardoned by President Trump, claimed the government targeted him politically due to his association with Trump’s 2016 campaign. Following the settlement, Flynn condemned what he called a "brazen attempt to weaponize federal law enforcement" and praised current Justice Department leaders for their accountability efforts.
Minnesota has sued the Trump administration’s DOJ and DHS for obstructing investigations into three shootings involving federal officers during Operation Metro Surge, alleging withheld evidence and blocked access to critical information. The lawsuit claims violations of the Administrative Procedure Act and the 10th Amendment, with state officials denied access to key evidence and identities of involved federal agents. Separately, the DOJ has requested classified records related to former CIA Director John Brennan amid a grand jury investigation into his role in the 2016 Russia interference assessment, drawing criticism from Brennan’s legal team and political allies.
Robert Frazer, a veteran prosecutor with over 20 years in the New Jersey U.S. attorney’s office, has been appointed interim U.S. attorney, ending nearly a year of legal disputes and leadership turmoil following controversial interim appointments by former President Trump. The prolonged conflict involved court rulings that invalidated previous appointments and criticized the DOJ’s handling, which disrupted ongoing prosecutions and eroded trust in the office. Frazer’s appointment, supported by both political parties, aims to restore stability and refocus the office on its core mission of combating crime and protecting citizens’ rights.
The U.S. Department of Justice, under the Trump administration, filed a federal lawsuit against Harvard University alleging that the institution failed to protect Jewish and Israeli students from harassment following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack, violating federal civil rights law. The lawsuit accuses Harvard of deliberate indifference to a hostile environment and seeks to recover billions in federal funding, amid ongoing disputes including previous funding freezes and legal battles over alleged antisemitism and ideological bias. Despite stalled negotiations and increased settlement demands by President Trump, Harvard has yet to publicly respond to the latest legal action.