Department of Justice (DOJ) News
Coverage of DOJ investigations, leadership, and political influence. Includes conservative commentary and opinion from The Daily Signal.
-
news
Senate Panel Calls for Special Counsel to Investigate DOJ Handling of Dossier
Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee are formally calling for a second special counsel to investigate the FBI and Justice Department’s handling of the Steele dossier. The Republicans, led by Chairman Chuck Grassley, last month called on the Justice Department’s Office of the Inspector General to explore the FBI and DOJ’s handling of the salacious… -
news
Justice Department Task Force to Crack Down on Election Interference
The Department of Justice announced Tuesday the creation of a cyber task force, including the FBI, that will counter efforts to interfere with U.S. elections. Attorney General Jeff Sessions signed a memorandum Friday, less than one week after special counsel Robert Mueller indicted 13 Russians for interfering with the the 2016 presidential election. Sessions warned of the dangers… -
news
Justice Department Official Hid Wife’s Payments by Anti-Trump Researcher
Bruce Ohr, the Department of Justice official who brought opposition research on Donald Trump to the FBI in 2016, did not disclose that the company that produced it at the Democratic National Committee’s behest was paying his wife, documents obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation show. Ohr also did not obtain a conflict of… -
news
California Sues DOJ Over Funding Cuts to ‘Sanctuary States’
The state of California sued the Department of Justice Wednesday to force the release of records relating to Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ order to withhold funding from so-called sanctuary states. California is one of several sanctuary jurisdictions—but the first state—to file a lawsuit relating to Sessions’ order to tie federal grants to immigration compliance. The lawsuit demands… -
news
Declassified Memo Shows DOJ Worked to ‘Tip the Scales of Justice,’ Lawmaker Says
A classified memo on potential FBI abuse of government surveillance was released Friday, and some lawmakers say it suggests government corruption. “At what point are we going to have real accountability in the Department of Justice and the FBI,” Rep. Mark Meadows, R-N.C., said in a conference call with reporters Friday, adding: Obviously we have… -
opinion
The Brand Memorandum: The Justice Department Reaffirms Its Commitment to the Rule of Law
It is common for agencies to issue a variety of document—generically termed “guidance documents”—to inform the public how the agency interprets the law. That is all well and good. There are a bazillion statutes and regulations–to steal a phrase, “they outnumber the grains of sand on the beach.” Anything that agencies can do to help… -
news
DOJ Backs Effort to Repeal California Law Requiring Pro-Lifers to Promote Abortion
The Department of Justice filed an amicus (or “friend-of-the-court”) brief at the Supreme Court, urging the justices to overturn a California law requiring pro-life crisis pregnancy centers to post information about state-funded abortions. The Supreme Court has agreed to review the law in November. The law, called the Reproductive FACT Act, requires crisis pregnancy clinics to post… -
news
Justice Department Requests ‘Unredacted’ Findings of Senate Investigation That Included Planned Parenthood
The Department of Justice is requesting unredacted copies of a 2016 report conducted by the Senate Judiciary Committee on those involved in fetal tissue and body parts sales and transfer. “At this point, the records are intended for investigative use only—we understand that a resolution from the Senate may be required if the department were… -
opinion
7 Questions the Justice Department Must Answer About Uranium One and Clinton Foundation
While the media’s attention has shifted to the indictment of Paul Manafort, the Obama administration’s handling of the Uranium One “bribery plot” (as The Hill called it in a startling expose) raises serious, critical questions that must be answered about the Justice Department’s handling of the investigation. These questions can only be answered if Congress… -
news
Senate Eyes Permanent Ban on Justice Department ‘Slush Fund’ for Political Friends
Legislation to codify the U.S. attorney general’s recent ban on diverting millions in legal settlements to outside groups is now in the Senate’s court, following last week’s House action. The Justice Department practice, widely criticized as a $1 billion “slush fund” benefiting liberal advocacy groups in the last 30 months of the Obama administration alone,… -
news
Sessions Highlights 2 Most Vital Liberties Justice Department Will Aim to Protect
Attorney General Jeff Sessions spoke about the accomplishments of the Justice Department and its new direction in a speech at The Heritage Foundation on Thursday. Sessions discussed the long tradition of the rule of law in America and how it has been so critical to our success as a nation. He called this tradition “unique… -
news
Justice Department Frees Up Uranium One Informant to Congress
The Department of Justice released a former FBI informant from a confidentiality agreement, allowing him to testify before Congress about what he saw while undercover during a former President Barack Obama-era deal where a Russian-backed company bought a uranium firm with mines in the U.S. Congressional committees have previously tried to interview the informant, whose… -
news
Obama Justice Department’s $1 Billion ‘Slush Fund’ Boosted Liberal Groups
President Barack Obama’s Justice Department created a “slush fund” of nearly $1 billion using legal settlements with banks and steered those funds to political allies on the left while excluding conservative groups, internal documents show. Tony West, an associate attorney general during the Obama administration who is now a top official at PepsiCo Inc., figures… -
news
House Panels to Reopen Investigations Into Justice Department’s 2016 Decisions
Lawmakers are reopening an investigation into decisions made by the Justice Department in 2016, including those relating to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s handling of classified information. “Decisions made by the Department of Justice in 2016 have led to a host of outstanding questions that must be answered,” Reps. Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., the chairman… -
opinion
In Positive Turn, Justice Department Prosecuting Wrongdoers Rather Than Cutting Deals to Win Fines
Federal prosecutors have accused a group of U.S. postal workers servicing the Atlanta area of taking bribes in exchange for delivering shipments of illegal drugs. U.S. Attorney John Horn said, “For cash in their pockets they were willing to endanger themselves and the residents on their routes and bring harmful drugs into the community.” Contrast… -
news
Trump’s Justice Department Still Defending Obama Contraception Mandate
Advocates for religious liberty are dismayed that little has changed with respect to the Obamacare contraceptive mandate, even after President Donald Trump signed a religious freedom executive order earlier this year. “I believe the president is committed to religious freedom and that Attorney General [Jeff] Sessions is a good man. But their goals simply haven’t… -
opinion
Why Are Trump’s Justice Department Appointees Protecting the IRS?
Various media sources have reported that federal District Court Judge Reggie Walton has ordered the IRS to finally respond to various legal requests for information and documents made by the conservative tea party organizations that sued the agency. But the question that no one is asking is why that order was even necessary, and why… -
news
Trump Justice Department Ends Operation Choke Point
Republican House members announced Friday that the Justice Department has ended the controversial Obama-era program targeting payday lenders, gun shops, and other legal businesses, in response to several House Republicans who requested Operation Choke Point be shut down. “This is no way for law enforcement to operate,” House Republicans say. “We share your view that… -
news
Justice Department Opens Civil Rights Probe of Violence in Charlottesville
The Justice Department has launched a civil rights investigation into the violence surrounding an aborted white nationalist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Hours after a young man said to have white supremacist sympathies drove a car through a group of counterprotesters Saturday in the city's downtown, killing a woman, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issued a late-night… -
news
Chicago Sues Justice Department Over Withholding Funds to Sanctuary Cities
The city of Chicago filed a lawsuit Monday against the Department of Justice, claiming its policy of withholding federal funding to sanctuary cities is unconstitutional and constitutes blackmail. The suit names Attorney General Jeff Sessions as the defendant. It contests Sessions’ July announcement that the Justice Department will not provide Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program…