Department of Justice (DOJ) News
Coverage of DOJ investigations, leadership, and political influence. Includes conservative commentary and opinion from The Daily Signal.
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news
‘Troubling’: Justice Department Hides Biden’s Voter Registration Plan
The Justice Department has refused to release its mandated strategic plan about ways to champion voter registration and participation, according to the Foundation for Government Accountability. President Joe Biden’s March 2021 Executive Order on Promoting Access to Voting required every federal agency head to submit a plan within 200 days outlining methods the agency could use to promote… -
news
DOJ Subpoenas Conservative Group for Documents in Alabama Transgender Case
The Justice Department is pursuing a conservative group’s documents going back five years as part of a lawsuit challenging an Alabama law that prohibits sex change treatments for minors. The group, Eagle Forum of Alabama, had been a public supporter of the state’s Vulnerable Child Compassion and Protection Act. The organization filed a motion in… -
news
Catholic Group Calls for Probe of Justice Department Official for Anti-Religious Bias
Bill Donohue, the president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, on Thursday sent a letter to Justice Department Inspector General Michael Horowitz calling for an investigation of a department official for apparent anti-religious bias. As The Daily Signal first reported on Monday, Eric P. Bruskin, assistant director of the commercial litigation branch in the Justice… -
opinion
Justice Department Lawyer Smears Religious Liberty Advocate as ‘Hate Group’
A senior Justice Department official referred to a highly regarded religious liberty organization as a “hate group” in a recent LinkedIn post. Eric P. Bruskin, assistant director of the commercial litigation branch in the Justice Department’s Civil Division, used the term to describe Alliance Defending Freedom, a Christian legal advocacy group founded in 1993. The… -
opinion
Optics of Mar-a-Lago Raid Look Bad for Justice Department
Attorney General Merrick Garland justified the unprecedented FBI raid of the residence of a former president by saying: “The department does not take such a decision lightly. Where possible, it is standard practice to seek less intrusive means as an alternative to a search, and to narrowly scope any search that is undertaken.” With the… -
opinion
Why Is Justice Department Investigating Southern Baptist Convention?
The nation’s largest conservative, Protestant denomination revealed on Friday it is under investigation by the Biden administration over claims of sexual abuse and harassment. The federal probe by a persistent church critic raised eyebrows, coming amidst a flurry of actions opponents say are intended to punish the president’s political enemies, including an unprecedented FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s… -
news
Biden Dismisses Voter Fraud, but His Justice Department Keeps Prosecuting It
The Biden administration’s Justice Department successfully prosecuted election fraud cases last month in Pennsylvania and Louisiana, even as the president has spent much of his term so far asserting that voter fraud is a myth. Federal prosecutors in individual U.S. attorney’s offices also have brought separate cases in Arizona, North Carolina, and New York during… -
news
‘Political Tactic’: Cuomo Demands Answers From Justice Department Over Trump Raid
Former New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo called for the Department of Justice to quickly justify the FBI raid on former President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence to avoid the perception that it was politically motivated and tainting investigations into Jan. 6. Trump’s son Eric indicated the Monday raid was done over documents the former president took to Mar-a-Lago… -
opinion
Justice Department Attacks Pro-Life States With Bogus ‘Preemption’ Argument
The Biden administration is using a spurious legal argument to crack down on states limiting abortion. On Aug. 2, the U.S. Department of Justice filed suit against the state of Idaho, hoping to undermine its new law prohibiting most abortions by claiming that it conflicts with a federal law regarding medical treatment in hospital emergency… -
news
Conservative Leaders Demand Justice Department Take Action to Stop Pro-Abortion Violence
A growing number of pro-life organizations have been attacked following the leaked opinion in the Supreme Court case Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization. The case could overturn Roe v. Wade, which made abortion restrictions illegal. In response, a group of conservative leaders sent a letter to Attorney General Merrick Garland and Kristen Clarke, assistant… -
opinion
As Biden Met With Pope, His DOJ Argued for Right to Abort Baby With Beating Heart
The activities of the Biden administration this past Friday featured two remarkable and profoundly contradictory events. In Rome, President Joe Biden met with Pope Francis. In Washington, his Justice Department filed a brief with the Supreme Court arguing there is a “right” to kill an unborn baby with a beating heart. What transpired in Washington… -
news
Biden Justice Department Advances Voter Fraud Case in Philadelphia Begun Under Trump
A probe of voter fraud begun by the Trump administration’s Justice Department that ensnared a former House Democrat and former Philadelphia election officials has resulted in additional charges under the Biden administration. In October, acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer Arbittier Williams charged Marie Beren, a former staffer for Philadelphia City Council member Mark Squilla, on four… -
news
‘Just Unconscionable’: Parents Protest Outside Justice Department Against ‘Domestic Terrorist’ Label
Frustration at school boards boiled over for some parents and activists who protested outside of the Department of Justice building in Washington, D.C., Sunday. A small crowd gathered for the "Parents Are Not ‘Domestic Terrorists’ Rally," a reference to Attorney General Merrick Garland’s Oct. 4 memorandum that called on the FBI to “use its authority” in response to… -
news
State School Board Groups Disavow National Entity’s Call for DOJ to Investigate Parents
At least 11 state school board organizations are distancing themselves from a National School Boards Association letter asking President Joe Biden to take action against parents protesting progressive school policies. School board organizations in Virginia and Louisiana criticized the national association’s letter in public statements earlier this month, saying they were not consulted on it and suggesting that the National School Boards Association discourages the “active participation” of parents in school governance…. -
opinion
Biden’s Justice Department Clueless That Censoring Parents Is Sure to End Badly
It sounds like hyperbole, but it’s true: A progressive education association wants parents attending school board meetings to be treated like terrorists. It has asked President Joe Biden to criminalize parent opposition to critical race theory and COVID-19 mandates, a burgeoning grassroots movement that has caught radicals by surprise. The move to suppress First Amendment rights came from the National School… -
news
What This Justice Department Official Said About Treating Parents as ‘Domestic Terrorists’
Two Senate Republicans tangled Wednesday with one of Attorney General Merrick Garland’s key deputies over her boss’ proposal to use federal anti-terrorism laws against parents who speak out against critical race theory, mask mandates, or other contested issues in their public school systems. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., asked Kristen Clarke, assistant attorney general for civil… -
news
Justice Department Asks Judge to Block Texas Abortion Law
The Department of Justice asked a federal judge late Tuesday night to block Texas’ Heartbeat Act, which prohibits abortions after the baby’s heartbeat can be detected. The DOJ called for a temporary restraining order or injunction against the new law, arguing that the Heartbeat Act intends “to prevent women from exercising their constitutional rights.” “When… -
news
University Professors Ask Justice Department to Stop Looking for Chinese Spies
A group of professors at Stanford University has asked the Justice Department to discontinue a program aimed at combating Chinese economic espionage. The letter, signed by 177 Stanford faculty members from more than 40 departments and addressed to Attorney General Merrick Garland, asks the Justice Department to end its China Initiative, a program started in 2018 that… -
news
Justice Department Sues Texas Over ‘Heartbeat’ Abortion Law
President Joe Biden’s administration is suing Texas over the state’s new Heartbeat Act, Attorney General Merrick Garland announced Thursday. “The Department of Justice has a duty to defend the Constitution of the United States and to uphold the rule of law,” Garland said. “Today we fulfill that duty by filing the lawsuit I have just… -
opinion
Former Justice Department Lawyer Testifies to Voting Section’s History of Abusing Its Authority
For anyone who thinks that passing HR 4, the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, is a good idea, watching the startling testimony of a veteran Justice Department lawyer should make one quickly realize what a bad—and dangerous—idea it really is. At a hearing Tuesday intended to build support for HR 4, Maureen Riordan did…