Crime News
The Daily Signal reports on crime news with analysis and commentary on policies, crime rates, and policing debates.
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opinion
Betsy DeVos Stands Up for Due Process Rights in Campus Sexual Assault Cases
Education Secretary Betsy DeVos announced in a speech Thursday that she will roll back an Obama-era “guidance” document that drove colleges to implement Star Chamber-like tribunals to mishandle sexual assault cases. The guidance forced colleges to weaken already minimal due process protections for those accused of rape and sexual assault, and threatened schools that refused… -
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
Hate Crime or Domestic Terrorism? How Charlottesville Federal Legal Case Could Proceed
The federal civil rights investigation into the weekend violence that occurred in Charlottesville, Virginia, could involve domestic terrorism and hate crime charges and isn’t limited to the driver who plowed his vehicle into a crowd of people, according to the Trump administration. Speaking on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” Attorney General Jeff Sessions said Monday, “It… -
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… -
opinion
How Did the Democrats’ IT Scandal Suspects Get Here?
Here is a radical proposition: The public has a right to know the immigration status and history of foreign criminal suspects. Their entrance and employment sponsorship records should not be treated like classified government secrets—especially if the public’s tax dollars subsidized their salaries. In March, I contacted the D.C. offices of House congressional Democrats Joaquin… -
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… -
opinion
Corruption Is Holding Back Democracy and Prosperity in Ethiopia
Ethiopia, a huge and beautiful country that straddles the Great Rift Valley just north of the equator in Africa, traces its history to biblical times. Blessed with a long growing season and rich agricultural land, it is also a nation in political turmoil—albeit also one that is a key U.S. ally and partner in the… -
news
Florida Republican Asks Attorney General to Look Into Former House IT Aide’s Finances
A House Republican from Florida this week urged Attorney General Jeff Sessions to determine whether any U.S. financial institutions have reported suspicious banking activity by a former information technology aide to a Florida Democrat who until last year headed the national party. Imran Awan; his wife, Hina Alvi; his brothers; and his best friend are… -
news
Jeff Sessions Warns Sanctuary Cities About Missing Out on Help to Fight Crime
Attorney General Jeff Sessions cited a reported sexual assault by an illegal immigrant in Portland, Oregon, to explain why the Justice Department will continue cracking down on sanctuary cities that receive federal funds. “Cities and states with so-called ‘sanctuary’ policies make all of us less safe,” @JeffSessions says. If a municipality wants access to its… -
news
New Calls for Criminal Investigation of Obama Aides in ‘Unmasking’ Scandal
New calls are coming in for the Justice Department to launch a criminal investigation into the “unmasking” scandal swirling around a cluster of former Obama administration officials. The calls came as House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence Chairman Devin Nunes, R-Calif., identified a fourth Obama national security official as a “person of interest” who improperly… -
news
4 House Republicans Seek Answers on FBI Probe of Clinton Emails
As President Donald Trump calls for the Justice Department to probe the actions of his vanquished opponent, Hillary Clinton, four Republicans on the House Judiciary Committee want another look at the FBI’s investigation of the Clinton email scandal. The four Republican lawmakers—Florida’s Matt Gaetz, Arizona’s Andy Biggs, Ohio’s Jim Jordan, and Louisiana’s Mike Johnson—filed an… -
news
Wasserman Schultz’s IT Aide Arrested by FBI on Way to Pakistan After $300K Wire
The top information technology aide to Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., was arrested Monday attempting to board a flight to Pakistan after wiring $283,000 from the Congressional Federal Credit Union to that country. The former Democratic Party chairwoman's IT aide attempted to leave the country hours after The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group revealed that he is the target… -
news
FBI Seized Smashed Hard Drives From Wasserman Schultz IT Aide’s Home
FBI agents seized smashed computer hard drives from the home of Florida Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz’s information technology administrator, according to two sources with knowledge of the investigation. Pakistani-born Imran Awan, longtime right-hand IT aide to the former Democratic National Committee chairwoman, has since desperately tried to get the hard drives back, an individual whom… -
opinion
How the Justice Department Helped Bring Down the Largest Criminal Marketplace on the Internet
The Department of Justice announced the shutdown of “the largest criminal marketplace on the internet.” The site, AlphaBay, was launched in 2013 after authorities shut down a similar dark web marketplace known as the “Silk Road.” According to the Justice Department, AlphaBay has been hosting over 200,000 users and at least 40,000 illicit vendors. While… -
opinion
Corruption in Brazil Starts at the Top
The former two-term president of Brazil, Luiz Inácio “Lula” da Silva, was sentenced July 12 to nearly 10 years in prison. It is the most dramatic chapter to date in the saga of public corruption scandals that has plunged South America’s largest country into political chaos. The crimes for which Lula was found guilty—including money… -
opinion
As Justice Department Ramps Up Fight Against Violent and Drug Crime, Property Owners Put at Risk
This week, the Department of Justice unveiled a new directive ramping up federal civil forfeiture. The new policy restarts so-called “adoptive” forfeitures as part of Attorney General Jeff Sessions’ focus on addressing and reducing violent and drug-related crime. This renewed attention on combatting violent crime and supporting law enforcement officers cannot come at a better… -
news
Legal Experts Weigh in on Trump’s Right to Be Riled at Sessions, DOJ
Jeff Sessions will likely continue to lead the Department of Justice, despite the public clash between President Donald Trump and his choice for attorney general. “Sessions should un-recuse himself and get rid of Mueller,” @TomFitton says. But Trump’s frustration with the direction of the Russian probe and the special prosecutor are understandable, said Tom Fitton,… -
news
Trump’s Son in Less Legal Jeopardy Than Son-in-Law Over Russia Meeting, FBI Veteran Says
Even if Donald Trump Jr. helped set up a meeting last year with a Russian lawyer in hopes of learning dirt on Hillary Clinton, the president’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, and another official Trump campaign operative could face greater legal problems, a former FBI official says. “For today, and this could change tomorrow, but today I…