Legal News
Reports on lawmaking, constitutional issues, and court cases. The Daily Signal combines news reporting with conservative commentary and legal analysis.
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news
Hunter Biden’s Lawyer: DOJ Would Not Have Prosecuted Without Pressure From IRS Whistleblowers
Hunter Biden’s lawyer asserted that the Justice Department was on the cusp of a “non-prosecution resolution” with his client had it not been for the two Internal Revenue Service whistleblowers. IRS agents Gary Shapley and Joseph Ziegler had alleged the Justice Department slow-walked the probe of the 46th president’s son. Shortly after going public with… -
news
Obama Judge Again Blocks Trump Mail Ballot Rule, Even After SCOTUS Decision
In a roller coaster week for the Trump administration’s rule on mail-in ballots, the same federal judge reversed by the Supreme Court imposed a 14-day temporary restraining order on the U.S. Postal Service. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Boston ruled Thursday night that states can’t comply with the new rules this close to an… -
news
‘You Can’t Stay Here’: DHS Responds to Increased ICE Presence in Springfield, Ohio, to Remove Haitian Migrants
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is ramping up its activities in Springfield, Ohio, following a major victory for President Donald Trump at the Supreme Court in June that allowed the administration to end Temporary Protected Status for Haitians, among other nationalities. Springfield’s sizable Haitian community, many members of which are believed to have received TPS,… -
news
Trump Scores Another Election Integrity Win as Obama Judge Drops Injunction
A federal judge lifted a national injunction she previously imposed on President Donald Trump’s mail-in voting policy. U.S. District Judge Indira Talwani in Massachusetts, a Barack Obama appointee, had ruled to block Trump’s mail-in voting policy in two separate cases. One was a case brought by 23 Democrat-led states and the District of Columbia, which… -
news
‘The Court Has No Choice’: Judge Torpedoes Maryland Gerrymandering Amendment From Ballot
A Maryland judge on Wednesday stopped a Democrat-backed gerrymandering measure from appearing on the ballot this year. Lawmakers had passed Senate Bill 29, and Gov. Wes Moore signed it in May, changing requirements for ballot questions, including a July 1 deadline. On Aug. 3, the House passed House Bill 2100 to place a mid-decade redistricting… -
opinion
With Crucial Win at the Supreme Court, Trump Administration Has Path to Security, Transparency Rules in Mail Balloting
The Supreme Court delivered a big win to the Trump administration this week that could clear the way for better election integrity across the U.S. Trump v. California, decided on Monday, cleared a major hurdle in the ongoing legal fight over President Donald Trump’s executive order “Ensuring Citizenship Verification and Integrity in Federal Elections” issued… -
analysis
Will Supreme Court Ruling Make It Harder for Noncitizens to Vote?
The Supreme Court’s Monday decision cleared the way for the Department of Homeland Security to establish a state-by-state list of eligible voters based on a crosscheck of citizenship data, the Social Security database, and other government information. “The DHS can determine who is eligible to vote because the federal government does not want to be… -
news
Supreme Court Backs Trump Election Integrity Order in Mail Ballot Fight
The Supreme Court on Monday sided with President Donald Trump in a mail-in ballot case stemming from his election integrity executive order. The case is not over, but the high court allowed the federal government to continue implementing the election integrity policies while the case is on appeal. The justices decided in a 6-3 shadow… -
news
EXCLUSIVE: Records Reveal Planned Parenthood’s 14-Point Post-Dobbs Strategy for State AGs to Target Pro-Lifers
A month after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade, Planned Parenthood issued marching orders for state attorneys general to target crisis pregnancy centers and issue abortion-friendly legal opinions. State actions after the July 12, 2022, memo suggest Democrat attorneys general followed much of the 14-point plan pushed by the nation’s largest abortion provider. On… -
analysis
How the Transgender Movement Lost the Power to End Debate
Transgender activists once used maximalist legal arguments to force their worldview on American society, but now they’re arguing defensively. Activists are accusing the government of trying to silence them and take away their health care benefits. To some degree, this strategy represents a legal response to President Donald Trump’s reelection, but it also reveals an… -
news
Department of Education Moves to Strip ABA’s Law School Accreditation Amid DEI Criticism
The Department of Education has begun the process of removing the American Bar Association’s ability to accredit law schools, though the ABA Accreditation Council emphasizes the move represents only one step in the process. “After reviewing the ABA’s accreditation standards, department staff found the accreditor out of compliance with the agency’s accreditation regulations and recognition… -
news
DOJ Charges ‘Foundation’ Members in $12M Medicaid Fraud Scheme Tied to Drugs, Violence
The Justice Department announced a nine-count indictment against four New York men for an alleged $12 million Medicaid fraud conspiracy that includes racketeering charges. The alleged scheme includes charges of violence in aid of racketeering, firearms, fraud, narcotics, and money laundering offenses, the Justice Department said Thursday. The arrests come as the Trump administration ramps… -
news
DOJ: Chinese National Cast Illegal Ballot, Then Accused Another of Voter Fraud
A Chinese national allegedly voted in the 2024 election by impersonating another Chinese national and then reporting that person to authorities, according to the Justice Department. In an alleged voter fraud case with a strange twist, Yupeng Sun, 33, was charged with one count of fraudulent voter registration and one count of fraudulent voting, the… -
news
Obama Judge Blocks Trump Effort to Redirect Teen Pregnancy Funds Away From Planned Parenthood Affiliates
A Barack Obama-appointed judge partially blocked a Trump administration effort to curb Planned Parenthood funding in a teen pregnancy prevention program. U.S. District Judge Christopher Cooper of the District of Columbia on Wednesday also called the administration’s promotion of abstinence-only education a means to “defy social reality.” The Teen Pregnancy Prevention Program funded about 50… -
exclusive
Christian Mom Who Spoke Out Against Transgender Policies Blocked From Son’s Graduation: Lawsuit
FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A Christian mom is suing Portland Public Schools after officials barred her from her children’s elementary school for a year in alleged retaliation for criticizing its transgender policies. “What the district said was, ‘Be quiet, or we will take your children away from you,’ essentially—at eight hours a day, nine months… -
news
TRANS POLITICAL VIOLENCE: Man Confessed He Planned to Assassinate Trump Official
A federal judge on Tuesday sentenced a man who confessed to planning the assassination of Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Judge Rudolph Contreras, an appointee of President Barack Obama, sentenced 24-year-old Ryan Michael English to 73 months in prison, far short of the 121 months prosecutors sought. English, who identifies as transgender and uses female pronouns… -
news
Appeals Court Preserves Injunction Against ICE Enforcing Immigration Laws at Churches
A federal appeals court upheld a ruling preventing federal immigration officials from conducting enforcement actions at or near houses of worship. In a 2-1 ruling by the U.S. 4th Circuit Court of Appeals on Tuesday, Judge Barbara Keenan, a Barack Obama appointee, wrote that the government likely violated the Religious Freedom Restoration Act in its… -
news
Major Media Outlets Claim Don Lemon’s Church Invasion Prosecution Might ‘Muzzle Reporting in the Public Interest’
Major media outlets joined an amicus brief urging a court to dismiss the church invasion charges against former CNN anchor Don Lemon and independent journalist Georgia Fort. Forty-five media outlets and nonprofit organizations joined the brief, including The Associated Press, Dow Jones (which owns The Wall Street Journal), MS NOW, The New York Times, The… -
news
Supreme Court Again Rebuffs Trump in $5 Million E. Jean Carroll Case
REUTERS—Rebuffing President Donald Trump for a second time, the Supreme Court declined on Monday to hear his appeal of a $5 million verdict in favor of E. Jean Carroll after a jury found him liable for sexually abusing and defaming the former magazine columnist. The justices rejected Trump’s request to reconsider their previous decision in… -
news
Year After Deadly Crash, 21 Blue States Move to Block Trump Commercial Driver’s License Data Request
Democrat attorneys general have sued to block the Trump administration from accessing records on commercial driver’s licenses. The Trump Department of Transportation has stepped up enforcement of commercial driver’s licensing rules, seeking more information from states to find unqualified truck drivers, including illegal immigrants. It has threatened to withhold about $10 million in funding if…