Page 2 - Us Department Of Justice

AG Bondi urged to testify over claim she told Trump he was in Epstein files

Attorney General Pam Bondi is facing Democratic calls to testify before Congress following a newspaper's revelation that she told President Donald Trump that his name appeared in the files of the Jeffrey Epstein sex-trafficking investigation. The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday that Bondi told Trump his name was among many high-profile figures mentioned in the files, which the Justice Department this month said it would not be releasing despite a clamor from online sleuths, conspiracy theorists and members of Trump's base. Trump's personal ties to Epstein are well-established and his name is already known to have been included in records related to the wealthy financier, who killed himself in jail in 2019 as he awaited trial on sex trafficking charges. Sen. Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, responded to the report by calling on Bondi and FBI Director Kash Patel to appear before the Senate Judiciary Committee. We need to bring Bondi and Patel into the Judiciary Committee to

US Justice Department seeks to unseal Epstein, Maxwell grand jury files

US Justice Department moves court to unseal Epstein, Maxwell grand jury records after Donald Trump demands transparency; Trump sues Wall Street Journal for $10 billion over 'defamatory' Epstein report

US justice dept asks court to unseal grand jury records in Epstein case

Justice Department lawyers made the requests Friday to two judges in Manhattan, where prosecutors handled separate criminal cases against Epstein and his former associate, Ghislaine Maxwell

Trump authorises AG Pam Bondi to release Epstein grand jury records

Donald Trump's move follows growing pressure from supporters demanding transparency in the Jeffrey Epstein case and calls to release grand jury testimony

Justice dept fires Maurene Comey, prosecutor on Diddy, Epstein cases

The Justice Department has fired Maurene Comey, the daughter of former FBI director James Comey and a prosecutor in the federal cases against Sean "Diddy" Combs and Jeffrey Epstein, two people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. There was no specific reason given for her firing from the US attorney's office in the Southern District of New York, according to one of the people who spoke to the AP on Wednesday on the condition of anonymity to discuss personnel matters. Her termination comes shortly after she prosecuted Combs, who was acquitted of sex trafficking and racketeering charges. The rapper was convicted of lesser prostitution-related offences. The Justice Department recently appeared to acknowledge the existence of an investigation into James Comey, though the basis for that inquiry is unclear. He was abruptly fired by Trump during his first administration in 2017.

DOJ said to fire more prosecutors, staff involved in Trump prosecutions

The Justice Department has fired additional lawyers and support staff who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's prosecutions of President Donald Trump, according to two people familiar with the matter. The overall number of terminations was not immediately clear but they cut across both the classified documents and election interference prosecutions brought by Smith, and included a handful of prosecutors who were detailed to the probe as well as Justice Department support staff and other non-lawyer personnel who aided them, said the people, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss personnel moves that have not been publicly announced. The firings are part of a broader wave of terminations that have roiled the department for months and that have targeted staff who worked on cases involving Trump and his supporters. In January, the Justice Department said that it had fired more than a dozen prosecutors who worked on prosecutions of Trump, and last month fired at least three ...

US state dept begins layoffs as SC ruling clears path for federal firings

US state department staffers have been informed of layoffs after a Supreme Court order overturned an injunction against executive-led agency restructuring without Congressional approval

US federal judge dismisses lawsuit seeking to stop DOJ grant cancellations

A federal judge has allowed the Trump administration to rescind nearly USD 800 million dollars in grants for programmes supporting violence reduction and crime victims. US District Judge Amit Mehta in Washington on Monday denied a preliminary injunction sought by five organisations on behalf of all recipients of the more than 360 grant awards, and granted a motion by the federal government to dismiss the case. Mehta called the Department of Justice's actions shameful, but said the court lacked jurisdiction and the organisations had failed to state a constitutional violation or protection. Defendants' rescinding of these awards is shameful. It is likely to harm communities and individuals vulnerable to crime and violence, Mehta wrote in his ruling. But displeasure and sympathy are not enough in a court of law. The Justice Department's Office of Justice Programmes cancelled the grants worth more than USD 800 million in April, saying it had changed its priorities to, among other thing

White House fires career DOJ prosecutors in latest norm-breaking move

The recent firings of career Justice Department lawyers by the White House is a sign of President Donald Trump's tightening grip over the law enforcement agency known for its long tradition of political independence. On Friday, an assistant US attorney in Los Angeles was fired without explanation in an terse email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office shortly after a right-wing activist posted about him on social media, according to a person familiar with the matter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity because they were concerned about potential retribution. That followed the White House's firing last week of a longtime career prosecutor who had been serving as acting US attorney in Memphis. The terminations marked an escalation of norm-shattering moves that have embroiled the Justice Department in turmoil and have raised alarm over a disregard for civil service protections for career lawyers and the erosion of the agency's independence from the White House.

US DOJ, FBI announce new task force to target Hamas over Oct 7 attack

The Justice Department on Monday announced the creation of a task force to investigate Hamas for its October 7, 2023, attack on Israel as well as potential civil rights violations and acts of antisemitism by anyone supporting the militant group. Agents and prosecutors participating in Joint Task Force October 7, or JTF 10-7, will investigate and look to bring charges against Hamas militants directly responsible for the rampage in southern Israel, the department said. "The barbaric Hamas terrorists will not win and there will be consequences, Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement announcing the task force. The attack killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and Hamas took 251 hostages. It touched off an Israeli counteroffensive that has destroyed vast areas of Gaza, displaced most of the population and killed over 48,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza's Health Ministry, which does not say how many were combatants. The Biden administration's .

'Our predecessor turned DOJ into Department of Injustice': Donald Trump

Trump made these remarks at the Department of Justice following a series of terminations and resignations of Biden-era judges, attorneys, and other officials under the new administration

Justice dept heads tell staff not to reply to Musk's demand for job details

At least five DOJ office leaders quickly responded to the HR email-the latest mandate from Musk's government efficiency team-by telling their staff not to detail their work until they receive clarity

Trump orders removal of 'Biden era' attorneys over 'politicisation' of DOJ

Trump emphasised the need to "clean house" and restore confidence in the justice system, asserting that a fair justice system is essential for America's "golden age" to thrive

Justice dept ends task force aimed at seizing Russian oligarchs' assets

The Trump administration's Justice Department has disbanded a Biden-era program aimed at seizing the assets of Russian oligarchs as a means to punish Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. The move to disband Task Force KleptoCapture is one of several moves undertaken by the Justice Department under the new leadership of Attorney General Pam Bondi that presage a different approach toward Russia and national security issues. The department also ended the Foreign Influence Task Force, which was established in the first Trump administration to police influence campaigns staged by Russia and other nations aimed at sowing discord, undermining democracy and spreading disinformation. The U.S. government in the run-up to the 2024 presidential election aggressively moved to disrupt propaganda campaigns by Russia, which officials have assessed had a preference for Trump. In a memo addressed to all employees Wednesday the first day of Bondi's tenure the attorney general's office stated that ...

Pam Bondi sworn in as US attorney general as DOJ braces for major shakeup

Pam Bondi was sworn in Wednesday as attorney general, taking charge of the Justice Department as it braces for upheaval with President Donald Trump aiming to exert his will over an agency that has long provoked his ire. The ceremony took place in the Oval Office and it was the first time that the Republican president had participated in a second-term swearing-in of a Cabinet member. It was further evidence of Trump's intense personal interest in the operations of the department that investigated him during his first term and then brought two since-abandoned indictments after he left office in 2021. Bondi is expected to radically reshape the department, which in recent days has seen the firing of career prosecutors and FBI officials as well as the undoing of the massive prosecution into the January 6, 2021, US Capitol riot with Trump's sweeping day one pardons. The former Florida attorney general enters as the department is embroiled in a dispute with the FBI over an effort to identi

Trump admin likely to fire FBI agents involved in probe against president

Trump administration officials are moving to fire FBI agents engaged in investigations involving President Donald Trump in the coming days, two people familiar with the plans said Friday. It was not clear how many agents might be affected, but officials acting at the direction of the administration were working to identify individual agents who could be terminated, said the people who insisted on anonymity to discuss private conversations. Among the politically explosive investigations involving Trump over the last four years are inquiries into his efforts to overturn the 2020 presidential election and his hoarding of classified documents, as well as hundreds of criminal cases against rioters who stormed the US Capitol on January 6, 2021. A Justice Department spokesperson declined to comment, and an FBI spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request seeking comment. The terminations would be a major blow to the historic independence of the nation's premier federal law ...

US DOJ sues to block Hewlett Packard Enterprise's $14 bn Juniper deal

DOJ argued that the acquisition would eliminate competition and would lead to only two companies 'Cisco Systems and HPE' controlling more than 70 per cent of the US market for networking equipment

DOJ drops charges against 2 Trump co-defendants in classified records case

The Justice Department on Wednesday abandoned all criminal proceedings against the two co-defendants of President Donald Trump in the classified documents case, wiping out any legal peril the pair could have faced. Trump valet Walt Nauta and Mar-a-Lago property manager Carlos De Oliveira were both charged with conspiring with the president to obstruct an FBI investigation into the hoarding of classified documents that Trump took with him when he left the White House after his first term. US District Judge Aileen Cannon dismissed the case in July, saying that the prosecutor who brought it, special counsel Jack Smith, had been illegally appointed by the Justice Department. Smith's team ended its case against Trump after his November election win, citing longstanding department policy that says sitting presidents cannot be indicted. But its appeal of the dismissal of charges against Nauta and De Olivera remained pending. On Wednesday, prosecutors informed the Atlanta-based 11th US ...

Top prosecutor advocated for Jan 6 rioters, echoed Trump's election claims

For years, conservative activist Ed Martin has promoted Donald Trump's false claims about a stolen 2020 election, railed against the prosecution of the rioters who stormed the US Capitol and represented some of them in court. Now he's leading the office that prosecuted the nearly 1,600 defendants charged in the Jan. 6, 2021, riot before Trump now back in the White House ended the largest investigation in Justice Department history with the stroke of a pen. Martin's first week as the interim US attorney for the District of Columbia ushered in a dizzying sea change for the office's rank-and-file prosecutors. He oversaw the dismissals of hundreds of Jan. 6 cases and celebrated Trump's pardons for police officers and anti-abortion activists who had been prosecuted by attorneys in the office. And on Monday, Martin ordered an internal review of prosecutors' use of a felony charge brought against hundreds of Capitol rioters, directing employees to hand over files, emails and other ...

Trump Justice dept says it fired employees involved in prosecuting him

The Trump Justice Department said Monday that it had fired more than a dozen employees who worked on criminal investigations into President Donald Trump. The abrupt action targeting career prosecutors who worked on special counsel Jack Smith's team is the latest sign of upheaval inside the Justice Department and reflects the administration's determination to purge the government of workers it perceives as disloyal to the president. The move, which follows the reassignment of multiple senior career officials across divisions, was made even though rank-and-file prosecutors by tradition remain in their positions across presidential administrations and are not punished because of their involvement in sensitive investigations. A Justice Department official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the personnel move, confirmed the terminations were made by acting Attorney General James McHenry. It was not immediately clear which prosecutors were affected by the order. Smith himse