All articles tagged with #justice
A Washington Post explainer outlines nearly $1.8 billion set aside to compensate people the administration says were wrongly investigated or prosecuted, clarifying how the fund would be financed (notably via the Judgment Fund), how payouts would be distributed, and the legal and transparency scrutiny it faces—including questions about whether Jan. 6 cases could be eligible.
A federal judge dismissed the Justice Department’s human-smuggling case against Kilmar Abrego García, ruling it was improperly brought to punish him for successfully challenging his deportation, i.e., vindictive prosecution; the DOJ is expected to appeal, while Abrego García remains under house arrest in Maryland.
Former Florida federal prosecutor Carmen Lineberger was charged with stealing a copy of special counsel Jack Smith’s sealed report on Trump’s mishandling of classified documents, allegedly emailing the document to her personal email disguised as a Bundt cake recipe.
A Miami federal grand jury indicted former Cuban president Raúl Castro on murder and conspiracy charges for allegedly ordering Cuban forces to shoot down two exile aircraft in 1996, killing four people (three Americans). The charges are expected to be symbolic as the Trump administration increases pressure on Cuba, and Castro, now 94, is unlikely to be extradited.
A California Department of Justice report finds six detainees died in California ICE detention centers over the past year as crowding and limited medical staffing strained care, with four deaths at Adelanto and two at Imperial Regional Detention Facility. Inspectors describe poor conditions, including inadequate mental health care, cold temperatures, and sanitation issues, amid a more than 150% increase in detainee population. The facilities are run by private companies under ICE contracts, which defend adherence to detention standards, while the report notes rollbacks of civil-rights protections under the Trump administration.
The Trump administration is suing D.C.’s attorney-discipline authorities over a recommendation to disbar Jeffrey Clark, a former Justice Department official who was found to have violated ethics in his push to overturn the 2020 election. The suit is part of a broader effort by the Trump administration to push back on ethics investigations into federal government lawyers.
FBI Director Kash Patel bristled at Democratic lawmakers during a congressional budget hearing, defending himself against a report claiming his “excessive drinking” impaired his job and offering a brash defense of his record.
More than six prosecutors have been demoted or left the Eastern District of Virginia due to fallout from the DOJ’s push to prosecute former FBI director James Comey, leaving the office understaffed and disrupting major cases.
A federal judge denied Georgia officials’ bid to have evidence seized by the FBI in its investigation of the 2020 election in Fulton County returned, allowing the DOJ’s inquiry to proceed.
A former Florida congressman and Rubio ally, David Rivera, was found guilty of participating in a secret $50 million campaign to lobby U.S. officials on behalf of the Venezuelan government; prosecutors alleged the contract aimed to influence the Trump administration, with high-profile witnesses testifying and Rubio saying he was unaware of Rivera's contract.
Lawyers for James B. Comey say they will challenge the indictment accusing him of threatening President Donald Trump, arguing the charges are a vindictive retaliation for his criticism of Trump over a 2025 Instagram post.
31-year-old Cole Tomas Allen of Torrance, California, was charged with attempting to assassinate President Donald Trump after allegedly trying to storm the White House Correspondents’ Dinner with a shotgun and pistol. He traveled across the country ahead of the event and faces potential life in prison, with prosecutors signaling additional charges as the case and security protocols for future events unfold.
Federal prosecutors charged Cole Tomas Allen, 31, with attempting to assassinate the president, transporting a firearm and ammunition with intent to commit a felony, and discharging a firearm during a crime of violence in the White House correspondents’ dinner shooting; the accompanying affidavit reportedly includes Allen’s manifesto and the dates he traveled to the Washington Hilton, and readers can read the full affidavit.
A Syrian court held the first hearing in a transitional-justice process targeting ousted President Bashar al-Assad and senior regime officials; Assad and his brother Maher are to be tried in absentia, while ex-security chief Atif Najib appeared in court, with further hearings planned as authorities pursue accountability for repression during the war.
Syrian authorities arrested Amjad Youssef, a former military intelligence official suspected of masterminding the Tadamon massacre in 2013, in the Ghab plain near Hama. The arrest, hailed as a symbolic step toward accountability, follows leaked footage, sanctions from the US/EU, and years of investigative reporting, but questions remain about the fairness and reach of future prosecutions.