Tag: DOJ

First the CIA, now the US Dept of Justice, could take actions that would see WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dead – Pearls and Irritations

_Assange_02-C By 30C3_Applebaum_und_Assange_02.jpg: Ordercrazyderivative work: Hic et nunc - This file was derived from: 30C3 Applebaum und Assange 02.jpg:, CC0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=30439311

The stakes in the Assange case could not be higher for journalists everywhere. The outcome will determine whether the US can seek to extradite any journalist of any nationality, from anywhere with which it has an extradition treaty, for disclosing US war crimes.

And if Assange is extradited and forced to pleading guilty to some charge in exchange for a relatively lenient Australian served sentence, it implicitly endorses the US claim that its laws have global reach over journalists everywhere. There goes any “free press” and any real prospect of keeping power accountable.

Finally, unless the Australian Government can stop the extradition by the UK or the prosecution by the US or both, it will also show that our ‘alliance’ with them is little more than our subservience.

Source: First the CIA, now the US Dept of Justice, could take actions that would see WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange dead – Pearls and Irritations

Trump’s plan to turn the Justice Department into his personal vendetta machine

Last week, Trump said that if reelected, he’d appoint a “real special prosecutor” to “go after the most corrupt president in the history of the United States of America, Joe Biden, and the entire Biden crime family.”

Source: Trump’s plan to turn the Justice Department into his personal vendetta machine

‘A race to the prosecutors’ office’ for Trump’s inner circle seeking deals after J6 report: former DOJ official – Raw Story – Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism

'A race to the prosecutors' office' for Trump's inner circle seeking deals after J6 report: former DOJ official

Source: ‘A race to the prosecutors’ office’ for Trump’s inner circle seeking deals after J6 report: former DOJ official – Raw Story – Celebrating 18 Years of Independent Journalism

January 6 Committee Refers Trump To DOJ For Four Crimes | Crooks and Liars

January 6 Committee Refers Trump To DOJ For Four Crimes

The specific crimes for the Trump referral are:

Inciting or assisting an insurrection,

Obstruction of an official proceeding of Congress,

Conspiracy to defraud the United States

Conspiracy to make a false statement.

Source: January 6 Committee Refers Trump To DOJ For Four Crimes | Crooks and Liars

Donald Trump must be indicted — and this time, I believe Merrick Garland will act | Salon.com

Former U.S. President Donald Trump and U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland | The House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the U.S. Capitol (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Following the final hearing of the congressional investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol, the evidence is overwhelming: The Department of Justice must bring criminal charges against Donald Trump and many others for their culpability for the attack.

Source: Donald Trump must be indicted — and this time, I believe Merrick Garland will act | Salon.com

Trump Lawyers Reportedly Told By DOJ Trump Still Has Documents

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA - JULY 09: Former U.S. President Donald Trump walks on stage during a "Save America" rally at Alaska Airlines Center on July 09, 2022 in Anchorage, Alaska. Former President Donald Trump held a "Save America" rally in Anchorage where he campaigned with U.S. House candidate former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin and U.S. Senate candidate Kelly Tshibaka.

The New York Times reported on Thursday a top Justice Department official informed former President Donald Trump’s lawyers that the government believes Trump has still not returned all the documents taken from the White House.

Source: Trump Lawyers Reportedly Told By DOJ Trump Still Has Documents

Attorney General asks court to unseal warrant for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate search – NZ Herald

The Justice Department is asking a federal court to unseal the warrant the FBI used to search the Mar-a-Lago estate of former President Donald Trump, Attorney General Merrick Garland said Thursday, acknowledging extraordinary public interest in the case about classified records.

The request is striking because such documents traditionally remain sealed during a pending investigation. But the Justice Department appeared to recognise that its silence since the search had created a vacuum for bitter verbal attacks by Trump and his allies, and that the public was entitled to the FBI’s side about what prompted action at the former president’s home.

“The public’s clear and powerful interest in understanding what occurred under these circumstances weighs heavily in favor of unsealing,” said a motion filed in federal court in Florida.

Should the warrant be released — the request is now with the judge, and Trump can object — it could disclose unflattering information about the former president and about FBI scrutiny of his handling of sensitive government documents right as he prepares for another run for the White House. During his successful 2016 campaign, he pointed frequently to an FBI investigation into his Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, over whether she mishandled classified information.

Attorney General asks court to unseal warrant for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate search – NZ Herald

Attorney General asks court to unseal warrant for Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate search – NZ Herald

Feds “deliberately targeted” BLM protesters on orders from Trump, Barr: report | Salon.com

Donald Trump and Bill Barr (Photo illustration by Salon/Getty Images)

Should this be a surprise?

The Justice Department “deliberately targeted” supporters of the Black Lives Matter movement with harsh prosecutions at the “express direction” of former President Donald Trump and former Attorney General Bill Barr, according to a new report from the advocacy group Movement for Black Lives.

Source: Feds “deliberately targeted” BLM protesters on orders from Trump, Barr: report | Salon.com

In Siccing Justice Dept. on Jimmy Kimmel and SNL, Trump Channeled worst Mideast Dictators

There isn’t any doubt that Trump would like to rule as al-Sisi does in Egypt or Khamenei does in Iran, and that his acolytes and his cheerleaders at Fox Cable News would be perfectly all right with that.

Source: In Siccing Justice Dept. on Jimmy Kimmel and SNL, Trump Channeled worst Mideast Dictators

‘Direct Attack on the First Amendment’: Trump DOJ Secretly Obtained Washington Post Journalists’ Phone Records | Common Dreams News

Then-U.S. Attorney General Bill Barr holds a news conference at the Department of Justice on December 21, 2020 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Michael Reynolds-Pool via Getty Images)

“The Department of Justice should immediately make clear its reasons for this intrusion into the activities of reporters doing their jobs.”

Source: ‘Direct Attack on the First Amendment’: Trump DOJ Secretly Obtained Washington Post Journalists’ Phone Records | Common Dreams News

Michael Cohen says Rudy Giuliani will rat on Trump because he’s an “idiot” who “drinks too much” | Salon.com

main article image

“…because Rudy’s an idiot,” Cohen said. “And that’s the problem — Rudy drinks too much. Rudy behaves in such an erratic manner that who knows what’s on those cellphones or what’s on those computers.”

Source: Michael Cohen says Rudy Giuliani will rat on Trump because he’s an “idiot” who “drinks too much” | Salon.com

Matt Gaetz’ Carlson Interview Leaves Resignation As His Only Option

Just hours after news broke that Matt Gaetz is under investigation for federal child trafficking , he decided it would be a super great idea to go on Tucker Carlson to read a carefully worded script kind of denying the charges, but also bringing up more allegations that were not even public yet.

Matt Gaetz’ Carlson Interview Leaves Resignation As His Only Option

Matt Gaetz went on Tucker Carlson just hours after news broke of a DOJ investigation into federal child trafficking charges and let’s just say it did not go well.

DOJ Considers Serious Charges Against Capitol Rioters

A member of a pro-Trump mob shatters a window with his fist from inside the Capitol Building after breaking into it on January 6, 2021 in Washington, DC.

At least 170 people are currently under investigation in connection to the January 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol, and officials expect that number to “grow to the hundreds in the next coming weeks” — a criminal probe that the top federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C., has described as “unprecedented, not only in FBI history, but probably DOJ history.”

DOJ Considers Serious Charges Against Capitol Rioters

Justice Department Jumps In To Help Trump In Lawsuit Filed By Rape Accuser | HuffPost Australia

AG BARR RIDES SHOTGUN FOR THE DON (ODT)

The DOJ wants to substitute the U.S. government for Trump as the defendant in the suit brought by author E. Jean Carroll, who has accused the president of rape.

Justice Department Jumps In To Help Trump In Lawsuit Filed By Rape Accuser | HuffPost Australia

US Justice Department shielded Trump from Russia probe, ex-officials say

No counterintelligence review probed Donald Trump's personal ties with Russia.

The US Justice Department secretly took steps in 2017 to narrow the investigation into Russian election interference and any links to the Trump campaign, according to former law enforcement officials, keeping investigators from completing an examination of President Donald Trump’s decades-long personal and business ties to Russia.

US Justice Department shielded Trump from Russia probe, ex-officials say

But law enforcement officials never fully investigated Trump’s own relationship with Russia, even though some career FBI counterintelligence investigators thought his ties posed such a national security threat that they took the extraordinary step of opening an inquiry into them.

Within days, the former deputy attorney-general Rod Rosenstein curtailed the investigation without telling the bureau, all but ensuring it would go nowhere.

Does the justice department work for the Trump campaign now? Barr thinks so | Austin Sarat and Dennis Aftergut | Opinion | The Guardian

‘Using the justice department in this way undermines the integrity and professionalism of the lawyers and prosecutor who work there.’

The US attorney general seems determined to turn the DoJ into a fully fledged arm of the Trump re-election team

via Does the justice department work for the Trump campaign now? Barr thinks so | Austin Sarat and Dennis Aftergut | Opinion | The Guardian

Trump Asking for Dirt on Biden Was Almost Certainly Illegal. Why Did DOJ Decline to Investigate It? – Mother Jones

 

The department’s criminal division reviewed the matters and concluded that there was no basis for a criminal investigation into Mr. Trump’s behavior. Law enforcement officials determined that the reconstructed transcript of the call did not show that Mr. Trump had violated campaign finance laws by soliciting from a foreign national a contribution, donation or thing of value.

via Trump Asking for Dirt on Biden Was Almost Certainly Illegal. Why Did DOJ Decline to Investigate It? – Mother Jones