The centralization of this information by the federal government would have a chilling effect on voter registration which would inevitably lead to decreasing voter turnout as voters fear that their information is being used for some inappropriate or unlawful purpose," Carter wrote. "This risk threatens the right to vote which is the cornerstone of American democracy.
And on Tuesday, Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche said in a statement that "there is currently no basis for a criminal civil rights investigation." The statement, first reported by CNN, did not elaborate on how the department had reached a conclusion that no investigation was warranted. Federal officials have said that the officer acted in self-defense and that the driver of the Honda was engaging in "an act of domestic terrorism" when she pulled forward toward him.
Attorney General Pam Bondi said the Justice Department would resume seizing reporters' phone records to find leakers. In April, Bondi rescinded former Attorney General Merrick Garland's policy restricting federal prosecutors from forcing journalists to reveal their sources. Zoom in: According to the Washington Post, Natanson was at her Virginia home when agents arrived. The FBI warrant said the search was part of an investigation into a Maryland system administrator accused of "accessing and taking home classified intelligence reports," per the affidavit cited by the Post.
Theoretically, what happens if there is election interference and the people who are responsible for that are not held accountable? Democratic congresswoman Pramila Jayapal asked. It becomes the new norm, and that becomes how we conduct elections, Smith replied, according to the transcript. And so the toll on our democracy, if you had to describe that, what would that be? the congresswoman asked. Catastrophic, Smith said.
You saw everyday Americans who fought for the education of their children being put on watch lists, I think you saw what happened with Charlie Kirk, when you saw the raiding of President Trump's home. Debates should have happened ... I think that you're seeing the clear indication that the Justice Department under the previous administration used lawfare to go after those who disagree with them," he added.
President Trump's second term has brought a period of turmoil and controversy unlike any in the history of the Justice Department. Trump and his appointees have blasted through the walls designed to protect the nation's most powerful law enforcement agency from political influence; they have directed the course of criminal investigations, openly flouted ethics rules and caused a breakdown of institutional culture.
The Justice Department engaged in a "disturbing pattern of profound investigative missteps" in the process of securing an indictment against former FBI Director James Comey, a federal judge ruled Monday in directing prosecutors to provide defense lawyers with all grand jury materials from the case. Those problems, wrote Magistrate Judge William Fitzpatrick, include "fundamental misstatements of the law" by a prosecutor to the grand jury
