The donors referred to their campaign contributions as baked goods, usually “baklava.” They called Hillary Clinton “Our Sister” or “the Big Lady.” And they referred to their ultimate sponsor by the initials H.H., for His Highness, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed of the United Arab Emirates, one of the Pentagon’s closest partners in the Middle […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Two Democratic senators asked the Justice Department’s internal ethics watchdog on Thursday to investigate Attorney General William P. Barr for blessing a secret program at the Drug Enforcement Administration more than a quarter-century ago that went on to collect billions of records of Americans’ phone calls. The senators — Ron Wyden of Oregon […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr warned that communities and critics of policing must display more deference or risk losing protection, a stark admonition that underscored the Trump administration’s support for law enforcement amid an ongoing national conversation about police brutality against minorities. “They have to start showing, more than they do, the respect […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr has told Justice Department officials that he is skeptical of a conclusion by the department’s inspector general that the F.B.I. had sufficient information to open the investigation into whether any Trump associates conspired with Russia during the 2016 presidential race, according to two people familiar with the conversations. […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department said Wednesday that it had ended an investigation into possible coordination among AT&T, Verizon and a standards-setting organization to make it more difficult for people to switch wireless carriers. The agency said the groups had agreed to change their practices, reducing competition concerns. In its investigation, which began two years […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s inspector general found no evidence that the F.B.I. attempted to place undercover agents or informants inside Donald J. Trump’s campaign in 2016 as agents investigated whether his associates conspired with Russia’s election interference operation, people familiar with a draft of the inspector general’s report said. The determination by the inspector […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Critics of President Trump cheered on Monday when a federal judge ruled that the former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II must testify to Congress — and scathingly labeled “fiction” the administration’s arguments that top White House aides are immune from congressional subpoenas. Indeed, the outcome was the latest in a string […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — The House Oversight and Reform Committee on Tuesday sued William P. Barr, the attorney general, and Wilbur L. Ross Jr., the commerce secretary, for refusing to produce subpoenaed documents regarding President Trump’s failed attempt to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census. The lawsuit, filed in the United States District Court for […]
Read More
Former White House counsel Don McGahn is appealing Monday night’s ruling that he must testify to House impeachment investigators. NEW YORK, NY – JUNE 9: Don McGahn, lawyer for Donald Trump and his campaign, leaves the Four Seasons Hotel after a meeting with Trump and Republican donors, June 9, 2016 in New York City. Trump previously […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — The former White House counsel Donald F. McGahn II must testify before impeachment investigators about Mr. Trump’s efforts to obstruct the Mueller investigation, a judge ruled on Monday. The 120-page decision by Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia handed a victory to House Democrats in […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — A group of conservative-leaning lawyers criticized Attorney General William P. Barr for the expansive view of presidential power he espoused in a recent speech and for his conclusion this spring that President Trump had not obstructed justice in the Russia investigation. “In recent months, we have become concerned by the conduct of Attorney […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — A highly anticipated report by the Justice Department’s inspector general is expected to sharply criticize lower-level F.B.I. officials as well as bureau leaders involved in the early stages of the Trump-Russia investigation, but to absolve the top ranks of abusing their powers out of bias against President Trump, according to people briefed on […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr said in an interview published on Friday that the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sex trafficking, in a secure federal prison resulted from “a perfect storm of screw-ups,” rather than any nefarious act. Mr. Barr’s statement refuted suggestions from members of Mr. Epstein’s family that […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr said in an interview published on Friday that the death of Jeffrey Epstein, the financier accused of sex trafficking, in a secure federal prison resulted from “a perfect storm of screw-ups,” rather than any nefarious act. Mr. Barr’s statement refuted suggestions from members of Mr. Epstein’s family that […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — A highly anticipated Justice Department inspector general’s report on aspects of the Russia investigation, including its origins and whether the F.B.I. abused its surveillance powers, will be released early next month, according to a letter released on Thursday. The inspector general, Michael E. Horowitz, plans to release the findings of his investigation on […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — A federal judge on Wednesday halted the executions of four federal prisoners that were scheduled to begin next month, essentially stymieing the Trump administration’s plan to resume the use of the death penalty. Judge Tanya S. Chutkan of the United States District Court for the District of Columbia issued an injunction late Wednesday […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — The midst of a swelling impeachment inquiry over abuse-of-power allegations might seem like an odd moment for Attorney General William P. Barr to deliver a high-profile speech linking his lifelong vision of maximalist presidential power with a defense of President Trump’s use of executive authority. But a head-turning, at times partisan speech that […]
Read More
When a Marine veteran from Michigan was freed by Iran in 2016, an ordeal of imprisonment, torture and deprivation that had lasted almost four and a half years came to an end. Amir Hekmati was welcomed home as a hero. But his battle with the government in Tehran has given way to a struggle against […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department could broaden its efforts to bring technology giants to heel, going beyond investigating potential antitrust violations to potentially challenge companies like Google and Facebook on multiple fronts, the deputy attorney general, Jeffrey A. Rosen, warned on Monday. “We do not view antitrust law as a panacea for every problem in […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Attorney General William P. Barr on Friday vigorously defended President Trump’s use of executive authority and suggested that House Democrats were subverting the will of voters by exploring whether to remove the president from office for abusing his power. Mr. Trump campaigned on a vow to upend Washington, and voters were aware of […]
Read More
Does President Trump have immunity from criminal investigation or prosecution, as his lawyer asserts? The answer is no, and now the Supreme Court has the opportunity to make that clear. Last month, a three-judge panel of the United States Circuit Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit held unanimously that any immunity President Trump may […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Roger J. Stone Jr., a former aide and longtime friend of President Trump, was found guilty on Friday of obstructing a congressional investigation into Russia’s interference in the 2016 election in what prosecutors said was an effort to protect Mr. Trump. Mr. Stone, 67, was charged with lying to the House Intelligence Committee, […]
Read More
WASHINGTON — Focusing squarely on his ties to President Trump, federal prosecutors argued Wednesday that Roger J. Stone Jr. blatantly obstructed a congressional investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election because the truth “would look really bad” for Mr. Trump. In closing arguments in Mr. Stone’s obstruction of justice trial, prosecutors argued that he […]
Read More