Federal Government

Federal judge compares Trump’s attacks on judiciary to KKK tactics

In a speech last week at his law school alma mater, a Mississippi federal judge compared President Donald Trump’s attacks on the judiciary to tactics used by segregationists and lawyers for the Ku Klux Klan.

Apr 15, 2019 9:34 AM CDT

New bill would end ‘bureaucratic nightmare’ for Public Service Loan Forgiveness program

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., Sen. Tim Kaine, D-Va., have introduced the What You Can Do for Your Country Act of 2019 to bolster the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program, which Gillibrand says is “failing to meet its obligation” to ease student debt.

Apr 11, 2019 3:59 PM CDT

AG Barr says he will review ‘spying’ on Trump campaign and origins of the Russia investigation

Updated: U.S. Attorney General William Barr told lawmakers Wednesday that he plans to assemble a team to help him review the conduct of intelligence agencies with regard to the Trump campaign.

Apr 10, 2019 12:37 PM CDT

Multistate lawsuits multiply against Trump, outpacing total filed against Obama in 8 years

State attorneys general are increasingly banding together to challenge presidential actions by filing lawsuits. The trend began during the Obama administration and accelerated after President Donald Trump took office, USA Today reports. So far, 71 multistate lawsuits have been filed over Trump’s actions, according to Paul Nolette, a political science…

Apr 10, 2019 11:22 AM CDT

AG Barr plans to use color-coding to explain Mueller report redactions

U.S. Attorney General Will Barr said Tuesday that he plans to use color-coding and notes to explain redactions in the report by special counsel Robert Mueller. Barr told the House Appropriations Committee that he will be in a position to release the report to the public within a week, report…

Apr 9, 2019 2:36 PM CDT

Former Willkie co-chair’s plea deal calls for sentence of up to 14 months in prison

Gordon Caplan, the former co-chairman of Willkie Farr & Gallagher, has agreed to a plea deal in the college admissions scandal that calls for a sentence of up to 14 months in prison.

Apr 9, 2019 12:08 PM CDT

Federal judge blocks remain-in-Mexico policy for asylum-seekers

A federal judge in San Francisco has blocked a Trump administration policy that generally requires asylum-seekers to remain in Mexico as they await their hearings.

Apr 9, 2019 9:28 AM CDT

DC Circuit bars release of grand jury materials to author; are there implications for Mueller report?

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled Friday that judges don’t have inherent authority to order the release of grand jury information that is protected by secrecy rules.

Apr 8, 2019 11:23 AM CDT

House sues to block Trump’s use of funds for border wall

The House of Representatives filed a lawsuit Friday contending that President Donald Trump usurped its legislative authority when he used an emergency declaration to appropriate funds for a border wall.

Apr 8, 2019 9:15 AM CDT

Senate GOP invokes ‘nuclear option’ to speed confirmation of federal district judges

Senate Republicans invoked a procedure known as the “nuclear option” on Wednesday to cut debate time on nominees for federal district courts and many executive branch nominees.

Apr 4, 2019 3:40 PM CDT

Alabama men’s prisons are so unsafe they likely violate the Eighth Amendment, DOJ says

Understaffed and overcrowded men’s prisons in Alabama fail to protect prisoners from prisoner-on-prisoner sexual abuse and violence and fail to provide safe and sanitary conditions, according to a Department of Justice report. There is reasonable cause to think the conditions in men’s prisons in the state violate the Eighth Amendment…

Apr 4, 2019 9:27 AM CDT

Equality Act would afford federal protections to LGBTQ+ individuals, ABA president says

ABA President Bob Carlson sent a letter to the House Judiciary Committee Tuesday, urging members to support the Equality Act of 2019, which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sex, gender identity and sexual orientation. In the letter, Carlson explained that the legislation would include LGBTQ+ individuals in the…

Apr 2, 2019 4:04 PM CDT

DC Circuit refuses to block ban on bump stocks; SCOTUS also had refused to intervene

Gun rights groups are losing their battles to stop a ban on bump stocks from taking effect. Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. and the U.S. Supreme Court refused to intervene in two cases last week, one from Michigan and the other from Washington, D.C., the New York Times had…

Apr 2, 2019 9:25 AM CDT

Court considers whether inquiry about citizenship belongs on the U.S. census

On April 23, the U.S. Supreme Court will take up a case that should resolve the issue. The justices will hear an appeal brought by the Trump administration of a federal district judge’s ruling that invalidated U.S. Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross’ 2018 decision to add a citizenship question to the next census.

Apr 1, 2019 1:35 AM CDT

April 6, 1841: John Tyler inaugurates precedential succession

On the death of President William Henry Harrison, Vice President John Tyler set a precedent when he made it clear that he planned to fully assume the office.

Apr 1, 2019 12:35 AM CDT