Federal Government

Former Trump campaign aide Rick Gates pleads guilty in special counsel probe

Updated: Rick Gates, a former campaign aide to Donald Trump, pleaded guilty on Friday to charges related to Ukrainian work he did with former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort.

Gates will cooperate in the probe by special counsel Robert Mueller as a result of a plea deal, the Washington Post reports.

Feb 23, 2018 9:18 AM CST

Suit filed to block Trump’s proposed end of Temporary Protected Status for Salvadorans, Haitians

Citing racial motivations, advocates in Massachusetts are suing the Trump administration for ending Temporary Protected Status (TPS) from immigrants from El Salvador and Haiti. The complaint, brought by the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Economic Justice and Centro Presente, says the administration’s reasons for ending TPS status “are nothing…

Feb 22, 2018 1:17 PM CST

Special counsel files new charging document in Manafort case; bail filing alleges bank fraud

Special counsel Robert Mueller has filed a new, sealed charging document in the money laundering case against former Trump campaign chairman Paul Manafort and his onetime business associate Rick Gates. A one-page document included in a court binder indicates that the new charging document has been filed, but doesn’t indicate…

Feb 21, 2018 2:51 PM CST

White House counsel has central role in controversies as he seeks to ‘mollify and protect’ Trump

White House counsel Don McGahn is again at the center of controversy amid revelations that he was told of domestic abuse allegations against Rob Porter, even as the now-former White House staff secretary was allowed to stay on the job. McGahn is increasingly isolated as he walks a fine line…

Feb 15, 2018 3:06 PM CST

ABA president says Trump’s plan to defund the Legal Services Corp. ‘should be dead on arrival’

Updated: President Donald Trump is pushing once again to eliminate funding for the Legal Services Corp. Trump proposed defunding the group on Monday in his budget plan for fiscal 2019, report the Litigation Daily and the Hill. ABA President Hilarie Bass issued a statement Friday saying the administration’s latest proposal…

Feb 13, 2018 9:44 AM CST

Is Devin Nunes helping Trump obstruct justice? Legal experts make the argument

The Republican memo released by the House Intelligence Committee could put its chairman, Devin Nunes, in legal jeopardy if he or his staff members coordinated its drafting and release with the White House, a New York Times op-ed asserts.

Feb 13, 2018 8:00 AM CST

How Democrats could release their memo without Trump’s approval

President Donald Trump’s objections to the Democratic memo rebutting allegations of FBI surveillance abuse has some law professors spinning out scenarios in which the memo could be released without executive branch approval.

Feb 12, 2018 1:45 PM CST

No. 3 lawyer at Justice Department is leaving; what does it mean for the special counsel probe?

Associate Attorney General Rachel Brand, the third-highest ranking official at the Justice Department, is leaving for a top position with Walmart.

Feb 12, 2018 9:00 AM CST

White House aide who resigned amid abuse allegations was a former BigLaw lawyer and ‘rising star’

A White House aide who resigned on Wednesday amid allegations of domestic abuse had a Harvard law degree and a BigLaw resume.

Feb 8, 2018 9:03 AM CST

9th Circuit upholds $25M Trump University settlement that gives ‘almost a full recovery’ to students

A Florida bankruptcy lawyer who paid about $19,000 for classes at Trump University can’t opt out of a $25 million settlement and bring her own lawsuit, a move that would derail the entire settlement, a federal appeals court has ruled. The lawyer, Sherri Simpson, missed the deadline to opt out,…

Feb 7, 2018 10:45 AM CST

Trump’s lawyers have reportedly advised him to refuse an interview with the special counsel

Lawyers for President Donald Trump have reportedly advised him to refuse an interview with special counsel Robert Mueller, setting up the possibility of a court battle to compel his testimony.

The lawyers fear that an interview could be grounds for perjury charges, the New York Times reports in a story based on four anonymous sources.

Feb 6, 2018 8:43 AM CST

GOP releases memo, says Democratic-financed dossier was used in surveillance application

House Republicans have released an anticipated memo alleging surveillance abuses by the FBI in its investigation of Russian influence in President Donald Trump's campaign.

Feb 2, 2018 11:55 AM CST

Lawyers representing Rick Gates in Mueller probe seek to withdraw

Lawyers representing Rick Gates in the special counsel probe filed a motion to withdraw on Thursday that says the reasons will be explained in a sealed document.

The withdrawing lawyers are Shanlon Wu of Wu, Grohovsky & Whipple; Walter Mack of Doar Rieck Kaley & Mack; and Annemarie McAvoy of McAvoy Consulting, report Politico, the Washington Post, Salon and the National Law Journal.

Feb 2, 2018 8:47 AM CST

ABA president: Special counsel must be unfettered by threats and intimidation tactics

ABA President Hilarie Bass released a statement on Thursday that said special counsel Robert Mueller should not be undermined by “threats, intimidation tactics and interference by other branches of government.”

Feb 1, 2018 3:35 PM CST

Trump is expected to allow release of secret GOP memo despite FBI protest, sources say

President Donald Trump is expected to allow release of a secret GOP memo that reportedly alleges surveillance abuses by the FBI and the U.S. Justice Department, according to reports. Anonymous sources told the Washington Post and the New York Times that Trump was expected to permit the memo’s release, but…

Feb 1, 2018 3:02 PM CST