Justice Department

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UnitedHealth Just Pulled a CEO Switcheroo

Andrew Witty is out for 'personal reasons,' Stephen Hemsley returns to the top post he left in 2017

(Newser) - UnitedHealth just called in a familiar face after a massive earnings miss—former CEO Stephen Hemsley is back at the helm, replacing Andrew Witty, who's out effective immediately, with the company citing "personal reasons" for his departure, per the Wall Street Journal . The company is turning to...

DEA Quietly Shutters Its Body Cam Program

Move follows Trump executive order; critics say cameras' absence will pose challenges

(Newser) - The Drug Enforcement Administration has discontinued its body camera program, just four years after its launch, per an internal email seen by ProPublica . The move came quietly on April 1, without a public announcement. The agency cited a Trump administration executive order —one that Engadget notes rescinded nearly...

Trump Administration Makes Surprise Move on Mifepristone

Department of Justice is continuing Biden administration's legal course in lawsuit

(Newser) - In a perhaps surprising move from the Trump administration, the Department of Justice is continuing a legal course first plotted by the Biden administration in a case involving the abortion drug mifepristone. As CBS News reports, when the Supreme Court issued a narrow ruling in favor of the abortion pill...

They're 'Using the Civil Rights Division Against Civil Rights'

Lawyers flee DOJ office as it shifts focus to 'woke ideology,' anti-Christian bias

(Newser) - Half of the lawyers employed by the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division have left their jobs in recent weeks as a new director brings the office in line with President Trump's agenda, the Washington Post reports. Harmeet Dhillon, a California lawyer who represented Trump in challenging the 2020...

Online Attacks on Judge Ghostwritten by Lawyer in Case

ProPublica reports on Ed Martin, currently the interim US attorney for DC

(Newser) - When a state judge in Illinois was presiding over a political case in 2016, he became the target of a barrage of nasty insults posted online. They were posted by a woman named Priscilla Gray, but ProPublica now has new details on the real source: Ed Martin, an attorney who...

George Santos Defends Calling DOJ a 'Cabal of Pedophiles'

Former New York congressman is being sentenced on fraud charges this week

(Newser) - George Santos is defending his recent social media tirade to a federal judge who will be sentencing the disgraced former New York congressman later this week on fraud charges, the AP reports. In a lengthy letter ahead of the Friday court date, Santos, 36, said he remains "profoundly sorry"...

Chief SCOTUS Justice Pauses Order to Return Maryland Man

Justice Department claims judge exceeded authority with order on wrongly deported man

(Newser) - Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts agreed Monday to pause a midnight deadline for the Trump administration to return a Maryland man mistakenly deported to a notorious prison in El Salvador. The Justice Department argued in an emergency appeal to the justices that US District Judge Paula Xinis overstepped her...

Bondi Suspends Attorney Who Admitted Deportee Error

Justice Department lawyer Erez Reuveni had been on Salvadoran case

(Newser) - The Justice Department told an appeals court Saturday that a judge did not have the authority to order the Trump administration to broker the return of a Maryland man who was mistakenly sent to a notorious El Salvador prison —and it suspended a government lawyer who admitted in court...

Ex-NFLer Accused of Running Dogfighting Kennel—Again

LeShon Johnson faces up to 105 years in prison on 21 counts

(Newser) - A former NFL running back and candidate for the 1993 Heisman Trophy is facing federal charges of running a dogfighting kennel, some two decades after he pleaded guilty to state charges for a similar offense. LeShon Johnson, convicted of dogfighting charges in Oklahoma in 2004, was arrested again this month...

Justice Department Considers Merging DEA, ATF

It's floated as part of a sweeping overhaul of the department

(Newser) - An idea under consideration at the Justice Department would merge two well-known agencies into one—the DEA and the ATF. The proposal regarding the Drug Enforcement Agency and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has been floated in a new memo from Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche to department...

Woman Who Ran 'High-End' DC Brothels Is Sentenced

Lawmakers, execs, military officers were among alleged clients

(Newser) - The Massachusetts woman who ran a network of high-end brothels in her home state as well as the Washington, DC, area was on Wednesday sentenced to four years behind bars. Han Lee, 42, pleaded guilty in September, and at her sentencing hearing she apologized and said that in many cases...

At Justice Department, Trump Delivers Fiery Speech

The president goes after his perceived enemies, condemns the previous 'weaponization' of the DOJ

(Newser) - In an extraordinary speech to the Justice Department on Friday, President Trump delivered a fiery condemnation of the "weaponization" of the department that has indicted him twice while calling his adversaries "scum." As the New York Times reports, while the speech was meant to serve as major...

Official Says She Was Fired Over Mel Gibson Gun Rights

Justice Department's pardon attorney says she declined to recommend restoring rights

(Newser) - Former Justice Department pardon attorney Elizabeth Oyer says the day before she was fired, she told a colleague: "I can't believe this, but I really think Mel Gibson is going to be my downfall." Oyer tells the New York Times that she was dismissed last Friday after...

Antitrust Investigation Into Egg Prices Begins

Industry group says avian flu is limiting supply

(Newser) - Justice Department has launched an antitrust investigation into the rising retail price of eggs, which has doubled in the past year and contributed to inflation. The inquiry will include whether large egg producers have colluded in raising prices or restricting the supply, the Wall Street Journal reports. The producers have...

Trump Defense Lawyer Takes No. 2 Job at Justice

Todd Blanche said he'll restore faith in the agency

(Newser) - Todd Blanche, a former criminal defense attorney for President Trump, was confirmed as deputy attorney general on Wednesday by the Senate. The vote was 52-46. His confirmation means Blanche will go from defending Trump against indictments brought by the Justice Department to holding the No. 2 job at the agency,...

Much Ballyhooed Epstein Files Are Out

And they amount to 200 pages of 'old info' released by the Justice Department

(Newser) - Attorney General Pam Bondi teased the release of "the Epstein files" as a show of transparency that would become "breaking news." She and other Republicans have suggested the government was concealing files related to the late sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Some conservative commentators have insisted there are...

DOJ Investigating Fraud at UnitedHealth

WSJ suggests company used questionable diagnoses to boost Medicare payments

(Newser) - The Justice Department is investigating Medicare billing practices at UnitedHealth Group, the $400 billion company that owns the largest US health insurer, whose CEO was gunned down in early December. According to the Wall Street Journal , a civil fraud investigation is examining whether the company recorded questionable diagnoses to trigger...

Hochul Keeps Adams in Office but Adds Curbs

Governor announces steps to impose greater oversight

(Newser) - After consulting other political leaders, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Thursday that she won't remove New York City Mayor Eric Adams from office at the moment, saying that decision shouldn't be hers to make. "My strong belief is that the will of the voters and the supremacy and...

Judge Questions Attempt to Drop Adams Charges

Adams lawyer says there was no deal with Trump administration

(Newser) - A lawyer for New York City Mayor Eric Adams told a federal judge on Wednesday that there was no deal with the White House to drop corruption charges against his client in return for carrying out President Trump's immigration policies. "I am ready to raise my right hand...

After Uprising, DOJ Official Drops Adams Case Himself

Federal judge hasn't said whether he'll approve the motion yet

(Newser) - At least seven prosecutors in New York and Washington resigned rather than drop the corruption prosecution of New York City Mayor Eric Adams, so the Justice Department official who gave the order put his own signature on the motion Friday. Emil Bove, an acting deputy attorney general, gave a court...

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