Former President Trump could be facing mounting legal troubles as new details emerge about the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that prompted an FBI search of his Mar-a-Lago estate. Trump has called for the release of more information tied to the search, an effort that corresponds with bashing the agency for what he claims is…
Author: Rebecca Beitsch
Trump’s declassification claim may offer limited defense
Donald Trump’s claim he declassified the suite of documents seized by authorities after they searched his Florida home may provide only a limited defense for the former president, if the Justice Department decides to pursue what would be a historic case. Trump, like any U.S. president, would have wide-ranging powers to declassify documents — but…
FBI pushes back against attacks over Trump search amid worries about violence
Law enforcement is pushing back against largely Republican-led attacks on the FBI related to Monday’s search of former President Trump’s Mar-a-Lago estate after an Ohio man sought to breach the entrance to the bureau’s Cincinnati field office days later. Ricky Shiffer, 42, was shot and killed by officers on Thursday following an hours-long standoff after…
DHS watchdog declined to publish draft report slamming Secret Service
Investigators with the Department of Homeland Security’s internal watchdog were prepared to slam the Secret Service in a public report for stonewalling their Jan. 6 probe and for having “wiped” texts from the day of the riot. But that March draft language, which criticizes Secret Service for “not communicating this highly relevant information,” never made…
Congress left with more questions than answers on missing Jan. 6 texts
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials received a barrage of letters from lawmakers Wednesday, with leaders of the Secret Service, the department, and even its watchdog asked to supply reams of documents about missing text messages for Jan. 6. Lawmakers in both the House and Senate asked DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas and Secret Service Director…
FBI search makes clear Trump is target of probe
The FBI search of Mar-a-Lago has answered one lingering question about Attorney General Merrick Garland: Yes, he’s willing to directly investigate former President Trump. But the unprecedented search of the former president’s home raises a number of questions about the breadth of the probe, the timing of the search, what investigators were seeking and what…
Bipartisan bill would end Afghan evacuees’ legal limbo
Lawmakers on Tuesday introduced a bill that would provide a pathway to citizenship for those evacuated from Afghanistan, a first attempt to end their legal limbo after nearly a year in the United States. The Afghan Adjustment Act, if approved by both chambers, could eliminate uncertainty for Afghan evacuees, some whom had only a year…
FBI raids Trump’s Mar-a-Lago
The FBI executed a search warrant on former President Trump’s home in Florida on Monday, the ex-president said in a statement lashing out at law enforcement for “political persecution.” “My beautiful home Mar A Lago in Palm Beach, Florida is currently under siege, raided and occupied by a large group of FBI agents,” Trump said….
Missing Jan. 6 texts add to scrutiny surrounding DHS watchdog
A second failure to sound the alarm on missing text messages is renewing scrutiny of Joseph Cuffari, the inspector general at the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), who is facing a barrage of calls to step aside from his review of how the agency responded to the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the Capitol. Cuffari’s…
Durbin calls on DOD watchdog to probe ‘wiped’ Jan. 6 texts
Senate Judiciary Chair Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) is calling for an investigation following news that the texts for top Department of Defense (DOD) officials were not preserved, losing their communications on Jan. 6. American Oversight, a group that had sued for the texts following a public records request, disclosed that DOD notified them in March that…