Merrick garland

WASHINGTON (AP) — The early work of the Justice Department’s civil rights division meant confronting white supremacists who were intimidating Black voters, and 65 years later, its work is just as urgent amid a surge of hate crimes in the U.S., Attorney General Merrick Garland said Tuesday. “Now more than ever, protecting civil rights is the responsibility of every Justice Department employee every single day,” Garland said as he marked the division's anniversary. “Protecting civil rights is our responsibility because it’s the right thing to do.” Hate crimes in the U.S. rose to the highest level in more than a decade in 2020, and on Tuesday a gunman was charged with hate crimes in a mass shooting at a Colorado LGBTQ nightclub. That case came a week after another mass shooter pleaded guilty to targeting Black shoppers at a Buffalo supermarket. Payton Gendron is also facing separate federal charges in the New York slayings, filed with help from the Justice Department's civil rights … [Read more...] about Garland: Justice Dept.’s civil rights work is key priority

Former federal prosecutor Glenn Kirschner believes that Donald Trump will eventually be convicted—revealing in a Sunday morning interview which ongoing investigation he predicts will result in such unprecedented legal consequences for a former president. Trump faces a slew of legal battles and investigations, with two of them now being overseen by a special counsel appointed by Attorney General Merrick Garland on November 18. One of those Justice Department probes is looking into whether the former president is criminally liable for the U.S. Capitol riot on January 6, 2021, and his efforts to unconstitutionally overturn President Joe Biden 's 2020 election win. The Justice Department is additionally investigating Trump's alleged mishandling of classified and top secret information by transferring and holding hundreds of documents at his Mar-a-Lago resort home in Florida without following normal procedures. Meanwhile, Georgia's Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis … [Read more...] about Trump most likely to be convicted in this investigation, Kirschner predicts

President Donald Trump's official nomination of Judge Amy Coney Barrett excited more than just evangelicals and supporters of the pro-life movement on Saturday. The nomination of a non–Ivy League judge to the Supreme Court of the United States is the first in almost four decades. Since Justice Sandra Day O'Connor was nominated and confirmed as the first woman to the bench in 1981, all 13 justices who followed O'Connor graduated from Harvard Law School or Yale Law School. O'Connor graduated from Stanford Law School. However, if Barrett is confirmed, it would open a new path for law students who are not studying at one of the prestigious 12 and students at the University of Notre Dame are particularly enthused about her nomination. "It's exciting for us," third-year law student Caleb Acker told Newsweek . "There's a lot of energy here right now. Beneath the face masks, there's a lot of excitement in the eyes—just to be able to see Notre Dame Law School there." The confirmation … [Read more...] about Notre Dame Law Students Are Excited for Judge Barrett’s SCOTUS Nomination

Former Republican National Committee (RNC) chairman Michael Steele predicted on Saturday a bleak outlook for the GOP as he explained his lack of optimism for the current leadership in the party. During a TV interview on MSNBC 's Symone with host Symone Sanders, Steele said that Republicans like Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois are "fighting to hold the ground that we have the best we can" within the party so that there is something to build off of in the future. Steele criticized the GOP, pointing out that the current leadership is "feckless and committed with [former President Donald] Trump and with Trump himself." Meanwhile on Wednesday, the former RNC chairman said on MSNBC's The ReidOut that it will not be easy for the GOP to move on from Trump even if it is eager to do so as it tries to focus on other potential Republican candidates for 2024 such as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis . "They want all of us at this point to … [Read more...] about Former RNC chair predicts bleak outlook for GOP civil war with Trump

Live Updates Republican nominee President Donald Trump and Democratic nominee former Vice President Joe Biden are meeting in Cleveland Tuesday night for the first of three presidential debates. Fox News host Chris Wallace is the moderator. The topics are "The Trump and Biden Records," "The Supreme Court," "COVID-19," "The Economy," "Race and Violence in Our Cities" and "The Integrity of the Election." The 90-minute event at Case Western Reserve University will feature social distancing and have only about 60 to 70 audience members for health and safety. It will be held from 9 to 10:30 p.m. Eastern. Here at Newsweek, we're watching with several Newsweek columnists and guests: Gordon Chang (@GordonGChang), Frank Donatelli (@FrankDonatelli), Nigel Farage (@Nigel_Farage), Caroline Glick (@CarolineGlick), Tom Rogers, Ben Weingarten (@bhweingarten) and Marianne Williamson (@marwilliamson). They will comment in real time as the debate unfolds. The views expressed in this … [Read more...] about Live Updates: Trump and Biden Meet for First Presidential Debate

More than 16,000 Christians have signed an online petition rejecting President Donald Trump 's nomination of Amy Coney Barrett to the Supreme Court, while also reminding Republican senators that the Bible condemns "hypocrisy." Faithful America, which describes itself as the largest online community of Christians fighting for social justice, launched the petition on September 26. As of Wednesday morning, the petition against Barrett had well-surpassed its initial goal of 15,000 signatures, with more than 16,300 people having signed. "Republicans are planning to portray Barrett as the consensus Christian choice and claim that any criticism of her is anti-Catholic—but everything about her record says she will attack our most central rights and values. Progressive and moderate Christians alike must speak out now against this latest election-year hijacking of our faith," the organization said in a post included with a letter that will be sent to senators. The organization … [Read more...] about Over 16,000 Christians Sign Petition Rejecting Amy Coney Barrett

For free real time breaking news alerts sent straight to your inbox sign up to our breaking news emails Sign up to our free breaking news emails As a businessman and president, Donald Trump faced a litany of lawsuits and criminal investigations yet emerged from the legal scrutiny time and again with his public and political standing largely intact. But he's perhaps never confronted a probe as perilous as the Mar-a-Lago investigation, an inquiry focused on the potential mishandling of top-secret documents. The sense of vulnerability has been heightened in recent weeks not only by the Justice Department 's appointment of a special counsel with a reputation for aggressiveness but also by the removal of a Trump-requested independent arbiter in the case and by judges' unequivocal rejection of his lawyers' arguments. It's impossible to predict how much longer the investigation will last or whether the Justice Department will take the unprecedented step of … [Read more...] about Trump faces peril in docs probe after decades of scrutiny

The University of Nebraska, Omaha Public Safety launched an investigation Saturday morning into a note taped to the John Paul II Newman Center which threatened to shoot pro-life students, according to the university. The note was signed “ Jane’s Revenge ,” a reference to the the radical pro-abortion group that has claimed responsibility for several threats toward pro-life center’s across the country, according to an alleged photo of the note which circulated social media. The group said it would target the Newman Center , a Catholic center which serves UNO students, if an abortion ban is passed in Bellevue. It was addressed to Newman Center Director Reverend Dan Andrews. “If our right to abortion in Bellevue is taken away due to the attempt to pass an abortion ban and it gets passed we will shoot up your Newman Center with our new AR14 rifles,” the note read. UNO Media Relations and Reputation Management Coordinator Brandon Bartling referred the Daily Caller News … [Read more...] about College Police Investigate Note Promising To ‘Shoot’ Pro-Lifers

Rep. Lauren Boebert 's (R-CO) slim victory in the November midterm elections was one of only a few major triumphs among Donald Trump -backed candidates, a sign that the former president's sway over voters has diminished as he seeks a second term in 2024. Despite Trump's continued support, Boebert has not stated outright that she would endorse him in the 2024 campaign since she secured her second term in Colorado's 3rd congressional district. She also offered kind words to Florida's Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump's likely opponent in a race for GOP nomination . One tweet attributed to Boebert even appeared to suggest she had unwittingly put the former president in hot water over his tax affairs, as he faces investigations by House Democrats and the Manhattan District Attorney's Office , among others . The Claim A tweet , posted on December 4, 2022, stated "Lauren Boebert: 'How can President Trump be charged for tax fraud when he's never paid any … [Read more...] about Fact Check: Did Lauren Boebert say Donald Trump hadn’t paid any taxes?

The Manhattan district attorney, Alvin L. Bragg, is hiring a former senior Justice Department official with a history of taking on Donald J. Trump and his family business as the office seeks to ramp up its investigation into the former president. The official, Matthew Colangelo, who before he became a top official at the Justice Department led the New York attorney general’s civil inquiry into Mr. Trump, is likely to become one of the leaders of the district attorney’s criminal inquiry into the former president. The hire marks the latest turn in a long-running investigation that has proceeded in fits and starts in recent years. When Mr. Bragg took office in January, his predecessor, Cyrus R. Vance Jr., had directed prosecutors to begin presenting evidence about Mr. Trump’s inflation of his assets to a grand jury. But Mr. Bragg grew concerned about the strength of the case . In February, when he told the two senior prosecutors leading the investigation, Mark F. Pomerantz and … [Read more...] about Manhattan D.A. Hires Ex-Justice Official to Help Lead Trump Inquiry