Articles on US Justice Department

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A federal grand jury indicted former FBI Director James Comey in April 2026 over a social media photo of seashells. Brendan Smialowski/AFP via Getty Images

To ‘86’ occasionally means to kill but usually doesn’t: A linguistic investigation into the Instagram threat charge against James Comey

Does a seashell arrangement in the form of the numerals ‘86 47’ amount to a criminal threat to assassinate President Donald Trump, as prosecutors suggest?
Representatives from the NAACP stand outside the Supreme Court on June 25, 2013, awaiting a decision in Shelby County v. Holder. AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite

Federal election observers once played a key role in securing voting rights for all − but times have changed

After the Voting Rights Act, federal election observers helped ensure fair voting, but that oversight has increasingly shifted focus − to monitor what Washington says is voter fraud and accusations of cheating.
Emil Bove, Donald Trump’s nominee to serve as a federal appeals judge for the 3rd Circuit, is sworn in during a confirmation hearing in Washington, D.C., on June 25, 2025. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc, via Getty Images

Emil Bove confirmed – his appeals court nomination echoed earlier controversies, but with a key difference

Contested nominations to the federal courts often involve ideological concerns. But a scholar of the courts says the contentious nomination of a former lawyer for Donald Trump was different.
A Kinney County sheriff’s deputy arrests an undocumented immigrant who was pulled over in March 2023 in Brackettville, Texas. Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images

Surge of ICE agreements with local police aim to increase deportations, but many police forces have found they undermine public safety

History shows that building the trust of immigrants is an effective tactic in combating local crime and making entire communities safer.
Miles Taylor, center, a Homeland Security official during the first Trump administration, wrote an op-ed in September 2018 that criticized Trump. AP Photo/Alex Brandon

Cultivating obedience: Using the Justice Department to attack former officials consolidates power and deters dissent

Trump’s use of the Justice Department to target political opponents goes beyond revenge − it deters current officials from defying the president.
Air passenger safety is just one of many responsibilities of the Department of Homeland Security. Daniel Slim/AFP via Getty Images

Job of homeland security secretary is to adapt almost continuously to pressures from the department, the public and the world at large

The Department of Homeland Security’s massive bureaucracy has many critical national security functions and spends billions of taxpayer dollars seeking to keep the nation safe.
Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis holds a press conference after the grand jury voted to indict former President Donald Trump on Aug. 14, 2023. Christian Monterrosa/AFP via Getty Images

Where will Trump go on trial first? How federal and state prosecutors and judges work out conflicts

Trump has trial dates set for three of his four criminal cases. But generally, state and federal prosecutors will coordinate to make sure that their dates don’t overlap.
The E. Barrett Prettyman U.S. Courthouse in Washington, D.C., where an Aug. 11, 2023, hearing was held on the Trump case. Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images)

Trump’s free speech faces court‑ordered limits, like any other defendant’s – 2 law professors explain why, and how Trump’s lawyers need to watch themselves too

What can President Trump and his lawyers say about documents and witness statements used as evidence in his upcoming trial over his alleged attempt to overturn the 2020 presidential election?
The former president boards his plane at Reagan National Airport following his Aug. 3, 2023, arraignment in Washington. Win McNamee/Getty Images

Donald Trump is right − he is getting special treatment, far better than most other criminal defendants

While Trump has received early warnings ahead of indictments and detailed explanations behind the charges, criminal defendants typically get a bare-bones explanation.

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