Justice Department

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Obama: Law Against Gay Marriage Unconstitutional

In big shift, feds will no longer defend DOMA in court

(Newser) - Big win for gay rights advocates: The Obama administration has concluded that the Defense of Marriage Act—the law that bars federal recognition of same-sex marriage—is unconstitutional and won't defend it in court anymore, reports NPR . The president gave the Justice Department its new marching orders today, and Eric...

FBI's Anthrax Case Not 'Conclusive:' Report

Scientists find long-criticized case against Bruce Ivins has holes

(Newser) - The FBI’s scientific evidence against Bruce Ivins in the 2001 anthrax attacks isn’t as compelling as advertised, the National Research Council concluded yesterday, after an exhaustive $1.1 million review. The case against Ivins has long been criticized (Glenn Greenwald gives a nice history of it here ),...

US Reluctantly Defends Federal Ban on Gay Marriage

Justice Department appeals judge's ruling that it's unconstitutional

(Newser) - A Justice Department filing yesterday backed the Defense of Marriage Act, which defines marriage as between a man and a woman. The move appeals a federal judge’s ruling calling DOMA unconstitutional, TPM reports. But the administration asserted that it doesn’t support the act; the filing merely adhered to...

Feds Building Conspiracy Case Against Assange

Charges would sidestep First Amendment issues

(Newser) - Federal prosecutors searching for criminal charges to lodge against Julian Assange are trying to build a conspiracy case against him. Officials are seeking to determine whether the WikiLeaks founder encouraged accused leaker Bradley Manning to provide the site with classified files, the New York Times reports. Prosecutors are examining chat...

US Sues BP, 8 Others Over Gulf Oil Spill

Feds want to recover billions of dollars in damages

(Newser) - The Justice Department today sued BP and eight other companies in the Gulf oil spill disaster in an effort to recover billions of dollars from the largest offshore spill in US history. The Obama administration's lawsuit asks that the companies be held liable without limitation under the Oil Pollution Act...

Justice Dept. Drops John Ensign Probe

Affair didn't violate lobbying laws; Senate still investigating

(Newser) - The Justice Department is no longer targeting Sen. John Ensign in a criminal investigation arising from his affair with a former campaign aide and has no plans to charge him, attorneys for the Nevada Republican said yesterday. The department has been looking into whether Ensign conspired with staff aide Doug...

Assange Could Face Espionage Act Charges

Ecuador, meanwhile, offers WikiLeaks founder residency

(Newser) - The US government is trying to pin Julian Assange and his WikiLeaks cohorts with charges under the Espionage Act—a 1917 law that predated various Supreme Court cases expanding First Amendment protections. The FBI is examining everyone who came into possession of the State Department cables that leaked yesterday, sources...

Report: US Gave Nazis 'Safe Haven'

DOJ findings on Nazis in America after war

(Newser) - In the aftermath of World War II, numerous Nazis turned to an unlikely safe haven: the United States of America. The New York Times has obtained a hotly sought-after Justice Department report, which Justice itself tried to block for four years, that details the US government's twisted and complex past...

Yet Another Blackwater Case Collapses

Issues with evidence, immunity make prosecution tough

(Newser) - Legal cases against Blackwater employees accused of committing murder and other violent crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan have been collapsing one by one, the New York Times reports. This week, the Justice Department dropped a case against an armorer accused of killing a guard to an Iraqi official; the move...

Feds Slap AmEx With Antitrust Suit

Just as Justice settles case against MasterCard, Visa

(Newser) - The Justice Department has hit American Express with antitrust charges today, just as it settles similar charges with Visa and MasterCard, reports the Wall Street Journal. The complaint centers around the uneven fees and rules AmEx imposes to "impede merchants from promoting or encouraging the use of a competing...

Bush-Era FBI Put Liberal Activists on Terror List
Bush-Era FBI Put Liberal Activists on Terror List
JUSTICE DEPT. REPORT
Sep 20, 2010 2:21 PM CDT

Bush-Era FBI Put Liberal Activists on Terror List

PETA, Greenpeace, others unfairly targeted

(Newser) - The FBI investigated and monitored a variety of liberal activist groups without proper cause during the Bush Administration, the Justice Department concluded today. Though the Inspector General cleared the FBI of the most serious allegation against it—that it targeted the groups based on how they exercised their First Amendment...

Justice Department Sues Arizona's Sheriff Joe

He won't cooperate with civil rights investigation

(Newser) - The feds have escalated their fight with Arizona's tough-talking Sheriff Joe. The Justice Department filed what it calls an "unprecedented" suit today against Maricopa County's Joe Arpaio because it says he won't cooperate with a civil rights investigation, refusing for more than a year to turn over records, reports...

Feds End Tom DeLay Probe
 Feds Clear Tom DeLay 
Aug 16, 2010 12:05 PM CDT

Feds Clear Tom DeLay

Six-year investigation quietly closes without charges

(Newser) - Tom DeLay is probably doing a little dance right now. The Justice Department has informed DeLay that it has ended its six-year investigation into his ties to disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and won’t be filing any charges. “This was one of the longest and expensive and thorough investigations...

US Charges 14 With Trying to Join Somali Terrorists

US citizens linked to al-Shebab

(Newser) - The Department of Justice has charged 14 US citizens with attempting to join al-Qaeda-linked terror group al-Shebab, sources tell NBC. Those charged include 12 from Minnesota, an Alabaman, and a Californian. Al-Shebab is the Somalia-based terror organization that recently claimed responsibility for two Ugandan blasts during the World Cup.

Judge's Ruling Killed State Immigration Reform
Judge's Ruling Killed State Immigration Reform
Analysis
Jul 29, 2010 12:07 PM CDT

Judge's Ruling Killed State Immigration Reform

Signals efforts will have to come at federal level

(Newser) - Judge Susan Bolton’s decision to fence off much of Arizona’s immigration law could also put a stop to hundreds of similar attempts to combat illegal immigration in other states. Though Bolton hasn’t finished hearing the case yet, stopping the law sent a pretty clear message that she...

Feds Hunting Wikileaker's Accomplices

They think he must have had civilian helpers

(Newser) - Federal investigators say Army intelligence analyst Bradley Manning must have had civilian accomplices who helped him turn over Afghan war secrets to Wikileaks, and they've expanded their investigation to find them, reports the Daily Beast . Manning had direct access to classified documents concerning only the Iraq war, and Adrian Lamo,...

FBI Investigates BP's Ties to Regulators

Criminal probe to target Transocean, Halliburton as well

(Newser) - A team of federal investigators is gathering in New Orleans to determine, among other things, whether BP was criminally cozy with federal regulators, and whether that helped cause the Deepwater Horizon explosion. The wide-ranging criminal probe will also focus on TransOcean and Halliburton, the Washington Post reports, but there’s...

Arizona's Immigration Law Goes on Trial

Twin challenges are headed to federal court today

(Newser) - Supporters of Arizona’s controversial new immigration law head to court today, to defend it from both the Justice Department’s challenge and a separate lawsuit. Both cases will be heard by the same judge, Susan Bolton. It's unclear how she'll rule, according to CNN . Bolton heard yet another challenge...

No Criminal Charges in Firing of US Attorneys

Justice Dept. won't press Gonzales case

(Newser) - The Bush administration's Justice Department didn't commit any crimes when it fired nine federal attorneys in 2006, a two-year investigation has concluded. The internal report removes the possibility that former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, who resigned in part because of the controversy, will face prosecution. The report did fault him...

New Black Panther Case Triggers Fireworks on Fox

Righty media covering allegations against Justice Dept.

(Newser) - Allegations that the Justice Department is letting the New Black Panther Party slide on voter intimidation charges because the accused are black and the alleged victim is white continue to percolate on Fox News and in the right-leaning media in general. (The AP has a backgrounder on the case here...

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