News: Trump's planned nominee for US attorney in Eastern VA, Lindsey Halligan, arrives today as interim chief prosecutor. She's sworn in by Bondi to get to work in an office under pressure to indict Tish James. w/ @suzannemonyak.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/daily-labor-...

Scoop: Trump DOJ departs from protocols that prevented politicized civil rights hiring to restock a depleted division. At least two new hires were removed or suspended from prior prosecutor jobs while facing complaints. With @suzannemonyak.bsky.social: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

EXCLUSIVE: The Justice Department is consolidating civil rights attorney hiring authority with a handful of supervisors, departing from practices that were designed to avoid politicization, @benjaminpenn.bsky.social and @suzannemonyak.bsky.social report news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

A rotating group of four assistant US attorneys, a supervisor, and paralegal have had to be on call starting at 5:30 p.m. every night for a 24-hour shift to handle the federal arrest surge, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social and @benjaminpenn.bsky.social report news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Exclusive from @suzannemonyak.bsky.social & me on continued upheaval at DOJ civil rights division: - 2 probationary attorneys fired - Others forced into sections focused on voter fraud & anti-DEI probes - AAG Dhillon hires "new class of civil rights warriors" news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Alleged sandwich thrower Sean Charles Dunn is an international affairs specialist with the Office of International Affairs within the department’s criminal division, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social reports. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New w/ @suzannemonyak.bsky.social: DOJ OLC overturns 1978 policy forbidding prosecutions of low-level border entry offenses when immigrants are apprehended outside the district they first entered. They can now be charged wherever they're arrested. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

On the allegations from a former DOJ lawyer claiming Emil Bove -- Trump's former personal lawyer, top DOJ official and 3rd Circuit nominee -- discussed defying court orders, from @suzannemonyak.bsky.social‬ (1st reported by NYT) buff.ly/B38vrTy

One criminal defense lawyer is taking out a loan. Another will be paying her law student intern out of pocket and “putting everything on credit cards.” My latest on CJA panel attorneys bracing to foot the bill this summer after judiciary funds expire: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Trump administration is ratcheting up its threats of prosecution against Democrats and other critics, in an escalation of its use of the legal system to go after perceived enemies, @justinfwise.bsky.social and @suzannemonyak.bsky.social report news.bloomberglaw.com/white-collar...

New: House Dems announced legislation that would move the Marshals out of the Justice Department and into the judicial branch, amid rising threats against judges and concerns about the independence of the courts. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Time is running out for Ed Martin, Trump’s controversial pick for DC US attorney, to be confirmed after opposition from key Senate Republican. His acting term expires May 20, two days before the earliest date the Judiciary panel can vote under its rules. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New this AM: Judiciary Chair Grassley said he's going to wait to put Jan. 6 advocate Ed Martin's nomination for DC US attorney on the agenda while reviews continue. Sen. Durbin said as a result, he'll hold off on calling a vote to hold a hearing on Martin. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

This from my colleagues @suzannemonyak.bsky.social, Justin Wise, and Roy Strom is very much worth reading.

“They are demolishing the civil rights division and repurposing it for something it’s not meant to do,” a current division employee tells @suzannemonyak.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Scoop: Two top career supervisors in the Justice Department’s civil rights division have been temporarily reassigned to other offices, as part of the Trump administration’s effort to reshape the unit tasked with enforcing anti-discrimination laws. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The opinions from Wilkinson and Ho, who joined the bench 33 years apart, reflect a generational divide among Republican appointees as they confront rising tensions with the executive branch, @jacqthomsen.bsky.social and @suzannemonyak.bsky.social report news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Ed Martin published several coloring books, including “Promises Made Promises Kept,” “Covfefe Christmas Can’t Trump This,” “Covfefe Top Trump Tweets,” and “Covfefe Patriot or Traitor," @suzannemonyak.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Hundreds of pizzas have been delivered to the homes of judges and their adult children amid increasing threats to the judiciary, including some sent in the name of a New Jersey federal judge’s murdered son, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

A lead prosecutor nearly pulled off a major case days before trial. Signs emblazoned with Trump’s executive order to make DC “safe and beautiful” hanging on each floor. My latest on the low morale & tumult at the DC US attorney’s office under Ed Martin: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Scoop: Interim DC US attorney Ed Martin announced his investigation into Capitol riot prosecutions has “expanded in scope” and likened the government’s use of an obstruction statute against rioters to Japanese internment. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Senate Rs have rallied behind a House-led effort to restrict nationwide injunctions, as part of Republicans' ongoing battle against judges who’ve ruled against the Trump administration. Judiciary Chair Grassley will intro his bill next week, per his spox. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Judge Lawrence VanDyke said his colleagues on the Ninth Circuit don't understand how guns work. His solution? An unusual video dissent, filmed in his chambers, in which he went over the parts of several handguns.

Scoop: Interim US attorney Ed Martin, who has amplified false claims of election fraud, said he’s formed a special unit to uphold US election laws that has already started one investigation, per officewide email viewed by @bloomberglaw.com news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New this AM: Donald Trump’s picks for US solicitor general and other key Justice Department positions were advanced by a Senate panel Thursday. The votes tee them up to be confirmed, despite Democrats’ concerns about elevating the president’s personal attorneys. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Scoop: A youth advocacy group is launching an eleventh-hour bid to revive a Biden-era case over the sexual abuse of unaccompanied migrant children, hours after the Trump Justice Department moved to drop the lawsuit. Full story updated: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The DOJ has announced the dismissal of this lawsuit, as @justinfwise.bsky.social and I reported over the weekend. Children will no longer be placed at these shelters, but the suit’s dismissal means those already abused won’t be awarded damages. Latest: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Federal judges raised concerns about recent impeachment push against judges who've ruled against Trump. Impeachment shouldn't be a "short circuiting" of normal appeals process, Judge Richard Sullivan told reporters. w/ @jacqthomsen.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The Justice Department plans to drop a lawsuit alleging sexual abuse by employees of a company that houses thousands of unaccompanied migrant children, @justinfwise.bsky.social and @suzannemonyak.bsky.social report news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Prominent Supreme Court litigator Lisa Blatt pushed the Justice Dept. to drop a Biden-era lawsuit against a migrant children's shelter that alleges sexual abuse, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social and @justinfwise.bsky.social report. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

ICYMI yesterday: DOJ plans to dismiss a lawsuit over the sexual abuse of unaccompanied migrant children by employees of a government contractor. The decision follows an email by a prominent Washington lawyer warning that a ruling awarding $ to the victims may encourage more border crossings.

Scoop w/ @justinfwise.bsky.social: Trump's DOJ plans to dismiss a Biden-era civil suit over sexual abuse of migrant children. “The United States is turning its back on children who are being abused in our country,” said a former civil rights division official. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New: US Attorney's offices near the borders are exempted from a federal hiring freeze, to allow them to bring on prosecutors for immigration, trafficking and cartel cases, per memo from newly installed 2nd-in-command Todd Blanche. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New w/ @jacqthomsen.bsky.social: About 20 federal courthouses are on GSA’s list of non-core properties that could be sold, as part of the Trump administration’s cost-cutting efforts. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New this AM: Jonathan Hornok, from narcotics section, will be new criminal division chief at the DC US Attorney's Office, per officewide email. He replaces Denise Cheung, who left in Feb after dispute over potential probe into Biden-era govt contract. (Bg: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...)

I'll be helping out this spring w/ DOJ coverage, including changes at the civil rights division and at US attorney's offices. Current and former DOJ employees, I'd love to hear from you, and I'm always happy to chat off-the-record. You can reach me on Signal below:

NEW with @suzannemonyak.bsky.social: D.C.'s US Attorney Ed Martin demotes multiple senior supervisors - who were involved in Jan. 6 cases - to either misdemeanors line prosecutors or an office called early case assessment. This is his latest major shakeup. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Scoop w/ @suzannemonyak.bsky.social: DOJ's civil rights division is opening investigations into allegations of workplace antisemitism at the University of California system & University of Michigan, according to an internal email to staff news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New this AM: Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif) plans to reintroduce legislation this week adding more district court judgeships, after Biden vetoed the once-bipartisan measure last year. Reintro'd bill would be same staggered structure, starting this year. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

The federal judiciary told staffers not to respond to a Trump administration email asking them to account for their work last week, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social and @jacqthomsen.bsky.social report news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

New: Leaders across DOJ are telling staff not to reply to Musk directive to list what they did last week until they receive clarity. DOJ attorneys fear disclosures violate ethics. One exception: DC US Attorney Ed Martin gave his office the go ahead. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Interim DC US Attorney Ed Martin is planning to crack down on threats against DOGE workers and judges, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social reports. He's calling the initiative "Operation Whirlwind," an apparent reference to 2020 comments by Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer about conservative justices.

In an officewide email Wednesday morning, obtained by Bloomberg Law, interim US Attorney Ed Martin previewed his plan to “hold accountable those who threaten workers," including federal judges and DOGE staff, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Updated w/ more details: The chief of the criminal division of the DC US Attorney's office is leaving following a dispute over a requested investigation into a Biden-era government contract award. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Massachusetts' federal trial court will assign certain cases challenging federal policies to judges at random, following judiciary guidance last year aimed at curbing judge-shopping practices, @suzannemonyak.bsky.social reports news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Trump's rush to unleash executive power against migrants, federal workers, transgender Americans and others is hitting a judicial wall. It's too early to know what judges ultimately will do in many cases, but for now they are forcing a slowdown: www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

DOJ is redirecting resources from traditional priorities like terrorism & white collar as Trump elevates immigration. “It’s creating a national security problem at the same time that it’s purporting to address one,” a former FBI special agent said. New: news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Scoop: David McConnell, a DOJ veteran and career leader of the Office of Immigration Litigation, is resigning after he was told to join the new sanctuary cities enforcement working group. w/ @benjaminpenn.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

We looked into the Firearms Policy Coalition, a nonprofit gun rights group challenging laws and regulations in at least 90 cases across 20 states. It's landed on its biggest stage yet: The Supreme Court. w/ @lydiawheeler.bsky.social & @ksophiewill.bsky.social news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...

Late breaking news: US attorneys got on a call with Trump DOJ No. 2 Emil Bove expecting to be fired. Instead they were told to deploy their prosecutors to the border to combat an invasion he likened to a terrorist attack. news.bloomberglaw.com/us-law-week/...