NEW: One brought a gun home. One moved. Others improved home security. Life as a federal judge in the age of Trump: www.nbcnews.com/politics/pol...

About the card Jeffrey Epstein purportedly sent to Larry Nassar: * The postmark is from Virginia, not New York where Epstein was jailed * The return address is incorrect and doesn't include his register number * FBI sought a handwriting analysis. Don't know outcome. www.reuters.com/world/us/jus...

During President Trump’s second term, ICE’s public affairs arm has rapidly transformed into an influencer-style media machine, churning out flashy videos of tactical operations and immigration raids. www.washingtonpost.com/technology/i...

The DOJ's latest release of Epstein files includes an email from a federal prosecutor saying Trump flew aboard the sex offender's private jet "many more times than previously has been reported." www.reuters.com/world/us/us-...

I have seen DOJ do some strange redactions before, but this is up there:

Judge Aileen Cannon rejects motions from @knightcolumbia.org and @weareoversight.bsky.social asserting statutory, common law, and constitutional rights of access to Jack Smith's report about Trump's hoarding of classified docs at Mar-a-Lago. knightcolumbia.org/documents/r1...

New filing: "J.G.G. v. TRUMP (Boasberg: Alien Enemies Act)" Doc #215: MEMORANDUM OPINION re 214 Order on Summary Judgment and Class Certification Motions. Signed by Chief Judge James E. Boasberg on December 22, 2025. (lcjeb1) (Entered: 12/22/2025) Download PDF | View Full Case #CL69741724

The Trump administration is recalling nearly 30 ambassadors and other senior career diplomats to ensure embassies reflect its “America First” priorities, a move critics said would weaken U.S. credibility abroad.

A sloppy redaction just revealed that the DOJ's top brass closely oversaw the quickly spun-up criminal case against Kilmar Abrego Garcia. @notus.com: www.notus.org/courts/abreg...

Crime in the US almost certainly fell at a historic clip in 2025 led by the largest drop in murder ever recorded. The US likely had the lowest murder & property crime rates since at least 1960 & lowest violent crime rate since the mid-60s. My year in review: jasher.substack.com/p/2025-year-...

Landry rushed to clarify he isn't resigning as governor of Louisiana and this will be, like, his side gig I guess. The state constitution explicitly bans state officeholders from simultaneously holding any federal office.

NEW: The federal government has retreated from gun enforcement in Baltimore and elsewhere this year as more of its investigators turn their attention to President Donald Trump’s new priority for law enforcement: hunting immigrants in the U.S. illegally to deport. www.reuters.com/world/how-im...

The US Justice Department released a new trove of documents from its investigations into the late financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, bowing to pressure from Congress reut.rs/4p0eLBl

DOJ, after repeatedly failing to repair its case against New York Attorney General Letitia James by re-indicting her, has said it will appeal a judge's decision that threw out the charges because Trump's U.S. attorney was not legally appointed to the post.

Federal prosecutors in Chicago are dropping another case tied to Operation Midway Blitz. This time it's USA v. Cristal Caballero, which had been set for a preliminary hearing Monday. Motion below, followed by excerpts from the criminal complaint.

big scoop from reuters: pardoned j6-ers are.... advising DOJ officials" "weaponization working group" on whether to bring charges against prosecutors who worked on j6 cases. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

This is a whole thing. www.wsj.com/tech/ai/anth...

BREAKING: The full DC Circuit will rehear the case over the Trump admin's effort to "shut down" the CFPB en banc, with arguments set for Feb. 24. The 2-1 panel decision in August siding with the Trump admin was a Katsas, joined by Rao, majority. Pillard dissented.

NEW: Pardoned January 6 rioters have been advising Justice Department officials how to pursue – and perhaps prosecute – the very prosecutors who helped put them behind bars. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

NEW: Jack Smith will make his case to Congress today while navigating a labyrinth of secrecy rules, laws and restrictions — and a room full of Republican lawmakers eager to trip him up and incriminate him. w/ @Hailey_Fuchs www.politico.com/news/2025/12...

More than 2,900 attorneys quit the Justice Department or were fired during the first 10 months of this year -- about triple the number who depart in a typical year. personnel records obtained by Reuters show.

In years past, it was relatively rare for a federal court to question the Justice Department's competency or good faith. But such questions are becoming more common, thanks to a growing pattern of legal missteps that have dogged the department since January. www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

Pennsylvania Supreme Court rules that there are no 4th Amendment rights in your Google search terms. When you search on Google, you tell them your search terms; the government can get those queries without a warrant. The third-party doctrine applies. www.pacourts.us/assets/opini...

Just amazing stuff here. www.reuters.com/investigates...

President Trump's chief of staff had a reputation for keeping the White House very disciplined. Until today, apparently. www.nytimes.com/2025/12/16/u...

Meta made about $3 billion in China last year from ads for scams, illegal gambling, pornography and other banned content, according to internal Meta documents reviewed by Reuters. www.reuters.com/investigatio...

BREAKING Trump DOJ must give files unconstitutionally taken from the devices of Comey’s ex-legal adviser Daniel Richman back to him, a federal judge rules. It’s the evidence at the center of Comey’s case. Background www.allrisenews.com/p/richman-su...

To give you a sense of how big a departure this year, the government doesn't do this for wanted criminals.

BREAKING: Judges Rao and Walker — both Trump appointees — issue an "administrative stay" blocking Judge Boasberg's contempt proceedings set to begin on Monday. The administrative stay is issued over the objection of Judge Childs, a Biden appointee.

The DOJ has now filed a mandamus petition with the D.C. Circuit seeking to block Judge Boasberg from carrying out further investigations in the contempt proceedings surrounding the CECOT deportations.

Once again, can't stress enough how rare it is for a GJ to refuse to indict. The probable cause standard is low and the vote need not be unanimous. In a normal DOJ this would be a screaming sign to drop the case - no way you will convince a unanimous jury at trial beyond a reasonable doubt.

JUST IN: Grand jury again rejects charges Trump sought against NY Attorney General James, sources say reut.rs/4prvOgK

BREAKING on MS NOW: A grand jury just rejected the Trump Justice Department's third attempt to indict New York Attorney General Letitia James on allegations she engaged in mortgage fraud, according to two sources familiar with the presentation.

Judge Xinis grants habeas for Abrego Garcia, ordering him released from ICE custody immediately. storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Republicans hold a greater advantage with older voters, who are more likely to turn out during non-presidential years, a Reuters poll found. And those voters may be less swayed by the kind of cost-of-living issues that have animated recent Democratic campaigns. www.reuters.com/world/us/hea...

Wisconsin judge on trial as Trump administration targets immigration enforcement resistance www.reuters.com/legal/govern...

The usual next step when the U.S. government seizes a ship (as it sometimes does) is to sue the ship in federal court.

The United States has seized an oil tanker off the coast of Venezuela, officials told Reuters. www.reuters.com/world/americ...

U.S. prosecutors in Chicago are dropping another case tied to Operation Midway Blitz, "without prejudice." It's USA v. Nathan Griffin. Below is the motion, followed by excerpts from the complaint. The feds don't say why they're dropping it, but they had until today to secure an indictment.

A U.S. judge in Manhattan on Wednesday allowed for the public release of records from a grand jury investigation into Jeffrey Epstein because of a law recently passed by Congress, the latest in a string of similar rulings.

Tax prosecutions plunge as Trump shifts crime-fighting efforts www.reuters.com/world/tax-pr...

A broad swath of Americans oppose the U.S. military's campaign of deadly strikes on boats suspected of carrying illegal drugs in Caribbean and Pacific waters near Venezuela, including about one fifth of President Donald Trump's Republicans, a Reuters/Ipsos poll found. www.reuters.com/world/us/bro...

EXCLUSIVE: Federal tax prosecutions fell to their lowest level in decades this year, declining more than 27% from the year before as the Trump administration cut the ranks of attorneys and agents who pursue those cases, a Reuters examination has found. www.reuters.com/world/tax-pr...

It happened again: The Trump administration has admitted illegally deporting a man to Guatemala despite an immigration judge's order that he was likely to be tortured there. A judge has ordered the administration to facilitate his return by next week.storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.us...

Had missed this detail: Paramount’s David Ellison talked to Trump at the Kennedy Center Awards on Sunday and sat next to FCC Chair Brendan Carr www.bloomberg.com/news/article...

Trump, who was president during the 2020 election he falsely says was “rigged,” has been promising the imminent release of evidence to support his claim ever since.

UPDATE: @aclu.org and @ccrjustice.org sued the Trump admin today in SDNY to compel immediate release of OLC's opinion on Caribbean boat strikes, unclassified summaries of that opinion, and a July 2025 Presidential Directive to DOD authorizing use of force against Latin American drug cartels

ICYMI: Deaths from criminal homicide, drug overdose, alcohol, and traffic accidents all spiked during COVID. They're all rapidly falling today. I wrote about the positive trend behind death rates from some causes in the US today. jasher.substack.com/p/its-not-ju...

The Wall Street Journal reports that Paramount Skydance CEO David Ellison “offered assurances” he would drastically transform CNN if he bought Warner Bros. Discovery www.wsj.com/business/med...