Department of Justice

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Epstein victims’ lawyers and DOJ strike deal to protect identities in document release A federal judge canceled a hearing scheduled for Wednesday after he was notified that “extensive and constructive discussions” with the Department of Justice had resulted in an agreement to protect victims’ identities. Read more.

What to know: Lawyers for the victims had said there were thousands of instances when the government had failed to redact names and other personally identifying information of women sexually abused by Epstein.   Among eight women whose comments were included in a letter to the judge, one said the records’ release was “life threatening” while another said she’d gotten death threats and she was forced to shut down her credit cards and banking accounts after their security was jeopardized. The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ The former Prince Andrew moves to King Charles III's private estate amid Epstein document uproar   WATCH: Trump lashes out at reporter over Epstein, declares it’s time for the country to move on

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Epstein files rife with uncensored nudes and victims’ names, despite redaction efforts Under the law requiring the release of files, names were supposed to have been blacked out in documents. Their faces and bodies were supposed to be obscured in photos. Mistakes, though, have been rampant. A review by The Associated Press and other news organizations has found countless examples of sloppy, inconsistent or nonexistent redactions that have revealed sensitive private information. Read more.

Why this matters: The Justice Department has blamed technical or human errors on the problems and said it has taken down many of the problematic materials and is working to republish properly redacted versions.   Despite the Justice Department’s efforts to fix oversights, a selfie taken by a nude female in a bathroom and another by a topless female remained on the site, their ages unknown but their faces in full view, as of Wednesday evening. Some accusers and their lawyers called this week for the Justice Department to take down the Epstein files website and appoint an independent monitor to prevent further errors.

RELATED COVERAGE ➤ BREAKING: UK leader apologizes to victims of Epstein for giving Peter Mandelson an ambassador job   WATCH: Melinda Gates speaks out about Bill Gates in the Epstein files   David A. Ross resigns from School of Visual Arts after ties to Jeffrey Epstein surface

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Accused militant is taken into custody in the deadly 2012 Benghazi attack

WASHINGTON (AP) — An alleged participant in the deadly 2012 attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya, has been taken into custody to face prosecution for the rampage that killed four Americans and emerged as a divisive political issue, the Justice Department said Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/fbi-benghazi-justice-department-a0eadc00e01e892e6dba827ccfadbae0?

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Epstein files fallout

Some big names in Hollywood are mentioned in the documents, including powerhouse talent agent Casey Wasserman. The controversy exploded into public view when several top clients dropped him.

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Epstein Fallout Continues

The Justice Department yesterday denied allegations that it intentionally withheld files related to President Donald Trump in the recent release of Jeffrey Epstein records mandated by federal law. The materials in question include reported FBI memos from 2019 interviews about a woman’s alleged claims that she was sexually assaulted decades earlier by Epstein and Trump when she was a minor. An FBI index reportedly shows four interview summaries were created, but only one has been released. DOJ officials say the remaining documents are being withheld under laws protecting victims’ identities and ongoing investigations, not for political reasons. Democrats on the House Oversight Committee say the gaps suggest illegal withholding. The woman later joined and withdrew a lawsuit against Epstein’s estate and was denied compensation from a victims fund without specified reasons.  Separately, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told lawmakers yesterday she was unaware of crimes committed by Epstein or his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. Former President Bill Clinton is set to appear before the committee today.

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Justice Department and Live Nation reach settlement over illegal monopoly case

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department touted a tentative settlement of its antitrust lawsuit against Ticketmaster and parent company Live Nation Entertainment on Monday as a victory for consumers that would end an illegal monopoly over live events in America, but over two dozen states planned to keep fighting the companies in court.

https://apnews.com/article/livenation-antitrust-justice-department-0a6ef66f497e5f626096de753bfff8ce?

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Justice Department charges man accused of selling gun to Old Dominion University shooter

NORFOLK, Va. (AP) — A man was charged Friday with selling a stolen gun to Mohamed Bailor Jalloh, a former member of the Army National Guard who used it to kill one person and wound two others at Old Dominion University, federal authorities said.

https://apnews.com/article/old-dominion-university-shooting-rotc-3e9049d15354b33bba37035a98a5299f?

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Judge quashes subpoenas in Justice Department’s investigation of Fed chair Jerome Powell

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge on Friday quashed Justice Department subpoenas issued to the Federal Reserve in January, a severe blow to an investigation that has already attracted strong criticism on Capitol Hill.

https://apnews.com/article/feeral-reserve-trump-0fdd36447a6aa8ae3e7125930d03950f?

ps:Funny how this administration pardons criminals but does investigations into those that are innocent!!!!!

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Southern Poverty Law Center charged with defrauding donors with payments to extremist informants

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted Tuesday on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to secretly pay leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups for inside information, acting Attorney General Todd Blanche said.

https://apnews.com/article/southern-poverty-law-center-criminal-investigation-db7fdcf9baa0d1b24b8f1e1f2cebc0be?

Paid Informants Indictment

The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted yesterday on federal fraud charges tied to its use of paid informants to surveil extremist groups. The Justice Department alleges the Alabama-based legal advocacy center misled donors by channeling millions of dollars to individuals affiliated with the groups, including the Ku Klux Klan. The SPLC says the program, which reportedly began in the 1980s, was necessary to monitor threats of violence and kept relatively secret to protect informants. It has previously shared gathered intelligence with local and federal law enforcement. The FBI, however, severed decades-long ties with the center in October, with Director Kash Patel calling it partisan and criticizing the center's map of anti-government and extremist groups (explore here). In the late 1990s, an undercover informant working with the SPLC and FBI infiltrated one of the nation’s most dangerous hate groups; he's credited with thwarting a plot to assassinate SPLC founder Morris Dees. Read his story here.    ⚖️ Civil rights group charged with bilking donors The Southern Poverty Law Center was indicted on federal fraud charges alleging it improperly raised millions of dollars to secretly pay leaders of the Ku Klux Klan and other hate groups for inside information. The Justice Department alleges the civil rights group defrauded donors by using their money to fund the very extremism it claimed to be fighting, with more than $3 million paid to informants through a now-defunct program to infiltrate white-supremacist and other extremist groups. The SPLC said its informant program was used to monitor threats of violence, and the information was often shared with local and federal law enforcement. Go deeper.

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Justice Department’s watchdog is reviewing compliance with the law mandating Epstein files release

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department’s internal watchdog announced a review Thursday of the department’s compliance with the law mandating the release of the Jeffrey Epstein files, stepping into a politically sensitive saga that has shadowed the Trump administration over the past year.

https://apnews.com/article/epstein-files-justice-department-release-watchdog-bd1f97448163f69311917e768a5d2a9f?

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Justice Department drops criminal probe of Fed chair Powell, likely clearing the way for Warsh

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department has ended its investigation into Federal Reserve chair Jerome Powell, clearing a major roadblock to the confirmation of Kevin Warsh as his successor.

https://apnews.com/article/federal-reserve-investigation-powell-justice-department-28d04cc0d99cda25cea69931f65e25d3?

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Ex-FBI Director Comey indicted again, in a probe over an online post officials call a Trump threat

WASHINGTON (AP) — Former FBI Director James Comey was indicted again Tuesday, this time over a social media photo of seashells arranged on a beach that officials said constituted a threat against President Donald Trump.

https://apnews.com/article/comey-indicted-seashell-photo-86-47-a7fdd67891a7f74bc6fd8ce4d3d4170a?

ps:So now it's the next lap dogs turn I guess??

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Justice Department can keep 2020 election ballots seized from Georgia’s Fulton County, judge rules

ATLANTA (AP) — The federal government doesn’t have to return the 2020 election ballots from Georgia’s Fulton County that were seized by the FBI from a warehouse near Atlanta, a judge ruled Wednesday.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-2020-election-fulton-county-fbi-ballots-1c425a1d1d04bf4ea2178c2a5443f2e9?

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Southern Poverty Law Center pleads not guilty to DOJ charges

A Montgomery-based civil rights group Thursday pleaded not guilty to federal charges of fraud and money-laundering and accused the U.S. Department of Justice of attacking it for political reasons.

https://floridaphoenix.com/2026/05/08/repub/southern-poverty-law-center-pleads-not-guilty-to-doj-charges/?

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Justice Department to seek death penalty for man charged with killing 2 Israeli Embassy staffers

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Justice Department will seek the death penalty for the man accused of fatally shooting two staff members of the Israeli Embassy in Washington outside a Jewish museum, prosecutors said in a court filing Friday.

https://apnews.com/article/israeli-embassy-staffers-killed-death-penalty-531f93de927b2ce6d4f7cd80e79c10ae?

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Justice Department announces nearly $1.8B fund to compensate Trump allies in a deal to drop IRS suit

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Trump administration announced Monday the creation of a nearly $1.8 billion fund to compensate allies of the Republican president who believe they have been unjustly investigated and prosecuted, an arrangement that Democrats and government watchdogs derided as “corrupt” and unconstitutional.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-lawsuit-irs-leak-3729de38770b558be01712a143437bf8?

ps:What a travesty of justice and conflict of interest!!!!!

'Anti-Weaponization Fund'

The Justice Department yesterday announced a $1.776B taxpayer-funded program to compensate individuals who claim the DOJ politically targeted them. The figure appears to be a nod to America's founding year. Payments would come from the Treasury's Judgment Fund, an uncapped account used to settle federal cases.  The "Anti-Weaponization Fund" is part of a settlement resolving President Donald Trump's $10B lawsuit against the IRS over the leak of his tax returns, along with civil claims tied to the Russia probe and the search of his Mar-a-Lago residence. Trump and his family will receive a formal apology but no monetary damages. The tax case stems from disclosures by a former IRS contractor who was sentenced to prison for leaking high-profile figures' tax data between 2018 and 2020. A five-member commission, appointed by the attorney general and removable by Trump, will oversee claims through December 2028. The fund is modeled after an Obama-era program that compensated Native American farmers for discrimination in federal lending programs (see DOJ explanation). ps:He has to keep up with the lie about January 6, how pathetic! And now he's going to pay these people who invaded the Capitol? And beat on law enforcement , etc.!!

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US government agrees to drop tax claims against Trump in broadening of IRS lawsuit settlement

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. government will permanently drop tax claims against President Donald Trump, according to a settlement document made public Tuesday, in an extraordinary use of executive power that could effectively help shield the president from further examination of his finances and legal conduct.

https://apnews.com/article/irs-trump-settlement-tax-returns-7bb7a6d8020b903395accc180acf263b?

ps:He's got nothing to hide? Right??

US raises pressure on Cuba with indictment of former leader as island’s president condemns charges

MIAMI (AP) — Federal prosecutors on Wednesday announced criminal charges against former Cuban President Raúl Castro in the 1996 downing of civilian planes flown by Miami-based exiles as the Trump administration escalated pressure on the island’s socialist government.

https://apnews.com/article/raul-castro-indictment-trump-cuba-c04030a07c1b72442e61e72ad6d78604?