EXPLAINER: What are special counsels and what do they do?
The appointment of a special counsel to oversee the Justice Department probes into the discovery of classified documents at the home and former office of President Joe Biden has focused renewed attention on the role such prosecutors have played in modern American history.
Trump's legal woes mount without protection of presidency
Donald Trumpโs latest legal troubles โ sweeping fraud allegations by New Yorkโs attorney general and a stark repudiation by federal judges he appointed โ have laid bare the challenges piling up as the former president operates without the protections afforded by the White House.
US offers $10M reward for Russian election interference info
The State Department has offered a $10 million reward for information about Russian interference in American elections, including a close associate of Russian President Vladimir Putin and a troll farm that officials say fueled a divisive social media campaign in 2016.
Clinton campaign lawyer sought to 'use' FBI, prosecutor says
A prosecutor says a lawyer for Hillary Clintonโs 2016 campaign who is charged with lying to the FBI early in the Trump-Russia probe sought to โuse and manipulateโ federal law enforcement to create an โOctober surpriseโ in the final weeks of the presidential race.
Oz's ties to Turkey attacked in Pennsylvania's Senate race
Mehmet Ozโs rivals in Pennsylvaniaโs Republican primary for U.S. Senate are escalating their attacks on the celebrity heart surgeonโs connections to his parentsโ native country of Turkey, raising it as a possible national security issue.
Lawyers deny spy suspect discussed fleeing to evade arrest
Lawyers for a Maryland woman charged along with her husband in a scheme to sell Navy submarine secrets to a foreign government are pushing back on prosecutorsโ arguments that she was motivated to leave the United States because she was afraid of getting caught.
3 lawyers readying arguments in high court abortion case
Supreme Court justices considering a major abortion case Wednesday will hear from just three lawyers: one representing the state of Mississippi, another representing Mississippiโs only abortion clinic and the last representing the Biden administration.
Appeals court orders release of some Mueller report passages
A federal appeals court is directing the Justice Department to disclose certain redacted passages from special counsel Robert Muellerโs Russia investigation report that relate to individuals who were investigated by prosecutors but not ultimately charged.
Judge: Trump company doesn't have to pay Cohenโs legal bills
Donald Trumpโs company wonโt have to pay hefty legal bills incurred by his former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen, who became a vocal critic of the ex-president and went to prison after pleading guilty to tax and other crimes.
NSA discloses hacking methods it says are used by Russia
U.S. and British agencies have disclosed hacking techniques they say are used by Russian intelligence to target hundreds of government agencies, energy companies and other organizations, amid a wave of devastating cyberattacks around the world.
McGahn: Effort to get Mueller fired was 'point of no return'
Former White House counsel Don McGahn told lawmakers in a closed-door interview last week that he regarded President Donald Trumpโs demand to have special counsel Robert Mueller fired as โa point of no returnโ for the administration if carried out.
Judge orders Justice Dept. to release Trump obstruction memo
A federal judge has ordered the release of a legal memorandum the Trump-era Justice Department prepared for then-Attorney General William Barr before he announced his conclusion that President Donald Trump had not obstructed justice during the Russia investigation.
New York Assembly hires top law firm for Cuomo investigation
New York Governor Andrew Cuomo speaks before getting vaccinated at a church in the Harlem section of New York, Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, Pool)ALBANY, N.Y. โ New Yorkโs Assembly has hired a Manhattan law firm to assist in its impeachment investigation of Gov. The Manhattan firm of Davis Polk & Wardwell LLP, which has more than 900 attorneys, will lead the probe, said Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Judiciary Committee Chair Charles Lavine. โI have the utmost faith that Assemblymember Lavine and our Judiciary Committee will conduct a full and fair investigation,โ Heastie said. On Wednesday, Cuomo received his COVID-19 vaccination at a church in Harlem, where several Black leaders in New York City appeared at his side.
Garland vows return to 'normal' Justice Dept. on 1st day
President Joe Biden's pick for attorney general Merrick Garland, addresses staff on his first day at the Department of Justice, Thursday, March 11, 2021, in Washington. Welcome to the new Justice Department, likely a much tamer place to be after four years of blaring headlines under Donald Trump. The former president insisted that his attorney general, and entire department, be loyal to him personally, battering the departmentโs reputation for political independence. โWhen I walked in the door of Main Justice this morning, it really did feel like I was coming home,โ Garland said, referring to Justice Department headquarters. AdAbout 15 minutes later, he took the oath of office, administered by Assistant Attorney General Lee Lofthus.
Justices call off arguments over Medicaid work requirements
WASHINGTON โ The Supreme Court said Thursday it has called off upcoming arguments over a Trump administration plan to remake Medicaid by requiring recipients to work, agreeing to a request from the Biden administration. But the Biden administration already has decided preliminarily that work requirements do not fit with Medicaid's goal of providing health care to lower-income people. AdOther cases involved Trump administration immigration policies and a fight over unreleased portions of grand jury documents from special counsel Robert Muellerโs investigation of Russian interference in the 2016 elections. The high court had in December agreed to review lower-court decisions involving Arkansas and New Hampshire that found that the Trump administrationโs support for work requirements went beyond whatโs allowed by law. Arkansas had opposed the Biden administrationโs request that the cases be dropped.
Riot lawsuit just part of Trump's post-impeachment problems
The former "Apprentice" contestant is trying to get her defamation lawsuit against former President Donald Trump moving again now that he's no longer president. Federal prosecutors in Washington, meanwhile, have charged some 200 Trump supporters with crimes related to the riot, including more serious conspiracy charges. There has been no indication that Trump would be charged in the riot though prosecutors have said they are looking at all angles. The same U.S. attorney's office in Manhattan also appears to have moved on from its investigation of Trumpโs inaugural committee. Recently, her office has won a series of court rulings forcing Trumpโs company and a law firm it hired to turn over troves of records.
Will Trump's mishandling of records leave a hole in history?
The public wont see President Donald Trumps White House records for years, but theres growing concern that they wont be complete, leaving a hole in the history of one of Americas most tumultuous presidencies. He has a habit of ripping up documents before tossing them out, forcing White House records workers to spend hours taping them back together. He didnโt want to stop,โ said Solomon Lartey, a former White House records analyst. Apparently worried about leaks, higher-ups and White House lawyers became more involved in deciding which materials were catalogued and scanned into White House computer networks where they are automatically saved, this person said. After that, presidential records were no longer considered personal property but the property of the American people โ if they are preserved.
Congress continues work to count electoral votes after mob that stormed Capitol dispersed
In this image from video, Vice President Mike Pence speaks as the Senate reconvenes after protesters stormed into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2021. Trump told his morning crowd at the Ellipse that he would go with them to the Capitol, but he didnโt. Video footage also showed officers letting people calmly walk out the doors of the Capitol despite the rioting and vandalism. Announcements blared: Due to an โexternal security threat,โ no one could enter or exit the Capitol complex, the recording said. Shortly after being told to put on gas masks, most members were quickly escorted out of the chamber.
New round of Trump clemency benefits Manafort, other allies
FILE - In this Thursday, June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort arrives in court in New York. President Trump's former campaign manager is to be arraigned on state mortgage fraud charges. Manafort, who led Trump's campaign during a pivotal period in 2016 before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, was among the first people charged as part of Muellerโs investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller's mandate โ whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election โ he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation. Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.
A look at the 29 people Trump pardoned or gave commutations
Trump commuted his sentence in July just days before he was scheduled to report to federal prison. The president commuted her sentence; the White House said the commutation was supported by several former U.S. attorneys general. A White House news release praised the men as โmodel prisoners,โ who had earned support and praise from other inmates. She was in the White House when Trump signed the overhaul measure, known as the First Step Act, into law. Black was a co-defendant in the case and was also convicted; Trump previously pardoned him.
President Trump pardons former campaign chairman Paul Manafort
FILE - In this June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort, center, arrives at court in New York. New York appellate judges on Thursday, Oct. 22, 2020, have upheld a lower judges decision to dismiss state mortgage fraud charges against Paul Manafort on double jeopardy grounds. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)WASHINGTON โ President Donald Trump has issued pardons and sentence commutations for 29 people, including former campaign chairman Paul Manafort and Charles Kushner, the father of his son-in-law. Also receiving a pardon is Roger Stone, another longtime Trump associate caught up in the probe of Russia and the Trump campaign. The actions announced Wednesday night bring to 49 the number of people whom Trump in the last two days has granted clemency either through pardons or sentence commutations.
A look at pardons, clemency in waning weeks of Trump tenure
On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned 15 people, including Collins. Papadopoulos was the first Trump aide to plead guilty as part of Muellerโs investigation โ pleading guilty to lying to the FBI โ and served a nearly two-week sentence in federal prison. The White House said Stockman had contracted coronavirus while in federal prison and has served more than two years of his 10-year sentence. Esformesโ prison sentence was commuted by the president on Tuesday, but other aspects of his sentence, including supervised release and millions in restitution, remained intact. The White House said the commutation was supported by a number of former attorneys general and said Esformes is in declining health.
New round of Trump clemency benefits Manafort, other allies
FILE - In this Thursday, June 27, 2019 file photo, Paul Manafort arrives in court in New York. President Trump's former campaign manager is to be arraigned on state mortgage fraud charges. Manafort, who led Trump's campaign during a pivotal period in 2016 before being ousted over his ties to Ukraine, was among the first people charged as part of Muellerโs investigation into ties between the Trump campaign and Russia. Though the charges against Manafort did not concern the central thrust of Mueller's mandate โ whether the Trump campaign and Russia colluded to tip the election โ he was nonetheless a pivotal figure in the investigation. Trump and the elder Kushner knew each other from real estate circles and their children were married in 2009.
A look at pardons, clemency in waning weeks of Trump tenure
On Tuesday, Dec. 22, 2020, President Donald Trump pardoned 15 people, including Collins. Papadopoulos was the first Trump aide to plead guilty as part of Muellerโs investigation โ pleading guilty to lying to the FBI โ and served a nearly two-week sentence in federal prison. The White House said Stockman had contracted coronavirus while in federal prison and has served more than two years of his 10-year sentence. Esformesโ prison sentence was commuted by the president on Tuesday, but other aspects of his sentence, including supervised release and millions in restitution, remained intact. The White House said the commutation was supported by a number of former attorneys general and said Esformes is in declining health.
President Trump pardons 15, including Republican allies
He and his allies have discussed a range of other possibilities, including members of Trump's family and his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani. Trump also announced pardons for two people entangled in special counsel Robert Mueller's Russia investigation. Trump has granted about 2% of requested pardons in his single term in office โ just 27 before Tuesday's announcement. Bush, another one-term president, granted 10% of requests. Also among those pardoned by Trump was Phil Lyman, a Utah state representative who led an ATV protest through restricted federal lands.
Trump's legacy: He changed the presidency, but will it last?
โFor all four years, this is someone who at every opportunity tried to stretch presidential power beyond the limits of the law,โ said presidential historian Michael Beschloss. I think heโs done tremendous damage in the last several weeks.โJeopardizing the peaceful transfer of power was hardly Trump's first assault on the traditions of the presidency. He rage tweeted at members of his own party and used government property for political purposes, including the White House as the backdrop for his renomination acceptance speech. Trump used National Guard troops to clear a largely peaceful protest across from the White House for a photo-op. He held superspreader events at the White House and contracted the virus himself.
US plans new charges in 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing
FILE - In this Dec. 22, 1988, file photo police and investigators look at what remains of the nose of Pan Am 103 in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland. The Justice Department expects to unseal charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)WASHINGTON โ The Justice Department plans to unseal new charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. We will not rest until all those responsible are brought to justice,โ Barr said at a 1991 news conference announcing the charges. The New York-bound flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on Dec. 21, 1988.
US plans new charges in 1988 Lockerbie airline bombing
FILE - In this Dec. 22, 1988, file photo police and investigators look at what remains of the nose of Pan Am 103 in a field in Lockerbie, Scotland. The Justice Department expects to unseal charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. (AP Photo/Martin Cleaver, File)WASHINGTON โ The Justice Department plans to unseal new charges in the coming days in connection with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am jet that exploded over Lockerbie, Scotland, killing 270 people, according to a person familiar with the case. We will not rest until all those responsible are brought to justice,โ Barr said at a 1991 news conference announcing the charges. The New York-bound flight exploded over Lockerbie less than an hour after takeoff from London on Dec. 21, 1988.
Trump asking about special prosecutor for Hunter Biden case
Beyond appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the younger Biden, the sources said Trump is interested in having another special counsel appointed to look into his own baseless claims of election fraud. Trump announced that Barr would be stepping down from his position on Dec. 23, amid lingering tension between the president and the attorney general over the Hunter Biden investigation. Appointing a special counsel could prove to be complicated, requiring consolidating different investigatory angles and bringing in someone new to run the probe and get up to speed. Either way, the probe is complicating Joe Bidenโs pick for attorney general, upon whose shoulders this probe would land. Any nominee for attorney general is likely to face a mountain of questions at a confirmation hearing about how they would oversee the probe.
Trump asking about special prosecutor for Hunter Biden
Beyond appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the younger Biden, the sources said Trump is interested in having another special counsel appointed to look into his own baseless claims of election fraud. Trump announced that Barr would be stepping down from his position on Dec. 23, amid lingering tension between the president and the attorney general over the Hunter Biden investigation. Trump was angry for days after learning that Barr knew of the Hunter Biden tax investigation before the election but did not disclose it. Appointing a special counsel for the Hunter Biden probe would also signal a more prolonged and complicated investigation than the current inquiry, so far largely centered on his taxes. Either way, the probe is complicating Joe Bidenโs pick for attorney general, upon whose shoulders this probe would land.
Trump says Barr resigning, will leave before Christmas
FILE - In this Oct. 15, 2020, file photo, Attorney General William Barr speaks during a roundtable discussion on Operation Legend in St. Louis. Barr went Monday to the White House, where Trump said the attorney general submitted his letter of resignation. Trump said Deputy Attorney General Jeff Rosen, whom he labeled โan outstanding person,โ will become acting attorney general. But Democrats have repeatedly accused Barr of acting more like the presidentโs personal attorney than the attorney general, and Barr had proved to be a largely reliable Trump ally and defender of presidential power. Trump was also said to blame Barr for comments from FBI Director Chris Wray on election fraud and mail-in voting that didnโt jibe with the presidentโs alarmist rhetoric.
Biden's transition contends with probe into son's finances
But news of the probe, which was revealed on Wednesday and scrutinizes some of Hunter Biden's Chinese business dealings and other transactions, caught most of his father's staffers by surprise. Most notably, the probe casts a spotlight on one of Bidenโs most important choices: his attorney general. And Biden aides believe that because other Hunter Biden stories have blown over, this will, too. Those were based in part on New York Post reporting on a laptop that supposedly once belonged to Hunter Biden and was abandoned at a Delaware repair shop. Hunter Biden, and his baby son, were right in the middle.
Sidney Powell unrelenting in legal battle on Trump's behalf
ATLANTA โ Conservative attorney Sidney Powell has been unrelenting in her battle on behalf of President Donald Trump and the Americans who have pledged their faith in him, regardless of the facts of the 2020 election โ namely, that Joe Biden won. โIโm going to release the Kraken,โ Powell said in a Fox Business interview in mid-November, an apparent reference to the film โClash of the Titansโ in which Zeus gives the order to release the mythical sea monster. Powell did not immediately respond to a voicemail left Thursday at her Dallas law firm. Despite being tossed off the presidentโs legal team, Powell has continued to push his claim that the election was stolen. As they were filed, lawyers across the country reacted on social media, some puzzling about her strategy and others outright mocking her in paragraph-by-paragraph analysis.
Biden's attorney general search is focused on Jones, Garland
WASHINGTON โ Alabama Sen. Doug Jones and federal appeals court judge Merrick Garland are emerging as the leading contenders to be nominated as President-elect Joe Bidenโs attorney general, three people familiar with the matter told The Associated Press. Biden's thinking was described by people with knowledge of the presidential transition's internal thinking who were not authorized to speak publicly. Jones, who is white, has had a long-standing personal relationship with Biden dating back to Bidenโs first presidential campaign in 1988. Jones would not comment Tuesday on the possibility of a nomination as attorney general. The Biden team has also been considering a number of other potential candidates for the post, including former Justice Department official Lisa Monaco.
Does Trump have power to pardon himself? It's complicated
WASHINGTON โ President Donald Trump has declared that he has the โabsolute rightโ to issue a pardon to himself. The Constitutionโs text โ affording the president โpower to grant reprieves and pardons for offenses against the United States, except in cases of impeachment" โ can be read to suggest that the Founding Fathers envisioned some sort of limitations on a presidentโs pardon power. The question of whether Trump will do it, though, is as unsettled as the question of whether he can. But, Tushnet said, Trump's lawyers could conceivably try to invoke double-jeopardy arguments to claim that a federal pardon should bar any New York state prosecution based on the same conduct. On the federal level, a self-pardon obviously handcuffs the Justice Department under President-elect Joe Biden from pursuing any federal case against Trump.
Barr's special counsel move could tie up his successor
WASHINGTON โ Outgoing Attorney General William Barr's decision to appoint a special counsel to investigate the handling of the Russia probe ensures his successor won't have an easy transition. But the maneuvering over the special counsel is especially significant because it saddles Democrats with an investigation that they've derided as tainted. A special counsel can only be dismissed for cause. The Biden transition did not respond to a request for comment on the special counsel appointment. But Barr's decision could influence whom the president-elect puts forth as a nominee for attorney general.
Robert Mueller does rare interview in 'Oath' podcast
Mueller, the ex-FBI director, rarely speaks publicly and has been virtually silent about his special counsel experience since testifying before Congress in July 2019. In two separate podcast episodes, each nearly an hour, Mueller doesn't talk about his work as special counsel. The Mueller interview is a bookend to Rosenberg's two-parter with Mueller's successor as FBI director, James Comey, in the podcast's first season. The experience inspired a lifetime of public service, primarily because Mueller was grateful to have survived. In the Mueller interview, Rosenberg said he relished the opportunity to get to know someone he knew only as a boss.
Barr appoints special counsel in Russia probe investigation
Barr told The Associated Press on Dec. 1, 2020, that he appointed Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal statute that governed special counsel Robert Muellers in the Russia probe. Barr told The Associated Press on Tuesday that he had appointed U.S. Attorney John Durham as a special counsel in October under the same federal regulations that governed special counsel Robert Mueller in the original Russia probe. Under the regulations, a special counsel can be fired only by the attorney general and for specific reasons such as misconduct, dereliction of duty or conflict of interest. The special counsel rules say the appointed person should be outside of government, but Barr pointed to specific provisions in his memo that would allow him to go around that rule. Senate Judiciary Chairman Lindsey Graham said it was โobvious the system failedโ and he concurred with the appointment of a special counsel to continue the investigation.
Trump pardons Flynn despite guilty plea in Russia probe
โIt is my Great Honor to announce that General Michael T. Flynn has been granted a Full Pardon," Trump tweeted. A Justice Department official said the department was not consulted on the pardon and learned Wednesday of the plan. But the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, noted that the president has the legal power to pardon Flynn. โAmericans soundly rejected this nonsense when they voted out President Trump. But last May, after years of defending the prosecution, the Justice Department abruptly reversed its position.
Trump campaign legal team distances itself from Powell
She is not a member of the Trump Legal Team. She is also not a lawyer for the President in his personal capacity," Giuliani and another lawyer for Trump, Jenna Ellis, said in a statement. There was no immediate clarification from the campaign and Powell did not immediately return an email seeking comment. The statement hints at further tumult for a legal team that has lost case after case in contested states as it works to overturn the results of the Nov. 3 election. Fox News host Tucker Carlson said on his show last week that his team had asked Powell for evidence to support her claims, but that Powell had provided none.
Trump team making false argument about his 2016 transition
President Barack Obama shakes hands with President-elect Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 10, 2016. President Trump and his allies are harking back to his own transition four years ago to make a false argument that his own presidency was denied a fair chance for a clean launch. Press secretary Kayleigh McEnany laid out the case from the White House podium last week. That's a far cry from the description issued by McEnany as pressure mounts for Trump to concede and for his administration to begin cooperating with Biden's transition team. But Trump's team largely ignored advice from Obama staffers, leaving briefing books unopened and ignoring special iPads loaded with materials.