DOJ drug, organized crime task force chief fired
The head of a Justice Department task force dealing with organized crime and drug trafficking was fired by the Trump administration Friday, and he indicated he believes politics may have played a role.
Adam Cohen said he was fired by acting Deputy Attorney General Emil Bove after spending weeks working with the Trump team on a new memo concerning the task force.
'Less than 24 hours ago, I received a two-sentence memorandum addressed to me from the Deputy Attorney General (DAG). It stated that I had been removed from my Senior Executive Service position and that pursuant to Article II of the Constitution, my employment with the U.S. Department of Justice was terminated,' Cohen wrote on LinkedIn.
'It was a shock. I had met with the Acting DAG every Tuesday evening (including 3 days before) to talk about important violent crime initiatives. I had spent last weekend editing a memorandum sent out under the DAG's signature 18 hours before my termination.'
'My personal politics were never relevant. Not until yesterday,' Cohen also wrote in the post.
'Putting bad guys in jail was as apolitical as it gets.'
The Justice Department on Thursday sent out a memo referencing Cohen's task force, saying it would combine the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces with the Project Safe Neighborhoods Program. Together, the new entity would be called Operation Take Back America.
The memo, signed by Bove, also stresses the need to combat illegal immigration and instructs prosecutors to charge the most serious, 'readily provable' offenses.
The Hill has reached out to DOJ.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Business Insider
3 minutes ago
- Business Insider
Elon Musk may be the only person in the world who can criticize Donald Trump in public. For now.
If you come at Donald Trump, he's going to respond. Unless, apparently, you're Elon Musk. Trump hasn't said a word about Musk's public complaints about Trump's budget bill. It's hard to imagine Trump staying silent forever. But even this restraint tells you a lot about the Musk/Trump alliance. A pretty fundamental rule of political physics in our age: If you criticize Donald Trump, he roars back. Which makes what's happening now worth noting: Elon Musk is criticizing Donald Trump, and Trump … isn't responding. As you likely know by now, on Monday afternoon, Musk used his X account to complain about the Republican budget bill — the one that's supposed to be Trump's signature legislation, and the one that's literally called the " One Big Beautiful Bill" act because that's the name Trump likes. More specifically: Musk called the bill " a disgusting abomination." "Shame on those who voted for it: you know you did wrong. You know it," he added. That story — the richest man in the world, and for at least several months, a key Trump ally, blasting a Trump project in public — dominated Monday's news cycle. Even Fox News had to cover it. And under normal circumstances, Trump would rage back. Not this time, though. Trump has yet to acknowledge Musk's broadside out loud, or on his Truth Social platform. When a Fox News reporter asked White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt "how mad" Trump would be when he learned about Musk's comments, she had a restrained answer ready: "The president already knows where Elon Musk stood on this bill. It doesn't change the president's opinion. This is one big, beautiful bill, and he's sticking to it." And when I asked the White House press office for comment Wednesday morning, they referred me to Leavitt's previous statement. Obvious conclusion: For now, at least, the Trump team is going out of its way not to stoke a feud with Musk. It seems very unlikely that Trump's silence is going to be permanent: Trump loves holding forth in front of the press, so someone's going to ask him about it at some point. Still, this level of what seems to be restraint is remarkable for a man who doesn't usually restrain himself, and who loathes people who poke at him in public. What's happening? For starters, it's worth noting that Trump has already gone through a version of this. Last week, Musk used much more muted language to criticize the same bill in a CBS interview, and those comments also became a news story. And Trump didn't fire back at Musk then, either — even when asked about it at a press conference. It's also worth noting that even though Musk used scathing language to condemn the bill on Monday, he never once criticized Trump directly. That gives both men rhetorical wiggle room: Musk can argue that his problems with the bill have nothing to do with the man who's promoting it. And Trump can lump in Musk's critique along with everyone else who has problems with the bill, including some Republicans like Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene. But it's also likely that the most likely thing is the most likely thing: That Donald Trump has enormous admiration for Elon Musk, and treats him differently than just about anyone else in the world. And that even though Musk has officially left his role as a part-time White House advisor, Trump still wants him on his side.
Newsweek
10 minutes ago
- Newsweek
Clarence Thomas' Former Clerk Warns Trump Did Something 'Truly Outrageous'
Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. Newsweek AI is in beta. Translations may contain inaccuracies—please refer to the original content. A law professor and former clerk to conservative Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas called President Donald Trump's decision to publicly turn against the Federalist Society and one of its top figures, Leonard Leo, "truly outrageous." Trump critized the Federalist Society for "bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations" after the U.S. Court of International Trade, which included a Trump-picked judge, ruled the emergency law invoked by Trump did not give him authority to impose sweeping tariffs on other countries. Trump also called Leo a "sleazebag." "Why would President Trump turn his back on one of his greatest, if not his greatest achievements from the first term, appointing three justices," John Yoo told a Wall Street Journal Opinion podcast released Monday. Newsweek reached out to Yoo for comment via email and filed a contact request form with the Federalist Society on Wednesday. Why It Matters Last week Trump sharply criticized the influential legal group the Federalist Society and Leo, a co-chair of its board and former executive vice president, blaming them for court rulings that blocked his sweeping tariff agenda. During his first term, Trump took advice from the group in selecting judges, but in a social media post on Thursday, the president took a sharp turn against the group saying he used to trust them "but then realized that they were under the thumb of a real 'sleazebag' named Leonard Leo, a bad person who, in his own way, probably hates America, and obviously has his own separate ambitions." Trump has repeatedly targeted judges and lawyers who oppose him or impede his agenda, including calling for the impeachment of U.S. District Judge James Boasberg after he temporarily blocked deportation flights to El Salvador in March. At the same time, Trump has had a lasting impact on the judiciary, helping to shape a conservative-leaning bench through his appointments. What To Know In Monday's episode of the Wall Street Journal Opinion podcast, Potomac Watch, Yoo said it was "truly outrageous to accuse Leonard Leo, one of the stalwarts or the conservative movement, of being something like a traitor and using judicial appointments to advance his own personal agenda." University of California Professor John Yoo poses for a portrait in downtown San Francisco, California on Fri. April 15, 2016. University of California Professor John Yoo poses for a portrait in downtown San Francisco, California on Fri. April 15, 2016. Michael Macor/San Francisco Chronicle via AP The University of California at Berkeley law professor and constitutional scholar who authored the 2020 book Defender in Chief: Donald Trump's Fight for Presidential Power, reiterated that not only did he find Trump's decision to call out Leo and the Federalist Society "outrageous," but noted that "on a larger political and legal level, I don't understand it." Trump's Truth Social post calling out Leo and the group, read, "I am so disappointed in The Federalist Society because of the bad advice they gave me on numerous Judicial Nominations," followed a ruling on Wednesday from the U.S. Court of International Trade striking down many of his administration's sweeping tariffs. The three judges on the panel, which ruled that the tariffs went beyond the president's power, included one who was appointed by Trump during his first term—Judge Timothy Reif. However on Thursday, a federal appeals court temporarily suspended the lower court's order, allowing the White House to continue collecting import levies for now. Leonard Leo, co-chariman of the Federalist Society board of directors, speaks at the Cambridge Union on March 11, 2025 in Cambridge, U.K. Leonard Leo, co-chariman of the Federalist Society board of directors, speaks at the Cambridge Union on March 11, 2025 in Cambridge, The Cambridge Union Yoo continued: "Why would President Trump turn his back on one of his greatest, if not his greatest achievements from the first term, appointing three justices. You named them, Paul, Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, Amy Coney Barrett, which reinforced Justices Alito and Thomas on the Supreme Court in building a really solid regionalist majority, not a conservative majority, not politically Republican majority, but a majority that believes in interpreting the Constitution based on its original meaning." The Supreme Court's conservative majority has played a pivotal role in recent decisions, most notably the 2022 ruling that overturned Roe v. Wade, the landmark case that had protected abortion rights for nearly 50 years. Leo is a key financial backer of the New Civil Liberties Alliance (NCLA), which filed a legal challenge against Trump's tariffs. A longtime leader at the Federalist Society, Leo used his networks to help Trump nominate conservative Supreme Court Justices Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney Barrett. Yoo has been outspoken against Democratic politicians including former President Joe Biden and spoken favorably about Trump, having previously called for Republican district attorneys to prosecute Democrat officials who had, in his opinion, wronged Trump and his allies, as well as saying Biden's suggested Supreme Court reforms were a "political ploy" that revealed "how radical some of the ideas that Kamala Harris and Joe Biden now are pressing." What People Are Saying Mike Davis, founder of the Article III Project, told The Hill: "They [the Federalist Society] abandoned President Trump during the lawfare against him. And not only did they abandon him — they had several FedSoc leaders who participated in the lawfare and threw gas on the fire." Leonard Leo told The New York Post in late May: "I'm very grateful for President Trump transforming the Federal Courts, and it was a privilege being involved. There's more work to be done, for sure, but the Federal Judiciary is better than it's ever been in modern history, and that will be President Trump's most important legacy." Stephen Miller, the White House deputy chief of staff for policy, responded to last Wednesday's ruling on X: "The judicial coup is out of control." Raúl Torrez, the attorney general of New Mexico—one of the states who sued over the tariffs—said in a statement to Newsweek after the ruling: "This ruling is a major victory for our communities, our businesses, and our economy. The Court's decision confirms what we have long argued: these tariffs were imposed unlawfully and will cause real harm to working families, small businesses, and local industries." What Happens Next The plaintiffs in the case that led the Court of International Trade to strike down tariffs have to file their papers with a federal appellate court by June 5. The government must reply by June 9. In the meantime, the U.S. is expecting several final offers from trade partners over individually negotiated deals.
Hamilton Spectator
13 minutes ago
- Hamilton Spectator
The Latest: 10.9 million more people projected to lose insurance in 2034 from GOP tax bill cuts
The Congressional Budget Office estimates an increase of 10.9 million people without health insurance under President Donald Trump's big bill, including 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs. The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by $1.3 trillion over that period, the budget office said. Meanwhile, Trump has promised to hike nearly all of his tariffs on foreign steel and aluminum to a punishing 50% on Wednesday, a move that would hammer businesses from automakers to home builders, and likely push up prices for consumers. Here's the latest: Pennsylvania sues the USDA over cutting funding to $1 billion food aid program The state says the agency under Trump illegally cut off funding to it through a program designed to distribute more than $1 billion in aid to states to buy food from farms for schools, child care centers and food banks. The lawsuit in federal court was announced by Gov. Josh Shapiro, a Democrat, and comes three months after states received notices of termination from the Department of Agriculture saying the pandemic-era assistance program no longer reflects agency priorities. 'I don't get what the hell their priorities are if not feeding people and taking care of our farmers,' Shapiro said at a news conference at a food bank warehouse in Philadelphia. The loss to Pennsylvania is $13 million under a three-year contract, money the state planned to use to buy food from farms to stock food banks. States also use the money to buy food from farms for school nutrition programs and child care centers. World Pride opening speaker says she was denied entry to US ahead of human rights conference Just days before she was set to give opening remarks at World Pride's human rights conference in Washington, Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, the co-founder of UK Black Pride widely known as Lady Phyll, said she was denied entry to the U.S. after her visa was revoked due to her travels to Cuba earlier this year. Many LGBTQ+ travelers have expressed concerns or decided to skip the gathering due to anxieties about safety, border policies and a hostile political environment. Several countries, including Denmark, Finland and Germany, issued cautions for LGBTQ+ travelers visiting the U.S. for World Pride. Speaking over a livestream, Opoku-Gyimah said she applied immediately for a non-immigrant visa, but the earliest date she was given was in September. 'I've called. I've written. I've pleaded,' she said. 'And the answer was a cold, bureaucratic 'No.'' Budget office estimates increase of 10.9 million people without health insurance under Trump's bill That would include 1.4 million who are in the country without legal status in state-funded programs. The package would reduce federal outlays, or spending, by $1.3 trillion over that period, the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said. The analysis comes at a crucial moment in the legislative process as Trump is pushing Congress to have the final product on his desk to sign into law by Fourth of July. Trump's big bill will cut taxes by $3.7T and add $2.4T to deficit, nonpartisan budget office says The analysis comes at a crucial moment as President Trump is pushing to have the final product on his desk by Fourth of July. The White House and GOP leaders have been sowing doubt on the Congressional Budget Office's work. But its findings as the official scorekeeper of legislation will be weighed by lawmakers and others seeking to understand the budgetary effects of the sprawling 1,000-page plus package. ▶ Read more about Trump's bill in Congress Voters in northern Virginia will pick successor to Rep. Gerry Connolly, who died last month Republican Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin announced the special election to fill the Congressional seat representing the state's most populous county would be set for Sept. 9. Both parties must choose their nominees by July 11. Connolly, a fixture of Democratic politics in a deep blue district, died weeks after announcing he wouldn't seek reelection. Before his death, he endorsed his former chief of staff and Fairfax County Board Supervisor James Walkinshaw, largely seen as a frontrunner among a crowded field of Democrats vying for the party's nomination. State Sen. Stella Pekarsky, state Del. Irene Shin and six other local Democrats have also filed to run. Three local Republicans and an independent have additionally launched their campaigns. The special election takes place amid a busy year for Virginia voters in which candidates for governor, lieutenant governor, attorney general and all 100 House of Delegates seats will be up for election in November. Wall Street stalls following a potentially discouraging report on the US job market U.S. stocks are drifting in tentative trading following a potentially discouraging signal on the job market and economy. The S&P 500 edged up 0.2% Wednesday and lost some some momentum after a big rally drove it back within 3% of its all-time high. The Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 53 points, and the Nasdaq composite added 0.3%. The action was stronger in the bond market, where Treasury yields fell after a report suggested employers outside the government hired far fewer workers than expected last month. That could bode ill for Friday's more comprehensive jobs report coming from the Labor Department. Trump to participate in a 'summer soirée' at the White House Scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on the South Lawn, the event is billed as a way for Trump to thank and celebrate the work of hundreds of political appointees in his administration. People in those jobs are chosen by the president and range from his staff at the White House to Cabinet secretaries and agency heads. Trump's Wednesday schedule, according to the White House 2 p.m. — Trump will receive his intelligence briefing 3 p.m. — Trump will sign proclamations 7 p.m. — Trump will participate in the 'Summer Soirée' at the White House Trump and Thune are meeting Wednesday to discuss budget bill The president, Republican Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee that oversees tax policy are meeting at the White House this afternoon to discuss Trump's 'one big beautiful' tax cut and spending bill. That's according to a person familiar with the schedule who was granted anonymity to confirm a private meeting. The Republican-controlled House recently passed the bill by one vote, but it's now facing resistance from a handful of Senate Republicans who want even deeper spending cuts. Trump adviser Elon Musk has also blasted the bill as a 'disgusting abomination.' The centerpiece of Trump's legislative agenda, the bill would extend $4.5 trillion in expiring tax cuts, spend more money on immigration and border enforcement and find savings by cutting Medicaid, food stamps and green energy investments. — Seung Min Kim and Darlene Superville Wall Street ticks quietly higher in premarket as Trump's steel and aluminum tariffs due to kick in Futures for the S&P 500, the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq all rose 0.2% in light trading before the bell Wednesday morning. The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart , U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Šefčovič said talks were 'advancing in the right direction at pace.' There's been no official update on the status of the steel and aluminum tariffs as of early Wednesday morning. Those tariffs are expected to hit a broad range of businesses hard and likely push up prices for consumers. ▶ Read more about the financial markets While you were asleep: Trump's overnight posts range from China's president to Biden's autopen Trump was active on his social media site in the 2 a.m. ET hour. 'I like President XI of China, always have, and always will, but he is VERY TOUGH, AND EXTREMELY HARD TO MAKE A DEAL,' he said in one post. The Republican president said last week that he'll stop being 'Mr. NICE GUY' with China on trade after he accused the country of breaking an agreement with the U.S. Trump and Xi are expected to speak by telephone this week. In another overnight post, Trump criticized the use of an automatic pen by by his Democratic predecessor, Joe Biden, calling it a 'scandal.' Ukraine's backers meet to drum up arms and ammo. The Pentagon chief is absent Senior officials from nearly 50 nations gathered Wednesday, with the Pentagon's chief absent for the first time since the group organizing the military aid was set up three years ago. The Ukraine Defense Contact Group meeting at NATO headquarters is going to be chaired by the United Kingdom and Germany. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth would only arrive in Brussels after it's over. He'll participate in a meeting of NATO defense ministers Thursday. His absence is the latest in a series of steps Washington has taken to distance itself from Ukraine's efforts to repel Russia's full-scale invasion, which began on Feb. 24, 2022. Before Wednesday's meeting, the U.K. said that it plans a tenfold increase in drone production to help Ukraine. Drones have become a decisive factor in the war, now in its fourth year. ▶ Read more about efforts to support Ukraine Europe and the US are meeting in Paris to negotiate a settlement of a tense tariff spat The European Union's top trade negotiator, Maroš Šefčovič, met Wednesday with his American counterpart, U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer, on the sidelines of a meeting of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. 'We're advancing in the right direction at pace,' Šefčovič said at a news conference. He said ongoing technical meetings between EU and U.S. negotiators in Washington would be soon followed by a video conference between himself and Greer to then 'assess the progress and charter the way forward.' Brussels and Washington are unlikely to reach a substantive trade agreement in Paris. The issues dividing them are too difficult to resolve quickly. President Trump regularly fumes about America's persistent trade deficit with the European Union, which was a record $161 billion last year, according to the U.S. Commerce Department. ▶ Read more about tariff negotiations between the U.S. and Europe Environmentalists criticize Trump administration push for new oil and gas drilling in Alaska Top Trump administration officials — fresh off touring one of the country's largest oil fields in the Alaska Arctic — headlined an energy conference led by the state's Republican governor on Tuesday that environmentalists criticized as promoting new oil and gas drilling and turning away from the climate crisis. Several dozen protesters were outside Gov. Mike Dunleavy's annual Alaska Sustainable Energy Conference in Anchorage, where U.S. Interior Secretary Doug Burgum, Energy Secretary Chris Wright and Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lee Zeldin were featured speakers. The federal officials were continuing a multiday trip aimed at highlighting Trump's push to expand oil and gas drilling, mining and logging in the state. Calls for additional drilling — including Trump's renewed focus on getting a massive liquefied natural gas project built — are 'false solutions' to energy needs and climate concerns, protester Sarah Furman said outside the Anchorage convention hall, as people carried signs with slogans such as 'Alaska is Not for Sale' and 'Protect our Public Lands.' ▶ Read more about environmentalists' reactions Trump administration revokes guidance requiring hospitals to provide emergency abortions The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would revoke guidance to the nation's hospitals that directed them to provide emergency abortions for women when they are necessary to stabilize their medical condition. That guidance was issued to hospitals in 2022, weeks after the U.S. Supreme Court upended national abortion rights in the U.S. It was an effort by the Biden administration to preserve abortion access for extreme cases in which women were experiencing medical emergencies and needed an abortion to prevent organ loss or severe hemorrhaging, among other serious complications. Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act, emergency rooms that receive Medicare dollars to provide an exam and stabilizing treatment for all patients. Nearly all emergency rooms in the U.S. rely on Medicare funds. The Trump administration announced on Tuesday that it would no longer enforce that policy. The move prompted concerns from some doctors and abortion rights advocates that women will not get emergency abortions in states with strict bans. ▶ Read more about the administration revoking guidance on emergency abortions Trump formally asks Congress to claw back approved spending targeted by DOGE The White House on Tuesday officially asked Congress to claw back $9.4 billion in already approved spending, taking funding away from programs targeted by Elon Musk's Department of Government Efficiency. It's a process known as 'rescission,' which requires Trump to get approval from Congress to return money that had previously been appropriated. Trump's aides say the funding cuts target programs that promote liberal ideologies. The request, if it passes the House and Senate, would formally enshrine many of the spending cuts and freezes sought by DOGE. It comes at a time when Musk is extremely unhappy with the tax cut and spending plan making its way through Congress, calling it on Tuesday a 'disgusting abomination' for increasing the federal deficit. White House budget director Russ Vought said more rescission packages and other efforts to cut spending could follow if the current effort succeeds. 'We are certainly willing and able to send up additional packages if the congressional will is there,' Vought told reporters. ▶ Read more about Trump's request to Congress Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
