Latest news with #AndrewGoudsward
Yahoo
14 hours ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
FBI shifts some agents back to counter-terrorism following Iran strike, people familiar say
By Andrew Goudsward and Sarah N. Lynch WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The FBI has ramped up its efforts to monitor potential threats to the U.S. from Iran following President Donald Trump's decision to attack the country's nuclear facilities, two people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Tuesday. FBI officials have informed some agents in recent days that they will be exempt from a mandate to focus part of their time on immigration enforcement given the elevated threat level from Iran, the people said. The directive related to counter-terrorism, counterintelligence and cyber security agents who work on issues connected to Iran. FBI field offices in Chicago, Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York and Philadelphia have canceled rotations for agents to work on immigration issues, one of the sources said. NBC News and the Wall Street Journal earlier reported the shift in FBI resources. An FBI spokesperson declined to comment on the directives, but said in a statement, 'we continuously assess and realign our resources to respond to the most pressing threats to our national security and to ensure the safety of the American people.' Iran responded to the U.S. strikes by launching a missile attack on an American air base in Qatar on Monday that caused no injuries. A ceasefire ending days of open warfare between Israel and Iran appeared to take hold on Tuesday under pressure from Trump. Still, U.S. officials have been concerned that Iran may also seek to retaliate on U.S. soil. The FBI has been especially worried that Iran could direct operatives already in the U.S. to launch attacks, one source said. Federal prosecutors have brought several cases in recent years accusing people of aiding assassination plots in the U.S., including against Trump, at the behest of Tehran. The Iranian government has previously denied any involvement in the alleged plots. The FBI has been enlisted in Trump's effort to deport millions of people living illegally in the U.S., an area that has not been a point of emphasis for the bureau in the past. FBI agents in field offices were told in May to start devoting about a third of their time to immigration enforcement.
Yahoo
09-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump White House to appeal ruling lifting AP restrictions over Gulf of Mexico
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's White House intends to challenge a judge's ruling lifting the restrictions it imposed on the Associated Press over the news agency's reference to the Gulf of Mexico in its coverage, the administration told the court on Wednesday. It has continued denying access to AP journalists as it fights Tuesday's decision by U.S. District Judge Trevor McFadden ordering the White House to allow AP journalists to attend events open to the press in the Oval Office and on Air Force One as well as larger spaces in the White House while its lawsuit moves forward. McFadden found Trump's White House retaliated against the AP over its editorial choices, violating protections for free speech under the U.S. Constitution. He put his order on hold until Sunday to give the White House time to appeal. The White House began limiting AP's access to several events that featured Trump after the news agency said it would continue using the name Gulf of Mexico while acknowledging Trump's order to change the name of the body of water to the Gulf of America. The AP says in its stylebook that the Gulf of Mexico has carried that name for more than 400 years and, as a global news agency, the AP will refer to it by its original name while acknowledging the new name Trump has chosen. The AP sued three senior Trump aides in February, alleging the restrictions were an attempt to coerce the press into using the administration's preferred language. The lawsuit alleged the restrictions violated protections under the U.S. Constitution for free speech and due process, since the AP was unable to challenge the ban. Lawyers for the Trump administration have argued the AP does not have a right to what the White House has called special access to the president. AP journalists were barred from the group of White House reporters, known as the 'press pool,' that covers events in the Oval Office and travels with the president. The White House in February took charge of deciding which media outlets are part of the press pool. Reuters, which has issued a statement in support of the AP, has historically been a permanent member of the pool and now has a rotating spot for wire services. The AP has also been blocked from attending larger events in the White House that were open to other reporters with White House press credentials, according to the news agency's complaint. The AP, formed in 1846, says on its website that it operates from nearly 250 locations in nearly 100 countries. Its journalists provide news to customers worldwide in text, photos, graphics and video. The move has been criticized by several press freedom groups and the White House Correspondents' Association. Most news organizations, including Reuters, call it the Gulf of Mexico and where relevant include the context about Trump's executive order.
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
In a change of course, US Justice Dept drops challenge to Georgia voting law
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -U.S. President Donald Trump's Justice Department said on Monday it was pulling out of a lawsuit that challenges a Republican-backed Georgia election law as discriminatory, abandoning a position it took under Democratic President Joe Biden. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi said recent increases in Black voter turnout in the battleground state refuted the lawsuit's claim that the 2021 law, which mandated new voting requirements, amounted to voter suppression. "Georgians deserve secure elections, not fabricated claims of false voter suppression meant to divide us," Bondi said in a statement. The move was the latest in a series of actions by the Justice Department to end Biden-era civil rights actions and shift the focus of the Civil Rights Division to pursue conservative causes. The law is also being challenged by several civil rights groups including the Georgia chapter of the NAACP, which said it would continue its effort. "When the government drops the ball and turns a blind eye to injustice, we will step in," Gerald Griggs, the president of the Georgia NAACP chapter, told Reuters. In a 2021 lawsuit, the Justice Department alleged that the law disproportionately harmed Black voters by limiting absentee ballots and banning the distribution of water or food to people waiting in line at polling places. Georgia has denied the claims, arguing the law is aimed at securing elections. Brad Raffensperger, a Republican who serves as the state's top elections official, said the Justice Department's move shows the law 'stands on solid legal ground.' Preliminary data from the 2024 election shows that while the total number of ballots cast by Black voters increased, the turnout gap between white and Black voters grew by about 3% from 2020 to 2024, according to the left-leaning Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
US Justice Department to probe leak of intelligence on Venezuelan gang, official says
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department is investigating a leak of what it called classified information collected by U.S. intelligence agencies about the Venezuelan gang Tren de Aragua, a senior official said on Friday. Deputy Attorney General Todd Blanche called the disclosure "a selective leak of inaccurate, but nevertheless classified, information." "We will not tolerate politically motivated efforts by the Deep State to undercut President (Donald) Trump's agenda by leaking false information onto the pages of their allies at the New York Times," Blanche said, referring to a term embraced by Trump and his allies to describe government officials opposed to him. It was not entirely clear what reporting Blanche was referencing. The New York Times reported on Thursday that U.S. intelligence agencies circulated findings that Tren de Aragua was not acting at the direction of the Venezuelan government. The conclusion appeared to contradict President Donald Trump's basis for invoking an 18th-century wartime law to deport members of the gang.
Yahoo
21-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Trump administration seeks to disqualify judge in law firm case
By Andrew Goudsward WASHINGTON (Reuters) -President Donald Trump's administration on Friday asked the federal judge overseeing a challenge to Trump's executive order targeting law firm Perkins Coie to step aside from the case, accusing her of a "pattern of hostility" toward the president. Justice Department lawyers said U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell's impartiality might "reasonably be questioned." They cited her past rulings against Trump and remarks in cases against his supporters arising from the January 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. "This Court has not kept its disdain for President Trump secret," the lawyers wrote in a court filing. "It has voiced its thoughts loudly—both inside and outside the courtroom." Howell last week temporarily blocked the Trump administration from enforcing much of its order against Democratic-linked Perkins Coie, finding it likely violated the U.S. Constitution. The Trump administration has escalated its criticism of federal judges in recent weeks as courts have at times sought to rein in Trump's expansive use of presidential power.
