Latest news with #BidenJusticeDepartment
New York Times
2 hours ago
- Business
- New York Times
Justice Dept. Drops Biden-Era Push to Obtain Peter Navarro's Emails
The Justice Department has abruptly dropped its effort to force Peter Navarro, President Trump's trade adviser, to turn over hundreds of his emails dating to the first Trump administration to the National Archives, according to a court filing on Tuesday. The decision to drop the civil lawsuit was disclosed in a one-page notice filed in Federal District Court in the District of Columbia. The department offered no explanation for the move, but it is one of many recent actions it has taken to dismiss criminal and civil actions taken against Trump allies. Mr. Navarro, 75, had long resisted the government's request that he give the archives emails from his personal ProtonMail account relating to his role as a White House adviser, as required by the Presidential Records Act. Defiance is Mr. Navarro's default. He served about four months in the geriatric unit of a federal prison in Miami after refusing to comply with a subpoena to appear before a congressional committee investigating his false claims about the 2020 election. In 2022, the Biden Justice Department sued Mr. Navarro, one of the main architects of Mr. Trump's second-term tariff policy, to retrieve the communications. The lawsuit charged him with 'wrongfully retaining presidential records that are the property of the United States, and which constitute part of the permanent historical record of the prior administration.' The lawsuit accused Mr. Navarro of using his private email account to conduct public work, including an effort to influence the White House response to the pandemic. Those emails were needed to preserve the historical record, officials at the archives said. Mr. Navarro unsuccessfully petitioned the Supreme Court to dismiss the suit last year. A federal magistrate judge earlier reviewed about 900 messages, determining that more than 500 were not presidential records. He ordered additional hearings to decide how many of the remaining 350-plus emails needed to be turned over to the government. Mr. Navarro's lawyer did not immediately return a request for comment. Stanley Woodward, who represented Mr. Navarro in both his civil and criminal cases, recused himself after Mr. Trump appointed him in April to serve as associate attorney general.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Business
- Yahoo
Trump's pardons show he is becoming more brazenly corrupt
On Monday, President Trump pardoned former Culpeper County Sheriff Scott Jenkins before the start of his 10-year federal prison sentence for bribery and corruption. The Republican sheriff was convicted by a jury who found that he received envelopes stuffed with cash and checks totaling more than $100,000 from wealthy citizens in return for deputy badges. The evidence against Jenkins included undercover photos and videos of the sheriff accepting the payments. It was what prosecutors and agents call a slam-dunk case — until the president intervened. Under Trump, corruption isn't what it used to be. It used to be a shameful act conducted in shadowy backrooms or darkened corner tables. When a disgraced official was caught and convicted, they often slinked off to serve their sentence in silence and humiliation. At least one state, Pennsylvania, even added plaques under lawmakers' official portraits in the state Capitol with details of their corruption convictions. Now, instead of begging for forgiveness from the public, the guilty are unashamedly pleading for a pardon from the president. Jenkins publicly and repeatedly asserted he had been a victim of a weaponized Biden Justice Department. Despite the fact that six people who paid Jenkins bribes pleaded guilty and cooperated, the sheriff maintained his innocence and claimed there was no connection between the payment and his issuance of deputy badges. After learning of his pardon, on Tuesday Jenkins appeared on far-right former Trump adviser Steve Bannon's "WarRoom" show, where he thanked God for the president's pardon. The head of a law enforcement agency is undeserving of a pardon when he betrays his badge, but not in Trump's eyes. The president's decision to pardon the sheriff was as boldly public as the sheriff's lobbying for the pardon. Historically, many pardons have been issued quietly, often as a president was leaving office. As legal expert Kermit Roosevelt noted, 'Because pardons can be politically embarrassing or costly, presidents often give them at the end of their terms.' Not anymore. The president trumpeted the pardon in a Truth Social post, proclaiming, 'Sheriff Scott Jenkins, his wife Patricia, and their family have been dragged through HELL.' The sheriff's case isn't a one-off. Earlier this year, Trump pardoned Paul Walczak, a former nursing home company executive who pleaded guilty in 2024 to tax crimes. You read that right: Walczak told the court he was guilty. Yet while her son's pardon decision was pending, Walczak's mother received an invitation to Mar-a-Lago for a $1-million-a-plate fundraiser with a promise of a personal meeting with the president. She attended the dinner and, three weeks later, Trump pardoned her son. This week we also learned of yet another high-profile pardon. Reality TV stars Todd and Julie Chrisley, of the show 'Chrisley Knows Best,' have been serving prison time for defrauding banks of over $36 million and evading taxes for three years, all while earning millions from their TV show. Like the sheriff, the Chrisleys publicly petitioned the president for a pardon. Their daughter Savannah, who is a Trump supporter and spoke at the Republican National Convention, visited the White House to request a pardon for her parents. On Tuesday, Trump told Savannah and her sibling Grayson that he will be granting that request. It's not only the lobbying for pardons and Trump's issuance of them that are far more brazen now. More and more frequently, the underlying act of betraying the public's trust is happening in plain sight. We need look no further than Trump himself, who is earning millions of dollars through his crypto company with promises of presidential access for the biggest spenders. On May 22, Trump held a private dinner at his Sterling, Virginia, country club for buyers of his own meme coin, $TRUMP. The exclusive soiree, with over half of its attendees likely from abroad, raked in $148 million for the Trump family crypto platform. One China-born attendee, Justin Sun, said he purchased $18.5 million of $TRUMP — which would make him the largest holder of the token. Sun said he was 'grateful for the invitation' to the dinner. Perhaps he is also grateful that in February the Securities and Exchange Commission paused an ongoing fraud case against Sun and his company, the Tron Foundation. Vincent Liu, chief investment officer of Taiwan-based crypto firm Kronos Research, hoped the dinner would allow him to hobnob with other VIPs and even maybe lead to a meeting with the president. 'That kind of access is rare, and it represents how digital assets are entering the mainstream,' Liu said. I'd say it represents how corruption is being mainstreamed. In my 25 years with the FBI, including leading large, complex corruption cases, I observed two rationales that corrupt individuals told themselves as they committed their crimes. The first was something like, 'Everyone is doing it.' The second was essentially, 'I'm not going to face any consequences.' The president is doing his best to validate both justifications. At least for those with money or political favor, there may ultimately be no consequences. And, with Trump himself granting access for cash, and pardons for personal or political reasons, the perception that everyone is doing it has never been more real. This article was originally published on
New York Post
26-05-2025
- Politics
- New York Post
Taking Biden's 'cuffs off cops, voter turnout is rising and other commentary
Eye on DC: Taking Biden's 'Cuffs off Cops Using 'dubious legal theories of disparate impact,' the Biden Justice Department 'rushed to subject local police to federal control,' Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for civil rights, charges in The Wall Street Journal. That rash of lawsuits sought to subject at least 10 cities to 'sweeping, minutely detailed consent decrees that would inhibit local policing for years, make area residents less safe, and cost local taxpayers millions.' But after a review ordered by President Trump, Dhillon now 'lacks confidence in the data and methods used by the Biden team' — and is rolling the cases back. Advertisement She's moved to dismiss 'last-minute Biden-administration lawsuits' against Louisville, Ky. and Minneapolis, Minn., and has closed Biden-era investigations into six other police departments. Under Trump, the Justice Department 'will work with, not against, our brave police.' Elex desk: Voter Turnout Is Rising Election data analysis shows US voter turnout is 'at historically high levels,' reports New York magazine's Ed Kilgore. Advertisement Why? 1) widely available 'voting by mail and/or in-person early voting'; 2) 'competitive elections tend to produce higher voter turnout'; 3) higher spending on 'voter mobilization and persuasion in national election cycles.' Even without Trump's name on the ballot, midterm election turnout jumped nationwide from 37% in 2014 to 50% in 2018 ('dropping only a bit' to 46% in 2022) for 'one of the largest and most astonishing jumps in voter engagement' in years. The 'impression that Americans have grown tired of politics, and even government, during the Trump years hasn't translated into [an] unwillingness to vote.' Entrepreneur: How To Boost Health Science The National Institutes of Health 'commands an annual budget of nearly $50 billion' but 'our nation's health and biotech outcomes are faltering' because the NIH functions 'as welfare for underperforming labs and scientists,' fumes Joe Lonsdale at Substack. Advertisement To fix it, 'all political and ideological mandates' must be stripped away 'from NIH funding criteria,' and 'decisions must rely solely on scientific rigor, originality, and real-world potential to solve scientific problems.' For its funding models, the agency should 'experiment boldly, drop failing approaches swiftly, and prioritize proven methods that reward creativity and deliver breakthrough results,' such as shifting 'grants to milestone-based funding.' It should also 'prioritize its internal research efforts to those that only government-level resources can handle.' Repairing the NIH 'requires an earnest commitment to excellence, transparency, and meritocracy.' Advertisement Liberal: Dems' Coalition Collapsing The latest data on the 2024 elections illustrates 'the extent of the Democratic coalition's decline since 2012,' notes The Liberal Patriot's Ruy Teixeira. In 2024, Democrats lost non-college, working-class voters 'by a solid 10-point margin.' Among non-white working-class voters, Dems' 'margin was down to 32 points.' Barack Obama's '38-point advantage in 2012' with Latino working-class voters 'crashed to a mere 6-point advantage' for Kamala Harris. 'Obama carried voters under 30 by 25 points; in 2024, the Democratic margin fell to 11 points.' And the widening gender gap since 2012 is 'entirely attributable to Democrats doing worse' with men, 'not better' with women. 'The 'rising American electorate' strategy has failed'; guess 'we'll see if the Democrats have a Plan B. On current evidence, I'm not optimistic.' Hate watch: Face Down Rising US Antisemitism 'What's most shocking and horrifying about' the murder of Yaron Lischinsky and Sarah Milgrim 'is just how unsurprising' it was, seethes Nathan Miller at The Hill. Advertisement 'From 2010 to 2013, I was an American employee of Israel's Mission at the United Nations in New York. There were frequent reminders of potential threats,' and 'the stigma of serving as Israeli diplomatic staff was made abundantly clear to me in certain corners of New York society.' Yet, 'over the last decade or so' antisemitism has gone mainstream as 'Jews are demonized and dehumanized.' Question for America: 'Will the monsters continue to be heard and justified, or will this — the murder of a young couple — wake us up?' —Compiled by The Post Editorial Board
Fox News
26-05-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Trump pardons former Virginia sheriff convicted of taking $75K in bribes
President Donald Trump on Monday announced that he will pardon a former Virginia sheriff convicted of taking more than $75,000 in bribes in exchange for appointing businessmen as auxiliary deputy sheriffs within his department. In a Truth Social post, Trump said Scott Howard Jenkins, 53, of Culpeper, Virginia, was supposed to report to jail Tuesday but "instead will have a wonderful and productive life." Jenkins, the former sheriff of Culpeper County, was convicted last year of one count of conspiracy, four counts of honest services fraud, and seven counts of bribery concerning programs receiving federal funds. He was sentenced in March to 10 years in prison. In his post, Trump said the former sheriff and his wife have been "dragged through HELL by a Corrupt and Weaponized Biden" Justice Department. "In fact, during his trial, when Sheriff Jenkins tried to offer exculpatory evidence to support himself, the Biden Judge, Robert Ballou, refused to allow it, shut him down, and then went on a tirade," Trump wrote. "As we have seen, in Federal, City, and State Courts, Radical Left or Liberal Judges allow into evidence what they feel like, not what is mandated under the Constitution and Rules of Evidence." "This Sheriff is a victim of an overzealous Biden Department of Justice, and doesn't deserve to spend a single day in jail," he added. "He is a wonderful person, who was persecuted by the Radical Left 'monsters,' and 'left for dead.' This is why I, as President of the United States, see fit to end his unfair sentence, and grant Sheriff Jenkins a FULL and Unconditional Pardon." Federal prosecutors alleged Jenkins accepted cash bribes and bribes in the form of campaign contributions from co-defendants Rick Rahim, Fredric Gumbinner and James Metcalf, as well as at least five others, including two FBI undercover agents. In exchange, Jenkins appointed the people paying the bribes as auxiliary deputy sheriffs, a sworn law-enforcement position, and issued them official Culpeper County Sheriff's Office badges and credentials, authorities said. None of the payers were trained or vetted and did not render any legitimate services to the sheriff's office, prosecutors said. In April, Jenkins said he hoped that Trump would intervene in his case. "I truly believe if I could get an hour of time with someone in the administration and lay out some facts with my attorney and I really believe if they could hear the other side which I couldn't get in front of the jury — I believe wholeheartedly in the president," he said during a webinar hosted by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association. "I believe if he heard the information, I know he would help if he knew my story."
Yahoo
07-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Opinion - Ed Martin's conduct in office raises serious questions about his ethics
Some think Merrick Garland should have moved faster to prosecute everyone involved with the Capitol riot of Jan. 6, 2021. Others think the Biden Justice Department went too far. Opinions vary on prosecutorial judgment calls. Still, there are guardrails that government lawyers should never cross — even on a president's instruction. Recent actions from Edward R. Martin, Jr., the current interim U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia, raise questions about when a federal prosecutor goes too far. Martin's behavior at the helm of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Columbia has already alarmed many lawyers. The Society for the Rule of Law wrote to Disciplinary Counsel for the D.C. Bar on Apr. 14,, 2025, asking the Bar to review his conduct for ethical discipline. Their letter highlights Martin's statements suggesting 'he was criminally investigating perceived political enemies of himself and the president,' and questions whether he gave legal advice to a Jan. 6 defendant while serving as the interim U.S. Attorney. Martin has already added more fuel to the fire. That same day, he wrote to the editor-in-chief of CHEST Journal (the Journal of the American College of Chest Physicians) and to other medical journals with vague complaints and inquiries about misinformation and possible undisclosed advertisers or sponsors. It goes off the rails by asking, among other things, 'Do you accept articles or essays from competing viewpoints?' This is science we're talking about. Even though some journals have made mistakes, responsible editors vet submissions and care about the integrity of their publications. Thus, Martin's government office pretends to be investigating a problem that academic journals already address — and those journals are better positioned to vet the science than a prosecutor without a science background. These letters, along with executive orders targeting law firms on the flimsiest national security pretexts, reveal a broader attack on dissent. Assume, for the sake of argument, that CHEST or the other journals targeted published some crackpot medical theories. Under what authority would the government intervene? The Commerce Clause? Is the new standard that everything must be published along with a competing viewpoint? What troubles us is when lawyers of any administration, or of any private client for that matter, act without apparent hesitation to consider whether what the client asks of them is legally the right thing to do. In legal ethics, clients set the objective, and lawyers work within the law to achieve that objective. But there are limits on furthering a client's objective. Lawyers cannot counsel clients to do illegal things, for instance, and cannot assist clients with illegal actions. Lawyers are also encouraged to provide advice that's not merely an interpretation of the law but also addresses 'other considerations such as moral, economic, social and political factors, that may be relevant to the client's situation.' As Elihu Root famously said, according to Sol Linowitz, 'About half the practice of a decent lawyer consists in telling would-be clients that they are damned fools and should stop.' We would have hoped that the government's own lawyers would have told their client not to send these letters. So why would Martin send these letters? If he was instructed to lean on groups that have been critical of the administration, that instruction appears to violate the First Amendment. If the president or the attorney general maintains an enemies list, the objective of 'go after those enemies in every way possible' is not a permissible objective for a lawyer to pursue, in the same way that 'pull every trick in the book in discovery' is not permissible. And the Department of Justice knows this. It recently launched a working group to 'identify instances where [government] conduct appears to have been designed to achieve political objectives or other improper aims rather than pursuing justice or legitimate governmental objectives.' If the Trump administration believes it would have been wrong for the Biden administration to abuse prosecutorial offices, how can it tolerate this behavior? To be sure, it might seem easy for two tenured professors to say, 'stand up to your boss,' because we enjoy incredible job security. We get that. But law is both a profession and a business. Lawyers must always remember one critical ethics rule: lawyers bear ethical responsibility for their choices. Ultimately, enough is enough. Federal prosecutors should not use the power of the federal government to suppress views. And for the federal prosecutors who do so anyway, state bars have the right and the responsibility to investigate that behavior. Benjamin P. Edwards is a professor of law at the William S. Boyd School of Law, University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Nancy B. Rapoport is the Garman Turner Gordon Professor of Law at the William S. Boyd School of Law at UNLV, and an affiliate professor of business law and ethics in its Lee Business School. The authors write in their personal capacity and not on behalf of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to The Hill.
